Governor: Columbia Heights school board member should resign

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (KMSP) - Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton wants a Columbia Heights school board member to resign after allegedly posting racists remarks on Facebook. Board member Grant Nichols is accused of making degrading comments about Muslims.

“I think he should resign or be forced to resign,” Gov. Dayton said. “There’s no place for that anywhere in Minnesota, but certainly not for the leader of a school district.”

Nichols denies writing the comment, saying he thinks someone used his phone at work to post it. The comment sparked outrage among students at the school, who staged a walkout Wednesday morning after the school board failed to remove Nichols during its Tuesday night meeting.

"They deserve to be so proud of themselves for what they did, to stand up and peacefully protest, walk out and come back," Gov. Dayton said.