Minnesota Midday: Wednesday storms, Salim Said sentencing and Hermantown data center
Strong storms possible across Minnesota Wednesday, Feeding Our Future figure Salim Said faces sentencing, and Hermantown's Google data center vote is postponed after a protest.
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Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Minnesota on Wednesday, October 28, starting in the west in the afternoon and moving east. FOX 9 says the Twin Cities metro is under a Level 2 slight risk for severe weather, with the strongest storms likely from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; hail of an inch or larger, gusts over 60 mph and isolated tornadoes are possible. CBS Minnesota puts the chance of severe storms at 40 percent and says they could be rain only if the air does not warm enough. Thursday and Friday look calmer, near 60 degrees.
Salim Said, the former owner of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Minneapolis in the Feeding Our Future case. Prosecutors are asking for 40 years in prison and nearly 8 million dollars in repayment. A jury found Said guilty on all counts after a trial in March 2025. FOX 9 reports the government says Said and associates routed more than 44 million dollars through Safari Restaurant and Salim Limited, and describes him as the scheme's architect. He would be the 32nd defendant sentenced; Aimee Bock is serving a nearly 42-year sentence. The defense position was not reported in the articles we read.
The Hermantown City Council planned a special meeting Monday night to vote on final local approval for a proposed Google data center near Duluth. MPR News reports hundreds of people came, many could not fit in the chambers, and nearly 100 chanted for about two hours; the council postponed the votes. City leaders gave people 10 minutes to leave or face arrest, and no arrests were reported. KSTP and the Duluth News Tribune also report the meeting was shut down. City officials cite hundreds of jobs and a bigger tax base; opponents say the public had too little time to review documents. Several lawsuits against the project remain pending.
Supporters sayCity officials and business groups point to hundreds of jobs over the next decade, a boost to the tax base and regional economic opportunity.
Opponents sayStop the Hermantown Data Center says the public was given too little time to review documents and wanted to be heard during public comment.
