>>Federal appeals court rules unconstitutional Minnesota’s ban on 18- to 20-year-olds carrying handguns in public
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he’s “extremely disappointed” that a federal appeals court today (Tues) upheld a lower court ruling that Minnesota’s ban on 18- to 20-year-olds carrying handguns in public is unconstitutional. Ellison calls it “reasonable safety legislation,” noting “Just days ago, a 20-year-old tried to take the life of the former President of the United States.” Rob Doar with the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus calls that statement “a ridiculous appeal to emotion.” Doar says, “The individual who carried out that attack stole his father’s firearm. There’s no indication of whether or not he had a permit to carry, but it’s a little bit ridiculous to believe that a permit to carry would have weighed into his calculus about the attack at all.” Doar says permit-to-carry holders in Minnesota are eight to 10 times more law-abiding than the general public, and 18-to-20-year-olds would have to go through the same training and background checks as everyone else. A-G Ellison says the law in question remains in effect until the appeals process is concluded and his office is weighing its options.
The case began almost three years ago when gun rights groups and several young adults sued the state and the sheriffs of Douglas, Mille Lacs and Washington counties, contending the age restrictions on carrying in public violate their Second Amendment Rights.
>>Immigration, border security focus on Republican National Convention day two
(Milwaukee, WI) — Make America Safe Once Again” is the theme and immigration and border security are the focus on this day two of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Brad Sigal with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee says it was a human rights catastrophe for immigrants, their families and communities when Donald Trump was president “and he’s promising an even-bigger human rights catastrophe if he gets re-elected.” Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman David Hann responds, “If there’s a catastrophe at the border, it’s one that President Biden has made in the last four years.” Hann says the Trump administration was working hard to stem the illegal flood of immigration and the Biden administration “undid all of it.”
>>Congressman Finstad warns against return to inflammatory rhetoric, saying “all sides… guilty in the past”
(Undated) — First District Congressman Brad Finstad is cautioning against a return to the kind of rhetoric that fellow Republican and now vice presidential candidate J-D Vance says “led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.” Finstad says “all sides have been guilty in the past and we all have to break out of these old habits and do better.” He says, “That includes the media. For the last three-and-a-half, four years we’ve heard a drumbeat — non-stop — that Trump is a Nazi, Trump is Hitler…. And equally so, there’s been rhetoric from the Republicans on what Biden is doing to our country.” Biden on Monday defended calling former President Donald Trump a threat to democracy.
“Make America Safe Once Again” is the theme and immigration and border security is the focus on this day two of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The floor session isn’t until this evening (5pm) among the speakers are Trump’s former rivals for the G-O-P nomination: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former U-N Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
>>Workers comp claims continue dropping in MN
(St. Paul, MN) — State officials say Minnesota workers’ compensation trends continue to follow long-term downward trends, even with a major impact from the COVID pandemic. The Department of Labor and Industry’s 2024 report shows, relative to the number of full-time workers, the total number of paid claims dropped by 45%, indemnity claims by 3%, and medical-only claims by 56% from 2002 to 2022. Compared to 2002, the average amount of time an injured worker received total disability benefits was 9% longer in 2022 for non-COVID claims. Total disability benefits per paid indemnity claim were largely stable from 2002 to 2019, but decreased by 6% from 2019 to 2022 for non-COVID-19 claims.
>>Man Rescued After Getting Pinned Between Light-Rail Train And Platform In Minneapolis
(Minneapolis, MN) — A man is recovering from his injuries after he was pinned between a Metro Transit Blue Line train and a light-rail platform in south Minneapolis. Transit police responded Monday night to a report of a collision and found the victim with his legs caught between the train and the platform. Local fire crews cut away part of the metal platform to free the man. He was then taken to HCMC, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.
>>East Side Jersey Dairy Inc. Fined Over $14K for Industrial Stormwater Permit Violations
(Woodbury, MN) — East Side Jersey Dairy Inc., which does business as Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. in Woodbury, has been fined over $14,000 for industrial stormwater permit violations by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) after failing to report several liquid sugar spills in 2022 and 2023. Officials say the spills created a potential for environmental and aquatic life harm. MPCA staff also confirmed additional violations during inspections, which Prairie Farms Dairy will have to correct as part of their penalty.
>>Man Stabbed in Neck in Duluth
(Duluth, MN) – A 30-year-old Duluth man is in custody after stabbing a 29-year-old man in the neck early this morning (TUES) in downtown Duluth. Investigators say the victim and the suspect were “hanging out” before an altercation when the suspect stabbed the victim in the neck and fled on foot. The victim is in stable condition. The investigation remains active.
>>Fargo Man Charged with 7 Felonies for Raping 12-Year-Old Boy
(Fargo, ND) — A Fargo man has been charged with seven felonies for allegedly raping a 12-year-old boy in his home multiple times. Officials say 31-year-old Dominic Lilly met the boy on Sniffies, a social media app, and had the boy at his home 10 to 15 times. The boy, now 13, accused Lilly of picking him up and supplying him with alcohol and marijuana to the point of unconsciousness. The victim said he would lie in bed with Lilly and had “multiple, traumatic sexual encounters.” Investigators have pictures and videos of Lilly and Lilly’s bedroom from the boy’s phone. Lilly is being held in Cass County Jail.
>>MN Medical Services Company Executives Sentenced to Prison, Restitution for Fraud Scheme
(Minneapolis, MN) — Two executives of a Minnesota-based medical service have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution to their victims for leading a massive fraud scheme. Prosecutors say between June and October 2018, 53-year-old Khemwattie Singh, C-E-O of Global Medical Services and Minnesota International Medicine, and 55-year-old Neeraj Chepuri, Chief Medical Officer of Global Medical Services, entered into factoring contracts with a Florida-based investment company to buy the two companies’ receivable accounts for over $2.6 million. Investigators say the two defrauded the investment company by failing to pay over the accounts collected and falsely representing that no funds had been received — instead pocketing the money and wiring over $5 million overseas. On December 29th, 2023, Singh pleaded guilty to multiple counts and was sentenced to 3.25 years in prison, as well as ordered to pay over $3.9 million to her victims. Chepuri pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud the same day, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, and ordered to pay over $3.2 million in restitution.
>>Inmate Died in Fargo Jail
(Fargo, ND) — The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 37-year-old female inmate died in a Fargo jail Monday night. A deputy found the woman unresponsive around 11:30 p.m. while doing a scheduled well-being check. Life-saving measures were taken but the woman died at the scene. Cause of death is being determined.
>>CentraCare Hospice Now Level 5 Partner with We Honor Veterans Program
(St. Cloud, MN) — St. Cloud’s CentraCare Hospice says it has reached the highest level (level 5) with We Honor Veterans, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization — the only hospice in Minnesota to do so. We Honor Veterans aims to “care for and honor those who have served when they reach the end of life.” The national organization says CentraCare received this designation after putting in countless hours giving veterans a high level of care.