>>Body Found in St. Paul Garage Fire
(St. Paul, MN) — A body was found in a St. Paul garage Wednesday following a fire. Firefighters responded to a home around 9:30 p.m., finding a detached garage fully engulfed in flames. A victim’s body was found inside the garage. This is St. Paul’s third fire fatality of 2025. The cause is unknown, as well as if the victim was living in the garage.
>>Man Critically Injured in Princeton Home Explosion
(Princeton, MN) — A Princeton home explosion has hospitalized a man in critical condition. Firefighters responded to the home around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The 60-year-old homeowner told authorities his water heater exploded out of nowhere while he was checking on it. The man was airlifted to a trauma center in the Twin Cities with multiple burns. The investigation into the explosion is active.
>>Chaska Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Shooting at Brooklyn Park Police
(Brooklyn Park, MN) — A Chaska man will serve five years in prison for shooting at police in March of 2020 at Walmart in Brooklyn Park. Officers called to a shoplifting report said 37-year-old James Klein ignored commands to stop and take his hands out of his pocket. One officer deployed his Taser, but it had minimal effect, and Klein started shooting as he ran away. Another officer returned fire twice, knocking Klein to the ground. He suffered wounds to the leg and arm. No one else was hurt. Klein will serve this state sentence after completing 25 years in a Utah federal prison.
>>DOJ Consent Decree with Minneapolis on Pause
(Minneapolis, MN) — A federal judge has paused the Department of Justice’s consent decree with the City of Minneapolis until March 20th. Stemming from the 2020 police murder of George Floyd, the decree was approved by the City Council on January 6th and outlines large reforms in how the MPD handles situations. Court documents say the motion to temporarily pause proceedings was granted so U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi can get caught up on the case and for the decree to be reviewed over the next 60 days.
>>Man, Woman Sentenced to Prison for Armed Minneapolis Carjacking
(Minneapolis, MN) — A St. Paul man and a Mounds View woman have been sentenced to 51 and 41 months, respectively, in prison for an armed carjacking in Minneapolis. On October 6th, 2023, Carvon Saine, 19, and Isis Brent, a.k.a. Jayda White, 20, brandished a gun in front of an elderly man in South Minneapolis. They demanded his keys and took his bags with force, causing the man to fall and get injured. The suspects stole his Chevy Malibu, which was found abandoned later. Saine and Brent then approached a second victim, repeating the incident. The second victim was able to escape. Each is charged with one count of aiding and abetting a carjacking.
>>Health Care Advocates Concerned About Proposed Medicaid Cuts
(St. Paul, MN) – More than 150 health care and advocacy organizations across Minnesota have reached out to the governor and lawmakers about the proposed federal cuts on Medicaid and what it could mean for Minnesotans. They say over one million Minnesotans receive care through the state’s Medicaid program called Medical Assistance/MA. According to the Minnesota Management and Budget Office, the state was expected to receive about $11.3 Billion in the current budget year for Minnesota’s Medicaid program.
>>House Takes Up Attorney General Transparency Bill
(St. Paul, MN) – Today the first bill was introduced on the House floor of the 2025 session. House Majority Leader Harry Niska of Ramsey is calling for more transparency from the Attorney General’s office when it comes to investigating complaints. He believes this is “an obvious gimme vote for everybody to say that we are for transparency, we are for openness, we are for the government not hiding what it’s doing,” Attorney General Keith Ellison has said the proposed change could hurt his office’s investigations into civil and consumer complaints, and whistleblowers could lose their protections.
>>Senate Bill Proposals to “Fix Broken MN Driver’s Test Scheduling”
(St. Paul, MN) – Senator John Jansinski of Faribault is looking to fix Minnesota’s “broken driver’s test scheduling system.” On Wednesday, he introduced a bipartisan bill that would tackle scheduling timelines, opening test slots up to three months in advance. DVS Director Pong Xiong says that based on previous experience offering appointments 6 months out, this would “actually result in more cancellations” and “longer appointments and waiting.” Jasinski says people are being backlogged for months, forcing residents to travel great distances. Xiong says 48% of cancellations and no-shows are within the last 24 hours, meaning most intend on making the appointment, but life gets in the way.
