SEVERE WEATHER-CRASHES

Minnesota State Patrol counts nearly 300 crashes in storm

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota State Patrol has tallied 286 car crashes across the state during a wintery storm that brought as much as 20 inches of snow in some places. The highway patrol reported that 21 of the crashes resulted in injuries, including one that was fatal. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that a car driving on Highway 61 in Maplewood jumped the curb late Friday and struck a pickup truck traveling in the opposite direction. A 52-year-old passenger died, while another passenger and the driver of the car were taken to a hospital.

SHERIFF-DRUNKEN DRIVING

Sheriff charged with 4 misdemeanors for drunkenness in crash

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors in Douglas County have charged Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson with four misdemeanors for drunkenness after he crashed his vehicle this week. Hutchinson rolled his county SUV on Interstate 94 near Alexandria during the early morning hours Wednesday. He had been attending the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association winter conference in the city, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. An analysis of his urine determined that his blood alcohol content was 0.13%, while the state legal limit is 0.08%. Three of the charges were for driving while impaired. The fourth is for carrying a pistol while under the influence of alcohol.

HOMICIDE-KALEVALA TOWNSHIP

Carlton County woman found dead, husband charged with murder

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A woman was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound at her home in Kalevala Township, the Carlton County sheriff’s office reported. Sheriff’s deputies went to the home after receiving a call for a welfare check and found the body of the 62-year-old woman, Tracy Ellen Julian. The deputies arrested her husband and have jailed him for second-degree murder charges. The sheriff’s office says they have no other suspects and the investigation is ongoing.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL-EXPLAINER-PROSECUTION CASE

EXPLAINER: What's behind 'sordid' evidence at Potter trial?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — After prosecutors spent nearly a day reconstructing the moments after a suburban Minneapolis police officer shot and killed Daunte Wright, one of her attorneys had heard enough. Paul Engh asked for a mistrial, decrying the “sordid pictures” that he said were irrelevant and were shown repeatedly to inflame the jury’s sympathies. But those details and the testimony of secondary witnesses are part of a bigger-picture prosecution strategy at former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter's trial. Prosecutors want to not only convict her of manslaughter, but to send her to prison for a longer term than she could get otherwise.

STUDENT-ARRESTED-COLD SPRING

Police arrest student after threat in Cold Spring

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Police in Cold Spring say they have arrested a young person following a social media threat of a potential shooting at a middle school. Extra police were stationed at the ROCORI middle school Thursday and Friday after school officials notified parents that a student had posted a warning on Snapchat for others to stay away from the school on Friday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. After the arrest, school officials said there was no evidence of an ongoing threat to school safety. School officials also excused any student absences from the school.

CLIMATE CHANGE-MINNESOTA

Minnesota lake ice shrinking as climate change warms winters

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Officials from Minnesota’s natural resources and pollution control agencies detail the ways climate change is diminishing Minnesota winters, with 10 to 14 fewer days of lake ice over the past 50 years. It’s a change they say hurts local economies, the environment and the Minnesota way of life. Warmer lake waters are leading to more toxic algal blooms, higher chances of invasive species and declines in populations of lake trout and walleye. Officials called for state and federal investments in climate mitigation efforts to protect Minnesota winters as we know them.

SHERIFF-DRUNKEN DRIVING

Charging decision expected next week in sheriff crash

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors in Douglas County say they expect to make a decision next week on whether to charge Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson after he crashed his vehicle. Hutchinson rolled his county vehicle on Interstate 94 near Alexandria on Wednesday. He acknowledged he had been drinking before the crash. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is analyzing a Hutchinson urine sample to determine if he was intoxicated and Douglas County Attorney Chad Larson will make a charging decision based on the test results early next week.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER TRIAL

State questions Potter's decisions in Daunte Wright arrest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors at the manslaughter trial of Kim Potter sought to build a case that that suburban Minneapolis police officer Kim Potter acted unreasonably when she shot and killed Daunte Wright. Potter has said she meant to use her Taser on Wright before pulling her handgun by mistake during the April traffic stop in Brooklyn Center. A patrol sergeant who was at the scene testified Friday that he was holding Wright's right arm with both hands in the moments before Potter shot Wright. A prosecutor pointed out that the sergeant didn't draw his own Taser or gun, and that department policy says a Taser shouldn’t be used on someone operating a car.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021