>>Do-or-die for Timberwolves tonight in Game 5 of Western Conference Finals
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Timberwolves must beat the Mavericks tonight (Thurs 7:30pm) in Game 5 at Target Center to stay alive in the Western Conference Finals — and they need three wins in a row to win that best-of-seven series. Point guard Mike Conley says, “We just know that there’s a lot more in the tank. We’re a team that prides ourselves on not getting tired, being able to push through that adversity and push through being fatigued.” A Minnesota win tonight would force a Game 6 on Saturday in Texas. The Wolves are hosting a block party along First Avenue this afternoon and evening featuring big screen T-Vs, music, food and drinks, and other activities. Tickets are free on the Timberwolves website.
>>Adverse health events up 38 percent in Minnesota hospitals and surgery centers
(St. Paul, MN) — The 610 adverse health events — including mistakes — reported in Minnesota hospitals and surgery centers last year is a new record and over a third resulted in serious injury. The state Health Department’s Rachel Jokela says, “Pressure ulcers are the most common by far, and then falls — and the only falls that are reported into our system are falls that result in serious injury or death — followed by some of the surgical errors and the loss or damage of a biological specimen.” Adverse events have increased in Minnesota every year since the pandemic began in 2020. Jokela says hospital volume, workforce shortages and a lack of discharge options are associated with the higher numbers.
>>Walz, DFL Chairman Martin calling for resignation of fellow Democrat, state Senator Nicole Mitchell
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz has joined state Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin, saying it would be “the right decision” for Woodbury D-F-L Senator Nicole Mitchell to resign. Mitchell is charged with burglary at her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home, and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson says now that Democrats no longer need her vote to retain their Senate majority during the legislative session, they’re “attempting to discard Senator Mitchell.” As for the timing Johnson says Democrats “want to have the special election fall on the same day as the general election, with all the different issues, all the confusing… see if they can get people to forget… exactly what is happening.” Minnesota Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin responds, “Mark Johnson is delusional if he thinks the Republicans have any chance of winning the seat in [state] Senate District 47. It’s a fairly safe Democratic seat.” Mitchell would have to resign before June 8th for the special to be on the same day as the general election, but her attorney says Mitchell “does not intend to resign at this time.”
>>GOP-endorsed U-S Senate candidate Royce White has challenger in August primary
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Republican Party of Minnesota’s endorsed candidate running against Democrat Amy Klobuchar for U-S Senate has a challenger in the August primary election. Retired U-S Navy commander Joe Fraser announced his campaign in January but suffered a surprise defeat to former N-B-A player Royce White, who landed the G-O-P endorsement at the party’s state convention with 67 percent of the vote. But Fraser said today (Thurs) “when fewer than half of the elected delegates show up to the convention and signal their support for a candidate with a history of questionable conduct and serious charges levied against him, it was no longer a question about the party endorsement, but about the choice we… are offering Minnesotans.” GOP-endorsed candidate White has had multiple housing evictions, pleaded guilty to violating a protection order and reportedly spent funds after his 2022 congressional run on shopping, strip clubs and hotels. White says his past — debt, eviction and alimony disputes — is not extreme, considering he comes from the Black community, and those voters will relate to him.
>>Minneapolis Man Sentenced to Over 30 Years in Prison for Fatal MOA Shooting
(Bloomington, MN) — A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison for fatally shooting a teen at Mall of America in 2022. 19-year-old TaeShawn Adams-Wright, 18 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional homicide and assault earlier this year in the shooting that killed 19-year-old Johntae Hudson inside the mall’s Nordstrom store. A second suspect, 19-year-old Lavon Longstreet of Minneapolis, 17 at the time of the crime, faces the same charges; his trial is scheduled for June 3rd. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says her thoughts are with the victims’ loved ones and “a long prison sentence is appropriate to sufficiently protect public safety.”
>>Ramsey County Attorney’s Office Determines Use of Force Justified in Fatal Shooting by St. Paul Officer
(Ramsey County, MN) — The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office will not be charging the St. Paul police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Brandon Keys last December, concluding use of deadly force was legally justified. Investigators say Officer Michael Tschida responded to a 911 call of a woman reporting a man she had an order of protection against, later identified as Keys, was following her, ramming his vehicle into hers, and had a gun. Bodycam footage shows Tschida pulling his gun and ordering Keys to get out of his car and on the ground, but Keys dove behind his vehicle door, and gunfire ensued, with Officer Tschida hit in the leg. Keys was shot in the head and died the next day at the hospital.
>> Former Governor Jesse Ventura Coming to Moorhead to Promote THC & CBD
(Moorhead, MN) — Former Governor Jesse Ventura is coming to Moorhead to push his THC and CBD products. Ventura will stop by Unwind Minnesota in Moorhead from 2-3 p.m. this Saturday. He’ll be promoting Jesse Ventura Farms, which has teamed up with the store, billed as giving back to the community and having high-quality, legal THC & CBD products. He wrote a book on cannabis called Jesse Ventura’s Marijuana Manifesto.
>>Jury Convicts Man for Hibbing Homicide
(Hibbing, MN) — A 23-year-old man has been found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, and the same crime while attempting to commit or committing a kidnapping. In 2019, Deshon Bonnell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 30 years. Bonnell appealed, and the Minnesota Supreme Court sent the case back to district court in December 2022 after finding Bonnell’s plea inaccurate. At the new trial, it was shown that in January 2019, Bonnell walked Joshua LaValley down the Mesabi Trail and shot him twice in the face. The current conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of release.
>>SEIU Mayo St. Mary’s Members Vote Yes to Allow Cancellation of Voluntary “No Strike” Agreement if Necessary
(Rochester, MN) — SEIU Healthcare union members at Rochester’s Mayo Saint Mary’s have overwhelmingly voted to allow their bargaining team to cancel a 50-year-old voluntary “no strike” agreement if necessary while settling a contract for over 16-hundred employees. The current contract expired April 22nd with an agreement in place, so that contract continues as-is for the time being. The two sides have bargained eight times in the past few months, with many wide differences still remaining.
>>School bus driver cited after crash with vehicle in Duluth
(Duluth, MN) — Duluth police have ticketed a school bus driver (with Voyageur Bus Company) for failing to yield right-of-way after a crash with a vehicle Wednesday afternoon in the city’s Kenwood neighborhood, not far from the College of Saint Scholastica. The bus driver, another adult and a student on board all had non-life-threatening injuries. The female driver of the vehicle was treated at the scene. Police say the school bus was making a left turn when it was struck by a vehicle on the intersecting road.
>>Investigation Underway into Rural Hawley Fire
(Clay County, MN) — Fire destroyed an abandoned house about a mile north of Hawley Thursday, shortly before 3 a.m. Fire Chief Tim Sanvik says by the time firefighters arrived, the structure had burned to the ground and the garage roof had also collapsed. The Clay Sheriff’s Office has responded to this residence for reports of people trespassing. Anyone with information on the fire should contact the Sheriff’s Office.
>>Washington County Searches for Missing Endangered Person
(Baytown, MN) — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s help finding a missing endangered person. 18-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzie” Burton, who is considered a vulnerable adult, was last seen leaving her Baytown residence Tuesday on foot. Lizzie is Native American, 4-11, 260 pounds, black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black or blue sweater, blue stretch leggings, pink Nike shoes, and is known to carry a purple or blue backpack. Anyone with information should call 911.
