Seventeen-year-old Agustina Pestel and her classmates don’t know exactly why their teachers nominated them to be student guides for Minnesota Supreme Court justices who visited the school Thursday.

But the junior at Highland Park Senior High School, who is interested in journalism and law, met Chief Justice Natalie Hudson along with other student representatives ahead of oral arguments at the school that morning.

“We just got to ask her a lot of questions about not just her personal life, but her life as chief justice, and what it was like in that position, and kind of the sacrifices she’s had to make throughout her life to get to that,” Pestel said. “And she explained a lot that she still gets those nerves, so she tries to bring a little humor into it sometimes.”

The Minnesota Supreme Court’s seven justices gathered at the St. Paul high school to hear the oral arguments on a civil commitment case.

Students Rosemary Egberg, center and Alice Verbrugge, right, listen to Associate Justice Sarah E. Hennesy of the Minnesota Supreme Court at Highland Park High School in St. Paul on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

30 years of school visits

The state Supreme Court first held oral arguments at schools in Rochester in 1995. Highland Park is the court’s 56th in-school visit for oral arguments.

The court tries to visit schools in all 10 judicial districts over the years, Hudson said. Ramsey County is in the Second Judicial District.

“We want our young people to be engaged citizens, and so this gives them an opportunity to see the judicial system at work,” Hudson said. “But it also (is) … as a service to our community as well. To … educate young people about the importance of the judicial branch, the work that we do in protecting rights, that there is a place for people to bring their grievances and how it is we go about resolving those matters in a democracy.”

High schools typically hear oral arguments for criminal cases, though the one at Highland was a civil case. The focus is on selecting cases that are interesting and accessible for students, Hudson said.

“But we try to find a case that has one issue, you know, no more than two, so that they can focus in on that. So something that we think high school students would be interested in and they care about so that they can see how that would relate to their lives,” Hudson said.

Volunteer lawyers and judges also visit classes ahead of oral arguments in order to help students understand what they will be hearing during arguments, she said.

“…We all love these opportunities, because it gets us out of the Capitol, where we hear most of our oral arguments, and gets us out into the community…Young people will ask and say all kinds of things, and that’s great,” Hudson said. “You want to hear what they’re interested in, or what they know about the court system and don’t know, and they’re always very inquisitive…”

Sen Nesje, 14, listens listen as attorneys make oral arguments during a case before the Minnesota Supreme Court in the Highland Park Senior High School auditorium in St. Paul on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Hearing from students

After oral arguments concluded, students were able to ask justices about their work, work-life balance and their paths to the court. Later, the justices ate lunch with student representatives and visited classrooms.

Student representative and junior Lynex Lee, 16, sees law as something he might be interested in in the future.

“What I found intriguing about the judges were that some of them didn’t choose to go into being a judge in the first place, and they wanted to be like a lawyer or such,” Lee said. “And then I really felt that you don’t have to be set on one thing …”

Even for students who are not interested in studying law, it plays a role in other fields students will decide to go into, said junior and student representative Alfiya Jarso, 16.

“I think it’s cool because it’s important that we hear about things like this,” Jarso said. “But seeing things in real time and getting a better understanding of how the law system works, especially as students who are trying to find out what they want to be in the future, it’s very important to us that we can kind of experience that, see what we like, and watch it all go down.”

To view the event, go to spps.eduvision.tv/directplayer.aspx?q=63qDJvCLgfGNkbUQQdvNzQ%253d%253d.

Related Articles

Minnesota Supreme Court tosses recall petitions against DFLers who boycotted session

Over a St. Paul Valentine’s Day lunch hour, judges married 21 couples for free in Ramsey County

Letters: Who wants to prevent discovery of fraud?

MN counties cannot hold detainees for ICE without a warrant, Keith Ellison says

A simple, clean four-letter word has defined the Minnesota Wild all season, from the highs of a hot start, to the lows of a mess of midseason injuries, to the euphoria of finding a last-minute route to the playoffs, to the ups and downs of Round 1 versus Vegas.

Hard.

So, with the season literally on the line, and the Wild facing a “win or put away the blades for a few months” Game 6 versus the Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, it was no surprise to hear coach John Hynes reiterating the innate difficulty — for both teams — of an elimination game.

“It’s hard to win,” Hynes said, meeting with reporters at TRIA Rink during his team’s optional morning skate at home. But he went on to clarify that the “hard” concept is applicable to everything, not just the happenings on a 200 foot-by-85 foot ice sheet.

“Whatever you choose, it’s not easy,” he said. “It’s hard to be in shape. It’s hard to be out of shape. It’s hard to win. It’s hard to lose. If you lose, there’s not a lot of fun that happens with that. But if you win, it’s hard to win, so you’ve got to be able to choose what you want to do.”

With Hynes noting that he does not feel momentum is a factor, despite Vegas winning the previous two games in overtime and grabbing the series lead Minnesota once held, he instead focused Thursday morning on the fact that the Wild have been playing desperate, backs-against-the-wall hockey for the past month or so. Just getting into the playoffs was hard, so the hard they prepped for on Thursday in Game 6 was, in a way, more of the same.

“Like at the end of the regular season for us, you’re going to come in and you’ve got to beat Vancouver,” Hynes recalled. “After you beat Vancouver, then you’ve got to beat Anaheim. Just because you beat Vancouver, the job’s not done.”

It’s the same in the other locker room, the coach said, where Vegas still needed a win in one of the final two games of the series to advance, which is the expectation every year of a fanbase that has never really known hard times since the franchise was born less than a decade ago.

Vegas went into Game 6 facing some of the same manpower challenges that bedeviled Minnesota much of the season, with the Golden Knights’ leading goal scorer Pavel Dorofeyev scratched from the Thursday night lineup after an injury (classified as day to day by Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy) that kept him off the ice for the end of regulation and the overtime in Game 5.

So with a series lead, the Knights went into Game 6 needing to find a way to close out Minnesota without a key player, which sounded like a hard task. In keeping with his season-long mantra, maybe that was just the way the Wild’s coach envisioned things playing out.

Okposo named to NHLPA staff

After closing out the on-ice portion of his hockey career with a Stanley Cup title a year ago, St. Paul native Kyle Okposo will be working to make life better for NHL players in his next chapter.

On Thursday, the NHL Players Association named Okposo, 37, as an advisor in business development and player engagement. After parts of two seasons with the Minnesota Gophers, Okposo went on to play more than 1,000 NHL games over a 17-season career. The bulk of his time was spent with the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres, but Okposo was traded to Florida late last season and played 17 games in the Panthers’ run to their first NHL title.

“I’m thrilled to join the NHLPA at this time of growth opportunities for the players,” said Okposo, in a statement. “I was involved with the PA over the course of my career, and I have seen first-hand the staff’s work on behalf of players. I am excited to add my perspective and experience to that work and further expand opportunities for NHLPA members.”

Related Articles

Facing elimination, Wild put on their game face

Vegas delivers gut punch as Knights push Wild to brink of elimination

Jon Merrill returns to Wild defense corps for Game 5

During Wild’s injury woes, Matt Boldy blocked out the noise

Wild’s Marcus Foligno has been at his best in the playoffs

A Minnesota State Patrol trooper has been charged with production of child pornography, the state’s U.S. Attorney Office’s announced Thursday.

Jeremy Francis Plonski, 29, was arrested on a federal warrant after being charged with one count.

Jeremy Francis Plonski (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has zero tolerance for public officials who violate federal laws — particularly those laws that protect vulnerable children from sexual abuse,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Lisa Kirkpatrick in a statement. “… While donning his uniform, Plonski committed one of the most vile and predatory offenses imaginable.”

Court documents weren’t publicly available Thursday and it wasn’t immediately clear whether the alleged offense happened while Plonski was on or off-duty, or whether he has an attorney.

Plonski became a state trooper in 2022 and is on leave, with an internal affairs investigation underway.

“The allegations in this case are appalling and indefensible,” said State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic in a statement. “… No badge, no title and no position will ever place anyone above the law. Protecting the vulnerable is our duty. Anyone who violates that duty has no place in this organization or in our profession.”

The FBI investigated, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office also thanked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Shakopee police.

Related Articles

St. Paul police: 2nd grader said he brought gun to school to show friends

Metro State University lockdown prompted by man firing shots at his mother

3 hurt in shooting in St. Paul apartment; police arrest 1 of the injured

Duluth man charged in high-speed crash that killed nun

Australian stands trial for murder of ex-husband’s family using death cap mushrooms

CLEVELAND — Byron Buxton wasn’t sure what, exactly, he was being lauded for on Wednesday night when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. approached him to offer his congratulations.

“DK was like, ‘Congrats,” and I was like, ‘On what?’” Buxton said.

Soon after, he was informed that he had become just the third player in team history to record 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases with the Twins when he swiped second base in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game. Buxton, who has 139 career home runs, accomplished the first half of the feat during the the 2023 season.

“I’m blessed,” he said. “Obviously, to put this uniform on and be able to have the opportunity to do something like that is special.”

Buxton, who accomplished the feat in his 800th game as a Twin, joins pretty good company.

Only Kirby Puckett, who hit 207 home runs and stole 134 bases in his career and Torii Hunter have done the same. In 12 years with the Twins, Hunter hit 214 home runs and stole 128 bases. In his career, which lasted 19 years in total, he hit 353 with 195 stolen bases.

“I told some guys earlier, just being in a group with those top two center fielders that put on this uniform, that played the position that I’m playing … like I said, it’s special,” Buxton said. “It’s hard to put into words now.”

He’s also just the 26th active player to reach the 100 home run/100 steal milestone.

“There’s only so many guys that have the ability to contribute in those different ways,” manager Rocco Baldelli.  “It’s a great accomplishment, but he’s going to accomplish even further things related to this, related to his legs and his bat.”

All of Buxton’s steals, notably, have been of second base as Buxton, 31, has yet to steal third in a regular-season game. Though with his speed, he can score on a majority of hits that find the outfield grass.

In his career, Buxton has only been caught 12 times and his 89.3% stolen base percentage is the highest in MLB history among players who have 100 steals.

“He takes off well, he’s fast on the way and he knows what to do around the bag,” Baldelli said. “He has a really good feel for the times he should go and the times he probably shouldn’t go. Just having that baseball sense, and the awareness and instinct, it’s a big deal. It’s a big part of stealing bases and he has it.”

Though he’s maintained his elite speed, he has run less in recent years because of a number of injuries, including a knee issue that required two surgeries in consecutive offseasons.

Already, he’s matched the number of stolen bases (seven) that he stole in all of 2024, a sign that he’s feeling good physically.

“The way he’s moving has been … the best his body has been working and as explosive as he’s been, probably the best since ’19 or ’20,” Baldelli said. “The way we score runs and manufacture things and make things happen is just different when he’s able to run like that and move like that.”

Briefly

The Twins will head to Boston for a three-game series with the Red Sox beginning at 6:10 p.m. CT. Joe Ryan, who has a 3.18 ERA across six outings this season, is scheduled to start. … Royce Lewis, who is rehabbing from a hamstring injury, had a scheduled day off on Thursday after playing Tuesday and Wednesday for the Saints. Lewis has played in four rehab games thus far.

Related Articles

Pablo López’s strong start spoiled late as Twins fall to Guardians

Twins reliever Griffin Jax won’t let two weeks define his season

Twins walked off after extended weather delay — and little rain

Twins win fourth straight as offense goes off against Guardians

As two near return, Twins plan for May without pair of big contributors