Minnesota News Network

An Iowa man is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after a bullet hit a woman in the next room at a Super 8 motel in Willmar. Officers learned that 34-year-old Joey Schipper of Sheldon Iowa had a negligent discharge of a small caliber handgun. The round traveled through the wall and into an adjacent room, striking a 68-year-old woman from Backus in the leg. The woman was a motel guest. She was transported to Rice Memorial Hospital ER by ambulance. Her injury is not life threatening.

Republicans accuse the Walz administration of delaying an investigation into allegations of fraud in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, even as Inspector General Carolyn Ham is on paid leave due to a complaint against her. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt says in that time Ham has been paid about 42 thousand dollars. “Four months went by where she drew a paycheck, where no investigation happened. That’s the problem,” Daudt says.

Governor Tim Walz says an investigation has started and every employee has the right to due process. “To be very clear, no one in state government stole any money,” he says. “Private businesses stole from the State of Minnesota and we were negligent — or it appears to me that we were negligent — in stopping that in a timely manner.”

Walz says he can’t speak to how long the investigation has been going on. Republicans suspect it’s only been a few days.

The war of words continues between President Trump and Minnesota 5th District Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (IL-han OH-mar). Trump at a White House event (Mon) accused Omar of saying “how great al-Qaida is” and that she “hates Jews.” Omar fired back she won’t dignify that comment with a response. “This is a president who has overseen the most corrupt administration in our history, and pursued an agenda to allow millions of Americans to die from a lack of health care while he transfers millions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations,” Omar said.

The president said condemnation for his tweet — that the four congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came” — that doesn’t concern him because many people agree.

Governor Tim Walz is sharply criticizing President Trump for tweeting that U-S Representative Ilhan Omar and three other congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done.” The governor says about that, “Get the trade deal done. Do your job, is what I would send to the president. Bring this country together around these things, and don’t denigrate American citizens who are serving and who are duly elected by, in this case, the people of Minneapolis.”

The president said today that condemnation of his comments “doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me.” Trump tweeted earlier that if the congresswomen are “complaining all the time, you can leave, you can leave right now.”

Top state agriculture officials tour northwest Minnesota today with stops at a potato inspection facility in East Grand Forks (815am), a distillery in Hallock (1230pm), a canola plant in Kennedy (145pm) and a seed research farm in Roseau (4pm). Assistant Commissioner Whitney Place expects discussion of trade policy and tariffs affecting corn and soybeans but also says, “We are really excited to be able to see some different crops up there, including potatoes, canola, rye and grass seed…. That kind of speaks to the diversity up there.”

Tomorrow state ag officials meet with their counterparts in the Red Lake Nation.

Fly-by-night operators who say they’ll re-pave asphalt driveways at deep discounts are making the rounds again this summer, warns the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota. Spokeswoman Bess Ellenson says one woman in rural Grand Rapids paid 50 thousand dollars to repave her driveway and her daughter’s driveway. Ellenson says, “Right after the job was done, she contacted the company. They promised they’d come back and fix it, and then the following summer even it still hadn’t been done, so she contacted ’em then, and they again told her that they’d be out there to fix it and they never showed up again.”

Ellenson suggests people get at least two estimates before hiring anyone, beware of high-pressure sales tactics, and pay with a credit card so you can dispute charges if there are problems.