At Issue: Oct. 15 — Israel-Hamas war, school bond referendums

In this week’s edition of At Issue, Tom Hauser covers the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, school bond referendums throughout Minnesota and the leadership in the House of Representatives.

Israel has declared war against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, with many civilians being killed or wounded on both sides. As Israel wages its counteroffensive, their defense minister says they are accessing prepositioned U.S. military stockpiles and the Pentagon is working with Israel to expedite additional orders for weapons.

Another series of posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar condemning Israel’s actions are getting some pushback. In the posts, Omar called the Israeli government’s retaliatory actions against Palestinians a war crime. She also said the U.S. should not be providing weapons to Israel and instead push for peace.

$2 billion worth of school bond referendums are on the November ballot this year, which is the most in five years. According to the Minnesota School Board’s Association, 65 school districts are asking voters for support and 21 have already been decided. 44 total will be on the ballot in November.

During political analysis, Mike Erlandson and Brian McClung join the show to discuss the leadership in the House of Representatives, the war in Israel and Dean Phillip’s potential presidential campaign.

Later in the show, Tom Hauser highlights Minnesota’s first celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day and the fall tourism opportunities throughout the state.