This from Dave Orrick in the Strib, “The Minneapolis DFL Party has disqualified hundreds of delegates in a City Council race over concerns that their identities could not be verified. Meanwhile, a candidate in a different council race is raising similar allegations, drawing scrutiny to the party’s endorsing process, which is largely virtual this year. What’s at stake in both races is the official endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in a city electorate dominated by it. Both controversies have arisen over a stage in that endorsing process: candidates assembling delegates to vote for them at ward conventions that play a crucial role in the hoped-for endorsement.”
At the Pioneer Press, Nick Woltman reports, “The city of Falcon Heights does not plan to renew its contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services within its borders. Falcon Heights City Administrator Jack Linehan notified Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher in a letter last week that the city council intended to allow the contract to expire at the end of the year, noting that the sheriff himself had suggested in September 2020 that the council ‘find alternative long-term law enforcement partners.’ Linehan said Tuesday that he hopes city officials will have settled on a new law enforcement model for Falcon Heights by the end of May.”
MPR’s Paul Huttner says, “Another pretty impressive storm system is winding up and heading for Minnesota late this week. This one looks likely to bring a mix of rain and snow with a possible side of thunder. … A closer look at the Upper Midwest from the Canadian model shows a trend toward mostly rain for the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota Thursday into Friday, with a potential shot of snow as the system sweeps by through Friday night. There may also be a little thunder with this system.”
For Politico, Zach Montellard and Megan Messerly write, “Next week’s Supreme Court election in Wisconsin could be the beginning of the end of the GOP’s near-dominance in Wisconsin. With the exception of the governorship, Republicans have long had a lock on most levers of power in the state. They have a strong majority of the congressional delegation. They’re on the cusp of supermajorities in both legislative chambers. And conservatives currently hold sway on the state Supreme Court. But a liberal win in the April 4 election could upend all of that. It would give liberals an effective majority on the high court — and with it, the possibility to redraw state and congressional district lines in ways that dramatically curb Republican power.”
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story by Daniel Bice and Molly Beck says, “With a week before the election for the state Supreme Court, liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz continues to eclipse her conservative opponent Dan Kelly in fundraising — this time with the help of three out-of-state billionaires who have each given $1 million to the state Democratic Party. … Billionaire financier George Soros donated $1 million to the state Democrats on Feb. 22, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gave $1 million on March 14 and Tulsa philanthropists Stacy and Lynn Schusterman made four donations in March totaling $1 million. The Schustermans had previously donated $40,000 to the party.”
Stribber Jeffrey Meitrodt reports, “After five years of contentious litigation, a Hennepin County judge concluded this week Serene Warren is entitled to less than a quarter of the $228 million she sought from the $1 billion sale of her family’s pharmaceutical company, Upsher-Smith Laboratories. In his 354-page order, Hennepin County Judge Edward Wahl scolded Warren for pursuing what he called ‘this tragic litigation’ … The case involves the Evenstad family, which became one of Minnesota’s richest through the efforts of Ken Evenstad and his son, Mark, who turned a nearly defunct drug business into a pharmaceutical powerhouse based in Maple Grove. Wahl said relations turned ‘toxic’ after Ken and his wife, Grace, gave Mark Evenstad an extra 1.5% of their stock in 2014 as a reward for quadrupling the value of the company in a decade as CEO.”
For si.com Joe Nelson says, “Weeks after being released by the Minnesota Vikings and signing with the Los Angeles Chargers, linebacker Eric Kendricks has settled in enough to write a heartfelt goodbye to Minnesota – the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. You can read his full good-bye here. ‘Man…. Minnesota, I love you all so much. I just wanted to say thanks real quick if you don’t mind. It doesn’t quite feel real that I won’t be suiting up in the purple and gold next season,’ Kendricks wrote.”
A KSTP-TV story by Emily Baude says, “A Rice County man has been arrested and charged with multiple drug-related felonies after authorities found dimethyltryptamine (DMT), methamphetamine and psilocybin mushrooms in his Nerstrand home. … Task force agents searched the home after acquiring a warrant and found over 100 grams of DMT, packaging materials, scales, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, two shotguns, and a rifle, according to a press release from CRDVOTF Commander Scott O’Brien.”
A WCCO-TV story by Jennifer Mayerle says, “The man accused of promising swimming pools and not finishing the job is now criminally indicted. It follows a months-long WCCO investigation. A grand jury alleges Charles Workman devised a scheme to defraud people of their money with false promises. WCCO exposed that Workman took hundreds of thousands of dollars collectively from more than a dozen Minnesota families and abandoned the jobs. The FBI began investigating Workman after we shared stories of people who had paid him with their life savings and never got the promised pool. Agents got statements from those families who are out tens of thousands of dollars. Now, the United States Attorney’s Office will use that information to prosecute Workman.”
A WDIO-TV story out of Duluth says, “Ship lovers lined the pier on Tuesday afternoon to watch the Federal Dart sail under the lift bridge. She arrived around 3:30 p.m., carrying a load of cement from Turkey. People from all over the state of Minnesota actually came out today to see the saltie. … The Port Authority said she has set a record for earliest arrival of an ocean-going vessel. That used to be held by the Federal Hunter, which sailed in on March 30th, 2013.”
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