FATAL CRASH-PLEA
Man pleads guilty in crash that killed woman walking dog
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Blaine motorist who struck a woman who was walking her dog along a road last fall has pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular manslaughter. John R. Jones was initially charged with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the hit-and-run death of 56-year-old Bridget O’Keefe Dunn in Blaine on Oct. 25. Under the conditions of the plea, Jones would serve one year in the workhouse and six months on probation. Dunn’s husband, Chris, said his wife had been walking on the shoulder with their dog, Sully, who made it home after the crash.
FATAL SHOOTING
Police: Woman found fatally shot on St. Paul sidewalk
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Police say a woman was shot and killed in St. Paul’s North End neighborhood early Saturday morning. Authorities received a 911 just after midnight Saturday to report hearing an argument followed by at least one gunshot. Officers found a woman in her early 30s suffering from a gunshot wound lying on the sidewalk outside of a house. Medics pronounced the woman dead a short time after their arrival, Two men who were at the house when officers arrived and were being questioned. No arrests have been made, but police don’t believe it was a random incident.
SESSION PREVIEW
Minnesota lawmakers face $7.7B surplus in 2022 session
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature will confront a $7.7 billion surplus when it convenes Monday, Jan. 31. And that’s bound to set up clashes in this election year over whether to spend the money on unmet needs or give it back to taxpayers. The main job for lawmakers in even-numbered years traditionally is a public works borrowing package known as a bonding bill. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has proposed a record $2.7 billion package that’s probably bigger than Republicans will accept. But debates over how to use the enormous surplus will dominate the session, which runs through late May, and COVID-19 will continue to cast a shadow over the proceedings.
GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS
Access again an issue at federal trial in Floyd’s killing
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A closed hearing in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers in George Floyd’s killing was canceled Friday after prosecutors and the media objected. It’s the second time in just days that access to the proceedings became an issue. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson scheduled the conference on the admissibility of some evidence that attorneys for Tou Thao, J. Kueng and Thomas Lane sought to block. After prosecutors objected, Magnuson canceled the hearing and met with attorneys in chambers instead. No details of the meeting were immediately given. Media groups earlier this week raised concerns about restrictions on journalists and spectators in the courtroom.
GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICERS-CIVIL RIGHTS-EXPLAINER-CHAUVIN
EXPLAINER: Will Chauvin testify at trial of 3 other cops?
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — As the federal trial for three former Minneapolis officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights is set to begin Monday, some wonder whether Derek Chauvin will take the stand. Many legal experts say they don’t anticipate the jury will hear from Chauvin, who was convicted of Floyd’s murder. If he does testify, he could face some hard questions. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Kueng are broadly charged in federal court with depriving Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority as Chauvin used his knee to pin the Black man to the street on May 25, 2020.
AP-CN-CANADA-US-BORDER-DEATHS
Florida man charged after 4 found dead at Canada-US border
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — A Florida man has been charged with human smuggling after the bodies of four people, including a baby and a teen, were found in Canada near the U.S. border. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota says 47-year-old Steve Shand has been charged with human smuggling after seven Indian nationals were found in the U.S. and the discovery of the bodies. The U.S. Border Patrol in North Dakota stopped a 15-passenger van just south of the Canadian border on Wednesday. Court documents say five other people were spotted by law enforcement in the snow nearby. Shand’s attorney, Doug Micko, declined to comment.
BUDGET SURPLUS-CHECKS
Walz wants use budget surplus to send checks to taxpayers
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz wants to send checks of $175 or $350 to more than 2.7 million Minnesota households to spend down the state’s large budget surplus. The proposal he laid out Thursday for spending a portion of Minnesota’s $7.7 billion surplus and leftover federal aid would require legislative approval. He asked lawmakers to quickly approve the plan, but Republicans immediately pushed back on his plan as an election year gimmick. The rebates would be $175 for single tax filers and $350 for married filers, but eligibility would be subject to an income cap. Walz also wants to repay the state’s unemployment insurance debt and channel money to front-line workers and caregivers strained by the coronavirus pandemic.
AP-US-OBIT-LOUIE-ANDERSON
Louie Anderson, comic, Emmy winner for ‘Baskets,’ dies at 68
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Louie Anderson, whose four-decade career as a comedian and actor included his unlikely and Emmy-winning performance as mom to twin adult sons in the TV series “Baskets,” has died at age 68. Anderson’s publicist Glenn Schwartz says the comedian died Friday in Las Vegas. The publicist had said earlier this week that Anderson was hospitalized for a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He’d been a familiar face elsewhere on TV, including as host of a revival of the game show “Family Feud” from 1999 to 2002, and on comedy specials and in frequent late-night talk show appearances.
The Associated Press
