A Hastings man was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material, the U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen’s office announced Monday.

Hunter James Geidl, 29, was indicted in 2024 on three counts of production and attempted production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Court documents state that in May 2022, Geidl “knowingly possessed” a video of a minor engaged in sexually explicit activities. Then from July 29, 2022 until March 22, 2024, court documents say Geidl allegedly employed and used minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce videos.

“Protecting our nation’s children is a mission we hold sacred in the FBI,” said Richard Evanchec, the Interim Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office.  “The sentence imposed on Mr. Geidl should send a strong message about our work to bring to justice those who prey on America’s kids.  If you have information about additional victims of Hunter James Geidl who have not yet been identified, you are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.”

During the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Katherine M. Menendez said while Geidl may be a first-time defendant, he is not a first-time offender, Rosen’s office said.

Geidl’s prison sentence will be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

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Rep. Angie Craig will bring the son of a Minnesota woman as her guest to the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

Angel Silva’s mother, Concepcion Macias-Pulido, left the United States in December after she was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an immigration hearing. She had a work permit and was going through the process of obtaining legal, permanent residency, Craig’s office said in a news release.

Macias-Pulido was held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis and then sent to El Paso, Texas, the release said. “Without any clear path to release, Concepcion ultimately made the difficult decision to self-deport back to Mexico, leaving behind her family in Minnesota, including a 10-year-old child,” the release said.

“I’m proud to be in Washington representing immigrant families,” said Angel Silva, 25, a U.S. citizen from Rosemount. “My mother’s strength and sacrifice are the reason I’m here today. Families like mine deserve fairness, compassion, and the chance to stay together.”

Macias-Pulido “was one of the many immigrants here in Minnesota trying to do things the right way yet still targeted by President Trump and Kristi Noem’s rogue ICE,” Craig said in the release.

Craig said the fact that the woman was detained during an immigration hearing is “truly unthinkable.”

She said she is honored to have Silva by her side at the Tuesday address.

“His resilience and willingness to share his family’s story is an inspiration and reminder that our immigrant neighbors strengthen the fabric of our state. President Trump and Secretary Noem will never be able to take that away,” Craig said in the release.

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Gov. Tim Walz has ordered all U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff for two days this week to honor and remember the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who died Feb. 17. He was 84.

All U.S. and state flags on state buildings will be flown at half-staff from sunrise Wednesday to sunset on Thursday.

“Reverend Jackson spent his life pushing America to live up to its highest ideals,” Walz said in a news release. “His fight for civil rights, dignity, and fairness changed our country and will inspire generations to come. Gwen and I extend our deepest condolences to the Jackson family and to all who mourn his passing.”

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The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after King, has died at 84

Jackson rose to national prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and joining the voting rights march King led from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

He will lie in repose this week at the Chicago headquarters of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. His body will then travel to South Carolina and Washington, D.C., for more celebrations of his life. A public service will be held in Chicago at House of Hope on March 6, followed by private homegoing services the next day at Rainbow PUSH, which will be livestreamed.

“His work touched Minnesota through efforts like advocating for farmers, encouraging voter registration, and standing with communities after the killings of Philando Castile, George Floyd, and Daunte Wright,” according to the release from the governor’s office.

The governor’s office encouraged individuals and organizations to join in lowering their flags.

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NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA told the players’ union that it needs to get a deal in place by March 10 to start the season on time at a virtual collective bargaining agreement negotiating session Monday, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

With an expansion draft for two teams needed to get done, as well as 80% of the league free agents, there’s plenty to get accomplished and little time to do it. A delay would hurt both sides.

The season is supposed to start May 8 and every game missed is lost revenue, sponsorships, television money and fan support. Monday’s meeting was the first between the sides that involved players and the league since they met at the WNBA offices on Feb. 2. Because of the winter storm that hit New York, it was decided to hold the meeting virtually.

Over 50 players were on the call, which lasted nearly two hours, the person said.

The two sides are still far apart on revenue sharing and housing, and the clock is ticking. The league said in the meeting on Monday that it would need to have at least a handshake agreement by March 10 for there not to be a delay to the start of the season.

The league, in its latest proposal that was sent Friday, offered 70% net revenue for the players. That came after the union had asked for an average of 27.5% of the gross revenue over the course of the CBA, beginning with 25% in the first year of the new deal. In its previous offer, the union had asked for an average of more than 30%.

The league at that point said in a statement the revenue sharing percentage remained unrealistic and would cause “hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for our teams.”

Also on Monday, the union confirmed to the AP that the WNBA will give its players $8 million from revenue sharing from last season as the league generated enough to trigger revenue sharing for the first time in league history. ESPN was the first to report the move.

The players will decide how much each player will receive from that distribution. The union has 60 days from Feb. 9, when it was officially notified of the revenue sharing money, to come up with how it will disperse the funds.

That money will be distributed by the teams, which will then be reimbursed by the league. Under the 2020 CBA that has since expired, players received 50% of shared revenue — defined in the CBA as the amount of revenue that’s above a predetermined threshold amount minus 30% for expenses.

Neither the league nor the union would say what that threshold is. The league has had in nearly all of its proposals that it would do away with the threshold needed to be reached for revenue sharing.

In its latest offer, the league said teams would continue to pay for housing for all players this season, another person familiar with the negotiations told the AP on Saturday. The person also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

After that, franchises would pay for housing for players on minimum salary contracts, rookies in their first season and the two developmental players teams would be allowed to have.

The union had asked for teams to continue paying for housing for players in the first few years of the new agreement, but in the last two years of the CBA the franchises would no longer have to pay for housing for players who are making near the maximum salary.

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