Sophia Forchas, the 12-year-old Annunciation Catholic Church and School shooting victim who doctors feared wouldn’t survive her brain injuries, was released from Gillette Children’s hospital in St. Paul on Thursday.

Sophia is the last of the 30 victims who were injured in the Aug. 27 shooting in Minneapolis to be released from the hospital.

Two children — 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski — were killed. On Sept. 5, Sophia’s neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich, said there was a chance that Sophia would be the third fatality in the shooting, which was committed by a 23-year-old former Annunciation student who died by suicide. Authorities haven’t publicly identified a motive.

Forty-eight days after the shooting, Sophia was seen walking to a limousine while wearing a blue sweatsuit and a backward baseball cap, hugging and greeting supporters, including Galicich. She was escorted from the hospital by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

This undated photo provided by Tom Forchas in September 2025 shows his daughter, Sophia Forchas, who was wounded in the Church of Annunciation shooting in Minneapolis, on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Tom Forchas via AP)

Sophia’s parents, Tom and Amy Forchas, said in a statement that Sophia’s road to recovery is still a long one but that Thursday marked “one of the most extraordinary” days of their lives.

“Our beloved daughter, Sophia, is coming home!!” they wrote. “We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the remarkable medical professionals whose skill, compassion, and unwavering dedication brought us to this moment.”

Sophia was shot in her brain’s left temporal lobe, and important blood vessels were damaged in the bullet’s path, Galicich said in September. He explained that part of Sophia’s skull was removed to help with swelling and pressure in the brain.

“I noticed her blue nail polish and her curly hair, and I opened her eyes, and she was bilaterally fixed and dilated, which means that her pressure in her brain was very high,” he said at the time. “And if you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle.”

Sophia was in critical condition for some two weeks before her condition improved on Sept. 11. Then on Sept. 23, her family said she was preparing to move from Hennepin County Medical Center to inpatient rehabilitation at Gillette Children’s, where she was released Thursday.

“Sophia’s healing journey continues with outpatient therapy and the road to full recovery remains long,” Sophia’s parents wrote Thursday after her release. “Yet, our hearts are filled with indescribable joy as we witness her speech improving daily, her personality shining through once more, and her ability to walk, swim, and even dribble a basketball. Each step she takes is a living testament to the boundless grace of God and the miraculous power of prayer.”

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Taking advantage of a rare opponent mistake, Stella Triplett ensured the Eagan girls soccer team return to downtown Minneapolis.

The junior scored in the 48th minute and Eagan beat Mounds View 1-0 Thursday in a Class 3A girls soccer quarterfinal at Shakopee West Middle School.

Winners of seven straight games, the third-seeded Wildcats (16-2-2) will face No. 2 Stillwater Wednesday in a 10 a.m. semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Ponies beat Duluth East 3-0 in their quarterfinal.

Eagan lost in last year’s state semifinals to eventual champion Wayzata and finished tied for third. Two years ago, it lost to Andover in the quarterfinals. Most of the players on those teams have graduated.

“We knew we were going to have to fight for it and go as a team … but we’ve always just worked together as a team. Our coach believed in us, we believed in each other. We kind of had that sisterhood that brought us together,” co-captain Ana Oenning said. “We wanted it last year, and we just keep driving and want it more this year.”

Triplett’s goal came via a prime striking opportunity from about 20 yards out on the right side. Her deftly placed shot went just over the goalkeeper and under the crossbar put the Wildcats up 1-0.

“My coaches told me to stay ahead of the last defender, and when I saw my teammate Ashlee Severson’s ball, I just needed to go,” Triplett said.

Mounds View coach John Pass knew a Mustang miscue was about the only way Eagan would score.

“We talked about it all week, if the ball doesn’t get over our backline and they don’t get any corners, they’re not going to threaten us,” Pass said. “I didn’t feel like they did. I thought we played fantastic.”

For much of the year, one goal has been enough for Eagan. The Wildcats have blanked 11 opponents and given up more than one goal once.

“We just work good as a unit and we cover so well for each other,” co-captain Evie Birk said.

Mounds View (10-7-3) had three excellent chances to tie in the final minute. Wildcat goaltender Abigail McGowan had to fully extend to deflect a free kick bound for under the crossbar by Ida Wynn over the net. The Mustangs also had a pair of corner kicks.

“I didn’t think we necessarily got what we deserved out of the game, but that’s sports,” Pass said.

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A board of top state officials chaired by Gov. Tim Walz that oversees $155 billion of Minnesota’s retirement fund investments has repeatedly delayed meetings this year and held one virtually due to what they say are concerns about political violence.

Minnesota’s State Board of Investment, which manages investments for 800,000 members of three employee retirement systems in the state, typically holds quarterly meetings in person. Until a remote hearing on Tuesday this week, it had only held one so far in 2025.

Tuesday’s meeting had initially been scheduled in May but had been delayed multiple times — first to June 18, but was again postponed after the June 14 assassinations of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, according to board management and state Auditor Julie Blaha, one of the board’s four members.

The delays also come as a group of activists demanding that the state drop its investments in Israel continues to protest at meetings. Eleven protesters were arrested by the Minnesota State Patrol during a sit-in at the state Retirement Systems Building on Tuesday, not far from the state Capitol in St. Paul,  as the board met virtually. All have been released, though they face trespassing charges.

Security concerns

When asked if the changes to meetings were tied to protests, state leaders and board management pointed to security concerns in the wake of the June assassinations.

“I agreed to meet virtually this month because, with the recent wave of political violence, we need to re-evaluate the security of our meetings,” Blaha said in a statement. “We must ensure we can protect not only those of us on the board, but also our staff and meeting attendees. In December, if security needs are met, I expect we’ll be back in person.”

Blaha, who sits on the board with the governor, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Secretary of State Steve Simon, said she supports the First Amendment right to protest. Israeli divestment protesters had 30 minutes during Tuesday’s investment board meeting to offer public comments.

“I respect their voices and welcome their presence, even when we disagree,” Blaha said. “That’s why we allot time for public comment and why I meet with constituents regularly to discuss their concerns.”

Protesters

Divestment protesters say they’re frustrated by the delays and venue changes and have accused state leaders of postponing meetings and taking them online to avoid difficult conversations about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

Meredith Aby with the Anti-War Committee, a Minneapolis group that opposes U.S. aid to Israel and supports divestment, said she and other protesters were frustrated by date changes and were skeptical of SBI blaming political violence for delays.

“Between that (March) meeting and the meeting this time, it was moved to all virtual,” Aby said. “People just feel like they’re getting iced out of the process.”

When asked, board leadership didn’t say why the May meeting was delayed. The last time the State Investment Board met was in March at a building away from the state Capitol complex. Prior to that, the board had met in Senate hearing rooms — except from May 2020 to February 2022 during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investments

Around $177.8 million of $155 billion in assets managed by the investment board are in Israeli holdings — around 0.11%. They are externally managed by independent third-party firms, according to the SBI. Protesters argue the state has billions more in companies that supply Israel with weapons and equipment.

In response to a request for comment on the protests and arrests, the governor’s office noted that even as meetings go online, the board allows comment periods.

“There is always an opportunity for public comment at these meetings,” said Claire Lancaster, a spokesperson for Walz. “However, protesters must be lawful and respect public property.”

Protesters claim the board rescheduled the Aug. 20 meeting after members learned of their intent to “pack the room.”

Jill Schurtz, executive director and chief investment officer for the board, said the delay in August was “in the aftermath” of the assassinations. Blaha, meanwhile, said it was to allow “more time to complete” an analysis for the state’s investment strategy.

Schurtz also said ”heavy construction” at the state Capitol complex has “made it more challenging to secure large public meeting space, particularly when the Minnesota Legislature is in session.”

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Jonathan Weinhagen, the former vice president of the St. Paul Area Regional Chamber of Commerce and a current member of the Mounds View school board, was federally indicted Thursday on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud, attempted bank fraud and providing a false statement on a loan application — all allegations relating to his time with the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce or shortly thereafter.

Weinhagen, 42, of Shoreview, worked at the St. Paul Area Regional Chamber of Commerce for about 6 1/2 years, including more than two years as vice president, before departing in October 2016 to become president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. After almost eight years at its helm, Weinhagen abruptly resigned in June 2024 following an internal investigation that projected a $500,000 deficit in 2024.

Undated courtesy photo, circa Sept. 2023, of Jonathan Weinhagen, candidate for Mounds View School Board in the November 2023 election. (Courtesy of the candidate)

The federal charges allege Weinhagen stole $200,000 from the chamber by setting up contracts with a company that did not exist, Minnesota Public Radio reported. He allegedly invented a fictional company called Synergy Partners along with a fictional owner, James Sullivan, which he used to enter into fraudulent contracts with the chamber.

The indictment says Weinhagen got the chamber to pay more than $100,000 to Synergy under the contracts, which he used for personal expenses, according to MPR. Weinhagen also allegedly opened a line of credit in the chamber’s name, borrowed more than $125,000, and transferred it to the phony company.

The chamber discovered the credit line and staff requested information about the payments. Weinhagen then allegedly sent fake emails to make it appear the fictional company had gone out of business and published an obituary, claiming the owner had died of pancreatic cancer, MPR reported.

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Crime Stoppers money

Weinhagen also allegedly stole $30,000 that the chamber had given to Crime Stoppers for reward money following the shootings of three children in Minneapolis in 2021. After the cases went unsolved, Weinhagen asked Crime Stoppers to return the money and allegedly asked that the refund check be sent to his home, saying it was the chamber’s new address, MPR reported.

The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce said in a written statement Thursday it was aware of the criminal charges and that it continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s investigation and prosecution.

“Over the past 16 months, the MRC has been working diligently to make process and governance changes to help rebuild and strengthen the organization,” the statement read. “The Chamber plays a vital role in the Twin Cities and remains firmly focused on our mission of creating partnerships to unite and grow member businesses and improve the Greater MSP region.”

Weinhagen made his first court appearance on the charges at the federal courthouse in St. Paul. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright ordered that he remain free on an unsecured $25,000 bond.

An attorney for Weinhagen is not listed in the court file, and he did not immediately respond Thursday to a message left for him asking to respond to the allegations.

Other public role

Weinhagen has served as an elected member of the Mounds View Public Schools school board since June 2014, according to his résumé on the professional networking website LinkedIn, and the Mounds View Public Schools website; he previously spent five years on the board of the Mounds View Schools Education Foundation. His school board term ends in January 2028.

He also served for five years on the Shoreview Economic Development Commission, and was a sales and marketing manager of the now-shuttered Weinhagen Tire Co. on St. Paul’s West Side.