Author | Lightnews

Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · 3d

Local government matters - make sure it matters to your state auditor candidate. www.startribune.com/candidate-ca...

Opinion | Candidates should stay in their lanes

Every level of government, from city councils to school boards, has a defined scope. That clarity is foundational to good governance, Shannon Watson writes.

www.startribune.com

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · 11d

www.startribune.com/mn-fraud-sca...

State Auditor Julie Blaha: Let’s clear things up on Minnesota fraud

"Let’s start with a shared understanding of how oversight in government works," State Auditor Julie Blaha writes. "I think of it like a hockey game — with fewer lost teeth."

www.startribune.com

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Sep 22

Get up to speed on all the rapture talk among the youths. Get ready to tell the kids that they still need to do tonight’s homework regardless of their fate tomorrow.

Black Girl Nerds @blackgirlnerds.bsky.social · Sep 21

Welcome to the 2025 Rapture meme, a cultural moment where fear, faith, and clowning around collides in glorious, chaotic fashion.

The 2025 Rapture Meme: Faith, Fear, and TikTok Virality | Black Girl Nerds

Welcome to the 2025 Rapture meme, a cultural moment where fear, faith, and clowning around collided in glorious, chaotic fashion.

blackgirlnerds.com

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Sep 18

With Trump’s FCC, even hacky jokes about airline food won’t save you. @abc’s cowardice will only lead to more demands from the president. This is not the time to back down.

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Sep 18

If tame jokes about Trump answering “How are you doing after Kirk’s death?” by rambling about his new ballroom get threats from the @fcc, free speech is under attack. www.cnn.com/2025/09/17/m...

ABC yanks Jimmy Kimmel’s show ‘indefinitely’ after remarks about Charlie Kirk | CNN Business

Disney’s ABC is taking Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show off the air indefinitely amid a controversy over his recent comments about Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer.

www.cnn.com

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Reposted by Julie Blaha

shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · Sep 18

this is what gave the big tuff alpha dudes the vapors

amieraugie.bsky.social @amieraugie.bsky.social · Sep 17

“The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Sep 10

I was literally in the middle of writing a post condemning the shooting of Charlie Kirk when the news of students shot at Evergreen High School came in. This has to stop.

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Sep 4

*About the eagle picture: On the way to Moorhead to meet with local officials my first year in office, I found this piece in a gas station and just loved it. It hangs in my office to remind me how you can find wonderful things in unusual places.

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Sep 4

Election 2026 announcement: The OSA is in a strong position and can handle a transition, so I won’t be seeking re-election. Thank you all for the opportunity of a lifetime. Let’s use the next 16 months to take the work we do close to home even further.

www.facebook.com/share/v/1Z2s...

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Reposted by Julie Blaha

Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · Aug 28

“The thing that’s going to stick with me,” said Shea McAdaragh, a parent who witnessed the shooting, “was when I said you guys can get up, and I knew some kids weren’t going to get up.”

Inside Annunciation Church, terror and heroism as an attack unfolded

“The thing that’s going to stick with me,” said Shea McAdaragh, a parent who witnessed the shooting, “was when I said you guys can get up, and I knew some kids weren’t going to get up.”

bit.ly

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Aug 27

I’ve had to post these resources too many times.

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Aug 27

Wondering what to say to your kids when they come home from school today? Here are ideas from the American School Counselors Association: www.schoolcounselor.org/Publications... .

Care for yourself too - if you feel really rough, call or text 988 for emergency support. 988lifeline.org

After a School Shooting Resources - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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www.schoolcounselor.org

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Aug 10

I’ll bring the seeds, blanks, designs, glue, toothpicks, and training. You bring the camaraderie and first grade level art skills. By the end, you will be a bona fide crop artist and help continue Melissa and Mark’s legacy.

To paraphrase Melissa, let’s @$&# crop.

LFC: Crop Art for Melissa and Mark

Event in Minneapolis, MN by Julie Blaha for State Auditor on Tuesday, August 12 2025 with 149 people interested and 25 people going.

facebook.com

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Aug 10

Let’s make crop art to honor Melissa and Mark Hortman. I am using my annual fundraiser to create a piece for this year’s State Fair Crop Art Competition’s new team division and raise money for the MN DFL House Caucus. facebook.com/events/s/lfc...

Campaign style button made from seeds reading “Let’s @#$* crop!

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Reposted by Julie Blaha

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · Aug 5

The rich must be incentivised; the poor must be disciplined.

The political economy of the super-elite in one headline.

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Jul 9

Oh, this is going to be a good year. www.mnstatefair.org/new/food/?ut...

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Jul 8

Double rainbow in the 55303! #mnwx

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Jul 1

Whether you celebrate a fresh ledger, new laws, or meeting June audit deadlines: Happy New Fiscal Year !

Though local govs use a calendar year for finances, and the feds use Oct 1 - Sept 30, the state level’s July 1 - June 30 fiscal year drives deadlines & changes across MN.

a clock that has the hands on the numbers 1 and 12

Alt: Decorative spinning spiral shaped clock.

media.tenor.com

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Jun 29

Our pins had flowers Melissa loved, there were as many hugs as tears, and a theme of peace flowed through the eulogies and songs. The funeral was as beautiful as the Hortmans’ spirits, and powerful enough to push aside the horror of why we had to gather, even if only for a little while.

Round lapel pin that reads In Honor of Melissa and Mark Hortman with a drawing of an iris bloom in the center.

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Julie Blaha @julieblaha.bsky.social · Jun 27

Text of poem When there are no words

we question the utility of speeches
the futility of actions
and then we remember the dignity
of an oath
to represent and defend the people.
we ask our leaders to listen
our representatives to advocate.
we bring them our individual concerns
and place them in their hands
to become collective goals and solutions.
but there are no timelines or explanations
there are no words for
the gut punch of grief.
we grieve for as long as we need
we who are left behind in a space
we cannot fill with
only memories and sadness
but a space to fill
— when we are ready —
with the same passion
the same compassion
they showed us
and carry it forward to honor
all the good they did.
And then there are no words
to fully honor and remember them — only
the acts of kindness we hold out to each other
in the same way
they held out their hands to us.

Gwen Westerman
Minnesota Poet Laureate

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Reposted by Julie Blaha

MPR News @mprnews.org · Jun 24

The late Minnesota House DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark will lie in state at the Capitol on Friday. Private funeral services are set to follow on Saturday. The Hortmans were killed in their home earlier this month in an alleged political assassination.