GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — A northern Minnesota woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to voter fraud and was ordered to read a book and write a 10-page essay about the importance of democratic elections.

Danielle Christine Javorina, 51, of rural Nashwauk, admitted to filling out an absentee ballot in the name of her recently deceased mother ahead of the 2024 general election.

Javorina, according to court documents, later told an investigator her mother was an “avid Donald Trump supporter” who hoped to vote for the Republican presidential nominee. The fraudulent submission was flagged by election officials before it could be counted.

Under questioning from Itasca County prosecutor Courtney Beck, the defendant said she received ballots for herself and her mother in the mail just weeks after Rose Marie Javorina’s death.

“Did you also fill out your mother’s ballot?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes, at her request,” Javorina replied. “That was the last thing she said to me.”

Javorina, however, asserted that she has no recollection of mailing the ballots back to the elections office due to intoxication. For that reason, she entered a Norgaard plea to a felony count of signing a false election certificate — acknowledging that the evidence would be sufficient for a judge or jury to find her guilty.

The Itasca County Auditor’s Office said it received sealed ballot envelopes containing signatures for both on Oct. 7, 2024. But a routine check of the Minnesota Vital Statistics death report showed that Rose Javorina had died Aug. 31.

Authorities noted the envelopes contained sections to be filled out by the voter and a witness. The voter must certify that they “meet all legal requirements to vote” as of Election Day, and the witness must provide their name and address and certify that the ballot was filled out by the voter.

The defendant, then named Danielle Miller, was listed as the witness on her mother’s ballot, and the deceased woman was listed as the witness on Miller’s, according to a criminal complaint. Both listed their street address as County Road 54, north of Nashwauk.

The Itasca County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the signatures and determined they appeared similar, as well as matching the signature on the daughter’s driver’s license. Absentee ballots had been mailed Sept. 20, about three weeks after Rose Javorina’s death.

Two additional charges were dismissed by the Itasca County Attorney’s Office under the terms of the plea agreement, which were accepted by Judge Heidi Chandler at a hearing conducted via Zoom.

Javorina will spend up to three years on supervised probation, undergo a psychological evaluation, and pay an $885 fine and any restitution.

She agreed to read the book “Thank You for Voting: The Maddening, Enlightening, Inspiring Truth About Voting in America” by Erin Geiger Smith and write a 10-page paper about “the importance of voting in a democracy and how election fraud can undermine the voting process.”

Successful completion of probation will result in the conviction being deemed a misdemeanor.

Javorina was tearful as she answered questions about the circumstances of the crime. She declined to make a statement before receiving her sentence.

Defense attorney Justin Braulick called it an isolated “lapse in judgment,” noting his client has no criminal history and is not a frequent drinker. He said she lost both parents in 2024.

“She’s taking full responsibility for her actions,” Braulick said. “She was obviously going through an emotional time, and oftentimes in these cases emotions can get the best (of someone). People don’t think clearly, and it sometimes makes it hard to remember all of what happened.”

Voter fraud has been a major talking point in recent elections, as Trump has pushed false and misleading claims of widespread impropriety since he first ran in 2016. However, experts say cases are exceedingly rare and there is no evidence of systematic fraud.

After the 2020 election, the Associated Press found fewer than 475 possible instances among 25.5 million votes cast in six swing states. The conservative Heritage Foundation maintains a database with just 1,600 “proven instances of voter fraud” nationwide over several decades — including 138 cases in Minnesota from 2004 to 2022.

By MEG KINNARD

The public release of a Young Republican group chat that included racist language, jokes about rape and flippant commentary on gas chambers prompted bipartisan calls for those involved to be removed from or resign their positions.

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The Young Republican National Federation, the GOP’s political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40, called for those involved to step down from the organization. The group described the exchanges, first reported by Politico, as “unbecoming of any Republican.”

Republican Vice President JD Vance, however, has weighed in several times to speak out against what he characterized as “pearl clutching” over the leaked messages.

Politico obtained months of exchanges from a Telegram conversation between leaders and members of the Young Republican National Federation and some of its affiliates in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont.

Here’s a rundown of reaction to the inflammatory group chat, in which the operatives and officials involved openly worried that their comments might be leaked, even as they continued their conversation:

Vance

After Politico’s initial report on Tuesday, Vance posted on X a screen grab from 2022 text messages in which Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for Virginia’s attorney general race, suggested that a prominent Republican get “two bullets to the head.”

“This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia,” Vance wrote on Tuesday. “I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”

Jones subsequently said he took “full responsibility” for his comments and offered a public apology to Todd Gilbert, who then was speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates.

Vance reiterated his initial sentiment Wednesday on “ The Charlie Kirk Show ” podcast, saying when asked about the reporting that a “person seriously wishing for political violence and political assassination is 1,000 times worse than what a bunch of young people, a bunch of kids say in a group chat, however offensive it might be.”

Vance, 41, said that he grew up in a different era where “most of what I, the stupid things that I did as a teenager and as a young adult, they’re not on the internet.”

The father of three said he would caution his own children, “especially my boys, don’t put things on the internet, like, be careful with what you post. If you put something in a group chat, assume that some scumbag is going to leak it in an effort to try to cause you harm or cause your family harm.”

“I really don’t want to us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke, telling a very offensive, stupid joke is cause to ruin their lives,” Vance said.

Republicans

Other Republicans demanded more immediate intervention. Republican legislative leaders in Vermont, along with Gov. Phil Scott — also a Republican — called for the resignation of state Sen. Sam Douglass, revealed to be a participant in the chat. A joint statement from the GOP lawmakers termed the comments “unacceptable and deeply disturbing.”

Saying she was “absolutely appalled to learn about the alleged comments made by leaders of the New York State Young Republicans,” Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York called for those involved to step down from their positions. Danedri Herbert, chair of the Kansas GOP, said the remarks “do not reflect the beliefs of Republicans and certainly not of Kansas Republicans at large.”

In a statement posted to X on Tuesday, the Young Republican National Federation said it was “appalled” by the reported messages and calling for those involved to resign from their positions within the organization. Young Republican leaders said the behavior was “disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents.”

Democrats

Democrats have been more uniform in their condemnation. On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, asking for an investigation into the “vile and offensive text messages,” which he called “the definition of conduct that can create a hostile and discriminatory environment that violates civil rights laws.”

Speaking on the Senate floor, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Tuesday described the chat as “revolting,” calling for Republicans including Trump and Vance to “condemn these comments swiftly and unequivocally.”

Asked about the reporting, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the exchanges “vile” and called for consequences for those involved.

“Kick them out of the party. Take away their official roles. Stop using them as campaign advisers,” Hochul said. “There needs to be consequences. This bulls—- has to stop.”

Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The body of a Minnesota radio station owner who has been missing since an avalanche during a March ski trip in Alaska has been recovered.

The Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday, Oct. 13, said it has identified the remains of David Linder, 39, of Florida. Linder was one of the owners of Subarctic Media LLC radio group and Lakeland Media LLC of Willmar.

On March 4, Alaska authorities were notified of a large avalanche near the West Fork of 20 Mile River near Girdwood. Using avalanche beacons, the guides identified a probable area where skiers were buried, estimating it to be between 40 feet and nearly 100 feet deep.

On March 6, the Alaska Department of Public Safety identified the missing persons from an Alaska heliskier’s trip: Charles Eppard, 30, of Montana; Jeremy Leif, 38, of Minnesota, and Linder.

On Friday, Oct. 10, the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and the Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department traveled to the slide area of the avalanche. The team recovered the remains of an adult male who had become caught in a log jam in the river flowing underneath the avalanche slide area, according to a news release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.

The bodies of Eppard and Leif have not yet been found and the search for the missing men continues.

Linder leaves behind a wife and three children, Radio Mankato official Matt Ketelsen told Minnesota Public Radio.

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DALLAS – In a rookie NHL season that has already been filled with new experiences, Minnesota Wild defenseman Zeev Buium got two more “firsts” on Tuesday in North Texas.

While back-to-back games are common in college hockey, they’re usually at the same arena, or a home-and-home series an hour or two away, at most.

Tuesday’s game in Dallas – an eventual 5-2 loss to the Stars – was the second game of back-to-backs, involving a Monday night game in Minnesota, a late-night flight to Texas, getting into a hotel bed at around 3 a.m., then playing a road game 18 hours or so later.

“I’ve never done anything like that, but at the same time, I think it was a late game today. We had a lot of time to rest, and those are never an excuse to lose or not perform well,” said Buium, who had the primary assist on both Wild goals. “You’ve got to perform every day, so obviously it’s tough. But I thought we came out in the third, and that’s how we need to play moving forward.”

The second new experience came in the third period, with the Wild trailing 3-0 and in desperate need of a spark. The ignitor came in the form of fellow defenseman Jake Middleton delivering a bone-crunching hit – legally – to Stars forward Matt Duchene in the neutral zone.

The hit touched off a fight, and ended with Minnesota on a power play, which would produce their first goal of the night. But Middleton’s play, first with his shoulder and then with his fists, was the spark that lit the Wild’s push at a comeback.

“Me personally, I felt I got electrified by it,” Buium said of the hit, and the fight. “In college and juniors, I never really got to see anybody fight or no one really laid that big a hit. So to see that was pretty electrifying, and definitely got the entire group going and was the start of why our third period was good.”

Duchene left the game and did not return. On Wednesday, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said the forward was listed as day to day with an upper body injury sustained as a result of the hit. In the postgame scrum, while happy with the win, the Stars’ coach was not enamored of Middleton’s play.

“I didn’t like the hit. I thought it was high,” Gulutzan said, thinking the officials could have whistled the Wild defender for head contact. “My history here is they usually run on the side of (being) more aggressive in their call there, but they didn’t. So they saw it differently.”

In fact, replays showed that Duchene was carrying the puck, making him fair game for a hit, and Middleton’s shoulder struck the Stars’ forward squarely in the upper chest, not the head.

While making no apologies for the play, Middleton expressed his wishes to see Duchene back on the ice soon.

“It’s a tough position because I know he doesn’t see me and I’m still trying to take the body on him,” Middleton said after the game. “I know he didn’t come back to the game. I hope he’s OK. There was no ill intent towards the hit. It was just kind of a perfect storm really the way it transpired.”

And for the Wild, it was the perfect spark they needed to get some fire back on the bench and ignite a rally, even if it eventually fell short.

Tarasenko seeking more

With the second assist on a power play marker that made Tuesday night’s game in Dallas a one-goal affair with around seven minutes remaining in the third, veteran Vladimir Tarasenko has now recorded four points in four games with his sixth NHL team.

But just a bit into his first season in Minnesota, the renowned goal-scorer admits he has to contribute more to the overall cause, especially with the Wild now going three full games without a five-on-five goal.

“We knew we would have a hard game. They always start hot here, and obviously myself and all of us need to find ways to play better on the five-on-five,” Tarasenko said. “Power play is nice, and thankful it’s kind of working now. But we need to improve our five-on-five game.”

While the question remains of what Tarasenko has left in the tank at age 33, as he approaches 1,000 NHL games, to go along with two Stanley Cups, on his resume, the Wild coach likes what he has seen so far.

“I see lots of good in this game. I think he’s a good player. I think he plays a winning style of hockey,” coach John Hynes said, vowing to work with Tarasenko during the two-day break between games in Dallas and Washington.

“Now that we have a few days in between, I know he’s gonna sit down and we’ll show some individual clips with him and try to help him,” Hynes said. “But I don’t think he’s too far off. I just think there’s maybe a couple things we can help him with and get his opinion on things and see if we can get it up and running a little bit quicker.”

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