18 Nov 2023

Bethel’s decorated football coach Steve Johnson calls it a career

by admin | posted in: News | 0

After 35 years, Bethel football coach Steve Johnson has decided to retire

Johnson retires as one of the most accomplished NCAA Division III coaches of all time, and he has pulled in no shortage of team or individual accolades. His Royals take on No.5 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater today in the opening round of the Division III playoffs.

He ranks 15th all time in wins by a coach in Division III and 35th among the entire NCAA. The Bethel program has been consistently competitive for more than two decades, with the last sub-.500 season being back in 1993. The 1993 season was one of only two seasons that Bethel finished below .500 during Johnson’s tenure as head coach, with the other being Johnson’s first season in 1989.

Overall, Bethel went 244-108-1 under Johnson.

Over three decades’ worth of winning seasons is no small feat for a program, never mind for a single coach. When asked about what made him and the program so successful over the course of his career, Johnson attributed it to the team’s ability and priority to stay consistent.

“Every week, you’re just trying to go 1-0,” he said. “We have expectations for each other. We want to have a good foundation and identity, and we’ve stayed aligned with who we are. We want to be strong defensively, and we want to run the ball.”

Johnson won five Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships at Bethel, going back to back in 2000 and 2001 as well as 2006 and 2007, and winning the fifth in 2013. Making the playoffs 11 times since 2000, Bethel posted a 13-11 record in the playoffs under Johnson and made the Elite 8 in five of those seasons (2007, 2010, 2013, 2018, 2022).

On top of leading the program to many successful seasons, Johnson was individually recognized and given many prestigious coaching awards. He was MIAC Coach of the Year six times, and was named American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III National Coach of the Year in 2022. He was named the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Man of the Year in 2011, and was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2016.

Johnon said it was the people that made the job so special.

“It’s an intense profession, and you have this huge appreciation for all the guys, the coaching staff and players,” he said. “I feel really blessed to have the people I’ve had. Very thankful and very blessed.”

Johnson played football at Bethel from 1974-77 and had several coaching jobs between his graduation from Bethel and getting the position as Bethel’s head coach in 1989.

Making the decision to retire is not always an easy one, especially when it’s from something you’ve played or coached almost your entire life. Johnson said it wasn’t the only thing to consider, but that his family played a large role in the decision he made.

“A lot went into it, but it’s a family thing,” he said. “I’m 68 years old. I’d rather go early than stay too late. It’s important, though, that we find someone to keep things rolling the way they have been.”

Regardless of who takes the spot of head coach, it’s safe to say Bethel won’t find another like Steve Johnson for a while.

18 Nov 2023

Browns working out former Ravens QB Joe Flacco after Deshaun Watson injury

by admin | posted in: News | 0

Joe Flacco used to beat the Browns regularly. He might be joining them.

The former Ravens quarterback is working out Friday for Cleveland, which is still sorting through its QB situation after losing Deshaun Watson with a season-ending shoulder injury, a person familiar with the visit told The Associated Press.

The 38-year-old Flacco could be an option for the Browns, who lost Watson for the remainder of this season when he fractured his right shoulder in the first half of last week’s win at Baltimore.

Watson played the second half and went 14 of 14 passing despite the injury while rallying the Browns to a stunning 33-31 win.

Flacco, who played 11 seasons for the Ravens, is the only QB being worked out Friday at the team’s facility, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the club never publicly discloses any player workouts.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski would not confirm Flacco’s workout following practice, saying only “we bring a lot of guys in.”

Flacco has an 18-3 career mark against the Browns, and last season he rallied the New York Jets to an improbable comeback win over them. He hasn’t been on any roster in 2023. But he has kept open the possibility of returning, and Cleveland has a pressing need.

Watson’s injury has threatened to derail a promising season for the Browns (6-3), who won’t have their franchise QB until 2024 at the earliest and need help now.

With Watson sidelined, the Browns are starting rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) with P.J. Walker as his backup. Thompson-Robinson threw three interceptions in his only start against the Ravens on Oct. 1.

Earlier this week, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the team will add a third QB, but he didn’t specify if it would be to the active roster or practice squad. The Browns may wait to see how Thompson-Robinson does in his second career start before making any decisions.

Wide receiver Elijah Moore spent two seasons with Flacco in New York and said he would be a great addition.

“Joe’s a leader,” Moore said. “I feel like he has a lot of experience. He knows football, and how could you not want to lean on somebody who knows football? They play the game for a long time at a very high level, the highest level, MVP level. So major respect to him.”

Flacco was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player in February 2013 after leading the Ravens to a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

The 6-foot-6 QB has passed for 42,320 yards and gone 99-81 as a starter in 180 career NFL starts. Flacco played 11 seasons for the Ravens, three with the Jets and one in Denver.

Like Moore, Browns All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett believes Flacco would be a major asset — as a player or simply to help Thompson-Robinson.

“Maturity and experience. Wisdom,” Garrett said when asked the value of adding a player like Flacco. “As much as Deshaun has played, Flacco’s seen more. He’s been to the highest level. He can provide that little bit of a mentor role even if he doesn’t see the field being there and being a consistent leader.”

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18 Nov 2023

Colorado judge rules Trump ‘engaged in an insurrection’ — but can still run for president

by admin | posted in: Politics | 0

A Colorado judge has turned away a challenge looking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from running for president under an interpretation of the 14th Amendment that argued he engaged in insurrection against the United States on Jan. 6, 2021.

The ruling came in a case brought by progressive activists who sued the state, arguing that Trump was barred from returning to the office. A handful of courts in other states turned away similar challenges.

The case in Colorado was brought by the liberal government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. CREW argued that Trump is ineligible to run because of a clause in the 14th Amendment, which reads that those who took an oath to defend the Constitution and then have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” are ineligible to serve.

CREW said the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 disqualified Trump under a reading of the Civil War-era amendment.

The judge found that Trump did engage in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 “through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trump’s speech.” But she also found that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment doesn’t apply to Trump.

“The Court holds there is scant direct evidence regarding whether the Presidency is one of the positions subject to disqualification,” she wrote.

There has been a strange bedfellows group of anti-Trump forces arguing he is no longer eligible to serve. In addition to liberal groups like CREW or Free Speech for People, which has filed similar lawsuits in other states, some conservative legal experts have also argued the same.

Other, similar lawsuits have not found much purchase. The Minnesota state Supreme Court effectively punted on the issue earlier this month, allowing Trump to remain on the state’s primary ballot while not closing the door to reconsidering the case for the general election, should he be the nominee.

A lower court state judge in Michigan also recently rejected an attempt from Free Speech for People to have Trump stricken from the primary ballot there. The group said on Thursday that it would appeal the decision.

Many legal experts say the question of Trump’s eligibility may ultimately need to be answered by the Supreme Court.

Earlier iterations of the 14th Amendment push centered on pressuring states’ chief election officials — often secretaries of states — to make the call on Trump’s eligibility.

By and large, election officials from both parties balked at that push. They argued that the courts had to be the ones to make that call and not administrators.

17 Nov 2023

With $150M shortfall looming, St. Paul schools and union contract proposals already have huge gap

by admin | posted in: Society | 0

St. Paul Public Schools and the union representing its educators are negotiating a new contract as a pending $150 million budget shortfall looms in the upcoming school year.

And while negotiations are still in early stages, one thing is certain — there’s already a huge gap between what the school district says it’s willing to spend and what the St. Paul Federation of Educators hopes to get out of the upcoming two-year contract, which will replace the last one that expired in June.

Top objectives for the union — which represents around 4,000 teachers, educational assistants and community service professionals — include wage increases, adjustment to insurance, and more funding for student mental health support services.

District spokeswoman Erica Wacker said school officials so far have tallied up about $106 million in additional spending in 23 of the 46 proposals put forth by the union during negotiations, and the school district has said it’s only willing to allocate $12.4 million in additional funding.

$94 million gap

That already puts a roughly $94 million gap between what the district is willing to spend and what the educators union has requested, already much higher than what the district saw in 2022 when teachers came within minutes of striking.

That year, educators wanted about $60 million in increases, according to district estimates at the time, and the school district said it was only willing to increase spending by about $7.4 million.

District and union leaders reached a contract mere minutes before the next day’s classes were canceled. That deal included $3,000 bonuses, 2% raises and class size reductions.

Two years ago, St. Paul schools had federal pandemic aid money, and St. Paul’s school board earlier this year approved a $1 billion budget, the district’s biggest ever.

But significant shortfalls are on the horizon. Looming over contract negotiations is a projected $150 million budget shortfall expected in the 2024-2025 school year as federal pandemic aid dries up. District officials say their hands are tied by the fiscal situation.

St. Paul teachers went on strike four four days in 2020, their second strike in history, and almost went on strike in 2018.

Where things stand

Negotiations are still in their early stages, but early proposals from the district and union give a look at where things stand.

In the first year of the upcoming contract, the union is asking for a $7,500 pay bump for all teachers and community service professionals in the district, as well as a 7.5% raise in the second year. They’re also asking for a $5.43 an hour raise for educational assistants followed by a 7.5% raise in the second year.

Meanwhile, the school district is offering a 1% cost of living adjustment in the first year of the contract for teachers and school community service professional sand 1.5% in the second year. Educational assistants would get two consecutive 1.5% raises.

St. Paul teachers are among the highest-paid in the state of Minnesota. In the 2022-2023 school year, the average teacher salary was $87,250, according to data from the Minnesota Professional Educator and Licensing Standards Board, placing the district in the top 10 statewide.

Under the deal reached in 2022, educational assistants got hourly raises of $1 or $1.25 and another $1 the second year. By 2023, they were expected to make between $18.85 and $37.55 per hour.

So far the St. Paul Federation of Educators has submitted 46 proposals, though the final picture of all their requests hasn’t emerged. But the district already is beginning to turn some down.

Negotiation meeting

At a negotiation meeting Thursday night, the district rejected two of the proposals put forward by the union.

One called for additional mental health and school counseling staff. Another requesting more support for restorative practices — shifting away from traditional discipline like suspensions and emphasizing community building.

In its responses, the district said it agreed with the intent of both proposals, but estimated the mental health proposal would cost an additional $25 million and the restorative practices proposal could cost $2.2 million.

District leaders also told union leaders that they were not in a position to agree to the proposals because the union hadn’t yet submitted all of its requests.

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