UTILITY INCREASES

Minnesota regulators OK rate hikes for Xcel customers

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators have signed off on higher electric and natural gas prices for Xcel Energy residential customers. The state Public Service Commission issued a news release Thursday saying the utility had asked to increase electric rates by 9.4% and natural gas rates by 4.9%. The commission said it has approved an interim electric rate increase of 6.4% and an interim natural gas rate increase of 3.9% and has started reviewing whether to raise the rates further. Final decisions are expected in 2023 and public comment will be welcome. All told, the interim increases will translate to $5.54 more a month for average electric customers and 60 cents more a month for average gas customers.

ELECTION-2022-MINNESOTA-ATTORNEY-GENERAL

4th Republican joins field in bid to oust AG Ellison

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Another Republican has announced he'll challenge Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison next year. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Thursday that business attorney Jim Schultz announced his candidacy with a video message blaming Ellison for property damage during protests over George Floyd's death in 2020. Schultz hails from Minnetonka and holds a law degree from Harvard. Three other Republicans have already declared their candidacy, including former state Reps. Doug Wardlow and Dennis Smith and defense attorney Lynne Torgerson. Ellison launched his reelection bid last month.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL

Girlfriend: Daunte Wright was 'just gasping' after shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The woman who was riding with Daunte Wright when he was pulled over by suburban Minneapolis police and fatally shot by an officer testified to the chaotic moments immediately afterward. Wright's girlfriend, Alayna Albrecht-Payton, told the court Thursday that she screamed at Wright but that he “wasn’t answering me and he was just gasping.” She said she grabbed whatever was in the car and put it on his chest, but that she didn't know what to do. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter is on trial on manslaughter charges in the April killing of Wright. She has said she meant to use her Taser on him but mistakenly used her gun instead.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-CHARGES-EXPLAINER

EXPLAINER: What is ex-cop charged with in Wright death?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors will try to prove that a white suburban Minneapolis police officer, Kim Potter, committed manslaughter when she fatally shot Daunte Wright, a Black man, during an attempted arrest in April. Potter, who resigned two days after the shooting, says she meant to use her Taser but accidentally grabbed her gun instead when she killed the 20-year-old man in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center. Potter is charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter. The more serious charge requires prosecutors to prove that she acted recklessly, while the lesser charge requires them to establish that she acted with culpable negligence.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-EXPLAINER-SPARK OF LIFE

EXPLAINER: What will jurors hear about Daunte Wright?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jurors at the manslaughter trial for the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she mistakenly drew her handgun when she fatally shot Daunte Wright will hear testimony about the kind of person he was – within limits. Prosecutors at the trial of Kim Potter intend to call Wright’s father to testify in an attempt humanize Wright for the jury. Minnesota is rare in allowing this type of “spark of life” testimony. The defense will seek to portray Wright as a lawless person who had pending criminal charges against him. They'll be limited in bringing up incidents from Wright's past unless there is evidence that Potter knew about them at the time of the shooting.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-EXPLAINER-GUN AND TASER

EXPLAINER: How does an officer use a gun instead of a Taser?

At former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter’s manslaughter trial for fatally shooting Daunte Wright, a Black motorist, the core of her defense is clear: She says she meant to use her Taser but grabbed her handgun instead. Experts say such cases are rare, but they do happen. Similar cases have been reported in recent years in California, Oklahoma and Missouri. Bill Lewinski studies police psychology and has used the phrase “slip and capture” errors to describe the phenomenon. Lewinski says officers sometimes perform the direct opposite of their intended actions under stress. Other experts say a major factor in why officers mistakenly draw their firearms is that stun guns typically look and feel like a firearm.

POLICE PURSUIT-MINNESOTA

Minnesota crash after police pursuit leaves 2 dead, 3 hurt

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities say a crash in Minneapolis that followed a police pursuit of an SUV that was reportedly stolen has left two juveniles dead and three others hospitalized. Police say officers in suburban Robbinsdale spotted a Mercedes SUV about 2 a.m. Thursday that was reported stolen in Minneapolis and attempted to stop the vehicle. Police say the driver sped off and officers began a pursuit. The chase moved from Robbinsdale into northeast Minneapolis, where the SUV’s driver lost control and crashed. Police say all five people in the vehicle were under 18. One was declared dead at the scene of the crash, and the other four were taken to hospitals, where Robbinsdale police said a second person died.

SHERIFF-DRUNKEN DRIVING

Hennepin County sheriff suspected of drunken driving

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities suspect Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson was driving drunk when he crashed a county vehicle in western Minnesota. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the State Patrol said Hutchinson rolled the vehicle early Wednesday morning just east of Alexandria. He was alone and suffered noncritical injuries. Douglas County sheriff's deputies responded and suspected Hutchinson was impaired. A state trooper took a urine sample from Hutchinson, who issued a statement acknowledging he was driving after drinking and he's under investigation for driving under the influence. He said he made an “inexcusable decision.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2021