The St. Thomas men’s basketball team stormed out of the gate to lead by 23 points en route to an 84-62 defeat of Summit League leader North Dakota State on Thursday night at the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.

With the win, the Tommies (22-8 overall, 11-4 Summit) solidified their hold on second place in the conference, though the Bison — which entered the game with a three-game lead in the circuit with one game left after tonight — have already clinched the regular season crown.

North Dakota State (23-7, 13-2) won the initial matchup between the two teams, 68-65, on Jan. 17 in Fargo, but Thursday night belonged to St. Thomas. Carter Bjerke scored 18 of his 21 points before halftime as the Tommies went to the break leading 50-27. The Bison played their hosts to a near draw in the second half but couldn’t make any more than a one-point dent in the Tommies’ insurmountable advantage.

Bjerke and Nick Janowski each scored 21 points to share the game-high in scoring, while Nolan Minessale logged 17 points to surpass NDSU’s top scorer by four points.

The final game remaining until next week’s Summit League Championship tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D., a home matchup against Omaha (15-15, 8-7) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Related Articles

Men’s hockey: Gophers stun No. 2 Michigan

Women’s basketball: St. Thomas keeps rolling with win against Kansas City

Men’s hockey: Gophers’ playoff tune up includes two series against nation’s best

Moorhead running back Taye Reich commits to Gophers

Gophers succumb to big run in loss to No. 3 Michigan

Nearly four months after losing his bid for a third term, former St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter will begin an advisory job with GroundBreak Coalition, an organization with nearly $1 billion in funding for wealth-building initiatives focused on closing racial gaps.

GroundBreak Coalition, a Minneapolis-based community funding organization, announced on their social media Thursday that Carter will serve as interim senior advisor. The organization focuses on addressing racial wealth inequality for Black individuals through homeownership, entrepreneurship and commercial development initiatives.

As a leader, Carter has focused on supporting economic mobility, including through initiatives like city of St. Paul-run college savings accounts and the Rondo Inheritance Fund, the organization said in its announcement.

“Families should have tools that help them build stability, not barriers that hold them back. GroundBreak applies that same logic to capital markets — aligning institutions so families and entrepreneurs can build wealth that lasts,” Carter said in a post by the organization.

Carter, who lost his bid for a third term in November, told the Pioneer Press in December that he planned to take a break and denied any plans to run for positions as lieutenant governor or county board member.

GroundBreak Coalition is led by a coalition of more than 40 partners. Board members include leaders with the Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Greater MSP and Ramsey County, among others.

Adair Mosley, who was named as the organization’s first chief executive officer in September, shared the announcement on his LinkedIn.

“I’m excited to welcome Melvin Carter to the GroundBreak team as Interim Senior Advisor,” Mosley said in a post. “His track record of advancing equity and building systems that expand economic mobility will strengthen our work to unlock capital for families, entrepreneurs, and neighborhoods across the Twin Cities. We’re moving with urgency to build a financial system that works for everyone.”

Related Articles

St. Paul Fire Chief Butch Inks departs with wellness message for colleagues

Kaohly Her sworn in as St. Paul mayor

Letters: A minority of Somalis have brought shame to our community

Assistant St. Paul fire chief tapped to serve as interim after Butch Inks retirement

John Mannillo: Some friendly advice for St. Paul’s new mayor

Gophers goaltender Luca Di Pasquo made 37 saves as Minnesota rallied for its biggest win of the season, 4-2, at No. 2-ranked Michigan on Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich. despite being outshot 39-15 by the hosts.

The Wolverines held a 1-0 lead after the first period on a power-play goal by Adam Valentini, but Brodie Ziemer knotted the count at 1-all on the only score of the middle frame.

While the initial stanzas featured just a goal apiece, the Gophers exploded for three tallies in the third.

LJ Mooney gave the visitors their first lead of the game on a power play strike at 2:42 of the final frame. It was a lead that held until the final horn as Tanner Ludtke followed Mooney’s goal with one of his own just 73 seconds later.

Michigan cut Minnesota’s advantage to 3-2 on a T.J. Hughes goal at 8:43, however, the Gophers gained that back on an empty netter by Ziemer — with Di Pasquo gaining the assist — at 18:26 as coach Bob Motzko’s squad skated away with a two-goal triumph in the first matchup of the two-game series. Luke Mittelstadt also had two assists in the contest.

With the victory, Minnesota (11-19-2 overall, 7-13-1 Big Ten) leapt over Ohio State for fifth-place in the conference standings, while circuit-leading Michigan (25-7-1, 16-6-1) could not improve on its one-point lead on Michigan State for first place.

The two teams close out their “weekend” set at 5 p.m. Friday in Ann Arbor.

Related Articles

Women’s basketball: St. Thomas keeps rolling with win against Kansas City

Men’s hockey: Gophers’ playoff tune up includes two series against nation’s best

Moorhead running back Taye Reich commits to Gophers

Gophers succumb to big run in loss to No. 3 Michigan

Women’s basketball: Gophers jump to No. 22 in AP Top 25 poll

 

 

 

PARK RAPIDS, Minn. — A north-central Minnesota man is accused of threatening to kill a state senator and commit acts of terror at the state Capitol.

John D. Tobias, 58, was arrested Tuesday in Hubbard County, according to a news release from the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office.

John D. Tobias / Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office

Tobias is accused of making a threatening post on Facebook, according to the news release, and tagging District 17 state Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, a Republican from Glencoe in southern Minnesota. The post demanded money lost during the COVID-19 shutdown and Tobias threatened to kill the senator, according to the sheriff’s office.

According to the statement of probable cause in the criminal complaint, Tobias also called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and said he wanted something done about DFL Gov. Tim Walz “unconstitutionally” shutting down the state due to COVID-19. The call was recorded.

“Tobias claimed that there was never any COVID, that he lost $1.4 million and said that if he didn’t get his money back he would ‘come down’ and ‘execute’” everyone at the Capitol, according to the criminal complaint.

A Hubbard County sheriff’s investigator obtained a search warrant for Tobias’ property, just outside of Park Rapids. According to the news release, deputies and the Lakes Area SWAT Team executed the warrant on Tuesday, taking Tobias into custody.

A search of the home turned up nine firearms, 45 boxes of ammunition of various calibers and two handgun magazines, according to the criminal complaint.

Tobias admitted to investigators that he sent the email and made the threatening phone call, according to the criminal complaint.

On Wednesday, Tobias was arraigned on two felony counts of making terroristic threats. Bail was set at $300,000 without conditions or $150,000 with conditions.

A review of Tobias’ criminal history reveals convictions for gross misdemeanor driving while intoxicated in 2013 and a misdemeanor domestic assault in 2010.

An initial court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

Related Articles

Lakeville teen charged with robbery at school allegedly had gun, though no weapon found

Convicted stowaway arrested again after a new alleged ticketless flight from US to Italy

Online disinformation fueled panic after the killing of Mexico’s most powerful drug lord

Pakistani man is on trial over Trump assassination plot with ties to Iran, US prosecutors say

‘Every parent’s worst nightmare,’ Stillwater mom tells judge at child endangerment sentencing after UTV crash