By MIKE SCHNEIDER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for detainees at a state-run immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades said Thursday that they are still facing hurdles in getting access to their clients, despite state claims that those barriers have been removed.

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Two attorneys filed statements with a federal court in Fort Myers, Florida, saying their clients were unable to call them using staff cellphones, and the attorneys were unable to make unannounced visits to the facility.

A state contractor late last month testified that both options were available to detainees and attorneys during a hearing over whether detainees at the facility were getting adequate access to their lawyers. U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has yet to rule on whether to grant the detainees’ request that they get the same access to their attorneys as detainees do at federally-run detention centers.

The Florida Department of Emergency Management, the state agency overseeing the detention center, didn’t respond to an e-mailed inquiry on Thursday. The Everglades facility was built last summer at a remote airstrip by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to support President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Florida also has built a second immigration detention center in north Florida.

The former Everglades detainees’ lawsuit claims that their First Amendment rights were violated. They say their attorneys have to make an appointment to visit three days in advance, unlike at other immigration detention facilities where lawyers can just show up during visiting hours; that detainees often are transferred to other facilities before their attorneys’ appointments to see them; and that scheduling delays have been so lengthy that detainees were unable to meet with attorneys before key deadlines.

State officials who are defendants in the lawsuit have denied restricting the detainees’ access to their attorneys and cited security and staffing reasons for any challenges. Federal officials who also are defendants denied that detainees’ First Amendment rights were violated.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

Groundswell cafe in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood has announced it will not reopen after a fire gutted its building in May of 2025.

The coffee shop opened in 2009 and expanded to include an in-house bakery and cafe food in 2013.

Co-owner Megan Greulich Schoonover competed on the Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge,” which helped make the cafe’s ugly Christmas sweater cookies a fixture during holiday season, according to the restaurant’s website.

Greulich Schoonover posted the following message on social media:

“Friends, we have some hard news that Groundswell will not be reopening after our fire. Financially, we just cannot make it work. We have loved being a part of your special and ordinary moments over the last 16 years. It has been an honor and a joy.

“At the same time, we know this moment is about something much more important in our community. If you’re feeling a need for some extra care and connection, we are right there with you. So in that spirit, we have one final invitation: please stop by the shop tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 13), any time between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. I will be at the front door with free vegan banana bread (while it lasts), and a hug if you’d like.

“We’re also looking forward to supporting the next locally-owned small business to bring something new to this corner, and we are anticipating some exciting news on that in late spring. We will post information about it here once we have it so you can join us in giving them a warm Hamline-Midway welcome.

“With much love and gratitude,

“Megan (on behalf of Alisha, Tim, and Jason too)”

Groundswell: 1340 Thomas Ave., St. Paul; groundswellmn.com

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The Vikings are expanding their team-sponsored high school girls flag football league, more than doubling its size in its second year.

The expansion includes more than a dozen East Metro schools, including all of St. Paul’s public high schools.

A $600,000 donation by the Vikings secured the league’s first season in 2025, when 51 teams competed. All of those teams, including inaugural champion Mahtomedi. A six-week schedule will begin in April and conclude with a championship game June 9 at the Vikings’ practice facility in Eagan.

In addition to St. Paul’s seven public high schools, the league will be joined by East Metro schools such as Cretin-Derham Hall, East Ridge, Hill Murray, Simley, Stillwater, Two Rivers and White Bear Lake.

“The continued increase in school participation reflects the demand for this opportunity, and we’re proud to promote a sport that empowers young women and continues to gain momentum across the region and country,” Brett Taber, vice president of social impact at the Minnesota Vikings, said in a statement. “… The growth we’ve seen since the (four-team) 2024 pilot program has been remarkable.”

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Meet the Minnesotans competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics

By WILL GRAVES

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Downhill champion Breezy Johnson didn’t add to her Olympic medal haul during the women’s super-G on Thursday.

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The American star left Tofane with something precious anyway: an engagement ring.

Johnson’s longtime boyfriend, Connor Watkins, proposed to her near the finish line while surrounded by members of the U.S. Ski Team.

Reciting lyrics from the Taylor Swift song “The Alchemy,” Watkins slipped a ring of blue and white sapphires set in white gold on the ring finger of Johnson’s left hand. She tearfully accepted, then turned the ring toward the sea of cameras to celebrate a dream that turned into reality.

“It felt fitting to combine two of my loves,” Johnson said. “It’s a special place at the Olympics. I feel like there’s a lot of mystique around it.”

She then added with a laugh, “Also you get free photography.”

The two met on a dating app a few years ago, with Watkins totally unaware that Johnson happened to be one of the best skiers on the planet. It wasn’t until Watkins asked about 10 minutes into their first date (a brunch) that Johnson fessed up.

“I was a little taken aback,” said Watkins who works in construction back in the U.S. “I had very little knowledge of ski racing and everything else, and over the last couple of years I’ve grown to really love it.”

The joyful proposal came about an hour after Johnson’s bid to reach the podium in the super-G ended with a crash high in the course when her right pole clipped a gate and sent her tumbling into the catch fence. Johnson pulled herself to her feet and was unharmed.

Down in the finish area with the ring in his pocket, Watkins briefly wondered if he might need switch to Plan B just in case the moment wasn’t right.

Turns out, having Watkins there was exactly what Johnson needed.

“I was feeling kind of stupid, which I think is kind of the moment you want the people you love around you, like when you’re just feeling dumb and childish,” Johnson said. “You’re like, ‘Tell me that I’m OK.’ Just seeing him, ‘It’s nice to see you,’ and let’s go commiserate together. And then, obviously, everything else happened.”

Something that took an already surreal stay in Cortina to another level entirely.

“I think most people want to peak at the Olympics,” Johnson said. “I just extra peaked.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics