The Star Tribune’s Liz Navratil writes: “As they make decisions about how to protect the city during a summer of unrest, Minneapolis’ elected leaders are trying to balance the concerns of residents who want a larger law enforcement presence to prevent rioting and looting against the pain that presence triggers in historically overpoliced communities. … Frey declared a temporary emergency Wednesday night after crowds gathered on Nicollet Mall following false social media reports that police had killed a Black man. The man shot and killed himself as police approached him in connection with a homicide. That emergency would have expired Saturday night, but council members extended it to 8 a.m. Monday.”
WCCO-TV reports: “Sixteen people have been charged Friday in connection to the recent looting and unrest in downtown Minneapolis, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The death of a Minneapolis man sparked rioting Wednesday night after rumors quickly spread on social media that police fatally shot 38-year-old Eddie Sole Jr. Police said the man was a suspect in a murder earlier that day in a downtown parking ramp. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said the man died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head.”
MPR’s Dan Kraker writes: “Vice President Mike Pence made a campaign swing through Duluth Friday on the heels of the Republican National Convention, marking the fourth time either he or President Trump has visited Minnesota this year. Pence spoke for about 40 minutes at the Clure Public Marine Terminal along the Duluth-Superior harbor …. Pence focused on jobs and the economy, arguing only President Donald Trump could be trusted to rebuild the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In the Pioneer Press, Frederick Melo writes: “St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has sought to balance the 2021 city budget without laying off city staff, increasing the city property tax levy or dipping into emergency reserves. The result? An austere budget proposal that will weigh heavily on virtually every city department and many city services. … Carter … delivered a library budget address Friday that calls for $1.4 million in library cuts, including snipping 17 open positions, even as libraries begin to reopen for quick visits.”
In the Pioneer Press, Josh Verges writes: “A judge has thrown out a lawsuit alleging University of Minnesota officials were motivated by politics, not safety, when they relegated conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s 2018 speech to the St. Paul campus. Shapiro, along with his event organizer Young America’s Foundation, and the U student group Students for a Conservative Voice, sued several U officials who were involved in planning for the event. They claimed that moving the event to a 450-capacity ballroom on the U’s more rural campus amounted to viewpoint discrimination and a heckler’s veto.”
The Star Tribune’s Zoë Jackson writes: “Minneapolis police were on the scene of a quadruple shooting in north Minneapolis Friday night. … The city of Minneapolis remains under emergency powers related to unrest earlier this week, but there were no early indications that the shootings were related to those earlier events. All four victims are men, according to police spokesman John Elder. Their conditions are not yet known, but Elder said in an e-mail that their wounds were not believed to be life-threatening.”
For MPR, Tom Crann and Megan Burks write: “When the city announced its plans to reopen a section of (Bloomington and 38th Avenue) intersection earlier this month, the group responded with a list of 24 demands and a turnout of people prepared to stand their ground. ‘The city is looking at the art as an opportunity for people to come and observe in the context of a museum,’ said Jeanelle Austin, who is volunteering as lead caretaker of the site. … Austin and other volunteers say they aren’t yet willing to end their protest, even as the city moves ahead with its plan for a phased reopening. It has not set a date for removing the barricades that block cars from the intersection at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue. But in a statement, Mayor Jacob Frey said keeping the intersection closed indefinitely is not feasible.”
