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Kate Baxter-Kauf

@kbaxterk.bsky.social
442 followers 311 following 370 posts

Class action & privacy lawyer at Lockridge Grindal Nauen. Abortion, debate access, & Central HS / St. Paul neighborhood volunteer. Lover of books, the West Wing & Feminist T-Shirt Friday. she/hers

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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
That the death penalty is morally indefensible is the thing I am most sure I am right about. This specific story and experience is horrifying; the entire machinery of death should be abandoned immediately.
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MPR News @mprnews.org · 23/09/2026
On behalf of two students in the district, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is suing the district and four school board members over the ban.
mprnews.org
Minnesota ACLU sues Detroit Lakes Public Schools over rainbow ban
Two students are challenging the school board’s ban that targets “safe space” stickers found in some classrooms.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Why do Minnesota highways not have moose and trees etched in the side? Oklahoma City had buffalo and plains grasses. 🦬
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I mean yes, but any law congress would pass now would most likely erode the only privacy and consumer protections we have now through preemption of state laws. Can we please try in January instead?
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marymoriarty.bsky.social @marymoriarty.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The person who sat in the car received a longer sentence than the shooters. Just using a tool passed by the legislature to adjust his sentence. The bigger context is that we have received over 400 applicants and only petitioned for 4.
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Spoopy Rex @katyrex.meatjacker.social · 21/09/2026
people because you are talking about something related to that, say that! If you mean people who are read and treated like women by the public, regardless of their gender identity, that's a thing too! We're not just replacing one word with another to be pedantic assholes and then calling it a day.
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Spoopy Rex @katyrex.meatjacker.social · 21/09/2026
We're not replacing the word "women" with "femmes." "Femme" doesn't mean people who were assigned female at birth, or who have uteruses, or who identify as women. It has a meaning that isn't just replacing another word. If you mean gender marginalized people, say that. If you mean menstruating
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Spoopy Rex @katyrex.meatjacker.social · 21/09/2026
See this is the whole thing I have with thinking about WHY we have updated language. We didn't change the language around learning and/or cognitive disabilities/delays for funsies. We did it because comparing ignorance/shittiness to real diagnoses is fucked up and wrong. I see this with gender too-
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Sarah Kelly @sarahkelly.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
One thing I need to make clear is that Kansas, both the state and the university, has been invoking John Brown and abolitionism for years, maybe decades. He’s painted on the interior of our state capitol. The hype videos are merely repurposing a heritage that already exists.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is Baxter's favorite children's book and I mail it to everyone I know who has a baby.
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Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
That understates it. It recalls Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War, identifying Missouri as the immoral villian that needed to be vanquished. No punches are pulled.
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Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Election 2026: MN Attorney General. naomikritzer.com/2026/09/09/e...
naomikritzer.com
Election 2026: MN Attorney General
This is another very straightforward one. On the ballot: Keith Ellison (DFL)Ron Schutz (Republican) Keith Ellison (DFL) Keith may be my favorite of our current set of elected Democrats. He has work…
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Happy lawyer back to school day! Time to litigate until Thanksgiving. ⚖️
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 07/09/2026
worth tying this into the political economy of the slave south as well. from roughly the 1820s onwards, slavery became enormously lucrative in ways that had never been seen before. slave traders became millionaires. large planters had tremendous purchasing power. just huge amounts of wealth.
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megl.bsky.social @megl.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Folk went to work for Trump *after* Trump gave a speech in 2015 chock full of antisemitic stereotypes and *after* Trump enacted an unconstitutional travel ban for Muslims.
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JRho @jrho.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The most absolutely massive flex from the state fair exhibit. This quilt is made of 40 years of prize ribbons from various categories at the New Mexico State Fair won by Carol St. Clair Johnson. She also won a prize for this quilt.
Massive quilt made of prize ribbons in blue, red, yellow, and whiteCenter square of quilt made of yellow and red ribbons and yellow rosettesBlock of quilt made of blue, yellow, red, and white ribbons. Ribbons state the year. Some have the prize winning object written on in markerCarol St. Clair Johnson
born 1954; resides Albuquerque, NM

O Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years
2023
satin ribbons

After unexpectedly winning her first blue ribbon for a sewn cape in 1981, Carol St. Clair Johnson developed an enduring love for the New Mexico State Fair. The quilt Fair New Mexico-41 Fair Years incorporates more than six hundred of the ribbons she won at the fair every subsequent year except 2020 (when the fair was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic). Johnson earned ribbons for needlework, knitting, crochet, pies, cookies, cakes, canning, jewelry, flowers, vegetables, and potted plants. The title of the quilt is a reference to the state song, and the design places the state's Zia sun symbol at the center. The quilt earned Johnson yet another ribbon: Best in Category (miscellaneous quilt) at the 2023 New Mexico State Fair.

Courtesy of Carol St. Clair Johnson
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Ed Markey is a champion for consumer protection and the right to a jury trial and his victory is absolutely fantastic. (Also never throw your trans friends under the bus, GOOD LORD.)
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
The whole state fair has a real “if the whole world is going to cost one million dollars i might as well spend it at the fair” vibe. 🎡🩵
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Tim McGraw, you gotta sing the chorus, buddy.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Your mom and aunt just dropped their only daughter/niece off at college and are ready to cry through the Chicks 🐣💖🎶
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reed eliot 🤌 🤌 @reedeliot.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I agree completely with this It's incredibly infantilizing! Like you don't believe women are capable of moral bankruptcy. Functionally, how is that different from misogyny? Feminism is not "women are all good." Feminism is "women are entire human people."
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johhnypbrclops.bsky.social @johhnypbrclops.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I'm an attorney who lives in Hennepin County. You shouldn't vote for Anders Folk unless you want a Republican Hennepin Co Attorney. You're allowed to be a single-issue voter in this race. Vote for the person who will prosecute ICE. Vote for Frazier.
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Pete Nikolai @neatpickleye.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
You know, I don’t like calling moderate DFLers republicans. But Anders Folk IS a Republican. He is only running as a DFLer because a GOP candidate can’t win the Hennepin County Attorney race.
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Minnesota Reformer @minnesotareformer.com · 12/08/2026
Matt Little will face off against Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt this fall in the race to represent Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District.
minnesotareformer.com
Matt Little wins DFL primary in CD2, will face Eric Pratt in general election • Minnesota Reformer
Matt Little won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, winning a three-way race to face Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt in the November general election. Littl...
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Sara @saralovesyou.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
I’d mentioned late last night that we used to have more options for housing. In searching for more info to share, I found this great article from 2019 that’s an enjoyable and informative read.
startribune.com
Affordable housing was once a staple of our downtowns. Here’s what happened
Residential hotels and rooming houses in Minneapolis and St. Paul offered alternatives to houses and apartments.
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Atlas Shvitzed @therafischwartz.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Trying to score compassion and competency points by monitoring encampments sweeps from a fancy city hall command center like she's in the White House situation room is pretty gross!
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Choosing to go forward with this violence against the wishes and best practice understanding of every other portion of local government and every field expert is shameful and the Mayor should be ashamed.
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Molly Coleman @mollycoleman.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Based on the overwhelming consensus that I’ve heard in both public feedback and private conversations from government officials, service providers, encampment residents, and public health experts, I do not believe we are prepared to responsibly close the encampments beginning tomorrow.
twincities.com
St. Paul prepares to clear homeless encampment amid questions
On July 8, citing a growing number of fires, fatal overdoses and reported sexual assaults, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her announced plans to close the city’s three largest homeless encampments on a rolling...
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
So the thing about working through a plane flight back from Dublin is that it's 1PM CT and I've been working for 7 hours.
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Atlas Shvitzed @therafischwartz.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
With the caveat that there's a minefield of gender-dynamic issues at play here (both in the specific allegations against Her, and her response thereof)...I don't see how, on a functional level, this lasts a full term. Just omnidirectional alienating vibes emanating from the mayor's office. Bad stuff
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Oooof.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
My question tangentially related to the Mayor Her stuff: the announcement about closing encampments came after the April investigation started. Is there a relationship between them and what is it? No one I know is pro the closure but my understanding is the SPPD may be.
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Ellie B. Spookypants @brynstar7.xyz · 29/07/2026
If anybody's sitting on a stash of these, they could make a killing in St. Paul.
A vintage pinback button that says, "Don't blame me, I voted for Carter."
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Ryan Ricard @firewally.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
SNELLING AVE PALS, there is another public meeting tomorrow (Weds) at 6PM over Zoom. Register here and learn more about MNDOT’s plans for this corridor: talk.dot.state.mn.us/snelling-mon...
talk.dot.state.mn.us
Meetings and events
Public meetings and eventsUpcomingInformation on upcoming meetings will be posted as details become available. Sign up for email updates to receive information on upcoming meetings and opportunities t...
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
It is an exceptionally fun place to visit.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
JUST IN: A federal judge in Minnesota — Trump appointed chief judge Eric Tostrud — has rejected the administation's effort to force Minnesota to cooperate in enforcing federal immigration law. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
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Norm Ornstein @normornstein.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
It’s the first day of the full Matthew Ornstein summer debate camp. Nearly 300 public school kids for the free camp, fifth grade through high school, nearly all. Title I schools. Www. Mornstein.org
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Sustain Saint Paul @sustainstpaul.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
"if wealth and political access can indefinitely relitigate a finished public decision, every safety project in every Minnesota city inherits the playbook — and every taxpayer inherits the legal bills and the cost of delay." Erik Noonan of @bikemn.bsky.social understands the stakes of Summit Ave.
twincities.com
Counterpoint: The math against the Summit Avenue trail doesn’t work; democracy, however, does
“A small, affluent, politically connected group has spent over three years using endless lawsuits, public records fights and opinion pages to relitigate a public decision that has already been made — ...
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Thank goodness.
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Sanctuary Supply Depot @supplydepotmpls.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
$9300!!! Getting closer!!
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Pete, the Antifascist Nisse 🌈🔨🌈 @nanou2.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Please pause a minute and consider how much money municipalities spend on displacing and hurting people, destroying what few possessions they have (including ID documents and in-process paperwork for help), disconnecting them from community and aids to climb out of their situation... 1/3
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I am still so furious and also so heartbroken. This feels like the least I can do, and maybe you can too.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
My first organizing principle in this area is that policy towards unhoused folks should never be actively mean. This is mean.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Yes, SCOTUS is pretty devotedly wrecking things for consumers and patients and working people in litigation, too. And it's going to be REALLY hard to fix long term.
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Black Hart of Saint Paul @blackhartstp.com · 30/06/2026
No matter what the Supreme Court says, No matter how hard the fascists cling to power, we will fight for all our trans community. Sports are integral to youth community and development and cannot be denied to our trans kids.
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Dex Anderson @dexanderson.com · 30/06/2026
This is the nut of it. If trans women don't have access to equal protection under the law, then they essentially are a second-class citizen who cannot depend on the protection or rights afforded cisgender counterparts. Trans men likewise just don't exist under the law.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 30/06/2026
anyway i think the proper takeaway here is that a bare majority of the court thinks the plain words of the 14th amendment mean what they say, that four members believe there is a secret hidden meaning only recently discovered by hack lawyers
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Alito’s standard for racial discrimination in the TPS ruling, that racism has to be the *sole* motivation to count as discriminatory, is so deranged that it could arguably cover neither Jim Crow nor slavery. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
This is a “color-blind” Constitution that the architects of Jim Crow could love. Many of the devices employed during segregation, such as poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and literacy tests, were superficially race-neutral. In fact, slavery itself could conceivably be race-neutral—after all, one does not need to be a racist to seek cheap labor for a profitable business!
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
IMHO, the Supreme Court is a *bigger* problem than Trump, and it should be the primary target for reform. Trump and Congress would both be very different under a law-abiding SCOTUS, which would have stopped government action clearly animated by racism and racially gerrymandered districts.
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Kate Baxter-Kauf @kbaxterk.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Hot take: I think the Minneapolis St. Paul dessert scene could be better.
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