>>Target Sued Over Claims That DEI Policies Led To Drop In Stock Price
(Minneapolis, MN) — Minneapolis-based Target is currently facing a lawsuit that alleges its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies resulted in consumer backlash and a decline in stock prices. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, claims the company misused shareholder funds by implementing initiatives that led to boycotts and decreased profits. The lawsuit seeks damages for anyone who held stock in the company between August 2022 and November last year. Last month, Target announced that it would discontinue all its DEI initiatives.
>>Five Universities Under Investigation For Reported Antisemitism
(Washington, DC) — The Department of Education is investigating reports of antisemitism at five universities. This inquiry follows President Trump’s signing of an executive order urging federal agencies to address claims of widespread antisemitic harassment on college campuses. The universities under investigation include the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
>>AG Pushing For More Regulations On Social Media For Kids
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is taking steps to address the “dangerous” impact of social media and artificial intelligence (AI) on children across the state. A new report from the AG’s office outlines various concerns, including bullying and harassment on social media, exposure to graphic content, and feelings of envy among peers. Regulating AI and social media poses significant challenges. In response, Ellison is recommending several measures: a ban on deceptive practices that make social media addictive, the implementation of strong privacy defaults to limit data and image sharing, and restrictions on algorithms that prioritize engagement-based optimization.
>>Woman Accused Of Lying For Twin In Buggy Crash Agrees To Plead Guilty
(Preston, MN) — A woman accused of lying to conceal her sister’s involvement in a deadly buggy crash in southern Minnesota has accepted a plea deal. Sarah Petersen agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of criminal vehicular operation during a settlement hearing in Fillmore County yesterday. In court, Petersen admitted that she lied to investigators following the 2023 crash, which resulted in the deaths of two children and injuries to two others. The judge stated that he would dismiss 14 additional charges during the sentencing hearing scheduled for next month. Her sister, Samantha, is scheduled to go on trial in July for her role in the crash.
>>Debate Over Nuisance Beaver For Consumption In Minnesota
(St. Paul, MN) — A Minnesota senator is seeking to make it legal to eat beavers in the state again. Homeowners are allowed to trap and kill nuisance beavers on their property. Until a year ago, residents could also cook and eat the beaver meat, which hunters and trappers often call “nature’s chicken nuggets.” Now, Republican Senator Steve Green from Fosston is working to change the law to allow this practice, while others, including Saint Paul DFL Senator Foung Hawj, argue that it could be dangerous.
>>Man Charged in Sauk Rapids Murder to Undergo Mental Competency Exam
(Foley, MN) — A St. Louis County man charged with the killing of a Sauk Rapids woman last August will undergo a mental competency examination. Forty-five-year-old Christopher Neal of Aurora is facing two counts of second-degree murder in the strangulation death of 38-year-old Victoria Gamble in Benton County. Investigators say Neal and Gamble left a Sauk Rapids bar and returned to her apartment, and surveillance video shows Neal leaving two hours later. Gamble’s body was found the next morning. Neal was later located in a Louisiana hotel, where Gamble’s car was with him.
>>Blooming Prairie Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of Children
(St. Paul, MN) — A southeast Minnesota man will spend 17-and-a-half years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of children. Court records show 61-year-old Steven Sokel of Blooming Prairie began communicating over the internet with the mother of a pre-pubescent minor victim in Thailand in 2022. Prosecutors say Sokel traveled there and stayed with the victim and mother for nearly a month, where he produced images of the minor engaged in sexually explicit activity. U-S Customs and Border Protection found the child sexual abuse material on his laptop at the Abu Dhabi Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
