Addressing a classroom of inmates in Lino Lakes on Thursday, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon acknowledged voting might not be the first thing on a person’s mind at the end of their incarceration.

But the group of 20 or so men serving the final years or months of their sentences had plenty of questions for the state’s top election official. Simon has been touring state prisons to spread the word about a relatively new state law restoring voting rights to felons on supervised release.

The men’s questions ranged from how to find what’s on their ballots to how to push for changes to state law, and whether having a felony disqualifies someone from running for office.

The answer to that last question? No, said Simon, which was followed by a quip from the audience about current GOP presidential nominee former President Donald Trump.

“You can run for anything you want,” the inmate said, referring to Trump’s numerous felony indictments and recent conviction. “The presidential nominee has 34 felonies.”

Simon’s visit to Minnesota Correctional Facility-Lino Lakes this week was his seventh stop on a statewide prison tour aimed at educating and dispelling misinformation about a law restoring voting rights to more than 55,000 Minnesotans.

Despite felons on supervised release being able to vote in Minnesota elections since June 2023, Simon said there still is some confusion following a 20-year debate in the Minnesota Legislature and challenges in the state’s courts. Raising the stakes is it being a presidential election year, which means much higher interest and voter turnout.

Getting the word out

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, center, tours the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Lino Lakes with warden Shannon Reimann, right, on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Simon spoke to inmates nearing the ends of their sentences about Minnesota’s new law restoring the right to vote for those with felony convictions who are no longer incarcerated. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

“I think half the battle here is just getting the word out that this is even a thing,” Simon said in an interview at the end of his prison visit. “I want to make sure everyone understands their rights. As I said in there, they have the right to vote or not to vote, but I wouldn’t want anyone confused into not voting.”

There also have been legal challenges to the law, which the Attorney General’s office, led by Democrat Keith Ellison, and Simon, also a Democrat, say spread uncertainty about felon voting rights.

The Conservative group Minnesota Voters Alliance filed a lawsuit in Anoka County that the state Supreme Court heard in April. A decision still is pending, but the law remains in place. Separately, a Mille Lacs County judge declared the law unconstitutional and tried to bar several people on probation from voting, but the state appeals court overruled him.

Lino Lakes holds more than 1,000 prisoners, and while only around 20 saw Simon Thursday, word about the change will spread, said Kelly Haff, a legislative director with the Department of Corrections.

People serving time can’t vote in Minnesota — so for someone serving a decades-long sentence at a maximum security facility like Stillwater, information on voting won’t be useful for a long time. At Lino Lakes, a medium-security prison, many are preparing to get released in just a few years.

The facility focuses on helping inmates with substance use problems, rehabilitating sex offenders and preparing people for life on the outside through educational and vocational programs. Corrections department officials say 80% are in some kind of treatment program.

Simon said he’s fielded many questions about politics and government from people incarcerated at Minnesota prisons, but at Lino Lakes, he noticed a particular interest in advocacy and the law-making process. Many in the classroom had questions about the lawmaking process and how to go about changing policy.

The Secretary of State’s prison tour continues next week with a visit to Minnesota Correctional Facility–Togo in Itasca County.

Minnesota is one of 23 states that automatically restore voting rights upon release. Washington, D.C., Maine and Vermont allow incarcerated people to vote.

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Many wondered following his stellar showing at The Open — in which he finished in a tie for second — if Billy Horschel would withdraw from the 3M Open.

He insisted otherwise, noting he likes to carry momentum forward and continue to play when he’s playing well. Sure enough, Horschel was on the driving range early Tuesday in Blaine, prepping for another week of action.

Horschel was asked on Wednesday if he considered withdrawing from Minnesota’s PGA Tour stop this week. The answer was a resounding, “No.”

“When I commit to something I try to hold to that commitment unless crazy circumstances arise,” Horschel said.

Well, crazy hit Thursday morning in the form of illness, and Horschel withdrew well in advance of his afternoon tee time.

“Yeah, it was unfortunate. I wasn’t feeling great late last night and took some medicine. Woke up, had decent sleep but woke up and just have a fever, body is just not wanting to respond, every muscle feels like it’s locked up. Tried to do a little warmup in the gym, just didn’t respond. Tried to go out to the golf course and hit some balls, body’s just not wanting to cooperate,” Horschel said.

“Disappointing. I was looking forward to playing here at 3M. Played here last year, had a good finish.” Horschel added. “The event is well run by 3M and Tracy and Hollis, so very disappointed not to be able to play here after coming off a really great finish last week.”

Bridgeman leads

Jacob Bridgeman leads the 3M Open after the first round following his 8-under round of 63 carded Thursday.

Bridgeman is a PGA Tour rookie who reached the tour after qualifying via the Korn Ferry Tour last season. He entered this week in 135th in the FedExCup standings, but leads Mackenzie Hughes by a shot after tallying nine birdies Thursday.

The 24 year old missed the cut in each of his previous three starts.

Capan update

North Oaks’ native Frankie Capan III turned down a sponsor’s exemption to the 3M Open to gather more Korn Ferry Tour points this week.

So far, so good. Capan is in a tie for 23rd after firing a 5-under round of 66 at the NV5 Invitational in Glenview, Ill.

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The Twins have just taken two of three from baseball’s best team and here come Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda, expected to join the team for a six-game road trip that begins this weekend in Detroit.

Brock Stewart is back in the Twins’ bullpen for the first time since May 1, and Justin Topa is set to pitch in St. Paul on Friday to take what the team hopes are the final steps before joining the bullpen for the first time since being acquired in the trade that sent Jorge Polanco to Seattle.

Suddenly, there is reason to believe this team might have postseason legs. And when we say suddenly, we mean suddenly.

The Twins returned from the All-Star break last weekend fending off the narrative that they couldn’t consistently beat baseball’s best teams, something they’ll have to do to A) overtake Cleveland in the American League Central and B) advance to their first World Series since 1991.

It didn’t help matters when Minnesota immediately lost two to NL Central-leading Milwaukee, falling to 2-19 against the six teams with better records, four of them division leaders. With MLB-leading Philadelphia headed here for a three-game series, that number was offered around the clubhouse and received with what amounted to a group shrug, perhaps best summed up by catcher Ryan Jeffers after the Twins beat the Phillies 7-2 on Monday night.

“I knew we weren’t playing great against (those teams),” he said, “but I don’t think anyone in here gave a (rip).”

After Minnesota rallied to walk-off the Phillies on Wednesday for their first series victory against one of MLB’s heavyweights, Twins fans might be more inclined to think that way, too.

Because the Twins have been to the playoffs 10 times since 2002, this is the time of year fans generally wonder whether their team has the mettle to reach the heights of the 1987 and 1991 teams — and whether the front office will make a significant addition at the trade deadline by 5 p.m. CDT Tuesday.

Those questions are joined at the em dash here but I don’t think the former depends on the latter. In a real way, personnel gurus Derek Falvey and Thad Levine are charged with making up for ownership’s decision to cut payroll, rather than add it, after the Twins broke the team’s 21-year run without a playoff series win, but they seem to have already built a contender.

With little exception, the Twins have been playing good baseball this season, which is why they’re 11 games over .500 and held the second AL wild card spot on Thursday. And they’re getting better.

The reason the Twins beat the Phillies twice this week is that they just outplayed them twice: pitched better, had better at-bats, never gave in. As Max Kepler said after driving in the winning run in the ninth Wednesday, they grinded.

“I wouldn’t say it was pretty at times, but we never really gave up and played hard on both sides of the ball — even if it really didn’t fall the way we wanted it to in the specific moments where the game kind of changed,” he said. “But we grinded. We’re grinding with what we have.”

Stewart, the Twins’ most effective right-handed reliever the past two seasons, has been back for one game. Lewis (right adductor strain) will return soon after being out since July 2 — He also missed 58 games earlier this season with a quadriceps injury — while Miranda (low back strain) has been out since July 10. Carlos Correa, on the injured list with plantar fasciitis, probably won’t travel this trip but isn’t expected to be out long.

Brooks Lee is an improvement on what the Twins were getting from Kyle Farmer, and Jorge Alcala seems finally to be settling into a leverage role. Simeon Woods Richardson and Bailey Ober look better with each start, and Topa, if he pitches the way he did last season in Seattle, is the kind of reliever teams hope to get at the deadline.

“A lot of guys are down on the injured list, and we’re still competing, which is special with a group this young right now,” Kepler said. “To go through the stuff we’re going through against these top-tier teams, it’s special.”

When reminded that the Twins are about to get key players back from injury for the stretch run, Kepler said, “Makes you think about when everyone’s healthy and back, it’s going to be scary.”

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It hasn’t taken veteran quarterback Sam Darnold very long to make a good impression at training camp.

On Wednesday afternoon, Darnold unleashed a beautiful deep ball toward the heavens, dropping it into the outstretched arms of receiver Justin Jefferson with the perfect amount of touch. On Thursday afternoon, Darnold followed it up with another impressive throw, hitting receiver Jordan Addison in stride nearly 50 yards away along the sidelines.

The arm talent is undeniable.

“He was throwing bombs,” Jefferson said with a smile when asked about Darnold. “He has been looking good.”

The next step for Darnold is fully grasping the offense he’ll be running under head coach Kevin O’Connell. He arrived in the spring and learned the ropes of the new scheme at organized team activities and mandatory minicamp. He returned in the summer looking ready to showcase his knowledge at training camp.

“I’m really starting to feel comfortable,” Darnold said. “It’s really fun to be able to push the limits of what we can do.”

There’s a mental checklist that Darnold goes through each time he gets a play call from O’Connell.

It starts with making sure he has the verbiage down as he enters the huddle. It continues with getting everybody on the same page as they approach the line of scrimmage. It ends with scanning the defense before the snap and adjusting in real time.

The fact that Darnold is going up against a group led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores on a daily basis has been extremely helpful in his development.

“Sometimes our defense is running 100 different coverages and different pressures off of them,” Darnold said. “It’s really good work for us to come out here and test the width of how much we know the playbook.”

All of it should slowly become second nature for Darnold over the next month or so. At least that’s the hope. He’s currently in position to be the starter for the Sept. 8 opener against the New York Giants, even though the Vikings selected rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the draft.

Asked about Darnold this week, O’Connell emphasized how excited he is to see him flourish with a support system around him. That’s not something Darnold had in time with the New York Jets or the Carolina Panthers, and while he had it with the San Francisco 49ers, he spent most of his time as the backup.

“He doesn’t need to be reminded about some of those experiences for him to apply them to how he operates every single day within our building,” O’Connell said. “He has always had the skill set. He has shown that that skill set matches with playing the quarterback position at the NFL level consistently. That’s going to be the name of the game: How comfortable can he get within our offense?”

As for the pressure that comes with what might end up being Darnold’s final chance to prove himself, he’s not thinking about that as he tries to rewrite the narrative. He’s more concerned with doing all the little things it takes to succeed at the highest level.

“The biggest thing for me as a quarterback is playing the game like a point guard,” Darnold said. “Just being able to dish the ball to the guys and let them go run after the catch and not try to do too much out there.”

Unless of course there’s chance for Darnold to let it rip downfield. He has already shown he’s more than capable of doing that.

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