A Ramsey County judge ruled that the Minnesota legislature violated the constitution and singled out Anoka County “solely as an act of ‘revenge’ pertaining to a wholly separate matter pertaining to the location of a new jail.” The revenge in this case was delivered by House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson, a guy who could be Speaker of the House if Democrats win control of the House in this year’s election.
The project in question was one of our Golden Turkey nominees from 2025. Rep. Stephenson’s dream was to divert $6.2 million in funding meant for road projects in Anoka County to pay for the next phase of the Rum River Dam overhaul. The total project would have eventually cost $51 million and included improvements to the dam, a new pedestrian bridge, and recreational amenities that would make Anoka the first river surfing destination in Minnesota.
You read that right. Surfing on the Rum River in Anoka.
Stephenson abused his leadership position and inserted the project into a spending bill at the last minute. House Republicans, led by Floor Leader Harry Niska, offered an amendment to kill the project, but House Democrats protected their leader Stephenson and voted en masse against the amendment.
The City of Anoka never wanted the project, and Anoka County was furious that money earmarked for transportation projects was diverted to surfing. So why did Stephenson do it? Revenge. He was upset with Anoka County leaders over an ongoing dispute over a new jail. Stephenson texted the Mayor of Anoka that, “I consider it revenge for the jail fuckery.”
A state leader like Stephenson should know that text messages sent to a local government official would be subject to the state’s data practices act and could be disclosed. But Stephenson is more arrogant than stupid. He believed he could do and say whatever he wanted and no one would hold him accountable.
But he didn’t prepare for the power of American Experiment’s Golden Turkey Award. Although he didn’t mention it in his ruling, the Ramsey County Judge was surely impacted by the Golden Turkey. At least that’s what we’re going to believe.
Nominations open soon for the 2026 version of the Golden Turkey Award.