CAMERAS IN COURTS

Panel weighs expanding use of cameras in Minnesota courts

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure has met to discuss state court rules governing cameras in courts and whether to expand their use. The committee consists of 20 judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Some members of the panel expressed hesitation Friday toward expanding the use of cameras in courts. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea in June directed the panel to study the issue and report back with recommendations by July 1 of this year. Prosecutors on the panel expressed concerns that cameras would prevent victims and witnesses from coming forward if they will be publicly associated with a case.

ARSON SENTENCE

Rochester man gets 10 years in fatal pawn shop arson

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a Rochester man to 10 years in prison in connection with a fatal pawn shop arson during unrest over George Floyd's death. According to court documents, 26-year-old Montez Terriel Lee and several others broke into the Max It Pawn Shop in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020. Surveillance footage shows him pouring an accelerant around the pawn shop and lighting the accelerant on fire. The pawn shop was destroyed. Authorities found the body of a 30-year-old man in the rubble. U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright handed down the sentence Friday.

BUSHMEAT SMUGGLERS

Border agents seize bushmeat at Minneapolis airport

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — U.S. customs agents say they've confiscated bushmeat multiple times at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport since December. WCCO-TV reported Friday that Customs and Border Patrol officers seized more than 100 pounds of bushmeat from U.S. citizens returning from Liberia. The travelers said on written and verbal declarations they had fish but further inspection revealed both fish and bushmeat in the same package. State agriculture officials say bushmeat is raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals such as monkeys, cane rats, bats and other primates. The meat can cause infection in humans and spread the Ebola virus. The confiscated bushmeat was destroyed.

PLUNGER ASSAULT

Duluth high school student charged in plunger assault

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A Duluth high school student has been charged with sexually assaulting a football teammate with a plunger. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the 17-year-old defendant was charged in juvenile court with third-degree sexual assault on Friday. According to police, the boy and the victim were both students at Proctor High School in September. Someone sent a lewd photo to a group of Proctor football players using the victim's phone. The 17-year-old chased the victim after practice on Sept. 7 and assaulted him with the plunger. Interviews with players revealed a plunger was regularly used as part of “crass” locker room behaviors. The assault led t coach Derek Parendo's resignation in October.

CHILD KILLED

6-year-old struck, killed on highway in Mille Lacs County

ONAMIA, Minn. (AP) — The State Patrol says an individual struck and killed on an east-central Minnesota highway was a 6-year-old girl. The patrol says the child was in the lanes of traffic when she was struck on Highway 169 about 11 p.m. Thursday near Onamia in Mille Lacs County. Troopers identified the child as Unique Sincere Beaulieu. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities had no information on why the 6-year-old girl was on the highway. A 48-year-old woman was driving the SUV that struck the girl.

WINTER WEATHER-MIDWEST

Heavy snow in Midwest slows travel, closes scores of schools

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Heavy snow is spreading across a large swath of the Midwest, where travel conditions deteriorated and scores of schools closed or moved to online instruction. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Friday for parts of Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and Illinois, where forecasters are expecting up to 10 inches of fresh snow. The weather service tweeted that the snow will combine with gusty winds to produce slippery roads and reduced visibility. Forecasters say the fast-moving storm may make travel difficult across parts of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest into the Mid-Mississippi Valley through Saturday morning.

SOO LOCKS-MAINTENANCE

Soo Locks to close to marine traffic for winter maintenance

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) — The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie are shutting down to marine traffic to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform maintenance. The Army Corps of Engineers says the locks on the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lake Huron are expected to be closed from Saturday to March 25. The complex consists of several locks that raise and lower vessels between Superior and Huron. Winter months are used for maintenance each year. Work this winter is expected to include hydraulic steel structure inspections and preventive maintenance on electrical and mechanical systems. More than 4,500 vessels, carrying up to 80 million tons of cargo, use the locks each year.

BOUNDARY WATERS WATERSHED-MINING

Mining ban near Boundary Waters once again on the table

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The ongoing tug-of war over whether mining should be allowed near the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has been resurrected with strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Federal officials once again gathered feedback from the public in a virtual meeting Wednesday that comes more than five years after a 20-year mining ban was first proposed for land south of the Boundary Waters in northeastern Minnesota. Supporters of the ban insist the watershed of the Boundary Waters is no place to mine copper, nickel and other precious metals because of environmental risks. But, those against the ban say the mineral resources are critical for a transition to a green economy.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022