From this morning’s George Floyd case hearing. KMSP reports: “Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill disqualified Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and three other attorneys in his office from participating in the George Floyd case at a motions hearing Friday. … Cahill made the decision because the four prosecutors are now witnesses in the case because of a private meeting they had with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. … Other attorneys and staff from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office can still participate in the prosecution of the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in Floyd’s death.”

Related. WCCO reports: “Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the family court building in Minneapolis where a hearing in the death of George Floyd is being held. All four officers who have been charged in Floyd’s death are in court Friday morning. … The protesters staged a die-in as the hearing began at 9 a.m. … This marks Derek Chauvin’s first in-person appearance.”

Cleaning up a big mess. The Star Tribune’s Jennifer Bjorhus reports: “Residents in the Twin Cities’ east metro area enduring toxic ‘forever chemicals’ polluting their water could eventually get access to municipal water supplies, high-tech filters or even new water treatment plants. … These solutions are part of a new $700 million drinking water protection plan Minnesota officials unveiled Thursday aimed at providing longer-term relief in an area where bottled water is a way of life for some residents.”

Remember when Jason Lewis tried to start a social network? At BuzzFeed News, Jane Lytvynenko reports: “A members-only social media network founded in 2013 by former representative Jason Lewis, the current Republican nominee for Senate in Minnesota, hosted message boards that promoted a pro-Hitler documentary, called for migrants to be put in camps, and raised money for an ad campaign that paid Lewis and his business partners. … In 2014, Lewis sat down with Fox Business host John Stossel to promote the network, which he called Galt.io…. Lewis, still a talk radio host, explained that Galt.io would be a closed community whose members could invest using a digital currency earned with their participation or bought with real money. The Galtcoins functioned like Reddit upvotes, signaling which topics people cared the most about as they invested into ‘causes’ or ‘missions.’”

In other news…

Not what you ordered: “Study finds more restaurant-goers among COVID-19 patients” [Star Tribune]

Nice work: “Students step in to refurbish computers as school needs rise” [MPR]

Saddle up your steed: “Minnesota Renaissance Festival becomes a drive-thru experience” [KARE]

Things are looking up: “The new Minneapolis-St. Paul airport escalator is the tallest in Minnesota. Huh.” [City Pages]

Fishy business: “Ely outfitters charged in federal bait case” [Duluth News Tribune]

A purrfect tribute: “Max the cat statue to be created for Macalester library” [The Mac Weekly]