>>Minnesota Officers and National Guard Providing Security at RNC
(Milwaukee, WI) — Former President Donald Trump is in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention and Minnesota law enforcement and soldiers are part of the R-N-C security team. Wisconsin’s governor requested support from the Minnesota National Guard at the designated national special security event. Police officers from Rochester and Bloomington and sheriff’s deputies from Hennepin and Ramsey counties are assisting with the public safety efforts. Trump planned to delay his trip to Milwaukee after the shooting in Pennsylvania but said Sunday he cannot allow a “shooter,’ or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else.”
>>Political Analyst: President Biden Deliver Right Speech Sunday Night
(St. Paul, MN) — President Joe Biden used a prime-time address Sunday night to call on Americans to “lower the temperature in our politics” and “cool it down” after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Hamline University political analyst David Schultz says,” it was the speech that he needed to deliver…. The question becomes whether or not it has any impact… turning down the temperature of American politics.” And Schultz says Americans will see over the next few days whether Trump “turns down the heat” at the Republican National Convention. Another question is whether the attempt on Trump’s life will deflect attention away from calls for Biden to exit the race.
>>Minnesota LEMA President Alarmed by 15% Increase in Officer Deaths
(Crystal, MN) — Officials in Minnesota say they are alarmed by a 15-percent national increase in the number of enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in the first half of 2024. Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association President Brian Hubbard of Crystal says every officer goes to work every day knowing they may be called to make the ultimate sacrifice. But he says, “when it actually happens, I think we are freshly reminded, both us and our families, of the potential of that sacrifice. And so I think it always becomes a vivid reminder especially when it happens close to home.” Two police officers and a fire paramedic were killed in Burnsville in February and Minneapolis Officer Jamal Mitchell died in the line of duty in May. National data show 72 law enforcement officers have died in the U-S so far this year.
>>Couple Dies in Le Sueur County House Fire Sunday Morning
(Montgomery Township, MN) — Authorities are investigating a fire in south central Minnesota’s Le Sueur County early Sunday that left two people dead. The sheriff’s office says Betty Jindra called to report the house was on fire and she and her husband were trapped inside. The first arriving deputy was driven back by the heavy smoke and heat and couldn’t get inside. Firefighters located the two victims in the kitchen and paramedics provided treatment outside, but they died at the scene. The report says Roman Jindra was 76 years old, and Betty was 73.
>>Body of Missing Father Recovered from Mississippi River in Sherburne County
(Elk River, MN) — Sherburne County authorities say the body of a missing father has been recovered from the Mississippi River in the Elk River area. Sheriff’s deputies say Wright County Water Patrol located 41-year-old Cody Jay Pope in the water Sunday morning near the Oliver Kelley Farm. Pope went underwater late Friday morning after rescuing his two children who were struggling to swim in the current. More than a dozen local and state law enforcement agencies had been searching the river for him.
>>Man Riding Personal Watercraft Nearly Drowns on St. Louis County Lake
(Duluth, MN) — A man from Esko is hospitalized in Duluth after a near drowning on Caribou Lake north of Hermantown. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office says the 64-year-old man fell off a personal watercraft Saturday night and was not wearing a life jacket. Deputies say he was struggling to stay above water before being rescued by a good Samaritan on a Jet Ski. The victim lost consciousness on shore but was stable when paramedics took him to the hospital. Authorities are reminding everyone to wear life jacket while riding a personal watercraft or on a boat.
>>MPRB Ask Union Park Employees for “Meaningful, Substantial” Counteroffer
(Minneapolis, MN) — Minneapolis Park and Recreation union workers have until noon today (MON) to submit a “substantial and meaningful counteroffer” to the board. This comes after the union workers denied the M-P-R-B’s “last and final” offer last week, demanding better pay, safer tools, and equitable healthcare. Park employees have been on strike since July 4th and will remain on strike “indefinitely until an agreement is reached.”
>>Grouse Numbers in Minnesota Highest Since 1972
(St. Paul, MN) — Ruffled grouse counts in Minnesota are the highest since 1972. The D-N-R says the warm temperatures and dry conditions we’ve seen the past few years favor high nest success and chick survival, possibly explaining the quicker-than-expected rise to peak levels in the 10-year population cycle of the bird. Snow conditions were also favorable for roosting the two previous winters followed by an unusually warm winter this year. Numbers will differentiate come fall, as the heavy June rains could have affected hatching and young chicks.
>>Minnesota Vikings Wide Receiver Addison Arrested for DUI in Los Angeles
(Los Angeles, CA) — Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison is facing D-U-I charges in Los Angeles. A report from the California Highway Patrol says 22-year-old Addison was blocking a lane of traffic while asleep behind the wheel of a luxury car late Friday night. The former U-S-C wideout was arrested in St. Paul last July for driving 140 miles per hour in a 55 mile-per-hour zone on Interstate 94 and later pleaded guilty to petty misdemeanor speeding charge. Addison’s latest arrest happened a week after Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson died in a crash involving a suspected drunken driver in Maryland.
