Education

Anoka-Hennepin School District teacher Diane Cleveland filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in Ramsey County District Court Monday, alleging that earlier this summer it wrongly disclosed that she had been accused of harassing a student over his perceived sexual orientation.

Starting in 1947, thousands of young families have lived on four Southeast Minneapolis city blocks, in housing provided by the University of Minnesota. But it wasn’t until last year that anyone raised the alarm that the land many of those families have called home appears to be a toxic waste dump.

A controversial ministry that says it preaches in public schools held a fundraiser in Bloomington Thursday night, drawing a crowd of about 400 attendees. You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International offered attendees a preview of their new documentary, an appearance by Rep. Michele Bachmann and a fiery sermon by front man Bradlee Dean that called liberals “criminals” and urged attendees to fight a “war” for the faith against liberals.

Last year about this time Norm Coleman had his sights set on becoming the next chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The post would have required Coleman to spearhead candidate recruitment and fundraising efforts for the organization. But after a grueling electoral defeat, Coleman’s fundraising skills are now being applied to slightly lower-profile political [...]

Rep. Michele Bachmann is one of about 50 Republican members of Congress calling for the firing of Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. The letter objects to Jennings’ “promotion of homosexuality” and accuses Jennings of violating “mandatory reporter” requirements. But the letter, penned by Iowa Rep. [...]

We crossed a line in the turf this month when the publicly owned place where the Minnesota Vikings (alone, now) play football was renamed “Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.” Let the re-branding of one of Minnesota’s greatest statesmen begin. 

The three incumbent St. Paul school board members up for re-election this year have been endorsed by the St. Paul Federation of Teachers in past campaigns. But concerns about budget shortfalls, school restructurings and contract negotiations have caused the teachers’ union to withhold its support this year.

Civil liberties groups say that You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International — a ministry/punk band that brings its Christian message to public school kids — is causing schools to run afoul of the constitutional principle of separation of state and church. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who says such a separation is a “myth,” will be headlining a fundraiser for the group in November.

Updated: The University of Minnesota marching band forms the corporate logo of TCF Bank on the field at the university’s new TCF Bank Stadium in a promotional video released by the university today.

A Star Tribune photo caption that mistakenly calls current Minneapolis school superintendent Bill Green by the name of his predecessor of 25 years ago is the kind of long-in-the-tooth goof-up only so-called legacy media could make.