POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS

Amir Locke's cousin arrested in probe that led to fatal raid

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities arrested Amir Locke's 17-year-old cousin in connection with the homicide investigation that led police to the Minneapolis apartment where a SWAT team officer fatally shot Locke while conducting a search warrant. Prosecutors have charged Mekhi Camden Speed with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the Jan. 10 killing of Otis Elder. The death of Locke, who was Black, has sparked protests and prompted an immediate reexamination of no-knock arrest warrants, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last week announcing a moratorium while the city brings in outside experts to study its policy.

PROTESTS-MINNESOTA-MEDIA LAWSUIT

Journalists settle suit over mistreatment covering protests

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The state of Minnesota has agreed to pay $825,000 and change several policies to settle a lawsuit brought by journalists who say they were hurt or harassed while covering protests over the police killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota and the state’s Department of Public Safety announced the settlement Tuesday. It prohibits the Minnesota State Patrol from attacking journalists, arresting or threatening to arrest them, ordering them to disperse, seizing their equipment and more. It also calls for an independent review of all complaints alleging mistreatment of the media covering those protests, and issuing body-worn cameras to all troopers by June.

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Hospitals begin to limp out of the latest COVID-19 surge

Hospitalizations fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant in the U.S. have begun falling after peaking at record levels in some communities. But doctors are warning that the wave is leaving behind lots of postponed surgeries and an increasingly worn-out health care workforce in its wake. Across the U.S., the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has tumbled more than 28% over the past three weeks to about 105,000 on average.

BC-US-GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL-RIGHTS

Police medical trainer faults officers in Floyd's killing

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minneapolis police officer who oversaw medical training for two of the three former officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights testified Tuesday that the officers failed to follow their training to do everything they could to prevent his death. Officer Nicole Mackenzie is the Minneapolis Police Department’s medical support coordinator. She took the stand for a second day in the federal trial of J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. She testified Monday that Kueng and Lane were in a police academy “emergency medical responder” class that she taught. Kueng, Lane and Thao are accused of depriving Floyd of his rights when they failed to give him medical aid as Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the Black man’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes.

POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS-LEGISLATURE

Minnesota lawmakers seek no-knock ban after Amir Locke death

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers say they will push to significantly limit the use of no-knock warrants after a Minneapolis SWAT team entered a downtown apartment while serving a search warrant last week and killed Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man. The bill that would narrow the use of no-knock warrants to only a handful of situations such as false imprisonment, kidnapping and human trafficking. Rep. Athena Hollins said the new legislation would go further than a measure passed by the Legislature last year as part of a package of police accountability measures. Activists and Locke’s family expressed anger at the police department’s initial statement.

AVIAN INFLUENZA

Poultry producers wary of bird flu's return to Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s poultry producers are monitoring cases of bird flu found in wild birds in other parts of the United States and Canada. A state veterinarian says it’s an early warning for producers in Minnesota ahead of the spring waterfowl migration. Minnesota Board of Animal Health senior veterinarian Shauna Voss says it’s just a matter of time before the virus arrives in Minnesota. According to the state Agriculture Department, Minnesota has about 550 commercial turkey operations and more than 3,000 poultry farms. In a 2015 outbreak of avian influenza, about 9 million birds in Minnesota and 50 million across the country where killed by the virus, or euthanized in an effort to slow the spread of the disease.

BC-MN-XGR-UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

Senate GOP reveals plan to resolve unemployment fund deficit

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Senate Republicans on Monday released a $2.73 billion proposal to repay the state’s debt to the federal government for unemployment benefits during the pandemic and prevent a looming tax hike on businesses. Minnesota’s unemployment trust fund swung from a $1.7 billion balance in January 2020 to a deficit of $1.2 billion. More than 1.3 million Minnesotans applied for unemployment benefits from the start of the pandemic through September 2021 as businesses closed or laid off workers. GOP senators and House Democrats have both signaled support for paying back the debt and replenish the trust fund early during the session.

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.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022