GEORGE FLOYD-PROTESTS-ACQUITTAL

Man who shot at cops in unrest over Floyd death is acquitted

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man charged with attempted murder after firing at Minneapolis police officers in the chaotic protests that followed George Floyd’s death has been acquitted of all charges against him. Jaleel Stallings argued self-defense during his July trial, testifying that he fired at the unmarked white van after he was struck in the chest with what turned out to be a nonlethal rubber bullet fired by police. Stallings’ case drew new attention this week when an online digital news outlet, Minnesota Reformer, reported on his acquittal and published body camera footage that shows Minneapolis SWAT officers punching and kicking him as he lay on the ground. The news comes months before Minneapolis residents will be asked to weigh in on the future of the police department.

SENATE-MINORITY LEADER

Kent steps down as Minnesota Senate minority leader

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent says she plans to retire at the end of her term and won't seek reelection in 2022. Because of that, she is stepping down as minority leader. Kent, a Woodbury Democrat, has served in the Senate for 10 years and says she decided to retire so she could focus more on her family, especially her mother, who she hasn't seen for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kent said serving in the Senate has been the greatest honor of her life. The Senate Democratic caucus will select a new minority leader on Sept. 13.

AP-US-ENBRIDGE-ENERGY-LINE-3

Congresswomen urge Biden to stop pipeline in Minnesota visit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and her progressive congressional allies have urged President Joe Biden to stop construction on Enbridge Energy’s much-contested Line 3 project. Omar and three other congresswomen said the pipeline project would worsen climate change and violate Native American treaty rights. But Enbridge spokeswoman Juli Kellner says six years of reviews, court decisions and permit approvals disprove claims that Line 3 would violate treaty rights or damage the region’s environment. Pipeline supporters, including Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, state lawmakers and pipeline workers spoke Friday ahead of Omar's visit to praise the jobs the pipeline has brought to the region.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER

Ex-officer faces more serious charge in Daunte Wright death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota prosecutors have filed a more serious charge against the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, but it is not the murder charge that activists were seeking. Former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter is now charged with first-degree manslaughter, in addition to a prior charge of second-degree manslaughter. Activists had demanded a murder charge, protesting outside a local prosecutor's home before Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison took over the case. After a review, Ellison determined a first-degree manslaughter charge was warranted. Potter, who is white, fatally shot Wright on April 11. She has claimed she meant to use her Taser instead of her gun.

GEORGE FLOYD-OTHER OFFICERS

3 ex-officers ask to block streaming of trial in Floyd death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys for three former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death asked a judge Thursday to bar their upcoming trial from being livestreamed, saying some witnesses won’t testify if proceedings are broadcast. The request from attorneys for Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao is opposed by prosecutors and by news outlets including The Associated Press. Judge Peter Cahill, who ordered livestreaming of the trial earlier this year of former Officer Derek Chauvin in Floyd's death, said he would rule later on the request. Lane, Kueng and Thao face trial next March on charges of aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s May 2020 death. Chauvin is already sentenced to 22 1/2 years for murder.

FATAL HIGHWAY SHOOTING

Chicago man arrested in fatal highway shooting in Plymouth

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (AP) — Plymouth police say a 33-year-old Chicago man has been arrested in the fatal highway shooting of a driver in an apparent case of road rage. Police Chief Erik Fadden says the suspect was arrested Aug. 24 and jailed in the central Illinois city of Decatur, where he remains pending his extradition to Hennepin County. The Star Tribune reports that he had not been charged as of Thursday afternoon. Investigators say 56-year-old Jay Boughton was shot in the head by the suspect July 6 as he drove his son home from a baseball game on Highway 169. Fadden has said a traffic altercation between the two drivers “escalated quickly,” and the shooter may have killed Boughton, of Crystal, over something as minor as a lane change.

MINNESOTA UTILITY-COAL PLANT

Otter Tail Power to sell stake in North Dakota coal plant

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A utility company in western Minnesota plans to end its investment in a coal-fired plant it operates in North Dakota as part of its push to add more sources of renewable energy. Otter Tail Power Co., based in Fergus Falls, plans to sell its 35% stake in the Coyote Station Power Plant in Beulah, North Dakota by 2028. The utility says “more flexible and economical resource options are available” and it is concerned that its obligation to the plant will become too costly for customers. Otter Tail serves about 137,000 homes and businesses in western Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

LAKE WATER FIGHT

Fight over well water near Lake Superior could land in court

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) — A grassroots citizen group is pushing back against a Duluth company’s proposal to bottle and sell water from a well near Lake Superior. Opponents say allowing Kristle KLR to go forward would exploit a loophole in a landmark agreement barring water diversions from the Great Lakes and it could threaten water resources in the region. An appeals board in Bayfield County has upheld the denial of a special land use permit that would allow Kristle Majchrzak and Robert Glau to tap into the water on their property in the Town of Clover. Their attorney, Jack Perry, of Minneapolis, says they will appeal the board’s decision in Bayfield County Circuit Court.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021