Headshot of Minnesota Reformer reporter, Madison McVan

Madison McVan

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Madison McVan is a reporter at the Minnesota Reformer, covering the impact of the Trump administration on Minnesotans, including issues like immigration, agriculture, Medicaid, food, housing and other safety net cuts. She's also covering the 2026 Minnesota U.S. Senate race. Prior to joining the Reformer, she wrote about labor and environmental issues in the agriculture industry for Investigate Midwest. She moved to the Twin Cities in 2020 after graduating from the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and Latin American studies. She's bilingual.

First detainees arrive at Appleton immigrant detention center
Minnesota

First detainees arrive at Appleton immigrant detention center

Nov 11, 2026
Madison McVan
The first detainees have arrived at the Appleton Detention Facility, Minnesota’s only immigrant detention center, according to local activists. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed the facility opened on Monday in a statement provided to the Star Tribune . “(The Department...
Dozens sue for justice for alleged ICE abuse during Operation Metro Surge
Minnesota

Dozens sue for justice for alleged ICE abuse during Operation Metro Surge

Nov 09, 2026
Madison McVan
In the 10 months since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good through her car windows in south Minneapolis, no criminal charges have been filed against Ross. Ross violated department policy and law enforcement...
Minnesota Democrats secure majorities in state House and Senate
Minnesota

Minnesota Democrats secure majorities in state House and Senate

Nov 04, 2026
Madison McVan
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party will take control of both chambers of the Minnesota Legislature after riding a national wave of anti-Trump fervor that swept the country Tuesday. With Democrat Amy Klobuchar’s victory in the governor’s race, Minnesota will again have a...
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez to be freed, returned to U.S. from Central African Republic
Minnesota

Judge orders Kenis Lopez Gonzalez to be freed, returned to U.S. from Central African Republic

Oct 30, 2026
Madison McVan
A federal judge has ordered the federal government to immediately return Kenis Lopez Gonzalez to the U.S. from the Central African Republic, where he has been detained since August despite having no ties to the country. Lopez, who has no...
Shakopee man from Nicaragua deported to Central African Republic
Minnesota

Shakopee man from Nicaragua deported to Central African Republic

Oct 30, 2026
Madison McVan
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez fled political persecution in Nicaragua in 2022 and turned himself in to immigration authorities upon arriving in the U.S. Two years later, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be deported back to Nicaragua because he...
Caretakers maintain Alex Pretti memorial despite repeated vandalism
Minnesota

Caretakers maintain Alex Pretti memorial despite repeated vandalism

Oct 30, 2026
Madison McVan
More than nine months after immigration agents disarmed, shot and killed Alex Pretti in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, the site of his death on Nicollet Avenue is marked with carefully arranged flowers, candles, art and other offerings brought by...
Pretti family: ‘We have not heard anything from the federal government’
Minnesota

Pretti family: ‘We have not heard anything from the federal government’

Oct 27, 2026
Madison McVan
Nine months after immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in south Minneapolis, Pretti’s parents are publicly calling on the U.S. Justice Department to release information and evidence related to Pretti’s killing. “We are here today begging for the Department...
174 former judges ask for dismissal of DOJ complaint against Minnesota bench
Minnesota

174 former judges ask for dismissal of DOJ complaint against Minnesota bench

Oct 26, 2026
Madison McVan
Former federal and state judges sent a letter Monday requesting the dismissal of a misconduct complaint filed last month by the U.S. Department of Justice against nearly every federal judge in Minnesota. Minnesota’s federal judges, including U.S. District Judge Patrick...
Conservative legal organization sues – again — over constitutionality of DFL’s 2024 omnibus
Minnesota

Conservative legal organization sues – again — over constitutionality of DFL’s 2024 omnibus

Oct 19, 2026
Madison McVan
A conservative legal organization is representing homebuilders in a lawsuit aimed at invalidating parts of — if not all of — a 1,400 page mega-bill passed by the DFL-controlled Legislature in the chaotic final minutes of the 2024 legislative session...
How Homeland Security infiltrated anti-ICE organizations during Operation Metro Surge
Minnesota

How Homeland Security infiltrated anti-ICE organizations during Operation Metro Surge

Oct 12, 2026
Madison McVan
The Signal username “peanutbutterjelly” blended in among the silly monikers used by fellow members of Minneapolis chats dedicated to protesting immigration agents during the government’s aggressive winter deportation campaign. She attended an “upstander” training and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement planning...
Schiltz: ‘I did not violate any ethics rules’
Minnesota

Schiltz: ‘I did not violate any ethics rules’

Oct 02, 2026
Madison McVan
U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz on Friday publicly recounted the challenges of administering justice during Operation Metro Surge, just two days after the Justice Department filed an ethics complaint against him and other judges for criticizing the federal government’s actions...
Family of Renee Good sues federal government, Trump officials over killing
Minnesota

Family of Renee Good sues federal government, Trump officials over killing

Oct 01, 2026
Madison McVan
The family of Renee Good filed a pair of lawsuits against the federal government and top Trump administration officials Thursday morning, seeking compensation and a trial to determine the liability of several federal officials in Good’s killing. Good was shot...