This year, all 134 seats of the Minnesota House are up for re-election. Many of those races are a done deal and will go to an incumbent or whatever political party holds sway in the region.

However, three state races in particular may be a bellwether of the state’s political leanings in the future, particularly in northeastern and southeastern Minnesota.

Both regions have already shifted and this election could signal the end of, or the beginning of, a fight for which party controls those regions.

While the rest of southeastern Minnesota is seemingly still in Republican control, its biggest county, Olmsted, began its move left in the 2008 presidential election, when voters threw tepid support behind Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Today, this once moderately conservative regional center has become a solidly Democratic outpost , at times more aligned with the Twin Cities in its values and politics than with the more conservative rural counties that surround it.

Rochester DFLers Andy Smith and Kim Hicks will face a newer type of Republican challengers modeled after the MAGA movement led by former President Donald Trump.

Hicks, who was first elected to the Minnesota House in 2022, faces Ken Navitsky, a Rochester sales executive.

Navitsky said he is running to reduce crime, cut red tape and lower taxes, and improve the education system.

Navitsky ran in the GOP special election primary that resulted in the election of Rep. Brad Finstad to replace the late Jim Hagedorn in the 1st Congressional District. Navitsky also ran to represent Senate District 25 in 2022 but lost to DFL Sen. Liz Boldon.

Smith’s opponent, Wes Lund, also has many standard Republican stances like lower taxes and tougher judicial sentences. He has become a fixture in Rochester politics and often posts videos on social media attacking Rochester Mayor Kim Norton or condemning what he views as a city run by incompetent liberals.

Both Smith and Hicks have campaigned on securing reproductive rights, affordable health care and protecting the environment.

Northeast Minnesota faces a dynamic similar to the one in Olmsted County, though there the DFL is the party on its back foot with its continued loss of voter support in the Iron Range.

Recently, Rep. David Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, announced he would not seek re-election. He was first elected to the House in 2018 and his decision has left a vacuum that three candidates, one DFLer and two Republicans, hope to fill.

For the DFL, Lorrie Janatopoulos isn’t exactly a political newcomer. She unsuccessfully ran for a St. Louis County Commissioner seat in 2010 for a Minnesota House in 2012.

She previously worked for the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency in Virginia, Minn., and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

On her campaign site, she said her local roots will help her address issues including workforce development, education and natural resource management.

She’s likely to face off against Carl Warwas, the GOP-endorsed candidate in the race, in November.

A union steelworker, Warwas is the type of politician who has slowly eroded the DFL’s hold in northeast Minnesota. His focus on expanding mining opportunities in the Iron Range is something Janatopoulus will have to contend with as November draws closer.

Despite winning the GOP endorsement, Warwas will face Matt Matasich in the August primary.

Matasich has unsuccessfully run for seats in the Legislature from 2000 to 2016 and for St. Louis County Commissioner in 2022.

During his 2022 campaign, he said that, if elected, “the county bureaucracy will have to develop new ways of operating that are taxpayer-friendly.”

If Janatopoulos fails to secure a win for the DFL, Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, will be the last Democrat standing in the Iron Range.

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PITTSBURGH — Rowdy Tellez homered and drove in three runs and six Pittsburgh relievers kept the Twins in check as the Pirates beat Minnesota 4-0 on Saturday.

Tellez, who has been frequently booed at home of late while in the throes of a season-long funk, turned on a changeup from Simeon Woods Richardson (2-1) and dropped it just over the center-field wall with one out in the seventh for his first homer since March 31.

The crowd that jeered Tellez when he was introduced before the game-turning at bat then asked for a curtain call. Tellez, who signed a one-year deal with the Pirates in the offseason, obliged after boosting on a day his batting average rose to .208.

The first baseman added a two-run single in the ninth to provide some breathing room as the Pirates won for the fourth time in five games.

Hunter Stratton (2-1) picked up the win thanks to a spectacular catch by second baseman Nick Gonzales to end the seventh. Minnesota had two on with two out when pinch-hitter Manuel Margot hit a flare into shallow center field that Gonzales tracked down to make a sliding over-the-shoulder grab.

Michael A. Taylor, back from paternity leave following the birth of his son on June 2, delivered an RBI single in the ninth. Andrew McCutchen had three hits for the Pirates. Bryan Reynolds had two to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

The Twins have dropped five straight after being shutout for the second consecutive game. Minnesota will take a 22-inning scoreless streak into Sunday’s series finale. The Twins had six hits — all singles — and only one player reached third base.

The lack of offense spoiled another solid start by Wood Richardson (2-1). The 23-year-old rookie struck out six against one walk and made just one real mistake that Tellez turned into a cathartic blast.

The Pirates, who have three starting pitchers — Martin Perez, Marco Gonzales and Quinn Priester — on the injured list, were forced to go to a bullpen game.

Carmen Mlodzinski got the first five outs before giving way to Luis Ortiz, who was in the mix to earn the fifth spot in the starting rotation during spring training before being sent to the bullpen.

Ortiz, who has thrived in a relief role, entered and held Minnesota scoreless for 4 1/3 innings. Justin Bruihl, Stratton, Colin Holderman and David Bednard also put up zeros as the Pirates recorded their third shutout victory in five days.

UP NEXT

The series concludes on Sunday when Pittsburgh rookie Jared Jones (4-5, 3.25 ERA) faces Minnesota’s Bailey Ober (5-4, 4.94). Jones is coming off an impressive performance in his last start against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he tossed six shutout innings.

 

Joe Mauer has never been one to seek attention, it has just tended to find him since he was a three-sport star at Cretin-Derham Hall in the late 1990s. But he ran toward it on Saturday, answering questions from fans — and taking photos with them — in Woodbury.

Mauer’s appearance was part of the grand opening of Public Lands, an outdoor sports outlet in the Woodbury Lakes shopping district, an indication of how years in the spotlight have made the former Twins all-star and 2009 American League MVP more comfortable in a crowd.

He talked to fans about his favorite opposing ballparks — Fenway and the old Yankee Stadium — and his favorite highlight moment — a three-run, ninth-inning home run in Boston that sparked a come-from-behind, 6-4 victory in August 2012.

“I haven’t really done many of these, but it was good,” he said after posing for photos with more than 100 fans inside the store.

He also, of course, spoke about his impending induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Asked about whether he expected to be a first-ballot electee, he told an inquisitor that the Hall gives nominees a 30-minute window in which they can expect a call informing them of induction.

“If they call, you’re in.” Mauer said. “If they don’t, you wait till next year. In the words of Bert Blyleven, he said, ‘Have a beer and wait till next year.’ ”

But Mauer didn’t have to wait. Joined by a small group of family members, he received the call on Jan. 23. His career will achieve its apotheosis when he is officially inducted on July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“Right now, it’s just buildup,” Mauer said. “We have to check things off the list before we actually get out there.”

That includes writing his speech, which Mauer is constructing with a team of undisclosed aides he described as “a few people who have opinions to kinda hear what it sounds like.”

“It’s a work in progress,” he added.

The sad part of the story is that Mauer will be inducted without his father, Jake, who passed away on Jan. 17 at the age of 66, a year before his youngest son learned he would be a hall of famer. Joe Mauer and his brothers, Billy and Jake, all played and/or coached in the Twins organization.

When Mauer described the experience of getting the call from Cooperstown, he said he “had my parents” there until correcting himself. His mother Teresa was there with his brothers Jake and Billy, his wife Maddie and their three children, and his in-laws.

“It’s been tough, just because they did everything together. That’s just how it was. It was ‘the parents,’ ” Mauer told the Pioneer Press.

In some ways, Mauer said, it still hasn’t completely sunk in.

“The kids will do something, and I’ll catch myself as I go to call him,” he said. “It’s been hard. A lot of things happening, and the kids are growing — different milestones. You want to pick up the phone and call him, but you can’t. It’s tough.

“I wish he could see this (happen) this summer. I know he will, just from a different perspective.”

Until then, Mauer has more preparation ahead of him — mostly that speech. It was a 15-year career, all with the hometown team, that included a .306 career batting average and three AL batting titles. And then there are the people who helped him get there.

It’s a lot to synopsize.

Unlike Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees, those enshrined in Cooperstown don’t pick who enshrines them. Mauer and fellow inductees Adrian Beltré and Todd Helton will be introduced by a master of ceremonies.

“Then I go up and I think I have 8-10 minutes to get it all in there,” he said.

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The Professional Women’s Hockey League released a statement on Saturday acknowledging  that Natalie Darwitz has been removed as Minnesota’s general manager. One bit of clarity that came out of the announcement is that head coach Ken Klee and his staff will be making the team’s selections in Monday’s PWHL draft.

Minnesota will pick third in all seven rounds, with the drafted order determined by the final standings in the regular season.

Assuming Klee will be back as coach next season — possibly with the added title of general manager — he will have the opportunity to handpick players who mesh with his coaching philosophy.

Natalie Darwitz speaks to the media at the U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Induction on Dec. 12, 2018, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images)

Klee spoke during the season about a shortage of physical forwards on the roster when discussing how Abby Boreen emerged as a key player after she was inserted into the lineup off the reserve list. Boreen will be a full-time player next season and as a result will be in this year’s draft.

While it seems unlikely that Minnesota would use the third overall pick on Boreen, she would appear to be a candidate to be picked in the second round. Teams also will be able to make trades involving draft picks for the first time, so that is an avenue Minnesota could explore as well.

Speaking prior to her departure, Darwitz acknowledged that the PWHL game proved to be more physical than she had anticipated.

“I think the first couple games were a good step in the right direction,” she said. “They allowed the rub-out and things along the wall. Then it turned into open-ice hits, and a few scary moments. And we addressed that and I felt they curbed that a little bit.

“But then I felt it ramped up again in the playoffs — the physicality and the extra hit when the puck was already gone. I’m an advocate of keeping our game clean and keeping it skill-based.”

Darwitz said that in phone calls that took place among general managers during the playoffs there was some confusion over what was and wasn’t allowed when it came to body contact. In that regard she anticipates some clarification from league officials prior to next season.

Darwitz said when she put together the team she did not expect the physical play to be as much of a factor as it proved to be.

“But I feel we adapted really well to it,” she said. “I wouldn’t call us the most physical team; I think we played the right way, where for some other teams it was their No. 1 game plan. For us, it wasn’t.”

Darwitz relied heavily on Minnesotans and players with Midwestern ties in building the first roster, and it will be interesting to see if that continues. Having the likes of Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle and Lee Stecklein on the team — all Minnesotans and former Gophers — added to the local interest.

ELMONT, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Corinne Schroederm #30 of New York makes the third period stop on Abby Boreen #24 of Minnesota during PWHL play at UBS Arena on March 03, 2024 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

In a league that is focused on building its brand and building an audience, Darwitz felt Minnesota would be well-served to feature local talent.

Among forwards who figure to go early in the draft are Princeton’s Sarah Fillier, Colgate’s Danielle Serdachny and Cornell’s Izzy Daniel, who won the Patty Kazmaier Award. Daniel, who attended The Blake School, was a finalist for the Minnesota Ms. Hockey Award in 2019.

A trio of Big Ten forwards also are expected to hear their names called early: Hannah Bilka and Jennifer Gardiner of Ohio State and Britta Curl of Wisconsin.

Former Gophers standout Amanda Kessel has put her name in the draft after sitting out last season due to her obligations as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins front office.

Among defenders, Canadian Claire Thompson and Cayla Barnes of Ohio State are sure to be near the top of most of the teams’ lists. The same holds true of a couple of European players, Daniela Pejsova of Czechia and Finland’s Ronja Savolainen.

The Gophers’ Maddie Wethington will draw interest, as will Hudson’s Anna Wilgren, who began her collegiate career at Minnesota State Mankato before transferring to Wisconsin.