LEGISLATURE-ETHICS

Sen. Omar Fateh disputes GOP claims of ethics violations

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An attorney for state Sen. Omar Fateh says the Minneapolis Democrat was never endorsed by a YouTube channel that serves the local Somali community, And she says his sponsorship of unsuccessful legislation to give the nonprofit a $500,000 grant was therefore not a reward for the channel’s support. The Senate Ethics Subcommittee heard from attorney Kristin Hendrick on Wednesday in the first of at least two meetings to determine whether there’s probable cause to formally investigate allegations leveled against Fateh by a group of Republican state senators. The attorney says Fateh paid for the ads and did not get free promotion from the channel.

DRUG SEIZURES-OFFICER SENTENCED

Former Minneapolis police officer sentenced in drug case

MINNNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer convicted of stealing drugs from people during dubious traffic stops has been sentenced to more than three years in prison. Ty Jindra was found guilty in November of stealing Tramadol, methamphetamine and oxycodone. In two cases he filed false reports and in one case he failed to mention that he had discovered pills, prosecutors said. The 29-year-old Jindra was also convicted of two civil rights violations, once for stopping a driver at a service station for a tag violation and once for pulling over three juveniles in a vehicle that slowly rolled through a stop sign. Both times he was accused of conducting illegal searches.

MISSING STUDENT

Missing Minnesota student found dead in Mississippi River

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A missing University of Minnesota student has been found dead in the Mississippi River in St. Paul. The Pioneer Press reports that 21-year-old Abdirihman Abdifatah Ali of Prior Lake was last seen June 1 on the U of M's West Bank. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office's water patrol recovered his body from the river near Harriet Island on Monday evening. Foul play is not suspected. Ali is the second U of M student found dead in the Mississippi in recent weeks. Nineteen-year-old Austin Ray Retterath was found May 18 after he was reported missing 10 days earlier. No foul play is suspected in his death.

PUBLIC RADIO-DONATION

Minnesota Public Radio receives $56M anonymous donation

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Someone out there has handed Minnesota Public Radio a $56 million cash donation. The Star Tribune reports that the anonymous gift is the largest in MPR has ever received in its 55-year history. The money is slated to go toward YourClassical, MPR's classical music network. According to MPR, almost 2.75 million people engage with YourClassical weekly. The money also will go toward advancing new technologies.

LOON RESEARCH

Researcher probing loon decline expands project to Minnesota

CROSSLAKE, Minn. (AP) — A researcher trying to understand what's causing a decline in Wisconsin's loon population is expanding his project into Minnesota. Chapman University biology professor Walter Piper has found that Wisconsin's loon population has decreased by about 22% in the last 25 years. Chicks also are smaller and young loons' survival rate is lower. Minnesota Public Radio reports that Piper has partnered with the National Loon Center to expand his research into Crow Wing County in north-central Minnesota. Last summer Piper's team attached identification bands to about 80 loons around the Whitefish Chain of Lakes north of Brainerd. The team plans to revisit those territories this summer to find out if the birds survived.

POLICE CHASE

Man arrested for firing at police with pregnant wife in car

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Police have arrested a man for allegedly firing nearly a dozen shots at officers during a Twin Cities car chase with his pregnant wife in the passenger seat. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the incident began around 8:20 p.m. Sunday when a state trooper tried to stop Pablo Nava Jaimes for speeding in St. Paul. According to a criminal complaint, he fled at speeds near 100 mph. He fired a shot at the trooper and fired at officers who joined the chase in White Bear Lake. Jaimes finally stopped the car and he and his wife tried to run away on foot before officers captured them.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Bonus pay coming for Minnesota's frontline COVID-19 workers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota residents who came into work during the height of the coronavirus pandemic will soon be collecting bonus pay. Workers who are eligible for so-called hero pay can begin applying Wednesday morning under the Frontline Worker Pay bill that was signed into law on April 29. They have up to 45 days to apply. The Frontline Worker Pay bill covers people employed at least 120 hours in one frontline sector or more outside their households between March 15, 2020 and June 30, 2021. Eligible workers include those in the long-term care and home care industries, health care, the courts, child care, public schools, retail, food service, public transit and manufacturing. The money be divided evenly, following a period for appeals.

ALABAMA SLAYING-MINNESOTA ARREST

Man arrested in Minnesota in Alabama slaying

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say a man wanted in a gunshot killing that occurred last year in Alabama has been arrested in Minnesota. Police in the west Alabama city of Selma say 18-year-old Javontae Mitchell was captured last week near the Canadian border by federal marshals. Mitchell was sought in the killing of 26-year-old Taquon Fikes. Fikes was found lying unresponsive in the backyard of a house a year ago. Police say he was killed in a fight. Court records weren't immediately available to show whether Mitchell had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022