ROAD DISPUTE

Ruling could decide whether towns must maintain roads

MORA, Minn. (AP) — A central Minnesota town is asking the state appeals court to decide whether towns can maintain only portions of their roads. The Star Tribune reports that Hillman Township in Kanabec County asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals in January to review a lower court ruling forcing it to maintain Hornet Street, a half-mile gravel road that leads to the home of Renee and Andy Crisman just outside Mora. The Minnesota Association of Townships argues the ruling imposes a tremendous financial burden on towns and robs towns of their authority over roads granted by the Legislature. Minnesota has more than 55,000 miles of township roads.

PARTY SHOOTING

16-year-old shot in leg at St. Paul birthday party

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Police are trying to piece together how a 16-year-old ended up shot in the leg at a St. Paul birthday party. The Star Tribune reports shots were fired into the crowded party around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Police spokesman Steve Linders said private security was working at the party and turned away people who tried to bring guns inside. Someone with a gun was pushed out of the entrance and he opened fire. A second person also began shooting. Police arrived to find about 100 people outside the party. Some started fighting and interfering as officers worked to find the teenager who had been shot. The teen was take to a hospital and is expected to survive.

TRACK ARREST

Man who passed out on tracks convicted on gun charge

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A man found passed out on light-rail train tracks in St. Paul last fall has pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge. The Pioneer Press reports that 34-year-old Deandre Lenier Neal-Hill of Maplewood pleaded guilty Friday to illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. Metro Transit police officers found Neal-Hill sitting in the driver's seat of a car parked on the Green Line commuter tracks in October. The car's engine was still running, had a flat tire and was stuck on the tracks. Neal-Hill was unresponsive. As officers removed him from the car they noticed a pistol on the driver's side floor. Neal-Hill has several felony convictions, including drive-by shooting, assault and drug sales.

PARK RENAMING

City considers paying American Indians for name change

ROSEVILLE, Minn. (AP) — City officials in Roseville are considering paying American Indians for their thoughts on renaming a park. The city has been considering renaming Pocahontas Park since 2020, when high schooler Andrew Kim told the parks commission he was concerned that the name was inappropriate. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that commissioners recommended this week that the city council pay American Indians to participate in the naming process. Commissioner Darrell Baggenstoss likened the payment to hiring consultants for other city work. No dollar amount has been determined but the Pioneer Press reports the council is open to the idea and directed the commission to keep working on the name change.

SUBURBAN SALES TAX

Twin Cities suburbs look to enact local sales tax

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A host of Twin Cities suburbs are looking to enact local sales taxes to help maintain and upgrade aging public amenities like community centers, ice rinks and city buildings. The Star Tribune reported Saturday that about a dozen cities, including Edina, Bloomington, Golden Valley, Roseville and Brooklyn Center, are looking to enact a new sales tax on top of the 6.9% sales tax the state already collects to pay for capital projects. Local sales taxes can vary but they typically amount to half a cent. The suburbs would need to get approval from the Legislature and voters would have to approve the tax for a specific project.

AP-US-POLICE-SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS-LOCKE

Amir Locke, killed by Minneapolis cop, wanted music career

Before he was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer, Amir Locke had been making plans. The 22-year-old Black man had filed paperwork to start a music business with help from his mother, and had already designed a logo. His family says he planned to move to Dallas next week, where he would be closer to his mom and — he hoped — build a career as a hip-hop artist, following in the musical footsteps of his father. His death inside a Minneapolis apartment where police were serving a search warrant early Wednesday has renewed calls for police accountability and justice for Black people who are too often victims. It also left Locke’s tight-knit family, friends and a community grieving for the life he didn’t get to live.

POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS

Parents: Amir Locke 'executed'; mayor halts no-knock entries

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis mayor has imposed a moratorium on no-knock warrants after Amir Locke was killed as a SWAT team carried out a search warrant in a downtown apartment. Mayor Jacob Frey says the moratorium is effective immediately and will ban both requests for and the execution of warrants in which police do not announce themselves. Locke's parents and their attorneys say the 22-year-old Black man was “executed” by a Minneapolis SWAT team that woke him from a deep sleep on Wednesday morning, and that he reached in confusion for a legal firearm to protect himself. Police body camera footage shows the officers entering a downtown apartment and shooting the 22-year-old man, who was wrapped in a comforter on a sofa and had a gun in his hand.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-JUDGE TAMPERING

Charges dropped against man accused of judge tampering

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge has dismissed charges against a Minneapolis man accused of trying to intimidate a judge presiding over the manslaughter trial of the former officer convicted in Daunte Wright’s death. Cortez A. Rice was charged with tampering with a judicial officer, a felony. Rice was accused of entering a condominium building where he thought Judge Regina Chu lived and making comments intended to intimidate her into allowing broadcast coverage of the trial of former Brooklyn Center police Officer Kimberly Potter. Rice remains in custody because of a probation violation in connection with an illegal weapons conviction.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022