>>Governor Walz Praises Passage of $66 Billion State Budget
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz says he’s excited to sign the budget bills into law over the next few days. Walz says the new 66-billion-dollar state budget includes cuts but still maintains a strong way of life for Minnesota. The governor told Capitol reporters, “It’s fiscally responsible. It puts us on a path to continue to the growth in Minnesota, continue to be an innovator, continue to improve people’s lives making us the best state in the country to raise a child.” Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth says she’s proud to have secured the largest spending cut in Minnesota history while protecting family budgets from new tax increases.
>>Education Bill Change Allows Red Wing Schools to Keep Mascot and Logo
(Red Wing, MN) — A provision in the education bill passed in the special legislative session will allow the Red Wing School District to keep its mascot, logo, and name. The city is named after Dakota Chief Red Wing and the high school’s teams are called the Wingers and they use a red feather and eagle for their logo and mascot. Language in the education bill changes a state law that required all of Minnesota’s tribal nations to approve mascots and names. The update only requires approval from the tribe closest to the district and the Prairie Island Indian Community is supporting Red Wing schools.
>>Minnesota Ranked #5 in KIDS COUNT Data Book for 3rd Year
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota is ranked fifth in nation for child well-being for a third straight year in the KIDS COUNT Data Book. Alex Fitzsimmons of Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota says the state scored well on education, health, family and community, and economic well-being. She says it means that overall kids here are doing great and they’re doing great in all four of those indicators. Fitzsimmons says the bad news is Minnesota has some of the worst racial disparities in the country that need to be addressed. Six percent of white children in Minnesota are living in poverty, but that number is 28 percent for Black and African American children.
>>Senator Mitchell’s Becker County Burglary Trial Starts Next Week
(Detroit Lakes, MN) — After postponing her trial until the legislative session ended, Democratic Senator Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury faces her burglary charges in court. The one-day special session ended Tuesday morning when the state budget bill was finally passed. Mitchell’s trial begins Monday at 8:30 a.m. in Becker County. A motion to dismiss the charge of possessing burglary tools was denied by a judge Tuesday. That charge was added this past winter. She’s accused of trying to steal her father’s ashes and other items from her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home last spring.
>>Federal Raids in Metro Began with 900 Pound Meth Seizure
(Minneapolis, MN) — New information about the federal raids at restaurants across the Twin Cities last week shows the searches began with seizing 900 pounds of methamphetamine. The new details come from a federal criminal complaint charging a St. Paul woman with allegedly punching, kicking, and assaulting federal agents. It shared that eight restaurants were searched that day, and that 900 pounds of crystal meth was found in a related Bloomington storage shed, with an estimated value of 20 to 25 million dollars. On Tuesday June 3rd, federal agents from multiple departments searched Cuatro Milpas on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Many people protested the ICE-related search, which authorities later clarified was a search for drugs and money laundering.
>>St. Paul Woman Charged with Assaulting Officers in Federal Raid
(Minneapolis, MN) — The U-S Attorney’s Office is charging a St. Paul woman with assaulting, resisting, and impeding officers during last week’s federal raid in Minneapolis. Prosecutors say 27-year-old Isabel Lopez interfered with a June 3rd search warrant at the Cuatro Milpas restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis. The complaint alleges Lopez punched, kicked, and shoved federal agents and Minneapolis police officers, and threw a softball at the back of a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy. Lopez allegedly punched an F-B-I agent in the head during her arrest. She was first seen in court on Tuesday and will remain in custody.
>>Authorities ID Bicyclist Fatally Struck by Light Rail Train in South Minneapolis
(Minneapolis, MN) — Authorities are identifying the bicyclist struck and killed by a light rail train in south Minneapolis. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office says 38-year-old Miles Patak of Minneapolis died of multiple blunt force injuries at the scene. Officers say Patak was riding Sunday night along Hiawatha Avenue when he was hit by the train. The Metro Transit Police Department is still investigating the incident.
>>Minnesota DNR Accepting Elk Hunting Applications
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota hunters have through July 3rd to apply for a chance to hunt an elk in the state. D-N-R elk coordinator Kelsie LaSharr says they’ll be offering four elk licenses this year. She says that number is a reduction from last year, as their study in January found less elk in the northwest part of the state than they anticipated. LaSharr says licenses will be for two elk of either sex and then two more for antlerless elk only. More information on the elk hunt can be found on the D-N-R’s website.
>>Minnesota Lynx Shoot for 10th Straight Win at Seattle
(Seattle, WA) — The 9-and-0 Minnesota Lynx look to extend their unbeaten streak tonight (Wed 9pm) at the 5-and-4 Seattle Storm. The Lynx rolled over the Dallas Wings 81-65 on the road Sunday. Napheesa Collier was just named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season. Collier leads the league in scoring and steals with 25.5 points and 2.25 steals per game and her 8.9 rebounds is tied for fifth in the W-N-B-A. The Lynx are back home Saturday night to face the L-A Sparks and honor 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Seimone Augustus.
