CENSUS-MINNESOTA

Minnesota grows a bit older, less white, more metropolitan

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — New census figures show that Minnesota has grown a bit older, a bit less white and bit more metropolitan. Minnesota's white population dipped from 83.1% in 2010 to 76.3% in 2020, while the Black population grew from 5.1% to 6.9%. Minnesotans age 18 and older make up 76.9% of the state’s population. The 18-plus population rose 9.2% from 2010 to 2020 while the growth in the under-18 population lagged at 2.6%. Figures released earlier show Minnesota’s population grew from 5.3 million in 2010 to 5.7 million in 2020, just barely enough to let the state keep its eight congressional districts.

GRAND PORTAGE-HOMICIDE

2nd person charged in connection with Lake Superior body

GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a second person in connection with the death of a St. Paul man whose dismembered remains were found in Lake Superior. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports 31-year-old Tommi Lynn Hintz of Duluth was booked into the St. Louis County jail on a charge of being an accomplice to felony murder and concealing Richard Balsimo's body. Robert West of Duluth was charged in July with aiding an offender and interfering with a dead body. According to court documents, Hintz said she overheard West tell a fisherman in June he had some of his grandmother's valuables he wanted to dump in Lake Superior. The next day she heard West say that a man had shot Balsimo and his body had been chopped up.

RACIAL TIRADE

Man pleads guilty to going on racial tirade

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Burnsville man has pleaded guilty to embarking on a racially-fueled tirade. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports 40-year-old Jason Gerardy entered his plea Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court to first-degree property damage. Prosecutors agreed to drop a felony threat of violence count in return. According to the charges, Gerardy told officers he smashed windows on two of his father's cars after an argument and broke the window of a Muslim man's car in November 2019 because “he's a (racial slur) and doesn't pay taxes.” He's set to be sentenced Oct. 5.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota hits 70% mark for 1st vaccinations for 16 and up

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota has reached the milestone of vaccinating 70% of its population age 16 and older with at least one dose against GOVID-19. Gov. Tim Walz credits a recent rise in vaccination rates amid concerns over the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, and the state’s $100 rewards for people who get their first shot before Aug. 15. The number of first doses administered per week is up 129% after bottoming out a month ago. New vaccinations peaked in April in Minnesota. Minnesota leads the Midwest in the percentage of the overall population who have completed their vaccination series at 54.4%.

SEVERE WEATHER

Weather service confirms 6 tornadoes in Red River Valley

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — The National Weather Service confirms the severe thunderstorms that moved through northern parts of the Red River Valley earlier this week produced six tornadoes. The weather service’s damage assessment team says tornadoes were confirmed near Starkweather, east of Binford, north of Sharon, west of Northwood, near Davidson, and Key West, in northwest Minnesota. The strongest tornado was near Sharon and was rated as an EF-2 with winds of 115 mph. The twister Monday destroyed a barn and toppled trees along a path of about three miles.

TWIN METALS MINE

Twin Metals plans electric vehicle fleet for mine near Ely

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Twin Metals Minnesota says it plans to rely almost exclusively on electric vehicles for its proposed underground copper-nickel mine near Ely. Chief Regulatory Officer Julie Padilla says using electric instead of diesel vehicles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the mine by 65% and will reduce ventilation and heating needs. Twin Metals and the separate PolyMet copper-nickel mine have faced stiff opposition from environmental groups. Jeremy Drucker of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters says the vehicle fleet would make up just a fraction of Twin Metals' total carbon footprint when its electrical needs and shipping are factored in.

FATAL HIGHWAY SHOOTING

SUV linked to fatal road rage incident possibly found

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (AP) — Police in a Twin Cities suburb say they have found an SUV that matches the description of the one driven by the person who fatally shot a man in a suspected road rage incident. Plymouth police say investigators are currently processing the vehicle to gather possible evidence. The development comes about a month after 56-year-old Jay Boughton was shot in the head as he drove his son home from a baseball game on Highway 169. His vehicle crashed in the parking lot of a nearby apartment building where his 15-year-old son gave his father CPR.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR-MINNESOTA

Rochester high school teacher named MN Teacher of the Year

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An English language and ethnic studies teacher at Century High School in Rochester has been named the Minnesota Teacher of the Year for 2021. Natalia Benjamin is the first Latino educator to receive the award. She's the first from the Rochester district to win the award, which is organized by Education Minnesota, the statewide teachers union. Benjamin was born and raised in Guatemala, where she grew up speaking, reading and writing Spanish and French and later learned English. She said her exposure to multiple languages helped her understand how children acquire language.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021