Remember the guy who drove his car through protesters at the intersection of Lake and Minnehaha in Minneapolis, injuring one? Remember the video of the incident? Well, in Hennepin County at least, the driver will not be charged. Paul Walsh in the Star Tribune explains,
The county attorney’s office statement noted that Rice “possibly hit a demonstrator” but could not be prosecuted under the statute it considered, which addresses drivers’ actions after being involved in a crash.
Mozart and mojitos: the Minnesota Orchestra announced today it will be playing concerts in Cuba May 15 and 16, at the invitation of the Cuban Ministry of Culture. The press release says the Minnesota Orchestra will be “ the first U.S. orchestra to give performances in Cuba” since President Obama announced policy changes toward the island in December. Sen. Amy Klobuchar would seem to support the move — she introduced a bill today to end the embargo against Cuba [MPR]. As MinnPost’s Devin Henry reported last week, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer might also be open to lifting the embargo, depending on how negotiations go.
In other news…
Former Current DJ Barb Abney has joined the newly announced on-air lineup for Go 96.3 FM in the 8 a.m. to noon position. [Pioneer Press]
The Washington Post tries to figure out why Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped out of Marquette University.
Does Minnesota need a new flag? [City Pages] Clearly Minneapolis does.
Cheerios go gluten free. The recipe already was, but it took General Mills three years to invent a filter to prevent contamination of the oats by other gluten-containing grains. [Wall Street Journal]
An inmate in Beltrami County was flown to Hennepin County Medical Center to treat injuries sustained in the jail, but was left without transport back. So he walked — 188 miles — from Minneapolis to Bemidji. [Pioneer Press]
How zoning laws shaped Minneapolis. [streets.mn] Just going to drop MinnPost’s interactive Minneapolis zoning map here.
Rep. John Kline has his sights set on the gray wolf. He “introduced HF 843 that would prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing wolves under the Endangered Species Act in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.” [Duluth News Tribune]
Cool Planet Minnesota is turning “a love of Frisbee, Nordic skiing and biking into a way to connect with people about climate change advocacy.” [Southwest Journal]
“DNR to everyone on MN lakes: Pick up your garbage” [MPR’s NewsCut]
Mr. Walker
Having read the WaPo piece, I can only conclude that Andy Borowitz was correct this morning: “Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is steadily rising to the top of the 2016 Republican Presidential field because voters are connecting with his “strong and consistent opposition to knowledge,” an aide to Walker said on Thursday.” This seems to be borne out by his record at Marquette…
Gluten free….
Cherrios? Now I’ve heard it all. Unless one has biopsy proven Celiac Disease, this gluten allergy thing is a big hoax.
So what if Walker didn’t graduate?
He wasn’t kicked out. He found a productive job instead of wasting a fortune on a final year of school. The level of snobbery this nonissue has brought out is amazing. And has our current President ever released his transcripts?
What does Kline know about wolves?
Hopefully more than he knows about education. Doubt that he will make as much in donations from wolf haters as fro for profit education
Wasn’t the guy who “drove his car into the protesters” the victim? Wasn’t he stopped and surrounded by a group of people, pounding on his car and breaking the law by obstructing traffic? A lot of drivers would panic when put in that situation.