The Star Tribune’s Eric Roper says: “It’s been an unseasonably warm couple of weeks, but don’t put away the snowblower for the season just yet. After another balmy day — Sunday’s high will be near 50 in the Twin Cities — a winter storm is expected to dump upward of 6 inches of snow in parts of southern Minnesota starting late Sunday and early Monday. The storm could reach the southeastern portion of the Twin Cities, bringing more modest snow or slush accumulations. The National Weather Service is forecasting that the heaviest snowfall will occur near the Iowa border in the southwestern corner of the state.”
In the Pioneer Press, Deanna Weniger writes: “From the ramps at the Capitol in St. Paul to those in the chambers of the Minneapolis City Council, Rick Cardenas’ wheelchair tracks and his passion for the disabled can be traced throughout the Twin Cities. Cardenas, 79, died Wednesday, March 10, after complications following a stroke at Sholom Home Care in St. Paul. ‘He demonstrated what persistence takes, no matter what obstacle,’ said his niece Ruby McKusick. ‘If it was discriminating or unjust, he’d take it on and advocate to right the wrong. He was a force for advocating for disability rights.’”
WCCO-TV’s David Schuman reports: “The announcement of an historic settlement could have far-reaching impacts on the trial of a fired Minneapolis police officer. The city announced Friday it was paying George Floyd’s family a record $27 million. … Announcing the settlement in the middle of jury selection for the murder trial of Derek Chauvin confused legal experts. ‘It was absolutely terrible timing, I would say for both sides,’ said Mary Moriarty, the former chief public defender in Hennepin County. … ‘Most jurors I think would perceive [the settlement] as the city’s belief that Chauvin did murder George Floyd and that they are liable,’ Moriarty said. … Moriarty says news of the settlement being out there could become an issue in a potential appeal, which is something the state wants to avoid.”
In the Star Tribune, Kim Hyatt writes: “A push by some Golden Valley city staff members to strike racist language from property deeds is spreading across the Twin Cities metro as residents reckon with the history of banning people of color from buying homes in white neighborhoods. The Just Deeds Project pairs homeowners with pro bono attorneys to discharge racial covenants, the language embedded in deeds beginning in 1910 that segregated neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities metro. Though unenforceable after a landmark 1948 Supreme Court ruling, the language of racial covenants remains in thousands of deeds.”
The AP reports: “Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is being called racist for an interview in which the white Republican said he wasn’t worried about the predominantly white supporters of President Donald Trump during the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, but that he might have been if they had been Black Lives Matter protesters. In an interview Thursday with syndicated radio host Joe Pagliarulo, Johnson said of those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 to try to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory: ‘I knew those were people who love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn’t concerned.’ Five people died during the assault on the Capitol, including a police officer, and 140 officers were injured.”
