>>Special Election in District 60 to Determine Control of Minnesota Senate
(Minneapolis, MN) — There is a special election today (Tues) in Minneapolis that will determine which political party controls the Minnesota Senate. Doron Clark is the Democratic nominee in Senate District 60 and Abigail Wolters won the Republican nomination. They are running for the seat of the late D-F-L Senator Kari Dziedzic. The Democrats had a one-vote majority in the Senate before Dziedzic died in December. The chamber is currently tied at 33 members each.
>>House DFL and GOP Leaders Continue to Negotiate Power Sharing Agreement
(St. Paul, MN) — Republican and Democratic leaders in the Minnesota House say they’re getting closer to negotiating a new power sharing agreement. D-F-L Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman says her hope is that they’ll get to an agreement by the end of week. But G-O-P Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth responds that it’s tough to negotiate when Democrats are not showing up at the Capitol. Hortman and Demuth met over the weekend and continued negotiations on Monday. Republicans have a 67-66 majority in the House pending a special election in District 40-B.
>>Minnesota GOP Delegation Makes Recommendations for US Attorney, US Marshal
(Washington, DC) — Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation are sending their recommendations for U-S Attorney and U-S Marshal for the District of Minnesota to President Trump. Representatives Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach, Pete Stauber and Tom Emmer are recommending lawyers Ronald Schutz, Daniel Rosen, and former U-S Attorney Erica McDonald to be Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor. Their two picks for U-S marshal are former Anoka County Sheriff James Stuart and ex-Minneapolis police union head Bob Kroll.
>>Minneapolis City Council Members Calling for Target Boycott
(Minneapolis, MN) — Minneapolis City Council members are urging residents to boycott Target following the retailer’s decision to roll back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Last week, Target announced that it would end its D-E-I goals just days after President Donald Trump issued his executive order on the matter. Ninth Ward Council Member Jason Chavez expressed his disappointment with Target Corporation and encouraged shoppers to support small businesses instead of the Minneapolis-based retailer. Target is among several large corporations that are aligning their policies with the White House’s direction.
>>2 Men Plead Guilty to Trafficking Meth in Central, Northern Minnesota
(Minneapolis, MN) — Federal prosecutors say two Brooklyn Park men are pleading guilty to trafficking methamphetamine throughout central and northern Minnesota. Court records show a state trooper pulled over an S-U-V in June on Highway 10 in Royalton and noticed several indications of drug trafficking. A K-9 officer searched the vehicle and detected a one-pound package of meth in the driver’s side door seam. The driver, 38-year-old Dillon Clemens, and his passenger, 30-year-old Jacob Cobb, were both arrested. Clemens pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute meth on Monday and Cobb entered his plea last week.
>>Hopkins Man Pleads Guilty to Daughter’s Asthma-Related Death
(Hopkins, MN) — A father from Hopkins is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of his nine-year-old daughter. Last February, the young girl suffered an asthma attack while at a friend’s house during a sleepover. Her father, Anthony Modrow, and mother, Rachel Modrow, declined another parent’s request to take the girl to the hospital and waited several hours before anyone called 9-1-1. Doctors have stated that the girl’s chances of survival would have been significantly improved if she had received medical attention sooner. Rachel Modrow has already been sentenced to more than three years in prison.
>>Fargo Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Girlfriend
(Fargo, ND) — A Fargo man who admitted to police that he killed his girlfriend and put her body in a closet is pleading guilty. Randall Duffy was charged with the murder of 59-year-old Jody Campbell last year. Investigators say Duffy called police to his apartment on June 8th and led officers to a closet where Campbell’s body was. He said he “choked her out too long” after they had a fight, where Campbell accused him of stealing her meth pipe. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
>>Wisconsin Study Finds Mass Shootings Lead to Alcohol Sales Increase
(Madison, WI) — Researchers at the University of Wisconsin say alcohol sales increase following mass shootings. The study found alcohol sales in communities hit by mass shootings persist for about two years after the event. Researchers looked at roughly 320 mass shootings from 2006 to 2019 and then compared alcohol sales from the same time range recorded by the Nielsen Retail scanner database, which tracks over half of national grocery and drugstore sales The study determined that communities that experienced public mass shootings had around a three to five percent increase in alcohol sales for two years following the shooting.
>>Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in 2 New Deer Permit Areas
(Undated) — The Minnesota D-N-R says two wild deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in deer permit areas without previously confirmed cases. One buck was harvested near Hawley in Clay County and the other was taken near Greenfield in western Hennepin County. Both deer were harvested during the firearms season and the hunters submitted tissue samples. The D-N-R’s Erik Hildebrand says the finding is concerning because it indicates possible new areas of C-W-D prevalence in wild deer where it hasn’t previously been detected.