MN's lone Puerto Rican lawmaker responds to Trump rally remarks

Plus: Will the Twin Cities get snow on Halloween? [Plus: Will the Twin Cities get snow on Halloween?] View this email as a [web page]( [The Minnesota Star Tribune](   [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! Some weather models say we might get up to 10 inches of snow on Halloween. I really hope we don't. But I kind of hope we do ⛄️ On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Where do Minnesotan’s Latino voters come down on the election?]( - [Mankato-based company builds underground houses for buyers seeking durability, energy efficiency]( - [Mothership Pizza Paradise opens in Minneapolis with ‘90s pizzeria flair]( - [St. Paul police involved in shooting that sent one to the hospital]( - [Tolkkinen: What does sexual identity have to do with farming?](   [Minnesota's lone lawmaker of Puerto Rican descent responds to Trump rally remarks]( Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune Former President Donald Trump's Sunday night rally at Madison Square Garden was billed as the Republican presidential nominee's closing statement as the election heads into its final days. Instead, the event drew intense scrutiny for the parade of speakers who made racist claims from the podium, including a comedian who called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega, Minnesota's lone lawmaker of Puerto Rican descent, called the rally a "wake-up call" for Puerto Ricans, Latinos and other voters from marginalized backgrounds. “Whether it’s Minnesota, whether it’s Pennsylvania, whether it’s Ohio, this is the reality of how Project 2025 is moving," Pérez-Vega, DFL-St. Paul, said. "The only way to stop it is by getting out to vote and voting against the maltreatment of Puerto Ricans, of humanity, of everyone." The Trump campaign has distanced itself from the remarks by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. But his comments have galvanized Puerto Rican voters in key battleground states — the Washington Post estimates that more than half of the 590,000 eligible Latino voters in Pennsylvania are of Puerto Rican descent. Zoë Jackson has the full story about Pérez-Vega's remarks below. Related coverage - [Minnesota Democratic lawmaker with ties to Puerto Rico slams Trump rally comedian’s remarks]( - [Who is comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who insulted Puerto Rico at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally?]( [Read More](     GOING OUT - [Critics’ picks: The 16 best things to do and see in the Twin Cities this week]( - [9 free things to do in the Twin Cities this week]( - [BareBones Productions’ annual Halloween puppet show is a family affair]( [Get in, loser, we're watching scary movies]( 🎃 Every October, La Jefa and I whip up a list of 31 scary movies or TV shows to watch — one for each day of the month. We call it "The Halloween List," and you can [check out this year's offerings here](. This is what's on tap tonight: 👻 "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire": I’ll be honest: This entry is meant to check a box on a list. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” waded way too far into overly abundant fan service, and I wasn’t convinced it needed a sequel. But it got one, and my FOMO is very easily triggered, so I cannot let any pop culture blind spots stand for long. Streaming on Netflix with a subscription. Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play Movies, Apple TV rental: $5.99.   [Share this newsletter with friends]( Do you enjoy Essential Minnesota? Encourage your friends and family to [sign up](. You also can share it using the links below.   Will we get snow on Halloween? It's been an unseasonably warm October, but the mercury may dip low enough to give the Twin Cities a bit of snow on Halloween. Anyone who plans to go trick-or-treating that night will probably have a rough go of it, National Weather Service Climatologist Nick Carletta said. The region got a smidge of snow on All Hallow's Eve last year, too. Other than that, we can't really think of the last time we got any measurable or notable amount of snow on the holiday. Tim Harlow [has the story here](. Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune MORE FROM THE MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE - [‘All-Minnesota’ replaces ‘All-Metro’ as Star Tribune boosts high school sports coverage]( - [The Minnesota Interview: Why you might find Paula Poundstone hanging out in a Red Wing parking lot]( - [Northern Minnesota woman charged with voter fraud after allegedly forging her dead mom’s name to ballot]( FOOTBALL ACROSS MINNESOTA Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune Owen Guertin was a 9-year-old boy, sitting in the cafeteria at Boston Children’s Hospital a few days removed from having brain surgery that lasted 17 hours over two days. He was learning to use utensils again to feed himself. “I’m like, I’m never going to forget this feeling,” he said. “The first time I could lift my hand up to my mouth. That was definitely something I was thankful for, to still be able to use my hands.” That was in February 2017, when Guertin traveled to Boston to have surgery for a rare condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Guertin’s parents had their three children undergo brain scans after a 14-year-old niece died from a brain bleed caused by an AVM in September 2016. Guertin recovered through extensive therapy and is now a multi-sport athlete at Benilde-St. Margaret’s. A senior cornerback on the football team, Guertin grabbed an interception in a playoff game last week to help his team reach Friday’s section finals against Holy Angels for a berth in the state tournament. Read his story in this [week's installment of Football Across Minnesota](.     IN OTHER NEWS - [Poll: Harris, Trump remain in tight race in Minnesota as finish line nears]( - MinnPost - [Teachers union demands Sen. Nathan Wesenberg retract post alleging teacher is ‘a predator’]( - Minnesota Reformer - [As Minneapolis schools struggle with enrollment, Richfield turns students away]( - Sahan Journal THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE dberthia via Reddit La Jefa loves loons. Show the woman a photo of a pointy-beaked waterfoul carrying its young on its back and she'll inevitably ask if it's Minnesota's state bird. (In most cases, it is.) That's only partly why I'm so enamored with this frame of two loons hanging out on Lake Itasca, which comes to us courtesy of Reddit user dberthia. The other reason? As it turns out, I love loons, too. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter David Taintor, editor     [Premium digital access] GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO EVERY STORY [Premium digital access] GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO EVERY STORY [Subscribe]( SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Manage]( your preferences | [Opt Out]( using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? [Sign up]( to receive our future emails. View this email [online](. 650 3rd Ave. S. Suite 1300 | Minneapolis, MN 55488 US This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.