Officials will break ground on the first construction project at Rice Creek Commons this week — the start to a 427-acre development in Arden Hills.

The parcel of the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, purchased from the U.S. government by Ramsey County in 2013, will be redeveloped for businesses, retail and proposed housing. The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved terms for a phased development of a 40-acre commercial parcel called “Outlot A” – which is adjacent to the Rice Creek Commons – earlier this month.

A ground breaking will be held this week at Outlot A, north of the Rice Creek Commons development site in Ramsey County, for the new headquarters of Micro Control Company, a test equipment manufacturer for the electronics industry. It will take up approximately 10 acres of the 40-acre Outlot A. (Courtesy of Ryan Cos.)

The total future estimated development value is $1 billion. The groundbreaking will include officials from Ramsey County, the city of Arden Hills and developer Ryan Cos.

The new facility is a 157,000-square-foot advanced technology project that will be the headquarters of Micro Control Company, a test equipment manufacturer for the electronics industry. It will take up approximately 10 acres of the 40-acre Outlot A, which is on the north end of Rice Creek Commons.

Sustainability guidelines

Micro Control Company will brings jobs to the area and the company was open to working within sustainability guidelines set for the development, making it a good fit for the parcel, said Ramsey County Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh.

Ramsey County is the most fully developed county in the state, so adding a large development is significant, Jebens-Singh said. It comes at a time when the county is in need of housing, jobs and green space and the large space allows officials to think of how to meet those needs, said Jebens-Singh, who also is a member of the Joint Development Authority.

“It’s very forward thinking,” she said. “So in some ways, not only is that good for our local region, for Arden Hills and for the district that I represent in Ramsey County, but as a model for these kind of developments across the Midwest and hopefully across the country.”

The Joint Development Authority’s vision for the site is to “create economic prosperity, build an inclusive economy, have a long-term sustainable development and develop an energy-forward community by providing much-needed housing at a variety of income levels – including affordable housing – and creating well-paying jobs,” according to a county release.

“It’s fantastic to see this first phase of development at Rice Creek Commons begin to come to life and see the sustainability and clean energy measures that are being incorporated in the project. We look forward to welcoming Micro Control Company to our city as our first new neighbor in this great Arden Hills community asset,” said Tena Monson, Arden Hills city councilmember and Joint Development Authority commissioner, in a statement.

‘Generational development’

Clean-up of the site — previously the largest contaminated site in the state — is complete.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency have removed the site’s soil and surface water from the state and federal Superfund lists, and the U.S. Army will continue to operate the groundwater cleanup system as needed.

Other plans for the area include Spine Road, a future county road that will run through Rice Creek Commons. Construction is anticipated in the next year.

Joint Development Authority Chair Jon Wicklund, in a statement, called the first phase of Outlot A a “generational development.”

“This is an excellent first step in advancing our vision for a vibrant community that will spark economic development and meet the needs of the region for decades to come — and we look forward to celebrating additional site developments in the months ahead,” Wicklund said.

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By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY (AP) — As the Vatican switches gears from saying goodbye to Pope Francis to electing his successor, the status of a once-powerful Italian cardinal and whether he can vote in the May 7 conclave have been a constant question and source of gossip.

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Cardinal Angelo Becciu was once an influential Vatican chief of staff who was a leading papal contender himself. But he fell from grace in 2020 when Francis forced him to resign his job as head of the Vatican’s saint-making office and his rights as a cardinal because of allegations of financial misconduct.

Becciu denied wrongdoing but was put on trial in the Vatican criminal court and convicted of finance-related charges in December 2023. He is appealing the conviction and 5 1/2-year prison sentence and has participated in the pre-conclave meetings, but there is a lingering question about whether he can actually vote in the conclave.

On Monday, cardinals entering the pre-conclave discussions were inundated with questions by journalists about whether Becciu would be allowed in the Sistine Chapel or not. No decision was taken, but Italian media reported late Monday that Becciu told his fellow cardinals he would withdraw his participation.

Becciu rose to prominence and power under conservative Pope Benedict XVI and is very much affiliated with the conservative Vatican old guard. While he initially became a close adviser to Pope Francis, Becciu’s subsequent downfall at the hands of Francis might suggest he would vote for someone keen to undo some of Francis’ reforms.

At 76, Becciu is under the age limit of 80 and technically eligible to vote, but the Vatican’s official statistics list him as a “non-elector.” When he was ousted in 2020, Becciu told a hastily arranged news conference that he would not be voting in any future conclave. But recently he has insisted he is entitled to vote and canon lawyers have been poring over the Vatican document regulating the conclave to determine if he’s right.

The document, known by its Latin name Universi Dominici Gregis, lays out the criteria for electors, making clear that all under-80 cardinals have the right to elect the pope, except those who have been “canonically deposed or who with the consent of the Roman Pontiff have renounced the cardinalate.” It adds that after a pope has died, “the College of Cardinals cannot readmit or rehabilitate them.”

There has never been any clarity on what exactly Becciu renounced or how: The one-line statement issued by the Vatican press office on Sept. 24, 2020 said merely that Francis had accepted Becciu’s resignation as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints “and his rights connected to the cardinalate.” There is no indication he has been sanctioned canonically.

After he forced Becciu’s resignation, Francis visited Becciu on occasion and allowed him to participate in the life of the Vatican. But Francis also changed Vatican law to allow the city state’s criminal tribunal to prosecute him.

Italian daily Domani reported last week that during the initial pre-conclave discussions, Becciu was presented with two letters signed by Francis before he died indicating he should not participate in the conclave. But it wasn’t clear what weight those letters have or whether the College of Cardinals can override Francis’ wishes.

The issue is not minor, since Becciu’s participation or lack thereof could invalidate the election.

Asked again Monday if Becciu would participate in the conclave, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni demurred. He said the issue was discussed but that there was “no resolution.”

Questions, meanwhile, have continued to swirl about the integrity of the trial that convicted Becciu and eight others. During the proceedings, the court heard that Francis intervened on several occasions on behalf of the prosecutors and that the prosecution’s prime witness against Becciu was coached and manipulated by outsiders.

The appeal is scheduled to begin in September.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since I left Vietnam — 50 springs, 50 winters, each one carrying me further from the life I once knew. I still remember the last moments like a photograph that never fades: the rush, the fear, the silence on the plane as we left everything behind. I was younger then, with little more than the clothes on my back and the weight of memory in my heart  — alongside my brother Thomas with ony $10 in my pocket to the destination, Minnesota.

Settling in Minnesota was not easy. The language was foreign, the winters colder than I ever imagined, and the distance — cultural, emotional, spiritual — was something no plane could bridge. But we made a life here. I worked, raised children, and built something out of the unknown. Still, I always carried Vietnam with me — in the food I cooked, the stories I told, the quiet moments when the past came rushing in.

Now, looking back after five decades, I see a Vietnam that is almost unrecognizable. Skyscrapers rise where there were once rice fields. The country has grown, prospered, transformed into a modern economy no longer marked by war or poverty. I see photos of busy cities, young people speaking fluent English, startups and smartphones. It’s no longer the “third world country” it once was.

And yet, my feelings are mixed.

Part of me swells with pride. Vietnam has endured, overcome, and stood tall on the world stage. But another part aches. I wonder what my life would have been had I stayed — what kind of person I would be in that new Vietnam. Would I belong there now? Or has time made me a stranger to the country of my birth?

I am grateful for the life I have made in America, but I am also haunted by the Vietnam I lost — and astonished by the one that rose in its place. As an expat, I live between two homes: one I helped build, and one I can only visit in dreams and headlines.

Time has a strange way of folding in on itself. One moment I am on the tennis court, racket in hand, chasing a ball like it’s the only thing that matters. Next, I’m standing in front of a classroom, guiding students through lessons that reach beyond textbooks — lessons about resilience, respect and the value of effort. Tennis keeps my body moving; teaching keeps my spirit alive. Both have been with me these past 40 years, anchoring me in this chapter of life.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing your impact ripple through generations. A former student brings their son to stop by to my class and says, “You taught me — now you’ll teach my son.” That moment stays with me. I realize my work matters. I have helped build something — confidence, hope, a belief in possibility. Teaching has been more than a job; it’s been a calling. Nearly five decades now, and each lesson is still fresh with purpose.

But before any of this — before tennis, before chalkboards and Zoom calls — I was just a boy. A boy growing up near a U.S. military base, curious and wide-eyed, watching the strange, loud world of American soldiers and jeeps and radios. I remember sneaking near the fences, speaking broken English, and sometimes being handed a candy bar, a can of C-ration ham and beans, even whiskey they didn’t want. I knew all the brands of cigarettes — from Camel to Winston. I knew the brand names of whiskeys. That’s where it started — my fascination with America, with its people, with the rhythm of its language and the promise of something different.

That life feels like a distant film reel now, playing in black and white. But I carry it all with me — the noise of the base, the lessons of the classroom, the crisp thwack of a well-hit serve. These moments, scattered across decades and continents, make up the mosaic of who I am.

I am not only a refugee or a teacher, not only an athlete or a father. I am all of these at once — shaped by war, rooted in education, and still running across the court — chasing that next point, the next set, the next match, and that next life to touch.

Fifty years. So much has changed. And yet, in my heart, the old and the new Vietnam live side by side. I am grateful for the family and friends who support me in this journey and for a good life here in America.

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Francois Nguyen escaped Saigon on April 29, 1975, during the chaos leading up to the fall of the city the next day. He had witnessed the devastating Vietnam War firsthand before fleeing the country. At 19 years old, he came to the United States, sponsored by Catholic Charities, and settled in St. Paul. Today, he teaches math and statistics at Saint Paul College. He is married and has four children. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis.

Lakers coach J.J. Redick was upset after Game 4 that no foul was called when Luka Doncic went down to the floor with 35 seconds to play in Minnesota’s 116-113 victory.

“Luka got tripped,” Redick said. “That was a blatant trip.”

The NBA confirmed the coach’s assertion in its last-two minute report released Monday, noting, “McDaniels steps forward into Doncic’s path, initiating illegal foot contact that causes him to lose his balance.”

Minnesota led by one at the time. Had a foul been called, Doncic would’ve gone to the line for two free throws. Instead, the Lakers had to call a timeout to salvage possession, and Minnesota stole the ball on the ensuing inbounds play.

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