Seeing how the federal charges pan out. The AP reports (via the Star Tribune): “The trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the death of George Floyd will be pushed back to March 2022, in part to allow the publicity over Derek Chauvin’s conviction to cool off, a judge ruled Thursday. … Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao were to face trial Aug. 23 on charges they aided and abetted both murder and manslaughter. Their co-defendant, Chauvin, was convicted in April of murder and manslaughter. All four officers also face federal charges that they violated Floyd’s civil rights during his May 25 arrest. … Judge Peter Cahill said he moved the other officers’ trial so the federal case can go forward first. No date has been set for the federal case, but Cahill said it carries higher potential penalties.”
If only there were a way to tell who has been vaccinated. WCCO reports: “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to address the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance that says fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks in most indoor and outdoor settings. … CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday at a White House COVID-19 briefing that ‘anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or socially distancing.’ … Walz’s spokesperson, Teddy Tschann, sent out a statement following the news, saying the governor will address it later Thursday. … ‘This is exciting news! The vaccines are working. Governor Walz and the Minnesota Department of Health are reviewing the CDC’s announcement and working to update Minnesota’s COVID-19 guidance,’ the governor’s office said.”
New 3M settlement. KMSP reports: “The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency announced an enforcement agreement with 3M Wednesday following a two-year investigation that found hazardous waste was improperly stored and disposed of at the Cottage Grove facility. … The MPCA found 3M did not store hazardous waste containers in the permitted areas. A container of hydrofluoric acid, a toxic chemical compound, was found releasing gases into the air. There were also 901 containers, some with bulging lids, holding the acid stored throughout the facility. The emissions could cause harmful air pollution.”
Has policing changed since the murder of George Floyd? For Time, Andrew R. Chow writes: “In the weeks after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer last May, the insistence that his death would be—must be—the last such killing at the hands of law enforcement became a popular refrain. “I think what’s happened here is one of those great inflection points in American history, for real, in terms of civil liberties, civil rights, and just treating people with dignity,” Joe Biden, then still a candidate for the presidency, told CBS News. Republican pollster Frank Luntz declared, “We are a different country today than just 30 days ago.” … The numbers paint a far different story. Since June 2020, police in the U.S. have killed people across different backgrounds at virtually the same rate that they have for the past five years, according to several surveys, despite a pandemic that kept many people at home.”
In other news…
A decent wage: “St. Paul bistro plans to pay employees $20 an hour with no tipping” [KMSP]
Getting there: “St. Paul approves leg of Capital City Bikeway along Wabasha Street” [Pioneer Press]
Caught red handed? “3 charged with vandalizing former California home of Derek Chauvin trial defense witness” [Star Tribune]
Accepting applications: “Twin Cities girls of color need a place to thrive. Here come the Radical Monarchs” [MPR]
First Vikings in these parts since Kensington: “Viking cruising into St. Paul for Mississippi River tours in 2022” [Star Tribune]
Coming to Tulsa: “Bob Dylan museum opening in 2022” [Brooklyn Vegan]
The man who launched a million brainstorm sessions: “Post-it note co-inventor dies at 80 in St. Paul, Minnesota home” [KMSP]
