Royce White campaign says it reimbursed strip club tab, other expenses

Plus: An LGBTQ sports tournament comes to the Twin Cities 🎾 [Plus: An LGBTQ sports tournament comes to the Twin Cities 🎾] View this email as a [web page]( [Star Tribune]( [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA [Essential Minnesota logo] ESSENTIAL MINNESOTA Good morning, Minnesota! I'll be out hunting fireflies tonight. Wish me luck 🍀 On to the news 📢 [Eder Campuzano] By Eder Campuzano TODAY’S TOP STORIES - [Emmer at RNC zeroes in on Kamala Harris as GOP waits to see if Biden will step aside]( - [Joe Mauer's induction into Hall of Fame another feather in St. Paul's cap]( - [After months of turmoil, Rochester schools adopts transgender guidelines]( - [One million gallons of coal ash wastewater spill at Minnesota Power coal plant]( - Federal appeals court agrees that Minnesota age limit on carrying handguns in public is unconstitutional](   Royce White campaign says it has reimbursed expenses from strip clubs, water parks and more Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune Royce White, the GOP-endorsed candidate to take on Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November, allegedly misused $157,000 during his campaign to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar in 2022. Now, the former NBA player's Senate campaign says he has paid back nearly $13,000 of those "unauthorized" funds, about $1,200 of which was spent at a strip club in Miami and more than $1,000 was billed at indoor water parks. White never ran directly against Omar that year: He lost in the primary to Cicely Davis, who took about 25% of the vote. The White campaign has been amending previous financial disclosures to address a 27-page Federal Election Commission complaint filed by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. But at least one expert says those amendments may not help much. "The FEC General Counsel's Office doesn't give you much credit for taking corrective action two years after the fact and only after a complaint has been filed," said Brett Kappel, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and national expert on campaign finance law. The state GOP endorsed White over Joe Fraser, a retired Naval intelligence officer. The latest twist in White's campaign finance story comes as Republicans become ever-more bullish about their odds at winning statewide election in Minnesota. It's been 18 years since that happened, when Tim Pawlenty was narrowly re-elected governor. While Klobuchar remains a firmly popular incumbent — she led White by 14 points in a SurveyUSA poll conducted in mid-June — former President Donald Trump has recently said he considers Minnesota a swing state. Republicans have echoed similar sentiments during the party's national convention in Milwaukee, where Trump is expected to accept the presidential nomination later this week. Briana Bierschbach has the [full story about White's campaign finance issues here](. If you want to keep up with all of the Star Tribune politics team's coverage in Milwaukee, [sign up for the Hot Dish newsletter here](.     GOING OUT - [5 local picnic baskets for fine outdoor dining]( - [The Big Gigs: 10 best concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week]( - [Tickets go on sale for Foxing, Fran Lebowitz, the Bad Plus and Elyanna]( Good game: A new sports tournament is coming to town More than 2,500 LGBTQ athletes have registered to compete in a series of sporting events over the weekend in competitions ranging from kickball to bocce and dodgeball to tennis. Stonewall Sports is kicking off its 10th annual national event Thursday right here in the Twin Cities. "It's a really affirming, mostly queer community," said tournament director Suzanne Blum Grundyson. "It's fun to play sports when you're just allowed to be yourself and are judged on your ability, as opposed to many of the co-ed sports that we've encountered." Zoë Jackson has the [full story about the Stonewall Sports event here](. Stonewall Sports [Share this newsletter with friends]( Do you enjoy Essential Minnesota? Encourage your friends and family to [sign up](. You also can share it using the links below. MORE FROM THE STAR TRIBUNE - [St. Paul's Hmong Cultural Center expands]( - [Twins' Willi Castro collects a duffel bag full of memories from his first All-Star Game]( - [Spike Moss, longtime Minneapolis activist, has city street named in his honor]( - [$2,500 reward offered after cat thrown from Minneapolis 12th-floor balcony]( CAR TROUBLE FOR PAUL NEWMAN Bob Schrank/Star Tribune Paul Newman had to address a hole "about the size of a fist in the engine wall" of his Bob Sharp Datsun 280Z during the Uncola Supernationals at Brainerd International Raceway on July 16, 1978. This photo made the next day's edition of the Star Tribune — the newspaper reported that Newman drove "a very consistent race" but couldn't beat then-national champion Logan Blackburn. IN OTHER NEWS - [Sahan Journal names Vanan Murugesan as next executive director]( - Sahan Journal - [Teen starts non-profit based on acts of service and business]( - Southwest Voices - [The awkward first meeting of the Minnesota Racing Commission with newly appointed tribal leaders]( - MinnPost     THE MINNESOTA GOODBYE Mere1514 via Reddit We all know the superstition: Never put away your snow shovel in Minnesota. The moment you do, a blizzard is all but guaranteed. That's why we love the extra bit of caution this Reddit user is practicing by keeping their snow boots in the back seat of their car. Call us all silly if you will, but I bought a paddle board just before the summer storms hit and I'm convinced the deluges were Mother Nature's way of telling your friendly neighborhood newsletter writer: "Not today, son. Not even this month." Apologies. Apologies all around. Thanks for reading Eder Campuzano, reporter David Taintor, editor [Email]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]([Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Manage]( your preferences | [Opt Out]( using TrueRemove™ Got this as a forward? [Sign up]( to receive our future emails. View this email [online](. 650 3rd Ave. S. Suite 1300 | Minneapolis, MN 55488 US This email was sent to {EMAIL}. To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.