VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Hennepin County 'doubles down' on vaccine incentive program

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s most populous county is boosting its incentive program for COVID-19 vaccine shots. The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners Tuesday unanimously approved an additional $250,000 to promote vaccine shots, on top of the original $100,000 that was allocated earlier from federal recovery funds. Commissioner Chris LaTondresse says the program has increased the number of shots and Tuesday’s action “doubles down on this promising strategy” to help fight the coronavirus. The county used the original investment to buy 2,235 Visa gift cards worth $50 each. The incentive program includes partnerships with community groups to host vaccine events and provide perks such as free meals, groceries, and entertainment.

GRAND PORTAGE-HOMICIDE

Complaint: Victim found along lake was shot, dismembered

GRAND PORTAGE, Minn. (AP) — A criminal complaint filed in Cook County provides more details about what investigators say happened before the remains of a missing St. Paul were found off the shore of Lake Superior in Grand Portage last week. A criminal complaint charging a man with helping dispose of Richard Balsimo’s body says 34-year-old victim was shot and dismembered. Balsimo was last seen in St. Paul on June 20. Divers working with investigators found Balsimo’s remains late last week. The Duluth man charged with aiding and abetting the disposal of the victim’s body says another man fatally shot Balsimo the day he disappeared.

FATAL POLICE PURSUIT

Funeral held for bystander killed in police pursuit crash

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Friends and family gathered at a Minneapolis church to honor the life of a man killed when a police squad car struck his vehicle while the officer was chasing a robbery suspect. A funeral for 40-year-old Leneal Frazier took place Monday at Shiloh Temple. The service was attended by relatives of George Floyd, the Black man killed last year by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Frazier was the uncle of Darnella Frazier, whose cellphone video of Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck was viewed worldwide and helped launch a global protest movement against racial injustice. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Floyd family, says Frazier’s death is another instance of police traumatizing Black families.

BOUNDARY WATERS-DROWNING

Colorado man drowns when storm capsizes canoe in Minnesota

ELY, Minn. (AP) — Sheriff’s officials say a Colorado man has drowned after a severe storm moving through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota capsized his canoe. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday multiple agencies responded to a report of a water emergency on Loon Lake. Canoe Country Outfitters in Ely told dispatchers two people were thrown into the water Monday when heavy rain and strong wind overturned their canoe. One person made it to shore while the other was missing. First responders later recovered the body of 73-year-old Wayne Morrow, of Fort Lupton, Colorado.

NORTH DAKOTA BANK ROBBERY

Minnesota suspect arrested in North Dakota bank robbery

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Authorities say a woman has been arrested for a bank robbery in Wyndmere, west of Wahpeton. The Lincoln State Bank was held up at gunpoint shortly before 11 a.m. Monday. The Richland County Sheriff’s office says a 43-year-old Moorhead, Minnesota woman was arrested after a tip from someone who recognized images released to the media. KFGO radio reports the suspect is jailed in Fargo and awaiting federal charges. The money taken in the robbery was recovered.

MINNESOTA LAWMAKER-ETHICS

Minnesota Dem who rose after Castile death is under pressure

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Black Minnesota state lawmaker who rose to prominence after his friend Philando Castile was shot to death by police is coming under pressure to resign. State Rep. John Thompson turned to activism after Castile's fatal shooting during a 2016 traffic stop and then to politics, winning a seat in the state House. Thompson became a fierce advocate for policing changes. But things started unraveling in early July, when Thompson claimed to have been racially profiled during a traffic stop. That soon led to questions about his driver's license and his state residency. Now, revelations of old domestic abuse allegations against Thompson have caused top Democrats to join the calls for his resignation.

AP-US-CAPITOL-BREACH-INVESTIGATION

McCarthy proposes 5 Republicans to sit on Jan. 6 panel

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has picked five Republicans to sit on the new select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. McCarthy selected Indiana congressman Jim Banks to be the top Republican on the panel. McCarthy also tapped for the panel Ohio's Jim Jordan, Illinois' Rodney Davis, North Dakota's Kelly Armstrong and Texas' Troy Nehls. McCarthy's picks were confirmed by a Republican familiar with the decision and an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement. Pelosi must still approve the names.

STARRY STONEWORT

Invasive weed starry stonewort confirmed in Leech Lake

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An invasive weed that can choke out native plants and fish habitat has been found in one of Minnesota’s largest and most popular walleye lakes. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Monday confirmed the discovery of starry stonewort in Leech Lake, located in northwestern Minnesota. The DNR says the bright green microalgae plant has now been verified in 18 of the state’s 11.842 lakes, including nearby Cass Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish. Leech Lake is largely within the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation boundaries. Starry stonewort was first discovered in Minnesota in 2015 in Lake Koronis, which is located near Paynesville in Stearns County. The state has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to combat the weed.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021