Category: Minnesota

Massive Winter Storm Brings Snow, Strong Winds, Frigid Cold

MINNEAPOLIS—Brutal winter weather bringing snow, dangerous gusts of wind and bitter cold settled over much of the northern U.S. on Wednesday, shutting down roadways, closing schools and businesses and prompting dire warnings for people to stay home. The massive storm with blizzard-like conditions to the north were part of a wild weather day across the…


Minnesota Bar Owner Faces $350,000 in Fines for Defying State COVID-19 Restrictions

A Minnesota bar owner lost her business, liquor and food service licenses, and is facing up to $350,000 in fines for violating a governor’s executive order. But the Minnesota Attorney General’s lawsuit doesn’t list any actual harm caused by her actions. “I didn’t break the law; I defied the executive order,” Lisa Monet Zarza told…


Minnesota Woman Sentenced to Life for 6-Year-Old Son’s Death

MINNEAPOLIS—A Minnesota woman convicted of fatally shooting her 6-year-old son just days after regaining custody was sentenced Thursday to life in prison. Julissa Thaler, 29, was convicted last week of first-degree murder in the October 2022 death of Eli Hart, who prosecutors said was shot nine times by his mother as he sat in his…


Minnesota Supreme Court Rules Current Felon Voting Ban Constitutional, Leaves Issue to Legislature

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Feb. 15 upheld the state’s law that bars felons from voting while on parole, ruling that the law doesn’t violate the fundamental right to vote or the principle of equal protection within the state’s constitution. The long-awaited decision comes more than a year after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued…


Police: Fatal Stabbing Reported at Minnesota High School

ST. PAUL, Minn.—A 15-year-old male student was fatally stabbed at a high school in St. Paul on Friday, and a 16-year-old boy was arrested, police said. The victim and suspect were both students at Harding High School, police Sgt. Mike Ernster said. Investigators were working to determine what led up to the stabbing. Ernster said…


Minnesota Factory Workers Subdue Armed Person at Plant

NEW YORK MILLS, Minn.—A man who fired a shot at a co-worker during a dispute at a Minnesota boat factory Thursday was subdued by other workers as he tried to flee, preventing any serious injuries, authorities said. Officers responding to a call about an active shooter found David Jeremiah Gadsen, 21, being held by his…


Fate of Last Ex-Cop Charged in Floyd Murder Lies With Judge

MINNEAPOLIS—The attorney for a former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders while his colleagues restrained a dying George Floyd said in court filings Tuesday that his client is innocent of criminal wrongdoing and should be acquitted on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. But prosecutors argued in their filings that Tou…


SCOTUS to Consider Immunity of Police on Joint State-Federal Task Forces in Bungled Sex-Trafficking Prosecution

Later this month, the Supreme Court will consider a case arising out of a botched sex-trafficking investigation about whether state and local police officers enjoy immunity from lawsuits when they are federally cross-deputized as members of joint state-federal task forces. Three young women, including Ifrah Yassin, are suing the Saint Paul, Minnesota, Police Department, claiming…


Second Man Pleads Guilty in Death of Teen Near Minnesota School

MINNEAPOLIS—A second man pleaded guilty Wednesday in the death of a 15-year-old outside a suburban Minneapolis school in a shooting that also seriously injured another teen. Fernando Valdez-Alvarez, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault. He made the plea two weeks before his trial was scheduled to begin. Valdez-Alvarez was charged in the…


Minnesota Enshrines ‘Most Extreme’ Abortion Policy Into State Law as ‘Fundamental Right’

Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) signed the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act on Tuesday, which enshrines what Republicans call “the most extreme” abortion policy into state law as a “fundamental right.” Minnesota Republicans and pro-life groups have said the law means that the elective killing of an unborn child is legal, even in the third trimester,…