Riding an eight-game win streak and ranked in the top 25 for the first time this season, the Gophers women’s basketball team couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the first half against 10th-ranked Ohio State.

The 23rd-ranked Gophers missed a panoply of shots from inside the paint. Layups, hook shots, putbacks, whatever option it chose, Minnesota missed 14 shots from the paint. It wasn’t just from the paint, either. Minnesota was 2 of 10 from 3-point range and shot 28% (11 for 40) in the first half.

But they did the other stuff so well — rebounded, played defense, took care of the ball — that they were still in the game, down 29-26 at intermission. And once they started hitting their shots, everything changed.

Sophie Hart stabilized the game for Minnesota with 18 hard-earned points from the post, and Mara Braun added 18 from the perimeter as the Gophers ran away in the second half to beat Ohio State 74-61 at Williams Arena.

It was the Gophers’ second victory over a Top 10 team this season after beating then-No. 10 Iowa in Iowa City. Amaya Battle added 13 points with a game-high 12 rebounds and five assists for Minnesota (21-6 overall, 12-4 Big Ten), which plays host to 18th-ranked Michigan State on Sunday.

Grace Grocholski scored 12 points, five assists and two steals for Minnesota, which hit 10 of 15 shots in the third quarter and rode an 18-4 run to take nominal control in the third, an 11-point lead that had the Buckeyes chasing the rest of the game.

Jaloni Cambridge and Chance Gray did what they could to keep the Buckeyes (22-5, 11-4) in it, scoring all but two of Ohio State’s 19 points in the fourth, but the Gophers used a pair of big offensive rebounds to kill some clock and generally handled OSU’s desperate pressure late.

Cambridge scored a game-high 23 points, and Gray added 17.

Related Articles

How Niko Medved put Gophers in position for road win at Oregon

Gophers bring back spring football game on April 25

Women’s basketball: Gophers’ Amaya Battle provides steak and the sizzle

St. Thomas adds beer sales for all at new arena. Can that draw crowds?

Women’s basketball: Streaking Gophers crack Top 25

Hundreds of activists rallied at the state Capitol on Wednesday, pushing for Minnesota lawmakers to address the impacts of the federal immigration surge across the state.

The rally, organized by a coalition of faith leaders and immigrant groups, called for monetary relief, along with other actions such as eviction moratoriums, as the state enters a “recovery” phase after more than two months of Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign that it said targeted illegal immigration and social services fraud.

“Minnesotans deserve relief now. Minnesotans deserve recovery now. We need relief for the harm that has been caused. We need relief for our kids. We need relief for our neighbors. We need relief for our businesses. We need relief for our renters,” said Amber Jones, a minister with Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

Molley Burgee Kamara, owner of Waterside Grocery and Deli in Brooklyn Park, said he’s unsure how long he can keep his doors open because of the surge.

“Now that ICE activity is beginning to draw down, what do we do next? We restore. We restore our businesses … restore our housing,” he said.

It’s not clear how much wiggle room lawmakers would have to be able to provide any kind of financial support this session, given the state’s two-year budget was passed in the 2025 session. Gov. Tim Walz proposed on Feb. 12 that lawmakers pass $10 million in targeted small business loans.

The Legislature isn’t in a budget year, but a supplemental budget is an option. An updated budget forecast is set for the end of the month and will give more information on what lawmakers can do.

Lawmakers hear ICE-related bills

Also Wednesday, the House Education Policy committee heard HF3435, which would limit federal agents’ access to schools, and HF3409, which would prohibit the denial of education based on immigration status, and create a civil cause of action if education rights are denied.

“Schools should not be put in the place of becoming the go-between or the middle person in these divisive situations, and shifting the responsibility to schools in these interactions, I don’t believe, is fair, nor right. Our job should be to provide clarity to schools on how to comply with federal law to keep our students and staff safe,” said Co-Chair Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, a candidate for governor.

Bennett said it’s also her belief that federal immigration actions involving schools should be “very rare and only with extenuating circumstances,” and that she hopes the federal government will adjust their policies accordingly.

“So if we want ICE away from schools, the solution, in my mind, is not more school mandates. Our schools don’t deserve that,” Bennett said.

Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, who is sponsoring the bills to limit federal agents’ access to schools, said she agrees with much of what Bennett said.

“Our schools should not be in the position of enforcing our immigration laws,” Jordan said. “Every child in Minnesota has a right to an education … but lately, it has been impossible not to notice the profound impact ICE, DHS and our federal government has had on Minnesota schoolchildren’s ability to learn.”

Several school administrators and students testified in support of HF3435 and HF3409. Among those who testified in favor of HF3435 was Fridley Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Lewis. She said of their 2,700 students, 400 have moved to virtual learning and 112 are “no longer with us.”

HF3435 tied 7-7 along party lines Wednesday evening, did not advance, and was laid over in committee. Members ran late for a vote on HF3409, which was also laid over.

Additionally, the House Housing Finance and Policy committee heard HF3403, which would establish $50 million in emergency one-time rental assistance, and HF3410/HF3424, which would adjust eviction periods and notices in light of Operation Metro Surge. HF3403/HF3410 also split 7-7 along party lines and did not advance out of committee. Members ran out of time on HF3424.

On Thursday, the Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee will discuss several housing-related bills, including one-time funding. Also Thursday, the House Labor and Education Finance committees will review the economic impacts of Operation Metro Surge.

On Friday, the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee will hear proposals to address federal immigration enforcement activity in Minnesota — specific bills have yet to be listed.

Related Articles

Kenety S. Gee: Thank you, Minnesota, for standing with us when it mattered most

No ‘masked secret agents,’ St. Paul City Council says in passing ordinance

U2 release ‘a song of fury’ about Renee Good, who was killed by ICE agents

MN 2026 Legislature: How can you follow activity or even get involved?

Judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist who led protests at Columbia

A man arrested for allegedly overstaying his student visa and making false claims to U.S. citizenship was a Minnesota corrections officer at the Lino Lakes prison until last fall.

Morris Brown, who is 45 and from Liberia, last entered the U.S. in 2014 on a student visa that was terminated the next year because he did not enroll in a full course of study, according to a Wednesday announcement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Brown, whom USCIS referred to as a “serial fraudster,” was “identified as part of the major enforcement operation that targeted suspected immigration fraud in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area last fall,” Operation Twin Shield.

He “tried every trick in the book to remain in the United States after losing legal status,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in the statement. “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure he faces justice for his many violations of the law.”

Minnesota Department of Corrections “records reflect that it followed federal document verification requirements on hiring Mr. Brown,” the state agency said in a Wednesday statement.

“If these federal allegations are accurate, this individual engaged in sophisticated efforts to misrepresent their identity, extending well beyond Minnesota,” said DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell. “We are grateful to USCIS and ICE for their work in investigating and addressing immigration fraud.”

Brown, who USCIS said was arrested Jan. 15 in Minneapolis, is being held in a U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations detention facility in El Paso, Texas. It wasn’t known Wednesday whether he has an attorney.

USCIS said they referred Brown’s case to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and he faces removal proceedings and potential criminal prosecution for immigration fraud.

Joined National Guard, tried to naturalize as U.S. citizen

Brown joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 2014 and went absent without official leave in 2015, USCIS said. He was apprehended and discharged from the military under “other than honorable conditions” in 2022.

After he applied for a green card in 2020 under the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program, USCIS denied his application “due to misrepresentations, including his failure to disclose prior military service and his false claim to U.S. citizenship,” the agency’s statement said. “In 2024, in another commission of fraud, he applied to naturalize as a U.S. citizen based on prior military service.”

USCIS investigators during Operation Twin Shield looked into Brown’s application for citizenship, and said they found evidence of marriage fraud and prior instances when he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen in official documents.

Brown was married in St. Paul in September 2023; he and his wife never lived together, according to a court document from April in Brown’s divorce filing in Ramsey County.

Worked for DOC for 2+ years

He was employed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections as a corrections officer from May 2023 to October 2025, with a base salary of $64,561, according to the department.

USCIS requested employment eligibility documentation for Brown last month, and the DOC says they provided Form I-9 records.

The state agency said it “verifies identity and employment eligibility for all new hires in compliance with federal law by completing Form I-9 on the date of hire.” Form I-9s, or employment eligibility verification, is a mandatory USCIS document used to verify the identity and employment authorization of all new employees hired to work in the U.S.

Brown had no complaints or discipline during his employment at DOC, and a spokesperson said the reason for an employee’s departure is private data under state law.

Related Articles

Kenety S. Gee: Thank you, Minnesota, for standing with us when it mattered most

No ‘masked secret agents,’ St. Paul City Council says in passing ordinance

U2 release ‘a song of fury’ about Renee Good, who was killed by ICE agents

MN 2026 Legislature: How can you follow activity or even get involved?

Judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist who led protests at Columbia

Authorities in Minnesota are investigating two more fatal house fires after an initial deadly blaze last weekend.

In Becker County, the sheriff’s office said a Wednesday morning house fire in rural Carsonville Township killed one occupant and injured a second.

The blaze was reported shortly before 4:30 a.m. when a male resident of the home flagged down a passing motorist and said a female resident was still inside the burning structure. The motorist and a passing Minnesota Department of Transportation snowplow operator both called 911.

Firefighters recovered the female’s body inside the home. The male was transported to the Park Rapids hospital with smoke inhalation and possible burns.

In Beltrami County, one person died Monday night when a house burned to the ground in rural Port Hope Township, north of Bemidji.

According to the Bemidji Fire Department, the fire was reported shortly before 9 p.m.

Firefighters arrived to find a large house that had been completely consumed by fire and had collapsed into the basement. The victim’s body was found in the rubble.

Both fires remain under investigation and neither victim has been identified.

In Lake City, a man who died in a Sunday morning house fire has been identified as 45-year-old Richard “RJ” Arruda, according to the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office.

Arruda’s young daughter was rescued from a second-floor window. She was hospitalized. A family dog also perished in the blaze, which remains under investigation.

Related Articles

St. Paul man gets probation for copper wire thefts that cost the city $200K in repairs

St. Paul man charged in hit-and-run death of man on mobility scooter

Burnsville woman admits to fatally shooting 70-year-old, trying to cover up killing

Woman critically injured in St. Paul hit-and-run, 2nd in the city in a week

Opening statements held in the trial of a Georgia high school shooting suspect’s father