Dave Orrick and Nick Woltman write in the Pioneer Press: “More than a hundred Minnesotans braved bone-chilling cold Thursday evening in St. Paul to mark one year since rioters loyal to former President Donald Trump violently attempted to stop Congress from certifying the election of President Joe Biden in Washington. With temperatures hovering around 8 below zero on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol, activists and public officials at the Spotlight on Democracy rally denounced the Jan. 6 insurrection as ‘an abomination’ and ‘an attack on our republic.’”
Also from Orrick in the Pioneer Press: “The falsehood that spurred the Jan. 6, 2021, mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol — that the 2020 presidential election was ‘stolen’ from Donald Trump — still colors Minnesota politics a year later. Democrats say the deadly attack remains an injustice that threatens American Democracy. … For Republicans, it’s more complicated. … A small number of Republican elected officials continue to spread falsehoods about the election. But most, including the party’s leaders, generally try to avoid talking about it in front of the broader public.”
In the Star Tribune, Christina Saint Louis writes: “The police chiefs of Hennepin County have openly expressed dissatisfaction with the county attorney’s handling of criminal cases amid a violent crime surge. In a letter to County Attorney Mike Freeman on Wednesday, the Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association (HCCPA), which represents most departments in the county including Minneapolis, said police feel that people arrested for crimes are not being held accountable for their actions.”
The AP reports: “Three former Minneapolis police officers charged with federal civil rights violations in George Floyd’s death will go on trial Jan. 20 in downtown St. Paul. The trial date was given Thursday in a docket filing, with proceedings to be held at the U.S. Courthouse on Robert Street. … Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane will stand trial about nine months after Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.”
A Bring Me The News story by Shaymus McLaughlin says, “State health regulators will shut down a Minneapolis nursing home due to structural and health concerns, including mold in the ceiling, a leaky roof and carpeting that is held together by duct tape. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), in a rare move, took over control of Twin City Gardens in October of 2021 after uncovering financial concerns that could negatively impact residents’ care.”
Says Esme Murphy for WCCO-TV, “It’s no secret that Minneapolis Police are understaffed, but they are getting some heavy hitting help. FBI agents are responding to local crimes. FBI agents were among the law enforcement officers to investigate the recent robbery and shooting of a clerk at the Bryn Mawr Market. ‘On the violent crime side they are out there daily,’ said Special Agent in Charge of the Minneapolis FBI Michael Paul. He added that agents are available 24 hours a day.”
This from FOX 9’s Paul Blume, “Friends and family are desperate for answers in the search for a 36-year-old woman from Minneapolis. Jessica Marshik was last seen in mid-December. … Just last week, police put out a missing person’s bulletin asking for help finding her and this weekend, her friends are planning to spread the message further. … Apparently, no one has seen or heard from Marshik since December 14.”
Another story from WCCO-TV says, “The latest figures from the Minnesota Department of Health show that, in tandem with the exploding number of COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant, cases of influenza are also stacking up in Minnesota. The state’s figures for the last week of the year show a jump in hospitalizations from the previous week — 116 in total. Last winter, there were only 35 hospitalizations for the entire flu season. There have already been 327 to date so far this winter, lending credence to health experts’ fears that the populace would soon be laboring under a ‘twindemic.’”
An AP story says, “Minnesota regulators on Thursday approved the transfer of a key permit necessary for a financially troubled coal-fired power plant in North Dakota to be sold to a Bismarck-based marketer of wholesale electricity. Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 to transfer the permit associated with the power line that carries electricity from Coal Creek Station to Minnesota. The PUC in September had deferred a decision on the transfer as environmental groups, hoping to see the coal plant shut down, pushed against it.”
Also in the Star Tribune, Paul Walsh writes: “Edina Public Schools’ longtime green-and-yellow hornet logo is heading toward extinction, the district’s superintendent announced Thursday. The reluctant decision by the district came after the owner of the copyright to the logo, an Edina High School alum, sued this week in federal court. The suit added hefty financial compensation to his insistence that school administrators put the brakes on its use without his permission, as required by the decades-old contract he has with the district.”
This from the West Central Tribune, “The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Service Division is opening 51 exam stations this month, which is all remaining stations that were closed during the pandemic. By month’s end, all 93 stations in the state will have reopened.”
0 Commentaires