>>Republicans demanding special session to clarify new law on school resource officer use-of-force
(St. Paul, MN) — Republicans are asking Governor Tim Walz to call a special session, as some law enforcement agencies pull their on-site “resource officers” out of Minnesota schools — warning a new state law that’s unclear could expose school officers to legal action over use-of-force during student altercations. G-O-P Senator Zach Duckworth from Lakeville says he brought up the issue early-on in this year’s session. Duckworth says, “I think what happened is — and it may have been an honest mistake, I don’t know — is it didn’t go through the appropriate process that would have vetted it, caught this, and allowed us to further examine it [and] potentially head off or correct it before it became law.” Governor Tim Walz said earlier he doesn’t think a special session is needed and there’s already clarification of the law. The Education Committee chairs of the DFL-controlled House and Senate say, “We value the role that School Resource Officers play in keeping schools safe, and Governor Walz’s administration is working diligently to ensure that districts and law enforcement have the guidance they need.”
>>COVID cases creeping up in MN
(St. Paul, MN) — State health officials say cases of COVID-19 are “creeping up” in Minnesota. But M-D-H epidemiology manager Kathy Como-Sabetti says it’s nothing like the peak of the pandemic. She says, “It’s most noticeable partly because we were so very low the first part of the summer. Cases are relatively low from where we have been in the past, and the new variants in circulation do not appear to be causing increased rates of hospitalization or mortality.” Como-Sabetti is encouraging Minnesotans with possible symptoms to get tested for COVID. She says the treatment drug Paxlovid (pax-LOH’-vid) can shorten the course of illness and make it less severe.
>>Lockdown in Isle on Mille Lacs Lake as authorities pursue suspects
(Isle, MN) — Residents of Isle on the south shore of Lake Mille Lacs were asked to lock their doors and stay in their homes this afternoon (WED). The Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office says they were in pursuit of a stolen vehicle into Isle when the suspects ran on foot while the car was in gear. There was a large police presence in the area that included K-9 officers and drones. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office said they had apprehended two of the four suspects and believed the other two had left the area. Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office.
>>MPD Needs Public’s Help in Finding a Missing 12-Year-Old Girl
(Minneapolis, MN) — Minneapolis police are asking the public’s help in finding a missing 12-year-old girl. Lucia Chavez was last seen Tuesday night at her home and her last phone ping was just before midnight in St. Paul. Chavez is 4-foot-9, around 100 pounds, with waist-long dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing black shorts and a pink tank top. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
>>Roseville Police Asking for Help in Identifying Serial Groping Suspect
(Roseville, MN) — Roseville police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect wanted for several groping incidents August 20th. Police say the suspect groped juvenile and adult women at two different retail locations. The suspect was seen entering a white Toyota sedan with no license plates and pictures of the suspect are up on the Roseville Police Department’s website. Police believe the suspect may have committed additional crimes in the metro area.
>>Grain truck collides with train at rail crossing in Kittson County, three injured
(Kittson County, MN) — Authorities say two locomotive crew members and a truck driver were injured when a Canadian Pacific-Kansas City (CPKC) train collided with a truck trailer hauling grain at a crossing Tuesday evening in northwestern Minnesota’s Kittson County Officials say the trailer was wrapped around the front of the locomotive. Several train cars derailed but didn’t tip over and a section of rails were torn up. A large amount of grain was also spilled when the trailer was struck by the train. The crash is several miles from Noyes, Minnesota, a crossing at the Canadian border, and about a mile from the North Dakota border.
>>Midwest Mountaineering to close
(Minneapolis, MN) — Long-time Minneapolis outdoor retailer Midwest Mountaineering is closing after 50 years. Owner Rod Johnson will shut the doors this fall due to declining sales in recent years. The store has been a fixture in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood for decades.
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