Twin Cities are short 460 bus shelters

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Who needs shelters? This is Minnesota. Eric Roper of the Strib reports, “The 9th Street [and Nicollet] bus stop is one of more than 460 exposed stops across the metro area with enough riders to qualify for a shelter, according to a Star Tribune analysis of Metro Transit passenger data. Hundreds of passengers a day use those stops; in many cases, well over the 40 passengers needed to justify a shelter under Metro Transit rules. Meanwhile, more than 200 of Metro Transit’s 801 existing bus shelters did not have enough riders to meet qualifications in late 2013.

So the state Supreme Court will take up the case involving a fight with a drunk in an apartment building hallway. In the Mankato Free Press, Josh Moniz explains. “ … the two men ended up struggling with each other and both fell down the stairs to an entrance. The man suffered injuries that hospitalized him for approximately a week. [Daniel] Devens was charged with felony first-degree assault, felony third-degree assault and misdemeanor fifth-degree assault. A jury convicted him of the third-degree and fifth-degree charges. Devens appealed his third-degree conviction based on the jury instruction and his assertion of Minnesota’s ‘defense of dwelling’ laws. The Minnesota Court of Appeals denied his appeal and affirmed the lower court’s ruling.” If he pulled a gun and shot the guy would he have less legal exposure?

Everyone loves an optimist … . Stribbers Patrick Kennedy and Neal St. Anthony ask its regular panel whether the bull market can last:

Q: What’s your recommendation for the remainder of the year: buy, sell or hold?

Erica Bergsland [Advantus Capital Management]: Valuations in both the domestic stock and bond markets are at levels that imply very muted returns from here.

Jim Paulsen [Wells Capital Management]: I think the stock market is nearing its high for this year and would not be surprised if the S&P 500 peaked between 2,000 and 2,050 in the next few months.

David Joy [Ameriprise Financial]: I expect the bull market to persist beyond any correction as the economy continues to grow, so a long-term investor should only need to remember to stay balanced.

Jenna Ross of the Strib files a piece on friend and family reaction to the case of the Willmar teenager who pled guilty to the murder his grandmother. “… some of Robert Warwick’s friends need no more answers. They believe Robbie when he told the courtroom that he and Brok Junkermeier, the 19-year-old who stabbed and strangled Lila Warwick, had planned to rob his grandma, but not kill her.  ‘Brok told me it wouldn’t happen. …’ Warwick said. ‘But it happened.’”

Jesse Ventura’s lawsuit against the deceased sniper who dissed him in a best-seller is getting local attention. At the AP, Amy Forliti writes, “The trial begins Tuesday, and it will be up to Ventura’s attorneys to prove that Kyle’s account about that night in a California bar was false — and even more difficult, that Kyle knew it. ‘Ventura is going to have to prove falsity … but the harder part is proving actual malice’, said Raleigh Levine, a law professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. ‘It has to do with what you know about the truth — that you actually knew that what you were saying was false or that you recklessly disregarded the truth.’”  Again, I’m not a legal expert, but I don’t see how The Body sells this one.

So, in other words, anyone acting strange … with bars open later than usual?  Martin Moylan at MPR says, “Minneapolis Police are asking the public to watch for possible signs of terrorism when the city hosts Major League Baseball’s All Star Game later this month. … The police department will release a video Monday designed to teach citizens how to recognize behaviors that could signal a terrorist threat. The production will be posted online.”

First Hamline … now St. Thomas. Christopher Magan of the PiPress reports, “Part-time and non-tenured instructors at the University of St. Thomas are moving ahead with a union vote despite pleas from some colleagues who want more time to consider the long-term impact. Kim Ragan Sovell of Stillwater, who teaches marketing part time at St. Thomas, said she is one of about 100 university faculty members who asked the union organizing committee to delay the vote. … ‘We feel like we are being railroaded,’ Sovell said. ‘We need time to think.’ Last month, faculty at Hamline University voted overwhelmingly to form a union for part-time and non-tenured instructors.”

Speaking of higher ed … . Frederick Melo of the PiPress wades back into the leadership turmoil at Metro State. “… many employees hope [former president Sue Hammersmith’s] departure last week will mean a new chapter for one of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system’s fastest-growing institutions. Devinder Malhotra, former provost at St. Cloud State University, will serve as Metro State’s interim president while the school searches for a permanent replacement. Faculty members believe Malhotra’s two-year assignment is designed to boost the search by giving the next candidate some distance from the problems undermining employee morale.”

Of course the hyper-conservative attorneys at Power Line are convinced climate change is nothing more than an Al Gore fever dream. Steven Hayward writes, “Salon.com (yes, I know) is celebrating that the BBC has decided to go full Pravda on us and cease allowing ‘climate deniers’ on the air. Well, it is a government-run media establishment. But that would be the same BBC that refused to allow Churchill to broadcast his ‘appeasement denial’ views back in the 1930s. Yup, same slimy people.” I believe that qualifies for points under Godwin’s Law.