Author
Where do they live? Rep. John Thompson case shows how easy it is for lawmakers to keep address private
The controversy swirling around Rep. John Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, over his July Fourth traffic stop has helped expose a loophole in state law that could allow candidates to evade notice if they don’t live in the district in which they’re running.
Welcome to Todd County, where just 34% of people are vaccinated
TODD COUNTY — Behind the deli counter of the Mennonite-run Cherry Grove Market near Browerville, Arla Martin, a 23-year-old Mennonite, wore a long blue, plaid dress, and no mask, even though she hasn’t gotten the vaccine but has had COVID-19. She’s among the 60% of eligible Todd County residents (12 and up) who haven’t gotten […]
St. Paul police release body cam of Rep. John Thompson’s traffic stop
The St. Paul Police Department released the body camera footage of Rep. John Thompson, DFL-St. Paul, during an early morning traffic stop on July Fourth, which shows him accusing the police officer of racially profiling him and informing the officer that he’s a state lawmaker. During the stop, Thompson presented a Wisconsin driver’s license, first […]
Public safety alternatives are untested, viewed skeptically by anti-police activists
When Minneapolis public works employees arrived at George Floyd Square on June 3 accompanied by some 30 Black men from the Agape Movement — as Minneapolis police in riot gear waited in the wings blocks away — the scene hinted at the city’s fraught early going experiment with alternative public safety models. Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and […]
St. Paul police chief says lawmaker owes his officer an apology for alleging racial profiling
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell in a social media post on Friday said he is “dismayed and disappointed” by a state lawmaker’s response to being pulled over by an officer on Sunday, saying the traffic stop was justified and not racial profiling. Axtell said his sergeant had every right to pull over state Rep. […]
Homicides in Minneapolis dipped last month, first decline this year
The number of homicides in Minneapolis last month dipped slightly below last June, marking the first time homicides have declined below last year’s monthly numbers. In June 2020 the city recorded 11 homicides. Last month, there were eight, according to the Minneapolis Police Department crime statistics dashboard. Homicides are still up overall this year from […]
Restaurant workers speak: Some are done; others want industry changes
Sophia Bishop, 20, left the food service industry a few weeks ago to work in health care. After doing some restaurant work in college, she was at a Burnsville restaurant for about a year and a half. “For me, basically it was complete chaos,” she said. Mother’s Day 2020 was a disaster, she said, when […]
Born in the Delta, she died the grandmother of St. Paul | Remembrance
I met Thelma Battle Buckner because her church was just a block from my house when I first moved to St. Paul six years ago. I figured if I only had to walk a block to church, I might just go. We walked into the small, bland, brick church with a yellowing sign out front […]
Lawmakers to vote on updating sex crime laws
Lawmakers will vote today on updating Minnesota’s sex crime laws, including closing a loophole led to reversal of a rape conviction.
Protesters block Minneapolis council member’s car until she agrees to 6 demands
Minneapolis Council Member Andrea Jenkins' vehicle was blocked by activists Sunday and not allowed to leave until she agreed to sign off on six demands, including a demand that Mayor Jacob Frey resign.
The rural, biracial juror on the Chauvin trial: ‘It was absolutely traumatic’
Journee Howard grew up in a town of about 900 in lake country, where a Trump rally in nearby Brainerd attracted some 10,000 people last year. Her biracial family was a rarity. Her mom is white and works at a bar; her dad is Black and works as a chef; her uncle is a cop […]
Minneapolis police workers’ comp claims have skyrocketed
The city of Minneapolis could pay some $34 million or more in workers’ compensation claims filed by city employees since the murder of George Floyd by former police officer Derek Chauvin. The Minneapolis City Council has approved 16 workers’ comp settlements out of 756 claims filed by city employees since Floyd’s murder, for injuries to […]