>>Fischbach supports House Speaker McCarthy launching impeachment inquiry of President Biden
(Washington, DC) — “We have heard enough to be gravely concerned about the President’s conduct,” says 7th District Minnesota Congressman Michelle Fischbach, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy directs a House committee open an impeachment inquiry. At the center of the investigation are business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter, before his father took office. Fischbach says “the American people deserve to know all the facts” and a formal impeachment inquiry is “the next logical step.” The White House calls the move “extreme politics at its worst.” Speaker McCarthy is making the move on his own, analysts say because he might not have enough Republican votes on the House floor to authorize it.
>>Group asking court to bar Trump from 2024 presidential ballot in MN
(St. Paul, MN) — An activist group called “Free Speech for People” is asking a court to bar former President Donald Trump from appearing on Minnesota’s presidential ballot in 2024. The petition contends Trump incited and facilitated the January 6th insurrection at the U-S Capitol and can’t hold public office under a section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U-S Constitution. That disqualifies from public office any individual who has taken an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution but then engages in insurrection or rebellion against the United States. But some say Trump’s alleged actions don’t meet the constitutional definition of “insurrection.” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says his office has been getting a high volume of inquiries about whether he can investigate Trump’s eligibility, but Simon says that’s an issue for the courts.
>>Hackers access job-seeker contact info on state website
(St. Paul, MN) — Hackers might have gained access to job-seekers’ contact information on the state-run MinnesotaWorks-dot-net job boards, state officials are advising users. The state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) says information such as addresses, e-mails and phone numbers could be involved, and people should not respond to any communication asking for additional private data. It’s unclear how many people are affected by the breach.
>>Minnesota-based CHS will return $730M to farmer-owners, second-highest distribution ever
(Inver Grove Heights, MN) — Minnesota-based C-H-S, the nation’s top farmer-owned agribusiness, announced today (Tues) it will return 730 million dollars in patronage and equity redemptions to its owners in 2024. It follows last year’s record-breaking one-billion-dollar distribution, and C-H-S says over the past decade it’s returned more than 3.2 billion dollars to owners. Analysts say farm income has been boosted by the war in Ukraine and post-pandemic demand for petroleum. But forecasters say producer income could be flattening.
>>MN A-G Ellison, 40 counterparts reach $35M settlement with Tempoe “no credit needed” company
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and 40 other attorneys general have reached a $35 million settlement with Tempoe, a Cincinnati-based company that advertises “no credit needed” to buy furniture, appliances and electronics. The multi-state investigation alleged Tempoe misled low-income families into thinking they were signing up for an installment plan when they were actually signing a lease agreement and paying two-to-three times the retail price of the product. The agreement, filed in Ramsey County court, says Tempoe will pay $33 million to roughly 19-thousand customers, another $1 million to the jurisdictions who are part of the settlement and another $1 million to the Consumer Protection Bureau. In addition, all existing leases issued by Tempoe have been canceled and the company is banned from future leasing activities, both in Minnesota and nationwide.
>>Superior Man Given Extended Sentence After Murder, Dismembering Rickey Balsimo
(Cook County, MN) — A man from Superior, Wisconsin convicted of murdering and dismembering Rickey Balsimo will spend the next 40 years in prison. 37-year-old Jacob Johnson was sentenced in northeast Minnesota’s Cook County for both second-degree intentional and unintentional murder of Balsimo, after a trial found aggravating factors to increase his sentence. Johnson will also have to pay over $11,000 in restitution to Balsimo’s family for his funeral and other expenses.
>>Minnesota IT Services launches whole-of-state cybersecurity plan
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) launched the 2023 Whole-of-State Cybersecurity Plan this morning (TUES) in hopes of presenting a strong and united front against online threats. Spokesperson John Israel says over the past year the Minnesota Cybersecurity Task Force has been “looking at that broad approach about how we improve cybersecurity throughout the state for all of our local governments and tribal nations, school districts, and others that are eligible for some of the federal funding that become available last year.” Israel says MNIT (MINN-it) plans to distribute $23.5 million of federal funding over the next 4 years, with at least 80 percent going directly to programming and 25% designated for rural areas where resources are fewer.
>>Rider Dies in Crash at Motocross Park in Wabasha County
(Millville, MN) — Authorities in southeastern Minnesota are investigating a deadly weekend accident at the Meadow Valley Motocross Park in Millville. Wabasha County sheriff’s deputies say 23-year-old Austin Kristiansen of Le Center crashed his dirt bike Saturday afternoon and suffered fatal injuries. Investigators haven’t released any further information. Meadow Valley M-X has off-road motorcycle tracks and a trail system that allows dirt bikes and A-T-Vs.
>>Metro Transit Union Authorizes Strike
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005, representing Metro Transit drivers, operators, and mechanics, reports 94 percent of its members have authorized a strike if further contract negotiations fail. Talks with the Metropolitan Council began in March and their contract expired in July. The union is demanding pay raises, safety solutions, better shift differentials, and more one-piece runs. Both groups plan to negotiate later this month with at least two more sessions before any strike could begin.
>>Authorities seize meth bound for Rochester
(Oronoco, MN) — The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office during a Sunday traffic stop seized several pounds of meth intended to be sold in Rochester. Troopers on a warrant searched the vehicle of 34-year-old Meredith Dirksmeyer of New Hope about two miles north of Oronoco (or-oh-NOE-coe), finding a packaged 3.4 pounds of suspected meth. Dirksmeyer told troopers the meth was hers and she was driving to Rochester to sell it.
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