>>Constitutional Amendment to Raise Sales Tax for Minnesota Housing Not Likely
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota House lawmakers put finishing touches on their tax package this afternoon (Fri 1pm start) which got mostly positive reviews from stakeholders during public testimony Thursday. It appears that Democrats will likely not put a constitutional amendment before voters this fall to increase the state sales tax three-eighths of a percent for housing programs. Republicans strongly criticized that plan. State Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart told the committee, “Top priority in Governor Walz’s (and) Lieutenant Governor Flanagan’s bill was kids and families, and the number-one priority in this tax bill are kids and families.”
>>First Lady Jill Biden Visiting Minnesota Friday Evening
(Bloomington, MN) — First Lady Jill Biden will be in Minnesota later today (Fri pm) for a speech and campaign event in Bloomington. Doctor Biden is scheduled to address the Education Minnesota Representative Convention and later speak at a Women for Biden-Harris event. Campaign officials say Mrs. Biden will talk about what’s at stake for women in the November election.
>>Congresswoman Omar’s Daughter Arrested at Pro-Palestine Protest in New York
(New York, NY) — The daughter of Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Isra Hirsi, was among 108 protesters arrested for trespass Thursday during a pro-Palestine demonstration at Columbia University in New York City. Hirsi is a student at neighboring Barnard College and posted earlier in the day that she was suspended for “standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide.” Mayor Eric Adams says Columbia University requested N-Y-P-D respond to the protests and “intervene if necessary.”
>>MPCA Investigating Pipe Break at Northshore Mining Plant
(Silver Bay, MN) — The state Pollution Control Agency is investigating a spill at a taconite plant in northeastern Minnesota. A pipe at the Northshore Mining plant in Silver Bay broke on Wednesday, releasing about 140-thousand gallons of recycled water. The water reportedly spilled into Lake Superior. The M-P-C-A says it is currently working to determine if the released water impacted the surrounding environment.
>>Minnesota State Patrol to Welcome 35 New State Troopers
(St. Paul) — The Minnesota State Patrol is swearing in 35 new troopers this morning (Fri 11am) during a graduation ceremony. Following graduation, cadets will attend additional training at the Minnesota B-C-A before starting field training with another trooper, then begin their solo patrols July 24th. This group of cadets included traditional, Experienced Traffic Safety Officer (ETO) program, and Law Enforcement Training Opportunity (LETO) program applicants. Training included motor vehicle crash investigation, traffic law, emergency vehicle operations, scenario-based de-escalation, communication and mental health crisis training, and defensive tactics.
>>Ex-Officer Convicted in George Floyd Killing nears End of Prison Term
***MEDIA REFERENCE – 2ND LINE**
(Littleton, CO) — Thomas Lane, one of four former Minneapolis police officers convicted in the killing of George Floyd nearly four years ago, has completed the federal portion of his prison time. The Star Tribune reports state officials say Lane will remain at a low-security federal lock-up in Littleton, Colorado until his state sentence for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter ends in late August. Lane’s two-and-a-half-year term was lighter than prosecutors’ request. Derek Chauvin is serving a 20-year federal sentence concurrent with his 22-year state sentence for second-degree murder and manslaughter. Two other defendants, ex-officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng (KING) are also serving prison terms.
>>Bloomington Teen Gets 6 Months in Jail for Dakota County Overdose Death
(Hastings, MN) — A 19-year-old Bloomington man will spend 180 days in jail for providing the fentanyl that led to the April 2022 overdose death of a 15-year-old girl in West St. Paul. Parker Benson was sentenced Thursday in Dakota County after pleading guilty to third-degree murder. Prosecutors were seeking a six-plus-year prison sentence for Benson. County Attorney Kathy Keena said, “ the sentencing is unfortunate and a disappointment as a young girl lost her life due to the actions of Mr. Benson.” He admitted to selling fentanyl-laced pills to the victim when he was age 17.
>>Minnesota BCA Asks for Help Locating Fillmore County Fugitive
(Preston, MN) — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is asking for help locating a fugitive wanted on charges related to child sexual abuse. Investigators say 36-year-old William Amick the Third lived in Mabel and Rushford in Fillmore County for about two years but hasn’t been seen since May of last year. Amick is wanted on 13 felony charges, including using minors in a sexual performance and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct. He’s also wanted in Pennsylvania on similar charges. Amick often uses a false female identity when he interacts with other men online to create child sexual abuse material involving the men’s children.
>>”Rather Severe” Flu Season Winding Down in Minnesota
(St. Paul, MN) — Flu activity and cases are winding down in Minnesota this spring. State Department of Health Epidemiologist Melissa McMahon says the totals indicate it’s been a “rather severe” flu season. She says the number of hospitalizations is higher than every season we’ve had besides 2017-18 which was a particularly severe flu season. McMahon says we had “fairly high” flu activity and it stayed there for a long time. There have been 42 hundred hospitalizations this season compared to just over 33 hundred last year. Influenza is blamed for the deaths of 148 adults and one child in the state this season.
>>Minnesota Wild Lose Season Finale to Kraken at Home
(St. Paul, MN) — The Minnesota Wild closed out the regular season with a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Seattle scored three third-period goals in the victory. Kirill Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, and Brock Faber lit the lamp for the Wild in the loss. Minnesota finishes the season in sixth place in the Central Division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
