>>Timberwolves vs. Mavericks in Game 2 of Western Conference Finals
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Timberwolves are looking to turn things around in Western Conference Finals tonight (Fri 7:30pm) in Minneapolis after losing the series opener against the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday at Target Center. Wolves coach Chris Finch says they’re a pretty good “bounce back” team and believes his players will be more locked-in for Game 2. A “Wolves Back” block party started at 4:30 this afternoon and a large-screen T-V is set up outside Gluek’s Bar and Restaurant. Downtown Minneapolis will be busy tonight with Twins playing the Rangers next door at Target Field.
>>Omar calls for passage of Justice in Policing Act on 4th anniversary of George Floyd’s murder
(Washington, DC) — Ahead of tomorrow’s (Sat) fourth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd — who died after now-former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes — 5th District Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is renewing her calls for the passage of the Justice in Policing Act. Omar says, “What we are fighting for is to undo 400 years of being brutalized, victimized, surveilled, enslaved, imprisoned, and having the life choked out of us in the cities we call home.” The bill would ban chokeholds, such as the one that ended Floyd’s life, as well as eliminate ‘qualified immunity’ for police, which protects law enforcement from prosecution over certain acts. Sgt. Rob Pride, chair of the National Fraternal Order of Police, says ending qualified immunity would make it hard for “our nation…to recruit the brightest people and retain good, experienced men and women.”
>>Road work on I-35 in two places between Twin Cities and Duluth
(Various) — Be ready for slowdowns in two places if you’re headed up north this weekend on I-35. Margie Nelson with MN-DOT’s Duluth office says around Hinckley, both directions are single-lane head-to-head for bridge replacement and resurfacing — but access to the popular mid-trip stopovers is not affected because ramps remain open. But Nelson says motorists should expect delays in that area and use extra caution. Further north, I-35 is also single lane head-to-head each direction at the Atkinson Bridge, just south of the junction with Highway 210 in Carlton County, near Black Bear Casino.
>>$1.5T Farm Bill passes key U-S House committee, mixed reaction from MN members
(Washington, DC) — The one-and-a-half-trillion-dollar Farm Bill passed by the U-S House Agriculture Committee Thursday night is getting mixed reviews from Minnesota members. First District Republican Congressman Brad Finstad says the committee delivered a, “strong, bipartisan Farm Bill.” He says it strengthens crop insurance and dairy policy, modernizes the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and F-S-A Guaranteed and Direct loans, and expedites U-S-D-A loan approval times. But Second District Democratic Congresswoman Angie Craig says the bill would roll back the climate-smart ag policies she championed in the Inflation Reduction Act, and cut 320 million dollars in nutrition assistance funding in Minnesota.
>>> Three measles cases reported in Anoka siblings; patient exposure at HCMC feared
(Anoka County, MN) – The state Health Department says patients at H-C-M-C in Minneapolis might have been exposed to measles from three confirmed cases in Anoka County. Three siblings who recently traveled to “a European country where measles is common,” sought care Tuesday night into Wednesday morning at the hospital. Health officials say they are currently contacting patients who were there at the time. Measles symptoms can develop anywhere from 7 to 28 days from exposure, and include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and rash. Minnesota now has nine recorded cases of measles this year.
>>Dodge County nurse pleads guilty to fraudulently obtaining oxycodone
(Minneapolis, MN) — A nurse from southeastern Minnesota is pleading guilty to federal drug charges for fraudulently obtaining opioids from the hospital where she worked. The U-S Attorney’s Office says 40-year-old Jennifer Garrison of Dodge County admitted to diverting oxycodone pills for her own use instead of giving them to patients from August 2022 to July of 2023. The complaint says Garrison was diverting up to six pills per day last summer. Her sentencing hearing will be set this summer.
