Says Stephen Montemayor in the Star Tribune, “At least one event has now been approved for the Minnesota State Capitol on Sunday: a ‘Sunday Church Service’ led by the Bloomington conservative activist behind last week’s ‘Storm the Capitol’ rally. The state Department of Administration approved permits this week for a Saturday ‘Freedom Fest’ event and Sunday’s ‘Church Service’ event, according to records obtained by the Star Tribune. The applicant for both events, Becky Strohmeier, leads the Hold the Line MN group that attracted 500 people to the Jan. 6 Storm the Capitol rally now under investigation by state law enforcement.”
For Fox 9, Theo Keith and Rose Semonov report: Minnesota’s eight-member U.S. House delegation was split during Wednesday’s historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump a second time. … Trump was charged with willful incitement of insurrection in connection to the deadly riot that broke out at the Capitol a week ago, hours after Trump held a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, where he reiterated disproved claims regarding the election. … All of Minnesota’s representatives voted along party lines. Republicans Pete Stauber, Jim Hagedorn, Michelle Fischbach, Tom Emmer all voted against impeachment, while Democrats Angie Craig, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips voted in favor. McCollum also acted as the presiding officer for the impeachment proceedings.”
MPR’s Paul Huttner says, “The latest forecast model trends suggest there may be downward pressure on snowfall totals compared to Wednesday’s early forecast model runs. This storm is unusually warm, and the lack of cold air immediately behind the system may hamper intensification and the ability to produce heavier snowfall in many areas. Still, expect a wintry mix to change to snow Thursday and Friday. Several inches is still likely, and this looks like a plowable, if not a major winter weather event. High winds will make travel very difficult in western Minnesota.”
Says Chao Xiong for the Star Tribune, “Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in George Floyd’s death, and his wife failed to follow a court order and file public documents in their divorce proceeding, a judge ruled. Washington County District Judge Juanita Freeman issued a decision Monday ordering Derek and Kellie Chauvin to file redacted public versions of confidential documents they filed under seal in December. The Chauvins’ divorce has come under scrutiny after Freeman cited possible fraud in her decision last October rejecting the couple’s proposed divorce settlement that would have given most of Derek Chauvin’s assets to his wife.”
For MPR, Matt Sepic writes: “Researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine say so-called less-lethal weapons that police used during the George Floyd protests in the Twin Cities caused a variety of injuries and are not appropriate for crowd control under United Nations guidelines. Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School and HCMC combed through thousands of medical records at two hospital systems and found 89 people who’d suffered some sort of injury from projectiles or chemical irritants. A summary of the findings in a letter to the editor says seven of the patients needed surgery, 10 sustained eye trauma, and 16 suffered traumatic brain injuries.
The AP reports: “Minnesota House Democrats unveiled their first priorities of the 2021 legislative session on Wednesday, a package of five bills to assist workers, families and small businesses struggling due to the ongoing pandemic. The legislation includes an economic security bill that would provide housing assistance to renters and homeowners, $500 payments to low-income families, and broadband expansion for unserved and underserved parts of the state.”
Also in the Star Tribune, Paul Walsh writes: “A St. Louis Park man pleaded guilty Wednesday to abandoning his family while vacationing in Morocco and joining an ISIS battalion trained to unleash suicide terror attacks in Europe. Abdelhamid Al-Madioum, 24, admitted in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Federal guidelines call for Al-Madioum to be sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in prison followed by anywhere from five years to life under supervised release.”
A WCCO-TV story says, “The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released their 2020 climate report stating that last year was the fifth warmest year for the U.S. So where in there did Minnesota stand? Last year tied with three other years as the 13th warmest year on record for the state of Minnesota. Nine of the top 15 warmest years in Minnesota state history have all occurred in the last 20 years.”
FOX 9 reports: “Police in Champlin, Minnesota are asking residents to please stop having sex in busy parking lots. According to a Facebook post from the Champlin Police Department, an officer had to tap on the car window of a couple having sex at noon in an autobody parking lot, leading the department to issue the reminder. ‘We would like to pass along a friendly reminder to everyone looking for some alone time with a sweetheart to please avoid any romantic entanglement in busy parking lots during normal business hours,’ the post said.”
