Insight ::: 12.12.2022

$17.6 billion billion budget surplus surplus

A general fund budget surplus of A fund of $17 6 billion is now projected for $17.6 billion is now projected for the fiscal year 2024 25 biennium scal year 2024-25 biennium Minnesota Management and Minnesota and Budget (MMB) announced last announced last week week.

Highlighting the upturn the upturn in Minnesota’s economic forecast, Governor Tim Walz Governor Tim Walz said, “Today’s news is proof that said, news is that Minnesota’s economy is strong Minnesota’s economy is strong and growing One thing is clear: and growing. One is clear: this surplus is a result of the this is a result of the students, small businesses, and small and working families whose hard families whose hard work and creativity make our work and make our economy one of the most resilient economy one of the most resilient and diverse in the country ” “The and diverse in the country.” “The case for sending money back to case for money back to Minnesotans to help with rising Minnesotans to with costs has never been stronger costs has never been stronger. Together, we have a golden we have a opportunity to do that while also to do that while also investing in our workforce, our in our our schools, and our kids all while and our kids – all while lowering costs for our middle costs for our middleclass families, small businesses, class small and seniors ” seniors.”

photo/Steve Karnowski Karnowski

speaks about the state’s budget

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Projected $17.6 billion budget surplus presents ‘golden opportunities’

The state’s financial situation continues to get better.

Minnesota Management and Budget officials released the November 2022 Budget and Economic Forecast Tuesday, saying the state›s projected budget surplus is now a record $17.6 billion.

The forecast provides the most recent snapshot of the state’s financial health. Lawmakers will use it to begin looking at budgeting and policy decisions to be made during the 2023 legislative session, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 3 and must end by May 22.

“Strong collections and lower-than-projected spending add to the FY22-23 surplus. Economic headwinds lower expected growth but large leftover surplus and

healthy net revenues in FY24-25 create estimated $17.6B available for budget,” according to a statement.

The sizable number presents “golden opportunities” to do things in many different areas, said Gov. Tim Walz. Walz plans to release his budget proposal Jan. 24.

Increased education funding and child care expansion assistance are all but certain. Local government aid is also among the possibilities.

He plans to again propose rebate checks, an idea that failed to get legislative approval earlier this year; he’s open to tweaking the state tax on Social Security; but the governor won’t be offering a tax cut for wealthy Minnesotans.

Incoming House Majority

Leader Jamie Long (DFL-Mpls) and incoming Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFLMpls) were noncommittal on rebate checks or social security tax changes. Each said they need to let members of their caucuses weigh in.

A forecast expected to be released in late February will provide more updated numbers to help legislators and the governor finalize their plans for spending in the 2024-25 biennium that begins July 1, 2023.

After failing to agree on many spending differences during the 2022 session, the Legislature left an estimated $7 billion on the books. Since then, monthly state revenue estimates have continued to better expectations, and are now

predicted to be $3.5 billion higher during the current biennium than was estimated in February.

At the same time, spending is expected to be about $1.5 billion lower due mainly to a $280 million decrease in E-12 education spending caused by lower pupil counts and a $1.1 billion drop in health and human services spending. Extensions of public health emergency funding from the federal government meant the state spent less than was expected.

The $5 billion increase combined with the $7 billion that was left unspent means the state is now expected to carryforward $12 billion into the next biennium.

April Graves new Mayor of Brooklyn Center

April Graves, the first woman of color to be elected to the Brooklyn Center city council eight years ago, is now the newly elected mayor of this small, suburban city of approximately 35,000, and located just outside of Minneapolis. She didn’t throw her own ‘watch’ party the night of the mid-term elections on November 8th. Although she had managed to keep her household mostly balanced along with her work with the Minneapolis Health Department’s ‘Project Health Approach’, which sees the surge in violence as a disease that is spreading but also preventable and treatable.

She candidly admitted campaigning was grueling, and she was glad it was over. As a yoga instructor, Graves found ways to stay resilient and focused on multiple tasks through mindfulness and self-awareness. She believes that no matter what events fill our days, we must take care of ourselves, our bodies, our minds, our spirits. “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” she wisely declared. “Several weeks ago, I did a training for about 35 or 40 people on the city’s approach to violence prevention, adverse childhood experiences, and healing as well as conflict

de-escalation and resolution. I am often called upon to do racial equity workshops for Minneapolis employees on reducing youth violence by connecting interested caring adults in mentorship. The conversations must continue in every venue feasible.” “I was satisfied that I had given my campaign my all. My two terms serving on the city council were coming to an end, but I still felt the city was far from becoming a united body and only transparency and healing could make that happen. We need a more balanced, intentional, and nuanced way forward that

Minnesota faces a dire situation regarding the lack of special education teachers. Normandale Community College has stepped forward to implement an educational pipeline for prospective special education teachers, in particular teachers of color.

SpedUp Program Coordinator Kelsey Johnson, who was hired last spring to coordinate the program, is a champion of diversity and equity in the field of special education. “SpedUP will confront the educational equity gaps in K-12 classrooms by addressing disparities in the composition of the special education workforce,” said Johnson. “This program is particularly appropriate for working adults, who already have full lives.”

The program is designed to recruit and support BIPOC students as they pursue their first two years of a special education degree. It is a cohort model that offers:

 full academic scholarship (tuition and books)

 professional development activities

 connection to campus resources

 proactive academic advising to ensure transfer into a bachelor’s degree program for special education “It’s hard working

in a system that hasn’t been intentionally built for the success of people who look like me, or are from underserved backgrounds,” Says Leticia Alvarez, a current Paraprofessional in Bloomington Public Schools and a student in the first SpedUP cohort. “Working in the public-school system, the funding is what it is, and this is a way to add more tools to my toolbox and get paid more.”

Normandale is particularly well suited to provide this pathway, with a strong Education program, well developed transfer partnerships with other universities, a successful program launched in fall 2021 that recruits and supports Black, African American and African men into Elementary and Secondary Education pathways (Sirtify). Normandale is also one of a handful of twoyear colleges in Twin Cities to offer Transfer Pathways in Elementary Education and Special Education, which allows students to transfer to Minnesota State universities where the programs are offered.

Normandale Community College President Joyce Ester believes there is an opportunity for Normandale to do its part in eliminating achievement gaps through providing path-

ways for BIPOC students to attain a Special Education degree.

“We have a very strong education program, and we feel like this is a great way for us to recruit and support BIPOC students in a field that helps change lives in our community,” said Ester. “There have been studies that indicate when students are taught and supported by people who have the same or similar identities, student success rates are higher. SpedUp is the right opportunity at the right time for a very important field for communities across the state.”

In recent Twin Cities

About

Star Tribune Reporter: Mara Klecker mara.klecker@startribune.com

Staff is stretched dan-

Raphael Warnock defeats challenger Herschel Walker

By Bill Barrow and Jeff Amy Associated Press

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election Tuesday, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden’s current term and capping an underwhelming midterm cycle for the GOP in the last major vote of the year.

With Warnock’s second runoff victory in as many years, Democrats will have a 51-49 Senate majority, gaining a seat from the current 50-50 split with John Fetterman’s victory in Pennsylvania. There will be divided government, however, with Republicans having narrowly flipped House control.

“After a hardfought campaign — or, should I say, campaigns — it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: The people have spoken,” Warnock, 53, told jubilant supporters who packed a downtown Atlanta hotel ballroom.

“I often say that a vote is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and for our children,” declared Warnock, a Baptist pastor and his state’s first Black senator.

“Georgia, you have been praying

with your lips and your legs, your hands and your feet, your heads and your hearts. You have put in the hard work, and here we are standing together.”

In last month’s election, Warnock led Walker by 37,000 votes out of almost 4 million cast, but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. The senator appeared to be headed for a wider final margin in Tuesday’s runoff, with Walker, a football legend at the University of Georgia and in the NFL, unable to overcome a bevy of damaging allegations, including claims that he paid for two former girlfriends’ abortions despite supporting a national ban on the procedure.

“The numbers look like they’re not going to add up,” Walker, an ally and friend of former President Donald Trump, told supporters late Tuesday at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta. “There’s no excuses in life, and I’m not going to make any excuses now because we put up one heck of a fight.”

Democrats’ Georgia victory solidifies the state’s place as a Deep South battleground two years after Warnock and fellow Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff won 2021 runoffs that gave the party Senate control just months after Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate in 30 years to win

media reports, the shortage of special education programs has been increasingly alarming: Minneapolis parents, teachers plead for help over school staff shortages

650 positions remain open across the district, including 135 special education programs

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photo/John Bazemore

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock speaks during an election night watch party, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, in Atlanta. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a runoff election in Georgia.

Normandale

Left to right: Jim Mackinnon, Kimberly Hernandez Xochipiltecalt, Kelsey Johnson, Tania Mejia and Leticia Alvarez.

photo/Alex Kormann

State Rep/ Jamie Long, the newly elected majority-leader for the Minnesota House of Representatives, speaks about the state’s budget Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, at the Minnesota Department of Revenue in St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota lawmakers will head into the 2023 legislative session with a massive $17.6 billion projected budget surplus, the state budget agency said Tuesday.

Reflections: HIV AIDS, Rosa Parks, civil rights and the power of the vote

the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

By: W.D. Foster-Graham Book Review Editor

In this day and age, we remember December 1 as World AIDS Day. Even with the medical advances made in treating HIV and AIDS, it still impacts people around the globe, particularly people of color. In the height of the fear, ignorance, and paranoia of the 1980s, I attended more funerals than I care to remember. Back then, if you were so diagnosed, it was an automatic death sentence--just get in the checkout line and wait to die.

I also remember celebrities who made a positive difference in the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS, who challenged those notions.

Persons such as Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Diana, and Earvin “Magic” Johnson stood as advocates in the fight against this disease, and commendations are the least that can be given, not to mention the countless number of unsung heroes and sheroes who continue to make a difference today. However, I think of this day for a different reason, one that goes back to the events that unfolded on December 1, 1955, when I was only three and generations of today were yet to be born.

In Montgomery, Alabama, segregation was the status quo. Ridership of public transportation was predominately Black, yet whites sat in the front of the buses while Blacks sat in the rear. The middle section was a buffer zone: though Blacks could sit there, they had to give up their seat if the “whites only” section was filled and a white passenger wanted it.

To add to the absurdity, Black

passengers could not sit across the aisle from white passengers.

At the time, Rosa McCauley Parks was a 42-yearold seamstress and a secretary for the NAACP’s Montgomery chapter. On that day, with the “whites only” section full, the bus driver ordered her to give up her seat to a white man. For Rosa, with the memory of Emmett Till’s lynching on her mind, enough was enough, and she said, “No.”

She was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. That event set into motion a year-long boycott of the Montgomery bus system, which was led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. On December 21, 1956, Rosa took her seat in the front of the bus. It set the stage for the modern-day Civil Rights movement, a movement that was ultimately for all people.

Though Rosa and her husband, Raymond Parks, moved to Detroit, her activism continued. Upon her death on October 24, 2005, her body lay in honor in

It was one of the high points of my life, as well as humbling, to meet Rosa Parks in Atlanta in 1992. If I didn’t know who she was, to look at her one would see a petite, pleasant, unassuming woman who could easily be someone’s grandmother or greatgrandmother. And yet, I looked into the face of a woman who changed the course of history. An ordinary woman who did something extraordinary.

To anyone who says that their vote won’t count or one person can’t make a difference: even if you weren’t born yet, remember this day and remember Rosa Parks.

She only said one word, and it brought about change. What more can you do to make a difference, wherever you are? We still have a long way to go, and we never know how our lives will touch others.

“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” -- Rosa Parks

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Inflation missing, economic outlook

The overall total could be a bit misleading, especially if a recession were to occur. A 2002 law repealed the inclusion of inflation when projecting expenses.

Rep. Jennifer

Schultz (DFL-Duluth) told a House committee in February she believes Minnesota is the only state to account for inflation in projected revenue, but not expenses.

Officials said the forecast does include a mild U.S. recession in 2023 and slower economic growth through 2027. They predict a “three-quarter recession” with a recovery expected to begin the third quarter of 2023.

Inflation continues to be a concern and is now

expected to be 8.1% this year, 3.6% higher than was forecast in February. This latest forecast predicts the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates through next spring but could then reverse course and begin lowering them in spring of 2024.

MMB also said that while Minnesota’s labor market remains one of the country’s strongest, employment growth is expected to slow from 3.1% in 2022 to 0.3% in 2023, then remain flat in 2024. The forecast did

include several risk factors that could change the outlook, including uncertainties about inflation, monetary policy, a slow growing economy that is “vulnerable to shocks” and volatility in corporate profits and capital gains.

House leaders react “Great news,” is how House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) termed the projected surplus.

“Our state is in a strong position to take decisive

action to solve big challenges,” she said in a statement.

“A workforce shortage is constraining our economic growth, making it even more important that we focus on things that help Minnesotans enter and stay in the workforce — like job training, education, child care assistance, paid family leave, and more. It is also a time to roll out the welcome mat for people who choose to move to Minnesota and expand our workforce.”

In a statement,

House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) said the figure should keep any tax hikes off the table.

“Minnesotans are being massively overtaxed, and we should spend most of the next session working to give as much of it back to Minnesotans as possible. Tax hikes of any kind should be a complete nonstarter. Families deserve their money back as they continue to deal with the high cost of groceries, home heating bills, and other everyday necessities.”

considers ALL stakeholders in decision making, she said, and proudly admits that the city council had made innovative steps to address racial and economic inequities, become more informative, accountable,

and hands-on in the community while simultaneously providing opportunities long overdue. I think one of the biggest lessons I learned leading up to my victory is that ‘I know what I don’t know. I have long established relationships with people who have better expertise in areas where I don’t.” When the mayor-elect made that statement in a recent interview on ‘The Conversation with Al

McFarlane’, I had a pretty good feeling she was going to be okay.

When asked by the host if Brooklyn Center had a major industrial or corporate business anchor as mayor-elect Winston described as needed in Brooklyn Park, she cited a few examples. “I think the biggest tax paying business in our city is actually the Luther Auto Dealerships,” Graves stated. “A few years ago, we also brought Topgolf into Brooklyn Center. It was a little bit contentious, but I think it was a smart move for the city in general and has definitely brought more folks to that area. In addition, we have the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center which hosts weddings and brings in some revenue for Embassy Suites, Fairfield Inn, and a few other smaller places of lodging.”

Graves goes on to state that youth work is where

her heart professionally lies. She hears all they have to say. She was disappointed when several school board members she considered were not reelected, but in a way, she could understand why. “We have both the Osseo School District which serves both Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Robbinsdale, and a few other schools. There is most certainly room for growth in that arena. I think one of the ways we can leverage joint partnerships is through the ‘Brooklyn Bridge Alliance with Youth’ which brings those different school districts together and then also hosts our ‘Brooklyn’s Youth Council’. Both Brooklyns recently entered into a joint agreement around workforce development and coordinate part of the work on the summer jobs program. Both Brooklyns recently entered into another joint agreement around

workforce development. It’s primarily the work the staff has been leading the implementation on. I am proud and excited about the potential in that initiative and how they can also use the program for young adults in both Brooklyns who are able to help our young people get into real career paths. Participants will then be able to build generational wealth, afford quality of life housing, and be able to re-invest in our cities in positive ways.”

Those suggested positive ways might include getting more involved in a national network called ‘Cities United’ to which Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park are affiliated. Brooklyn Center has been part of the network in years past, but has failed to take advantage of the resources provided by the group. “I also think some of the work we’ve been doing surrounding the Daunte Wright, Kobe Heisler resolute on public safety is a good thing. The implementation committee has brought forward some recommendations specifically on policy related to consent searches and non-moving violation traffic stops. And we just hosted our first Town Hall to get some additional feedback from community members that felt kind of left out of that process. There’s another one scheduled for December 10th.

“After that gathering,” the mayor reports, “the staff will compile the responses from the community as well as submit their own recommendations to the executive team from their perspective in that most weren’t necessarily included in the formal report only to be able to provide insight into the laws and scope of what the recommendations could mean. Once those recommendations are brought forward and voted on by the council, the staff can start working on operationalizing and implementing them. But there was also a call for some type of advisory or oversight type of committee that has not been designed yet. Hopefully, it will

be permanent. The other work the implementation committee has focused on is the ‘community response model’ which could be quite effective if some of the barriers such as confusion around communication, clarity of languages, and understanding the role of the staff can be removed. The city received a grant to implement two years of special programming that will put the staff in a good place to have resources that might ultimately save young people’s lives and those who are victims of domestic abuse. There’s are a lot of good things in place,” the mayor said. “But it’s going to take a lot of strategic hard work together in partnership for the good of the entire city.”

Graves is proud to say that she kept her campaign ethical, listened to the needs and concerns of her constituents, and took great notes. “I was empathetic because remnants of COVID and the murder of Daunte Wright still linger. A lot of people needed and still need help. They wanted someone to give them answers. And although I realized hearts and minds could not be changed through legislation, it appears there were 7 or 8 hundred more voters who trusted me for my word. It was a good day. I had stayed true to myself whatever the outcome. I was pleased only with the exception of having to spend time away from my children.”

A beautiful photo of Graves and her four children opened her once campaign website. “Priorities, pride, love, and gratitude are the things the five of us are about.

Helping people connect with one another’s humanity, leveraging available resources, building larger coalitions and networks willing to do the work collaboratively instead of siloed are my professional rites of passage in leading this great city.”

Walz

The History Channel Rosa Parks getting finger printed.

Congratulations, Mayor April Graves! Prayers and best wishes for your continued success.

Grant opportunities

Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative (EHDI)

Grant (MDH)

Deadline: December 19, 2022

The Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative (EHDI) grant program is now accepting applications for the next round of 4-year grants beginning in July 2023. The EHDI grant program aims to close the gap in health status of American Indians and populations of color as compared with whites in 8 different priority health areas ranging from breast and cervical cancer to unintentional injuries and violence. The last day to submit a proposal is December 19, 2022.

If you have any questions about the RFP, please submit your question through the online submission form and MDH staff will post the answer to the EHDI RFP webpage within 7 business days. The last day to submit a question is November 30, 2022.

For more information, please visit the 2022 EHDI RFP webpage.

National Endowment for Democracy invites applications to strengthen

SpedUp

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gerously thin in special education departments at several schools, and educators from at least two — Harrison Education Center and Hall STEM Academy — are trying to raise alarm. Failing to provide the support promised in individualized education plans is both a compliance and a safety concern, they say. Some parents are also push-

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Georgia.

democratic institutions

Deadline: December 19, 2022

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private nonprofit foundation dedicated to developing and strengthening democratic institutions worldwide. NED awards grants averaging $50,000 to support non-governmental organizations-including civic organizations, associations, and independent media-dedicated to advancing democratic goals and strengthening democratic institutions. NED is interested in proposals from nonpartisan programs that aim to promote and defend human rights and the rule of law, support freedom of information and independent media, strengthen democratic ideas and values, promote accountability and transparency, strengthen civil society organizations, strengthen democratic political processes and institutions, promote civic education, support democratic conflict resolution, promote freedom of association, and maintain a broad-based market economy.

For more information,

ing back after realizing they’ve been sending children to schools without licensed special education staff

Special education staffing shortage persists in MN and beyond KARE 11 reporter: Danny Spewak, spewak@ kare11.com or dnspewak@ gmail.com Stelitano and the Center for Learner Equity led a report this fall that found “reliance on underqualified teachers – particularly for special

and chose an all-GOP slate of statewide constitutional officers.

Walker’s defeat bookends the GOP’s struggles this year to win with flawed candidates cast from Trump’s mold, a blow to the former president as he builds his third White House bid ahead of 2024. Democrats’ new

please visit the National Endowment for Democracy website.

CDC Foundation invites applications from youthfocused organizations for awareness of health impacts of climate change

Deadline: December 19, 2022

The CDC Foundation has issued a request for proposals from youth-focused organizations interested in engaging young people in raising awareness of the health impacts of climate change and helping communities take steps to prepare for and mitigate the effects. The foundation will fund a wide range of strategies and activities, but more specifically, seeks proposals for projects that promote awareness of climate change and the corresponding health impacts within their community, promote actionable solutions to reduce impact of climate change on health, and create pathways for meaningful partnerships and participation of young people. For this RFP, “youth” and “young people” refer to individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 years

education positions – may be increasing.” In general, the report showed that students with disabilities were among those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic during the 2021-22 school year, with staffing issues representing just one component of the problem.

As a program coordinator, Johnson has spent the last six months actively recruiting prospective students, enrolling an inaugural group of students for the first semester of the program.

In the fall 2023 semester, there will be an oppor-

outright majority in the Senate means the party will no longer have to negotiate a power-sharing deal with Republicans and won’t have to rely on Vice President Kamala Harris to break as many tie votes. National Democrats celebrated Tuesday, with Biden tweeting a photo of his congratulatory phone call to

old. Priority will be given to eligible youth-led and/or minority-led organizations. The foundation intends to make 10 to 15 awards ranging between $25,000 and $50,000.

For more information, please visit the CDC Foundation RFP.

Walmart invites applications for Local Community Grants

Deadline: December 31, 2022 Walmart’s Local Community Grant program will award grants of up to $5,000 in support of nonprofit organizations operating on the local level (or an affiliate/ chapter of a larger organization that operates locally) and directly benefit the service area of the facility from which they are requesting funding.

Organizations may apply in eight areas: community and economic development, diversity and inclusion, education, environmental sustainability, health and human service, hunger relief and healthy eating, public safety, and quality of life. Refer to the RFP for the guidelines and eligibility checklist.

tunity for 10 students to participate in the SpedUP program. The program offers full-tuition scholarships for students of color provided by a grant and aims to ensure students’ success at Normandale and beyond. Alvarez sates, “For me, one of the barriers in coming to school was funding—and so when the SpedUP program became available I was like wow: it’s right here in my community, and the tuition and books are covered. That’s so many barriers gone, and that’s what led me here.”

the senator. “Georgia voters stood up for our democracy, rejected Ultra MAGAism, and ... sent a good man back to the Senate,” Biden tweeted, referencing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. About 1.9 million runoff votes were cast in Georgia by mail and during early voting. A

For more information, please visit the Walmart Local Community Grants webpage.

Minneapolis Foundation invites applications for recovery and rebuilding in Minneapolis

Deadline: January 6, 2023

The Minneapolis Foundation, in partnership with LISC Twin Cities, Propel Nonprofits, and the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (Meda), will award grants for projects in the Minneapolis business corridors worst hit by the challenges that have arisen since March 2020, including COVID-19 and the destruction following the murder of George Floyd. Grants

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

For more information regarding SpedUP, please contact program Kelsey Johnson at kelsey.johnson@normandale. edu. SpedUP information is also available online at https:// www.normandale.edu/spedupprogram.

About Normandale Community College: Established in 1968, Normandale is a premier, comprehensive community college offering a curriculum that spans more than 60 liberal arts and science disciplines. With

robust Election Day turnout added about 1.4 million more, slightly more than the Election Day totals in November and in 2020. Total turnout still trailed the 2021 runoff turnout of about 4.5 million. Voting rights groups pointed to changes made by state lawmakers after the 2020 election that shortened

are made possible by funding from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Main Street Economic Revitalization Program. A total of $11.5 million will be distributed through a community-centered process, with significant guidance from local stakeholders in these areas. Grants are available for predevelopment and design and hard costs related to actual construction. Eligible applicants include for-profit businesses, property owners, nonprofit organizations, and developers (for-profit and nonprofit) located in one of the defined commercial corridors (refer to the RFP). For more information, please visit the Minneapolis Foundation website.

exceptional faculty and intensive student support services, we prepare students for success in transferring to four-year colleges and universities and joining the workforce. Normandale is the largest community college and second largest institution in the Minnesota State system. Our student body is very diverse, with nearly two-thirds of degree-seeking students identifying as low-income, first generation, and/or Black, Indigenous, or Persons of Color.

the period for runoffs, from nine weeks to four, as a reason for the decline in early and mail voting. Warnock emphasized his willingness to work across the aisle and his personal values, buoyed by his status as senior pastor of Atlanta’s

stockphoto

Voters returned Warnock to the Senate in the same cycle they reelected Republican Gov. Brian Kemp by a comfortable margin

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Ebenezer

questions about his past, including his exaggerations of his business achievements, academic credentials and philanthropic activities.

In his personal life, Walker faced new attention on his ex-wife’s previous accounts of domestic violence, including details that he once held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. He has never denied those specifics and wrote of his violent tendencies in a 2008 memoir that attributed the behavior to mental illness.

As a candidate, he

sometimes mangled policy discussions, attributing the climate crisis to China’s “bad air” overtaking “good air” from the United States and arguing that diabetics could manage their health by “eating right,” a practice that isn’t enough for insulindependent diabetic patients.

On Tuesday, Atlanta voter Tom Callaway praised the Republican Party’s strength in Georgia and said he’d supported Kemp in the opening round of voting. But he said he cast his ballot for Warnock because he didn’t think “Herschel Walker has the credentials to be a senator.”

“I didn’t believe he had a statement of what he really believed in or had a campaign that made sense,” Callaway said.

Walker, meanwhile, sought to portray Warnock as a yes-man for Biden. He sometimes made the attack in especially personal terms, accusing Warnock of “being on his knees, begging” at the White House — a searing charge for a Black challenger to level against a Black senator about his relationship with a white president.

Warnock promoted his Senate accomplishments, touting a provision he sponsored to cap insulin costs for Medicare patients. He hailed deals on infrastructure and maternal health care forged with Republican senators, mentioning those GOP colleagues more than he did Biden or other Washington Democrats.

Warnock distanced himself from Biden, whose approval ratings have lagged as inflation remains high. After the general election, Biden promised to help Warnock in any way he could, even if it meant staying away from Georgia. Bypassing the president, Warnock decided instead to campaign with former President Barack Obama in the days before the runoff election. Walker, meanwhile, avoided campaigning with Trump until the campaign’s final day, when the pair conducted a conference call Monday with supporters. Walker joins failed Senate nominees Dr. Mehmet Oz of Pennsylvania, Blake Masters of Arizona, Adam Laxalt of Nevada and Don Bolduc of New Hampshire as Trump loyalists who ultimately lost races that Republicans once thought they would — or at least could — win.

Baptist Church, where civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. Walker benefited during the campaign from nearly unmatched name recognition from his football career, yet was dogged by questions about his fitness for office. A multimillionaire businessman, Walker faced

Associated Press writers Christina A. Cassidy and Ron Harris contributed to this report.