Hamline University formally placed Mayme Hostetter, who attended schools in the Twin Cities in her youth, as its 22nd president on Thursday.

Hostetter most recently served as president of Relay Graduate School of Education, a private Manhattan graduate school for teachers that has a dozen locations around the U.S.

Growing up, Hostetter attended Kenwood School in Minneapolis and St. Paul Academy. She then attended Harvard University where she eventually received a master of education after working as an English teacher. She later earned a doctor of education from Columbia University.

In New York, Hostetter helped found Hunter College’s “Teacher U” and the Relay Graduate School of Education, which has roots in the charter school movement. Hostetter was named Relay’s president in 2018, the role she held when she was named Hamline’s next president earlier this year.

“I know both the governor and my office, (Office of Higher Education,) are excited to work with you in this new role,” said Winnie Sullivan, deputy commissioner for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, at the investiture ceremony. “Together, we can make Minnesota a national leader for higher education. “

Held at the university’s Hutton Arena in St. Paul, the ceremony included a formal academic procession and the presentation of the symbols of office, as well as three former Hamline University presidents in attendance. Among those commemorating Hostetter’s new role was her friend Laela Sturdy, who attended Harvard University with her approximately 28 years ago.

“As Hamline’s 22nd president, Mayme brings the wisdom gained from teaching in the Bronx, conducting research on literacy, and leading a graduate school of education,” Sturdy said. “She brings character, vision, and an unwavering commitment to every student’s success.”

In addition to her time at Harvard and Columbia, Hostetter also worked in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences studying reading development. She was named a 2024 Presidential Leadership Scholar by the Bush, Clinton, and LBJ Foundations.

“It has been remarkable to witness her grow as a leader and through it all, to see the constancy of her character. She is unflinching in her commitment to equity and excellence,” Sturdy said. “She is a kind and thoughtful leader, with high standards and a big heart, and she is devoted to things larger than herself. Now, Mayme brings this wealth of experience, this depth of commitment, this vision for educational excellence to Hamline University.”

Hostetter said the university has accomplished many “firsts” in its more than 170 years as an institution and could be the university where students graduate on time and feel high levels of belonging and engagement with each other.

“Hamline has been the site, the source, the inspiration of so many firsts,” Hostetter said. “And they all represent an important type of ‘first.’ They are all team wins that represent not only institutional excellence but also changing the game for the better for those who come next.”

Hostetter assumed her duties as president on July 1.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — In retrospect, Minnesota Wild defenseman Daemon Hunt doesn’t necessarily think the last 12 months have been all that strange. But a closer look at his career path shows the arc of a boomerang, sent away but finding its way back to where it started.

On Thursday night at Carolina, Hunt was back in the Wild lineup for his 14th career game in the organization, but not before spending roughly 10 months in Cleveland as property of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Around this time last season, Hunt, 23, was part of the package of picks and players sent to Columbus by Wild general manager Bill Guerin to get defenseman David Jiricek. Then, in September, when the Blue Jackets placed Hunt on waivers with the intention of sending him back to their Cleveland AHL team — where Hunt played 48 games last season — the Wild grabbed him.

“It was easy coming back, knowing everybody and the organization. It’s already like a family here,” Hunt said on Thursday afternoon after the morning skate at the Lenovo Center. “It’s really good to be back, and I haven’t played in a while, so it’s exciting. I never take it for granted, to be in the NHL.”

In 10 games this season, Jiricek has shown off his physical skills but has been mistake-prone and displayed some of the inconsistency that has been an overall weak spot in the Wild’s disappointing start to the season. So, on Thursday, coach John Hynes gave Jiricek a night off and replaced him with one of those traded away to get Jiricek a year ago.

“I think Daemon’s a good skating defenseman,” Hynes said. “I think he has some physical elements to his game. He can move the puck. I’m excited for him to be able to get an opportunity. I think it’s well-deserved.”

For Hunt, the past month has represented a kind of career limbo. The Wild haven’t played him, but also can’t send him down to Iowa because if they place him on waivers, Columbus or another team could claim Hunt. So, the chance to put on a jersey and play, paired with Zeev Buium, was exciting for the young defenseman.

“It’s been a little bit tough, for sure,” Hunt admitted. “I’m in kind of a weird spot in my career, where it’s like I feel I’m good enough to be in the NHL, and then I got picked up on waivers and I’m not playing. So, mentally it’s been a little bit challenging trying to stick with it and look for the positives and have ‘glass half full’ type of vibes. I’m happy to be here.”

Milestone game for Boldy

If you needed further proof of Wild forward Matt Boldy’s transition from young star to veteran cornerstone of the Minnesota offense, look no further than his career games played number, which read 300 following his opening shift on Thursday.

“His game continues to grow. I think he really understands how good a player he can be when he plays a certain way, with a certain mindset,” Hynes said. “I think he’s been consistent with that off the ice. He’s gained confidence through his play, through different experiences — 4 Nations, World Championships — more time in the league, more time in here. He’s more vocal and he brings a lot of energy.”

For Boldy’s part, he’s still just 24 and seemed a little amazed to be passing the 300 games milestone already.

“It’s crazy. It’s pretty cool. It seems quick, for sure,” he said. “I guess that’s a good thing.”

Boldly was also hoping games 300 would be a kind of slump-buster. He scored a goal in each of the Wild’s first four games this season but came to Carolina with just one in his previous 10 outings.

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The Cottage Grove City Council, over the objections of numerous agencies and residents, signed off Wednesday night on a final environmental review related to a proposal to mine the riverbed of the Mississippi River.

The council, by a 5-0 vote, approved the final environmental impact statement adequacy done by a mining company that operates a sand and gravel mine on Lower Grey Cloud Island in Cottage Grove. The company, Amrize Nelson, wants to expand and shift operations into the Mississippi River — and mine the actual riverbed.

The council’s vote means the project proposed by Amrize, formerly known as Holcim-MCR Inc., will move on to the permitting stage, where officials from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers will make decisions about the proposed project based on the information in the EIS, Cottage Grove officials said.

Amrize is proposing to move its mining area to reach additional aggregate reserves on about 400 acres of privately owned land that it leases adjacent to the existing facility in the backwaters area of the Mississippi River on Lower Grey Cloud Island. There are only about five years of life remaining in the existing permitted Nelson Sand & Gravel Mine Facility; the expansion could extend the life of the mine by another 20 to 25 years, according to Amrize officials.

The mine’s environmental impact statement was “Item S” on the consent agenda at Wednesday night’s council meeting, meaning there was no formal discussion on the matter, but Whitney Clark, executive director of Friends of the Mississippi River, voiced his objections during the meeting’s open forum. Among his main concerns: Mining is not allowed in shoreline areas within the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area in the city, he said.

“This EIS is deeply flawed and should not be approved,” Clark said. “The proposed project is not legal. City and state regulations ban mining in shoreline areas within the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area. The city claims those rules somehow don’t apply to the Nelson Mine, but they do. The city’s own shoreline mining ban very clearly applies to expansions of existing mines such as this one. The language in the city’s ordinance is clear.”

Clark told the council members that it would be “illegal” for them to approve an environmental impact statement “with such serious factual inaccuracies.”

“Cottage Grove’s insistence on pressing forward, regardless of the facts, could result in legal challenges that will cost the city and its residents for years to come,” he warned. “I urge you to halt this EIS approval process until the document accurately reflects the damage this project will cause and the legal issues associated with it.”

But Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey said city officials spent three years working with a team of specialists and experts, including hydrologists, biologists, archaeologists, ecologists, noise specialists, geologists and engineers, to review the adequacy of the environmental statement.

“The city, since Day 1, has taken our role as the responsible governmental unit to gather potential impacts very seriously,” Bailey said. “This action tonight does not permit the project. It is specific to the adequacy determination of the final EIS.”

The final environmental impact statement is a 1,000-page document that comprises more than 100 “comments and concerns” that will be a reference for agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the Tribal Nations to inform their decision around permitting of the proposed project, Bailey said.

“Our role was to gather the potential impacts of this proposed project and we did that,” he said.

“Why is the city ignoring the input from so many other government agencies including the Metropolitan Cuncil, DNR, National Park Service, Army Corps, Prairie Island Indian Community, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and others?” Clark asked at the meeting. “Cottage Grove is ignoring the law in favor of one corporate tenant’s interests.”

The mining project will “damage wetlands, mussel beds and rare plant communities,” he said. “It will reduce backwater access for boaters, hunters and anglers. It will add noise and visual pollution to local parks and neighborhoods. All of that harm will go on for decades.”

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Among the agencies that objected was the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, which wrote that “no mining activities or ground disturbance is permitted within cemetery site boundaries. The Final EIS still has plans to have mining development constructed within cemetery boundaries (i.e. conveyor belt). … It is a felony offense to disturb a cemetery. Non-compliance with regulatory decisions can result in legal action.”

In response, officials wrote in the final environmental impact statement that “documented burial mounds associated with the Schilling Archaeological District will not be impacted as a result of the project. … It is anticipated that additional coordination related to potential impacts to cultural resources will occur as part of state and federal permitting processes.”

Representatives from Amrize Nelson did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

A federal judge Wednesday ordered the release of video taken during an hourslong deposition given last week by U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Public Media petitioned U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis to release the recordings, which were filed under seal as part of a lawsuit led by the Chicago Headline Club, a nonprofit journalism advocacy organization, and a consortium of other media groups. The journalism organizations allege federal immigration enforcement officials have systematically violated the constitutional rights of protesters and reporters during President Donald Trump’s mass deportation mission, which began in early September and shows no sign of slowing down.

Ellis, who issued a temporary restraining order last month, announced Thursday that she will put longer-term restrictions on federal agents’ use of chemical agents on crowds and provide enhanced protections for protesters and members of the media.

The released videos can be seen in their entirety on the Tribune’s YouTube channel, but here are some of the highlights:

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Chicago

Bovino, who is leading Trump’s immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area, testified that he is leading roughly 220 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as part of the so-called Operation Midway Blitz. He said he reports directly to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

‘More than exemplary’

Asked by veteran Chicago civil rights attorney Locke Bowman if he stood by remarks he made to CBS that the use of force at the Broadview ICE facility has been “exemplary,” Bovino at first surprised everyone by saying, “No.”

“The uses of force have been more than exemplary,” Bovino clarified.

In placing longer-term restrictions Thursday, Ellis disagreed.

“The use of force shocks the conscience,” she said.

‘Violent rioters’

During the deposition, Bovino said he had not witnessed his agents using tear gas or pepper-spray balls against protesters in Broadview, but chemical agents were used against “violent rioters” and “assaultive subjects.”

Definition of a protester

When asked to define “protester,”  Bovino said it’s a person “exercising their constitutional rights to speak — to speak their opinion, to speak their mind in a peaceful fashion … in accordance with laws, rules and with the Constitution.”

“We get protesters on both sides of the issue. Sometimes they protest against, say, a Title 8 immigration enforcement mission, tell us they don’t like it, we shouldn’t be there, we need to go home, use very foul language oftentimes,” he said. “And then there’s also protesters on the other side of the issue that say ‘hey, you should be there. We’re glad you’re here. Continue to be here.’ So, I look at those as peaceful individuals exercising their right to, one, be there and, two, speak their mind. It’s freedom of assembly, freedom of speech.”

Bovino then rattled off a list of public actions he said his agents have experienced, actions he uses to draw a distinction between protesters and “violent rioters” or “assaultive subjects”: “Removing masks, kicking agents, grabbing agents’ groins, assisting and abetting prisoners from escaping, shooting fireworks, knifing and slashing tires with weapons, throwing rocks through windows of vehicles to hurt agents and/or detainees.”

‘Not a reportable use of force’

On the video, Bovino is asked about an Oct. 3 arrest he made involving a man protesting outside the Broadview facility. According to the complaint, Bovino ordered a man to move down the street after the man told him, “you love to be on television.” As the man started to move, the complaint states, Bovino “stepped across a barrier,” tackled the man and arrested him.

During the Nov. 4 deposition, Bovino said the arrest “was not a reportable use of force. I placed him under arrest. I didn’t tackle him.”

More about Bovino’s interaction with the protester

Bovino was asked about an encounter with the man, Scott Blackburn, who was protesting at Broadview. The lawyer and Bovino disagreed over whether he used force when he tackled the protester.

“He doesn’t like the fact that you are instructing him to move down,” the lawyer said to Bovino.

Bovino objected to the lawyer’s characterization, saying instead, “That individual is failing to follow instructions to vacate the area.”

The video shows Bovino tackling the protester. But Bovino characterized it a different way.

“I’m imploring Mr. Blackburn, or whoever that individual was, to comply with leaving the area and to comply with instructions,” Bovino said.

Asked if he was “making physical contact,” Bovino said he was. But he denied that it was a use of force, saying it was different than using deadly force or “open-hand strikes.”

But he disputed that he used force against the protester.

“The use of force was against me,” Bovino said.

The judge, however, said she did not believe Bovino’s testimony about force that his agents and he personally inflicted in incidents across the Chicago area.

“In one of the videos, Bovino obviously attacks and tackles the declarant, Mr. Blackburn, to the ground,” Ellis said. “But Mr. Bovino, despite watching this video (in his deposition) says that he never used force.”

Pastor struck in the head

In video taken at a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, the Rev. David Black walks toward the building and appears to talk with someone on the roof. A fellow demonstrator offers Black a bullhorn, which the Presbyterian pastor appears to ignore.

Seconds later, Black begins dodging pepper-spray projectiles fired at him, as another protester lifts his shirt and dances a jig as if daring someone to shoot at him. Black initially takes a few steps back, then moves forward with his arms outstretched, looking up toward the building and talking.

On the video, pepper-spray balls can be seen striking the ground in front of Black. He is then struck in the right arm by one. He appears to try and turn away before he is struck again, this time in the head.

Other protesters quickly gather around him as he kneels or falls to the ground, the recording shows. Bystanders lift him and help spirit him away.

Struck again

On the video, Black returns to sidewalk in front of the detention center with a megaphone in hand. As he appears to speak to someone on the roof, pepper-spray balls are fired in his direction.

A protester appears to try to shield him with a sign, but it doesn’t work. Black is hit in the head again.

Bovino on the incident with Pastor Black

Bovino was asked about Rev. David Black, a Presbyterian pastor who was shot in the head by a federal agent. He declined to answer the question, which was framed as a hypothetical, saying he was “unable to comment on that use of force.”

Pressed further, Bovino said: “I don’t know what the use of force was here. I can’t make a judgment either way because I don’t know.”