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What Miller's Appointment Means for MN
Stephen Miller, ghoulish architect of President Donald Trump's cruel and racist immigration policy, replaced Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff on Monday. Is that "good"? It is not.
For Axios Twin Cities, Nick Halter takes a look at how Miller has been a "driving force" behind the federal government's investigations into Minnesota's Somali community over the last year. "We should not be shocked, when you import a population whose primary occupation is pirate, that they are going to come here and steal everything we have," the Voldemort-coded Miller said in a December 2025 interview, which, Jesus Christ. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, eventual scapegoat for the clusterfuck that was Operation Metro Surge, told Axios in January, "Everything I've done, I've done at the direction of the president and Stephen [Miller]."
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), tells Axios that he is understandably "deeply worried" about Miller's appointment.
Sisyphus to Keep Pushing That Boulder
"Big news, and for once it's the good kind," Sisyphus Brewing co-owner Sam Harriman reports in a Tuesday Facebook post.
You may recall that last month, Harriman shared that the brewery's landlord, Dunwoody College, was opting not to extend its lease, meaning Sisyphus would have to close by January. It sounds like the school has had a change of heart; according to Harriman's update, the brewery will be able to stay through January of 2028. Out of relief and gratitude, he's scheduling even more comedy than the taproom would usually have: Tuesdays will become an open mic night starting November 17, with Thursdays becoming a free night of comedy, booked in advance, "with the best comics in town" starting that same week. (And don't worry, the Magic Underground open mic isn't going anywhere, as "it's too popular to mess with.")
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy," Harriman's post concludes. "This week it's not that hard."
Lutsen Lodge Owner Will Stand Trial
It's not looking good for Bryce James Campbell, the Lutsen Lodge owner accused of burning down the historic North Shore building in early 2024. While Campbell's attorneys argued that investigators have not been able to rule out the possibility that the blaze was caused by an electrical fire, Judge Michelle Anderson has found that there's substantial evidence for Campbell to stand trial for three counts of first-degree arson (and one of insurance fraud), KARE 11's Lou Ragus reports.
Among the evidence:
- No guests were registered the night of the fire, which Campbell knew.
- Campbell spent some time near the water heaters, which is where the fire started.
- The manager working that night saw smoke in the lobby within five minutes of when it's believed Campbell left the lodge.
Not great! No trial date has been set yet, but Campbell will appear in court again on November 30.
Does Anyone Know Where the Love of God Goes When the Waves Turn the Minutes to Hours?
That's right, shipwreck-heads, it's the 51st anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald—not quite as big of a deal as the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, but hey, fascination with that big ol' sunken boat endures.
Is there anything new to say about the Fitz five decades on? Maybe not, but that is absolutely not stopping the news outlets of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin (and even Rhode Island??) from looking for angles. And that includes your friends at Racket, especially the co-owner/editor who received The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald last Christmas but has not cracked it open yet.
Most interesting to that Racket staffer is a new documentary about a team of 70 swimmers who traced the ship's original route on a 38-day, 411-mile journey across the Great Lakes. That doc, We Finished Their Journey: The Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim, debuts Tuesday on YouTube and in select regional theaters, and you can learn more about it via WOOD TV in Grand Rapids.
