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Ilhan Omar embarks on new path no longer defined by ‘firsts’
By Farnoush Amiri
President Joe Biden was winding up for a speech at a Minnesota clean energy facility when he spotted a lawmaker in the crowd whom he wanted to recognize.
“I want to thank you for being here,” Biden said, gesturing toward Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during his recent visit. “You never stop working to level the playing field for everybody.”
For Omar, the quick flash of praise from Biden — who was neither her first nor second choice to be the party’s 2020 White House nominee — was more than just a courtesy shout-out during a presidential visit to her suburban Minneapolis district. It was a recognition of how far Omar has come after a rocky start to her political career that at times made her standing with Democrats appear tenuous.
As she settles into her third term, Omar is no longer defined by the “firsts” that accompanied her arrival in Congress: one of the first Muslim women in the House, the first refugee from Africa elected to the House, the first lawmaker to wear a hijab while on the House floor. In interviews with nearly a dozen Democrats in the House and Senate, lawmakers portray Omar as a serious legislator who in the past four years has earned admiration for giving voice to marginalized groups often forgotten on Capitol Hill. The best example of this came in early February when every single House Democrat voted against a GOP resolution to remove her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments critical of Israel.
The program will honor Billmeyer’s 41st and final year as University of Minnesota Organist and Professor of Music. Tickets are available inperson and livestream Apr 18 and on-demand through Apr 23.
Award-winning organist, beloved professor, and international performer, Dean Billmeyer punctuates his 41st and final year as University of Minnesota Organist and Professor of Music on Apr 18 with a special celebration at Northrop. Billmeyer collaborates with Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies’ (GTCYS) flagship orchestra–Symphony–to honor his illustrious career as an accomplished musician and esteemed educator.
The program features Billmeyer on Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani, as well as Dvořák’s complete New World Symphony This exciting collaboration stretches across generations and celebrates the best of the Twin Cities’ musical talent. “It is a great pleasure and privilege to be performing Francis
Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with my esteemed colleague Mark Russell Smith and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies at Northrop,” notes Billmeyer During his 41 years at the University of Minnesota, Billmeyer has taught classes in Counterpoint, Thoroughbass, and Keyboard Skills, as well as Organ and Harpsichord. He was key in restoring and maintaining Northrop’s historic AeolianSkinner Opus 892 organ. “A
“I think we’ve been successful in making the Democratic caucus, Democratic Party, Democratic establishment to get to a place where they are able to see me fully, for all of the multiple identities I am a
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Saying she is ready to share the “unfathomable” experience of being arrested and incarcerated in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner is working on a memoir that is scheduled for spring 2024. Griner was arrested last year at the airport in Moscow on drug-related charges and detained for nearly 10 months, much of that time in prison. Her plight unfolded at the same time Russia invaded Ukraine and further heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., ending only after she was freed in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
A WNBA All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner had flown to Moscow in February 2022 to rejoin UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian women’s team she has played for in the off-season since 2014.
“That day (in February) was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,” Griner said in a statement released Tuesday by Alfred A. Knopf
“The primary reason I traveled back to Russia for work that day was because I wanted to make my wife, family, and teammates proud. After an incredibly challenging 10 months in detainment, I am grateful to have been rescued and to be home. Readers will hear my story and understand why I’m so thankful for the outpouring of support from people across the world.”
Griner added that she also hoped her book would raise awareness of other Americans detained overseas, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia last month and accused of espionage; businessman Kai Li, serving a 10-year sentence in China on charges of revealing state secrets to the FBI; and Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive