Andrew Wright's Blog

BY ANDREW WRIGHT In one of the obituary stories of the Star Tribune, the author writes about the life of former Twins outfielder Jim Holt. The author detailed Holt's life by focusing on his time as a player for the Twins. The author included Holt's stats while he played for the Twins and his impact in the Twins organization.  The author focused on Holt' relevance to Minnesota and the Twins, but also included other interesting facts about Holt's career that were not necessarily focused on Holt's career on the Twins. The author included how the Twins acquired Holt from Oakland. The author also included that the Twins traded Holt to the Oakland Athletics and how Holt went on to win one World Series ring with Oakland. Overall, the author spent very little time talking about Holt's death and instead focused on the most intriguing and important aspects of Holt's life and career.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT An 18-year-old man is in critical condition after shots were fired at a Myth Live Nightclub in Maplewood on Friday night, according to WCCO. The man was shot in the neck and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to the Star Tribune. It is not clear if the man's identity has been revealed. The shooting occurred after a fight broke out in the nightclub. Lil Baby and Blueface were performing at the nightclub where the shooting occurred, and reported numbers estimated about 1,800 people were in attendance. The person who shot the man in the nightclub has not been arrested, and it's unsure whether the man who was shot was the intended victim.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT A man was charged Friday for first-degree arson and second-degree murder after starting a fire in an apartment in Thief River Falls, according to the Star Tribune. Devon James Pulczinski, 23, was arrested after starting a fire at 307 1/2 Arnold Avenue South. Pulczinski was a renter of the apartment, according to the Crookston Times. Emergency vehicles were called to the apartment Wednesday. When they arrived, they found Pulczinski's apartment on fire. After putting out the fire, firefighters discovered one dead woman with severe burns over her body. The woman's identity has been released. Pulczinski's motives for setting the fire to his apartment still remain unclear. He is currently being held at Pennington County Jail.

BY ANDREW WRIGHT President Trump signed a one-year extension for the Deferred Enforced Departure program Thursday, allowing Minnesota Liberian immigrants to stay in the state for another year. Trump has considered ending the program in the past. In 2018, Trump proposed not extending the program, saying living conditions had improved and the government of Liberia had stabilized,  according to the Pioneer Press. The Deferred Enforced Departure program gives legal status to Liberians who fled war and natural disasters in Africa. According to the Pioneer Press, around 4,000 Liberians in Minnesota are covered by the program. President Trump faced backlash if he were to end the program. According to the Star Tribune, a coalition of attorneys general filed a brief Monday in support of Liberians remaining in the United States. One of the attorneys general was Minnesota's Keith Ellison.   The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has one of the largest Liberian immigrants populations ...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Sen. Amy Klobuchar criticized President Trump's rhetoric about Muslims and Islamophobia Sunday after a shooting in New Zealand left 49 dead and 40 injured, according to The Hill. Klobuchar spoke on CNN and said she thinks Trump's rhetoric has worsened Islamophobic behavior not only in the United States, but in other countries, as well. "I don't think you can actually take each of the murderous acts and say what role Donald Trump played, but I can tell you this: his rhetoric doesn't help," Klobuchar said on CNN.  "And many of these people, whether it was the person who tried to bomb Barack Obama or this murderer in New Zealand, have cited Donald Trump along the way." Klobuchar called for the president to speak out against these acts of terror and violence and should begin to praise defend the Muslim community. The recent attack in New Zealand continues to put a spotlight on white nationalism, which many people see as a grow...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Minnesota could see flooding levels that rival the floods in 1965 as a result of the weather quickly warming combined with the excess snow gathered over the past winter season,  according to the Duluth News Tribune. At a briefing about the potentially hazardous weather, meteorologist Dan Luna revealed a map that predicted a 15 percent chance of serious flooding this spring. "At St. Paul, there’s a 15 percent chance we could see levels as high or higher than what we saw in 1965 — which is the flood of record,” Luna said. According to the Star Tribune, Luna also said the current decade has been one of the wettest for Minnesota. However, all doesn't look dreary for the upcoming Minnesota spring. Minnesota experienced similar weather in 2013 and faced potentially hazardous flooding, as well. Despite the potentially dangerous weather, Minnesota experienced a perfect melt where temperatures rise above freezing during the day and fall back below freezing...

BY ANDREW WRIGHT Three people are injured after a car chase ensued Thursday when police pursued two suspects, according to the Minnesota Daily. The suspects were found on camera stealing from cars in the Dinkytown area before the two fled before police arrived at the scene. Police then pursued the suspects in a car chase. According to the Star Tribune, the suspects caused two car accidents as a result of the car chase, leaving three people injured. One of the injured people was identified as a University of Minnesota student, and another was identified as a university faculty member. The fist accident occurred at the intersection of 5th Street and SE. 15th Avenue, and the second occurred at 5th Street and SE. 12th Avenue. Police arrested one man, 39, and booked him at Hennepin County jail. The second suspect escaped the scene and police are still searching for the suspect. Images obtained by police show with black hair in a white polka-dot shirt, dark pants, and dar...