At MPR, Tim Nelson reports, “The families of four Somali teenagers detained by Minneapolis park police in 2018 are splitting a $160,000 settlement after lodging a human rights complaint over the officers’ handling of the incident. Bystanders recorded part of the incident, showing the boys being handcuffed and one officer drawing a weapon. Police were responding to what turned out to be a bogus 911 call claiming there were kids with weapons threatening people in the park near Minnehaha Falls.”
A story by Ryan Faircloth of the Star Tribune says, “A University of Minnesota student was recently detained in China and sentenced to six months in prison for tweets he posted while in the United States, according to a news report from the website Axios. Chinese police arrested 20-year-old Daiqing Luo in his hometown of Wuhan in July, according to Axios. … Luo was reportedly detained for months before being sentenced in November to six months in prison for ‘provocation.’ … The account known to be Luo’s tweeted some images of cartoon villain Lawrence Limburger — who resembles Chinese President Xi Jinping — with Chinese slogans superimposed over them.”
For MPR, Tim Pugmire reports: “Abortion opponents gathered in large numbers outside the Minnesota Capitol Wednesday for the annual March for Life. The event, sponsored by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, marks the anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. The event is also aimed at calling on lawmakers to help stop abortions. Dozens of Republican state legislators were in attendance, and 8th District Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber was a featured speaker.”
From the AP: “Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore will sit out a second straight WNBA season to continue her push for criminal justice reform. Moore told The New York Times in a story published Wednesday of her choice to stay off the court for 2020. She said in her interview with the newspaper that she’s not ready to retire. Moore’s agent confirmed her decision to The Associated Press.”
The Star Tribune’s Jennifer Bjorhus reports, “The former commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) took the stand Wednesday on the second day of an extraordinary hearing into whether the regulator suppressed serious concerns about PolyMet Mining’s critical water permit. John Linc Stine defended his handling of concerns that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s office in Chicago had with the permit. Stine initially denied that a phone conversation he had with the head of the EPA’s Chicago office in March 2018 was about PolyMet ….But on further questioning by a lawyer for mine opponents and after reviewing e-mails referring to the exchange, Stine acknowledged that he discussed PolyMet with Cathy Stepp, then head of the EPA Region 5 office.”
At MPR, Hannah Yang says, “After Minnesota’s appeals court revoked a controversial permit for a proposed dairy farm expansion in Winona County, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a draft permit and an additional environmental review that shows the project’s potential impacts to the climate. … Although the pollution control agency has noted greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews in other sectors like ethanol and energy, Katrina Kessler, assistant MPCA commissioner, said the Daley Farms case sets a precedence in reviews for future feedlot projects.”
WCCO-TV’s Bill Hudson reports: “The Minneapolis Police Department is requiring all officers to take dog sensitivity training as part of their in-service sessions. The mandatory two-day sessions teach all 900 officers non-lethal methods for dealing with dogs.”
In the Star Tribune, Sharyn Jackson says, “A three-year run for McKinney Roe has come to an end. With the Minnesota Vikings season over, the restaurant neighboring U.S. Bank Stadium closed this past weekend, according to a mournful email sent to employees by owner Dermot Cowley. … McKinney Roe had a tumultuous couple of years as it tried to find its footing in the burgeoning neighborhood. The restaurant would fill up on game days, but a regular nighttime crowd never materialized.”
For FOX 9, Allie Johnson writes, “Flying with your pet just got a little bit easier. Delta announced Wednesday that Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is one of eight locations across the country where pet owners can now book their pet a flight in a new pet travel carrier called the ‘CarePod.’ According to a news release, the CarePod provides pet owners with real-time updates on their pet throughout their journey.”
I’ve loved milk and other dairy products my whole life but if anything will eventually force me to become a vegan and renounce all dairy and meat products, it’s “expansions” of dairy farms to become feed lots like this Daley “Farms.” The emission of greenhouse gases is only part of the problem. Confining animals in noisome manure collecting yards which stink up an entire region for slaughter or milk is inhumane and cruel. Its misleading to call such a place a “farm.” A “farm” is a place with a pasture that allows animals to graze and contendedly and peacefully blend into a rural landscape. I now use only products from pasture fed cows. If the prices on these products go up enough because there aren’t enough real farmers to husband such herds, I’m a new vegan. I hope the dairy “industry” hears this and starts to take action to counter this dangerous and depressing trend.