The latest on two of Minnesota’s most prominent people under fire on claims of sexual harassment: The Senate Ethics Committee has opened a preliminary investigation on Senator Al Franken. A Ohio woman is the latest to come forward, saying Franken groped her on a USO Tour in 2003, several years before he became a senator. And Garrison Keillor, fired by MPR after a woman lodged a complaint about his behavior, has reportedly lost his writing job at the Washington Post and all tour stops have been canceled.
A Rice County Sheriff’s deputy is under fire after posting a controversial tweet. It centered around the 800-thousand dollar settlement that was awarded to Diamond Reynolds the girlfriend of Philando Castile, shot and killed by St. Anthony Police. Reynolds and her daughter were in the car during the shooting. Deputy Tom Mc Broom tweeted “She needs to come off County and State Aid now that she has some cash. It’ll be gone in 6 months on crack cocaine.” In an interview with City Pages, McBroom said people misunderstood his comments and said he was referring to the temptation to spend rather than save large settlements. He also said it had nothing to do with Reynolds race. Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn is reviewing the issue.
A teen is dead after the horse-drawn buggy he was driving was hit by a truck Thursday morning west of Staples. 17-year-old David Miller of Staples was operating the buggy when he was rear-ended by a Mack truck driven by 60-year-old Douglas Calkins of Deerwood. Miller was taken to North Memorial Hospital where he was declared dead. Calkins wasn’t hurt.
Federal prosecutors have indicted four alleged members of a north Minneapolis gang in a gun and drug conspiracy that included the August killing of a rival gang member. The charges were the result of a number of criminal activities surrounding an ongoing war between members of the 1-9 Block Dipset, Tre Tre Crips and Young-N-Thuggin gangs. Three alleged members of the 1-9 Block Dipset gang are in custody, a fourth person is pending arrest. According to the indictment, rival gangs struggled over territory for drug distribution — which resulted in shooting deaths on both sides.
It will be plenty busy around the Twin Cities in late January and early February, thanks to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis and the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Another attraction has been announced: a giant snow slide at CHS Field in St. Paul’s Lowertown. The slide will have a 30- to 45-degree slope and run 130-feet.
There were long delays but no one hurt after a light rail train derailing in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday. The train jumped the tracks midway between U-S Bank Stadium and Target Field, knocking out service for more than eight hours. Investigators are looking for a cause.