Smoke from Canadian wildfires set off multiple air quality alerts Thursday across the Midwest and the Canadian prairies, stretching eastward to Toronto.

“There’s a pretty large swath of smoke actually over the central part of the country right now, and you can see that coming down from central Canada,” said Dave Radell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York.

The smoke is expected to remain over the northern and central Plains for the next couple of days, he said, adding that there was a chance it could drift toward the East Coast during the later part of the weekend and into early next week.

In Canada, where fires have scorched millions of acres, air quality alerts were issued for multiple provinces, including parts of Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Every air quality monitor in Minnesota is reporting red or unhealthy conditions for everyone, said Matt Taraldsen, supervisory meteorologist at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The agency issued an air quality alert for the northern half of Minnesota on Sunday before extending it to the entire state Tuesday, Taraldsen said Thursday. The alert is expected to last until midday Saturday.

“This is the first time that we’ve had a weeklong worth of alerts across the entire state,” he said. “Especially at levels that weren’t just unhealthy for sensitive groups, at levels that are unhealthy for everyone.”

Taraldsen said the state could expect something of a break from the smoke over the weekend, “but it looks like next week there could be another substantial round of smoke that we are keeping an eye on as well.”

People can wear well-fitting KN95 or N95 masks to protect themselves, he said, noting that it’s still possible to go outside even with the hazy conditions.

“You just want to be really cognizant of your health and what your body’s telling you,” he said. “If you’re starting to get burning eyes, coughing, things like that, those are the first indications that your body is being impacted by the wildfire smoke.”

Canada’s wildfire season is entering its busiest period, which means that smoke is going to be an issue for the rest of the summer, Taraldsen said, noting that fires were burning both aboveground and underground — in the naturally occurring rich peat bog beneath Canada.

Peat is a nutrient-dense soil that “holds heat really well,” he said, “so when it catches on fire, it tends to smolder for a long time.”

This means that it is “virtually impossible” for the fires to be put out before winter, Taraldsen said, “even if you have a lot of rain that falls over these fires.”

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources issued an air quality advisory on Tuesday that was extended Thursday morning until midday Friday, said Craig Czarnecki, an outreach coordinator for the department.

“Conditions will be re-evaluated every morning on a day-to-day basis through the weekend as additional advisories may be needed,” he said.

Czarnecki said the current advisory was the longest one the department had issued this year, and it “may need to be extended further.”

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In Chicago, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Public Health warned residents to be cautious with their outdoor activities as drifting smoke prompted a Red Air Pollution Action Day in several counties, including Peoria and Cook, the agencies said in a news release Thursday.

It is “too soon to say how long the conditions are expected to last,” said Kim Biggs, a spokesperson for the Illinois EPA, adding that the agency was “closely watching our current monitor readings as well as smoke models for the region.”

People in affected areas across the United States are encouraged to visit AirNow.gov for the latest information on local air quality and forecasts. People in Canada can visit www.airhealth.ca for the latest information on their region.

Wildfire smoke contains dangerous pollutants in the form of fine particles known as PM 2.5 that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Short-term exposure can lead to bronchitis, worsen asthma and create other health issues.

Best Buy Co. is going to test special sections in its stores dedicated to home retailer Ikea, as the Richfield-based electronics chain tries to boost consumer spending by showcasing its products in domestic settings.

The initiative will begin in the fall with 1,000-square-foot areas debuting in 10 stores in Florida and Texas, the companies said Thursday.

The pilot aims to make it easier for customers to integrate Best Buy appliances into Ikea-designed kitchens and laundry rooms. The departments will also mark the first time that the Swedish company offers services and products at another U.S. retailer.

The partnership came about by meshing “two great brands in very complimentary spaces,” said Best Buy Chief Merchandising Officer Patrick McGinnis in an interview. “There’s a lot of relevance that we have with our appliance business.”

The companies declined to comment on the financial agreements of the partnership.

Best Buy’s sales have declined the last three years after a spending surge on electronics during the pandemic inflated results. Now the chain is looking for other categories for growth, made even more crucial after a push into health care has disappointed so far.

The retailer already offers kitchen design services in some stores and online. McGinnis said that the collaboration with Ikea “fits quite naturally.”

Ikea is also trying to revive sales after the privately held retailer posted a 4% drop in currency-adjusted revenue in its most recent fiscal year. To lure more shoppers, it has cut prices and invested in its online capabilities. Getting into Best Buy locations may help introduce the brand to new customers.

“We’ve been listening to our consumer and seeing the opportunity to be more convenient and accessible for them,” Rob Olson, Ikea’s chief operating officer in the U.S., said in an interview.

Ikea employees will staff these departments, and Best Buy workers will be present to advise on appliances and electronics.

The companies are also testing using Best Buy stores as pickup locations for Ikea orders. Ikea only has about 50 locations in the U.S., while the electronics chain has roughly 900 stores in America under the Best Buy banner.

At least three candidates have now entered the race for the Woodbury-area Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Nicole Mitchell last week after her felony burglary conviction.

Republican Dwight Dorau on Wednesday announced his intention to run in Senate District 47 in an upcoming special election. He’d be the first Republican in the race.

Dwight Dorau. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger and Rep. Ethan Cha, both Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers from Woodbury, also plan to run.

The outcome of the special election could tip the balance of power in the Senate, where the DFL has a one-seat majority. Woodbury has favored DFL candidates in recent elections.

Rep. Ethan Cha, DFL-Woodbury. (Minnesota House Information Services)

Mitchell, a DFLer, won election to the Senate with nearly 59% of the vote in 2022. Hemmingsen-Jaeger won District 47A with more than 60% of the vote in 2024 and 2022.

Dorau, a retired Air Force Commander, ran against Cha in the 2024 election for House District 47B and lost by nearly 9 percentage points.

The special election for District 47 is scheduled for Nov. 4. If necessary, there will be a special primary election on Aug. 26.

Candidates could start filing paperwork to run on Wednesday this week and have until Aug. 6, to submit affidavits of candidacy.

Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (Courtesy of the candidate)

District 47 is a Washington County seat that includes the suburbs of Woodbury and parts of Maplewood.

There are two upcoming special elections in Minnesota. The other is planned in District 26 following the death of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo. That district is seen as a Republican stronghold.

With the two vacancies, DFLers currently hold 33 seats in the Senate to Republicans’ 32.

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“The New York Senate should utilize a special session to pass other legislation tamping down on policies and practices that are or could be used by ICE — such as the emerging threat of biometric surveillance technology in schools.”

A NYC Council rally in 2018, calling for ICE agents to be ejected from courthouses. (John McCarten/NYC Council)

President Donald Trump’s revocation of a directive barring ICE agents from raiding and surrounding sensitive spaces, like K-12 schools, is paralyzing New York communities with fear– chilling students’ attendance, preventing parents from meeting their kids in the pick-up line, and making deportation a regular occupational hazard for essential staff. It has been a disaster not only for our community health, but also for basic educational pedagogy.  

In response, New Yorkers are mobilizing to protect access to safe public education and keep ICE out of schools, coaching students and educators on how to refuse entry to ICE officers. And nationwide, some education advocates are responding to ICE on campus like active shooter lockdowns.

But these community protections can be easily bypassed or squashed. In the news and in our streets, we’ve seen the National Guard intervene to enforce deportations, and we’ve seen state and local law enforcement agencies, like the NYPD, collaborate with ICE.

Right now, New York lawmakers and advocates are taking action against these threats. New York State Senators Jabari Brisport and Julia Salazar have called on the New York State Legislature to reconvene in a special session to pass the New York for All Act—a crucial piece of legislation that would significantly limit collaboration between state and local law enforcement and ICE officials.

But the buck should not stop here. The New York Senate should utilize a special session to pass other legislation tamping down on policies and practices that are or could be used by ICE—such as the emerging threat of biometric surveillance technology in schools. This dystopian technology can become a digital backdoor for ICE agents to raid our schools’ hallways, cafeterias, and classrooms.

Many public and private schools across the country are shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to slimy tech vendors selling AI powered software that processes footage captured by school surveillance cameras and collects the biometric features and movements of students, staff members, and visitors without their consent. 

Biometric systems won’t make schools safer. Instead, these technologies turn schools into data collection farms that may function as a backdoor for federal immigration enforcement. Biometric surveillance systems, including facial recognition technology (FRT), expose students—especially Black, Brown, and immigrant youth—to increased risk of law enforcement and ICE encounters.

These systems are prone to algorithmic bias, frequently misidentifying students of color and triggering unnecessary interactions with school security or police. Once a student is flagged by the tech, their personal information can be logged into law enforcement databases—without that student’s consent. From there, fusion centers may share these permanent digital records across agencies, including ICE. ICE can then use that information to pursue dubious warrants and gain access to school grounds, where they may detain students who were never even flagged by the system.

Like the NYPD, school resource officers and administrators may even utilize biometric surveillance in cooperation with ICE—allowing ICE to feed images of individuals they are seeking to deport into the school’s FRT database. Imagine being a non-citizen parent of an American student and not knowing whether coming to your child’s parent-teacher conference will result in your deportation and permanent separation from your child, whether because you attended a protest and became a target of the federal administration, or simply because the facial recognition algorithm misidentified you as a target. How are you supposed to support your child’s education? 

The NY For All Act would regulate school resource and NYPD officers’ disclosure of immigration status to ICE; however, it cannot account for the disclosure of status through data breaches. Schools that adopt biometric surveillance systems often outsource the storage of sensitive data—like students’ facial scans and fingerprints—to private vendors, creating serious and long-term cybersecurity risks.

Even when these vendors technically comply with student data privacy laws, they remain prime targets for data breaches. In one major breach in 2019, hackers accessed Suprema’s BioStar 2 platform and exposed 27.8 million records, including fingerprints and facial recognition data. Unlike a password, biometric information can’t be changed once it’s stolen—meaning that a child’s digital identity can be compromised for life.

These stolen biometrics are frequently sold to shady third-party data brokers and can end up in sprawling databases used by law enforcement, including ICE. Thus, when schools install these vulnerable technologies, they don’t just jeopardize student privacy; they potentially expose children to lifelong surveillance, law enforcement scrutiny, and immigration enforcement far beyond the classroom.

Currently, New York schools are allowed to use most forms of biometric surveillance on students, parents, and other visitors. While facial recognition is currently forbidden by a regulation, a new education commissioner could reinstate facial recognition in schools overnight.

If a special session is called, lawmakers could have the chance to demonstrate their commitment to fostering inclusive, safe educational environments and keep our schools free of dystopian surveillance tech that disproportionately harms vulnerable populations. A bill currently advancing through New York’s Assembly and Senate would not only secure the existing regulatory ban on FRT in schools, it would also expand the ban to other types of biometric surveillance tech currently installed in several New York schools.

In addition to passing the NY For All Act, this is a critical step towards safeguarding educational access for all students, regardless of immigration status. And with Trump-allied politicians like New York Mayor Eric Adams touting anti-immigration policies and swelling citywide spending on surveillance tech, it is our moral imperative as New Yorkers to push our state’s leaders to swiftly pass these and other bills dismantling ICE’s enforcement capabilities.

Sarah Roth is a legal intern at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) and rising 2L at Northeastern University School of Law.

The post Opinion: Albany Can’t Wait Until January To Fight Trump and ICE appeared first on City Limits.