POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS

Cop safety cited in no-knock warrant ahead of Locke's death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Documents show authorities searching the Minneapolis apartment where Amir Locke was killed by a SWAT team member said they believed a no-knock search warrant was necessary to protect the public and officers investigating a violent homicide. The applications for the search warrants carried out at the apartment complex on Feb. 2 were made public in redacted form Thursday. In them, police said it was necessary to conduct the searches unannounced because the suspects had a history of violence. Locke was not named in the warrants. The police killing of Locke, a 22-year-old Black man, has sparked a reexamination of the use of no-knock warrants and calls for a statewide ban.

GEORGE-FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS

Lieutenant: Officers should have intervened in Floyd killing

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The head of the Minneapolis Police Department’s homicide unit says three former officers on trial for violating George Floyd’s civil rights should have intervened to stop fellow Officer Derek Chauvin when he had his knee on the Black man’s neck. Lt. Richard Zimmerman testified at the federal trial for former Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. He said the duty can also mean intervening to begin first aid if another officer fails give it, and that it can mean moving an officer out of the way if necessary. Asked what Chauvin was doing that was significant to him, Zimmerman replied: “The knee on the neck -- the officers should have intervened at that point and stopped it. ... It can be deadly.”

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-MANDATES

Twin Cities lift restaurant, bar vaccine-or-test mandates

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul have rescinded vaccine-or-test mandates for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues as COVID-19 cases decline rapidly. The Star Tribune reported Thursday that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter have lifted the mandates effective immediately. The regulations required anyone entering a restaurant, bar or other venue that serves food or drinks to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within the last three days. Mask mandates for public areas in Minneapolis and St. Paul's city-licensed businesses will remain in place for now.

TRACKING DEVICE-STOLEN CARS

Minnesota bill would soften tracking device rules for police

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota House committee is considering legislation that would expand the use of mobile tracking devices by a law enforcement officers trying to track down stolen vehicles and avoid high-speed chases amid a surge in violent carjackings. The bill would let police officers use GPS tracking devices without a court order for a 24-hour period to recover stolen vehicles. Current state law requires officers to have a warrant or consent from the owner of the vehicle before they can use a mobile tracking device. The bill passed in the House public safety committee Thursday on a 18-1 vote.

AP-US-LOUISIANA-NEWSPAPER-NEW-EDITOR

Minnesota editor returning to Louisiana's largest newspaper

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The editor of Louisiana’s largest newspaper is retiring, and the new editor is a returning New Orleans native who comes to the job after heading the biggest newspaper in Minnesota. The Times-Picayune of New Orleans and The Advocate of Baton Rouge announced Thursday that Rene Sanchez of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis will replace Peter Kovacs. Kovacs led The Advocate to its first Pulitzer Prizes two weeks before its owners announced they had bought The Times-Picayune and its website, NOLA.com. Sanchez has been editor of the Star Tribune of Minneapolis for eight years and led it to two Pulitzers.

AP-US-GRAY-WOLVES-PROTECTIONS

Judge restores protections for gray wolves across much of US

BILLINGS, Mont (AP) — A judge has restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. after they were removed in the waning days of the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said in Thursday’s ruling that the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to show wolf populations could be sustained in the Midwest and portions of the West without protection under the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife advocates had argued state-sponsored hunting threatened to reverse the gray wolf’s recovery over the past several decades. That recovery has brought bitter blowback from hunters and farmers angered over wolf attacks.

COAL PLANT SALE

Sale of largest coal plant in North Dakota reapproved

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (AP) — Great River Energy’s cooperatives have once again approved the sale of the company’s Coal Creek power plant in North Dakota and an accompanying power line, despite opposition from its largest member. The sale of Coal Creek, near Underwood, North Dakota, was initially approved last June with 27 member co-ops voting in favor and Connexus Energy, of Ramsey, Minnesota, voting against it. The sale had to be reconsidered after some terms of the contract with Rainbow Energy Marketing, of Bismarck, North Dakota, were changed following last year’s vote. Connexus contends the sale won't generate the savings originally expected, nor would it cut greenhouse gas emissions since the coal plant would remain open.

US ATTORNEY-MINNESOTA

Minority leader opposes US attorney nominee for Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Opposition from the Senate’s top Republican to President Joe Biden’s nominee for Minnesota’s U.S. attorney complicates his path to swift confirmation. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote to nominee Andrew Luger this week to express concerns after a man was sentenced to 10 years below the recommended maximum for setting a deadly fire during the violent demonstrations that followed the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. McConnell told the Senate he was placing a hold on the nominee as a result. It doesn’t block Democrats from confirming Luger, but the party may have to spend time on the floor voting rather than moving the nomination quickly through with unanimous consent.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022