Kids ‘n Kinship provides friendships and positive role models to children and youth ages 5-16 who are in need of an additional supportive relationship with an adult. Here’s one of the youth waiting for a mentor:

First name: Mason

Age: 9

Interests: Mason is a big Roblox and ninja enthusiast. He is an active second-grader who likes roller skating, playing at the park, gagaball, and trampoline parks. He enjoys art as well as football, baseball, and soccer.

Personality/Characteristics: His guardian describes him as happy, active, intelligent, talkative, caring, protective, tall for his age. The three words/phrases he uses to describe himself are: Funny, sometimes a smarty pants, nice. He loves his family very much.

Goals/dreams: When he grows up, he wants to be a pro basketball or soccer player. If he could have three wishes he would want: 1) Have a lot of money for me and my family 2) No school 3) Get my own phone for my games. His guardian hopes a Kids ‘n Kinship mentor will help him see himself in positive ways, foster positive thoughts and behaviors for best outcomes.  He would like a 1-on-1 mentor who is fun and can do fun things.

For more information: Mason is waiting for a mentor through Kids n’ Kinship in Dakota County. To learn more about this youth mentoring program and the 39+ youth waiting for a mentor, sign up for an Information Session, visit www.kidsnkinship.org or email programs@kidsnkinship.org. For more information about mentoring in the Twin Cities outside of Dakota County, contact MENTOR MN at mentor@mentormn.org or fill out a brief form at www.mentoring.org/take-action/become-a-mentor/#search.

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By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writers

Markets are flat early Tuesday in holiday-thinned trading before head of the release of new data on how the U.S. economy fared in the third quarter.

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Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are all essentially unchanged before the opening bell.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk jumped more than 7% overnight after U.S. regulators approved a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. Novo’s Wegovy is a GLP-1 drug that works like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.

Again touching new records, the price of gold rose 1.2% early Tuesday to $4,523.30 an ounce, adding to its consistent gains throughout the year. Silver rose 1.7%, to $69.71 an ounce.

Oil prices edged higher early Tuesday after jumping more than 2% on Monday when the U.S. Coast Guard said it was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean.

U.S. benchmark crude added 4 cents to $58.05 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, gained 7 cents to $62.14 per barrel.

Even after five straight days of gains, oil prices are down about 19% since the beginning of 2025 with demand lagging. U.S. factory conditions are weakening with activity readings hitting five-month lows, according to S&P Global.

Markets in the U.S. will close early on Wednesday and remain closed on Thursday for the Christmas holiday. Yet several economic reports during the shortened week could shed more light on the condition and direction of the U.S. economy.

The government on Tuesday releases the first of three estimates on gross domestic product, a reflection of how the broader U.S. economy fared in the third quarter. Also, the Conference Board will offer results from its December consumer confidence survey.

Wednesday will bring a weekly update from the Labor Department on applications for jobless benefits, a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

In Europe at midday Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% higher, while the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.2%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was unchanged.

In Asian, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was flat at 50,412,87 and the dollar fell against the Japanese yen after officials in Tokyo warned they would intervene if the yen weakened further.

The dollar traded at 155.95 yen, down from 157.04 yen late Monday. Instead of gaining after the Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate on Friday, the yen had weakened, drawing the usual objections from the Finance Ministry to larger than usual currency fluctuations.

“The hint of currency intervention proved to be such a serious threat that the yen, which had been significantly oversold after the Bank of Japan meeting, rose from the ashes,” Alex Kruptsikevich of FXPro said in a commentary.

The euro climbed to $1.1797 from $1.1762.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up early gains to fall 0.1% to 25,774.14. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 3,919.98.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3% to 4,117.32. Shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean’s shares jumped 12.5% after President Donald Trump said it would help build a new class of U.S. battleship at the Hanwha Philly shipyard.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia jumped 1.1% to 8,795.70.

In Taiwan, the Taiex advanced 0.6%, while India’s Sensex was nearly unchanged.

The elected sheriffs of Minnesota gave a “vote of no confidence” on state Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell during their winter conference, the officials’ professional organization announced Monday in criticizing how the agency inspects and licenses county jails.

The Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association based the decision on ongoing issues and operational challenges the sheriffs had in working with the Department of Corrections, the agency’s Jail Inspection and Enforcement Unit and “specifically with the DOC’s leadership,” according to a news release.

“In recent years, the DOC has begun a pattern of interpreting the law and taking enforcement actions based on whim rather than rule,” the sheriffs wrote.

The release said the DOC’s “arbitrary and capricious decisions are consistently creating hardships for those community members who are incarcerated, the legal community, law enforcement and especially the sheriff’s offices who must anticipate which erratic action the DOC will take against their county.”

In response later Monday, the DOC said that the department “categorically rejects the claim that its actions are arbitrary or unsupported by law. Licensing and enforcement decisions are issued pursuant to statutory authority, established rules, and long-standing administrative practice.”

The agency said its actions are “rooted in law, supported by documentation, and driven by the obligation to prevent harm, protect life, and reduce legal and financial risk to counties and the state. When deficiencies rise to the level of serious risk, DOC has a duty to act.”

Richard Hodsdon, the sheriffs’ association’s legal counsel, also singled out the agency’s oversight of county jails.

“The DOC has issued arbitrary orders against several Minnesota county jails that have cost property taxpayers millions of dollars without any evidence that its commands have done anything to make jails safer or better for those incarcerated or to better promote  public safety,” he said in the statement. “Under the Commissioner and Jail Enforcement managers, the DOC has clearly changed from a supportive and assisting partner that helps counties run well-managed jails to the use of heavy-handed and draconian sanctions to impose the personal whims and preferences of some DOC staff on how they think jails should be run.”

The release said the sheriffs of Minnesota’s 87 counties were “overwhelming” in support of the vote of no confidence.

“What is really shocking is that they fail to hold themselves to the same high, and unwritten, standards that they impose on the jails,” the statement said.

The DOC said the sheriffs organization’s announcement “should not distract from the real issue at hand: ensuring that people held in Minnesota jails do not suffer preventable harm and that counties are not exposed to unnecessary legal and financial risk. DOC will not retreat from its responsibility to enforce minimum standards simply because doing so is unpopular or inconvenient.”

Under Schnell’s leadership, the department remains committed to transparency, collaboration and lawful oversight, the DOC said.

“We stand ready to work with sheriffs, counties, advocates, and policymakers in good faith to improve jail safety and operations across Minnesota — because lives depend on it.”

The Pioneer Press attempted to reach east metro sheriffs for comment on their professional organization’s action.

When the Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry was asked which way he voted and if he had any specific criticisms or comments about county jail inspections, a spokesperson referred to the MSA press release. Agencies in Dakota and Ramsey counties had not responded as of Monday night.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz appointed Schnell commissioner of the DOC in January 2019. In 1993, Schnell became a deputy sheriff with the Carver County Sheriff’s Office and six years later joined the St. Paul Police Department. He was also the chief of police in Hastings, Maplewood and Inver Grove Heights.

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Today is Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2025. There are eight days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 23, 1972, in an NFL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, Steelers running back Franco Harris scored a game-winning touchdown on a deflected pass with less than 10 seconds left. The “Immaculate Reception,” as the catch came to be known, is often cited as the greatest NFL play of all time.

Also on this date:

In 1823, the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel of New York; the verse, more popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas,” was later attributed to Clement C. Moore.

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In 1913, the Federal Reserve System was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act.

In 1941, during World War II, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to Japanese forces.

In 1948, former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese World War II leaders were executed in Tokyo after being tried for war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging.

In 1968, 82 crew members of the intelligence ship USS Pueblo were released by North Korea, 11 months after they had been captured.

In 1986, the experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana (JEE’-nuh) Yeager, completed the first nonstop, non-refueled round-the-world flight as it returned safely to Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 2003, a Virginia jury sentenced teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison, sparing him the death penalty. Malvo and his older partner in crime, John Allen Muhammad, shot and killed 10 people over three weeks in October 2002, terrorizing the Washington, D.C., area. Muhammad was executed in 2009.

In 2024, President Joe Biden announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment weeks before Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of capital punishment, was to begin a second term.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former Emperor Akihito of Japan is 92.
Actor-comedian Harry Shearer is 82.
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark is 81.
Actor Susan Lucci is 79.
Distance runner Bill Rodgers is 78.
Football Hall of Famer Jack Ham is 77.
Political commentator William Kristol is 73.
Author Donna Tartt is 62.
Rock musician Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 61.
Singer, model and former first lady of France Carla Bruni is 58.
Actor Finn Wolfhard is 23.