GEORGE FLOYD-POLICING POLITICS

Democrats see political peril in replacing Minneapolis PD

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A proposal on the Minneapolis ballot about the future of policing in the city where George Floyd was killed has its roots in the “defund the police” movement. And it has centrist Democrats worried that it could spell defeat. The fight is a microcosm for what’s been happening across the country as communities debate policing amid the nationwide reckoning on race that followed Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. Republicans are still hammering Democrats for anything that smacks of defunding the police as they seek to win suburban voters. Only the most progressive Democrats still embrace the slogan.

GOP LEADER

Minnesota GOP picks David Hann as its new leader

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Republican activists have picked former state Sen. David Hann as the next leader of their party. The move comes following a scandal that brought down former Chair Jennifer Carnahan and left conservatives reeling ahead of a critical election cycle. Hann is a former Senate minority leader from Eden Prairie, He defeated entrepreneur Jerry Dettinger by an 8% margin at the GOP’s state central committee meeting Saturday in Hopkins. He will lead the effort to repair the party’s image heading into the 2022 midterms.

DEPUTY SHOOTING

County deputy involved in 3rd deadly-force shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities are investigating a shooting that involved a St. Louis County sheriff’s deputy in Duluth. The shooting early Tuesday morning left Jesse Ferrari with noncritical injuries. Deputy Jason Kuhnly shot Ferrari after he initially fled from officers attempting to stop him while driving down a street in an all-terrain vehicle. It’s the third career deadly-force incident for Kuhnly, including the second this year. In both earlier incidents, deadly force was found to be justified. Kuhnly, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for eight years, is on standard administrative leave while the incident is investigated.

MNSURE PREMIUMS

MNsure says 2022 premiums will be lower, with more choices

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota families who get their health insurance through MNsure average of $684 per year and will have more plans to choose from in 2022. The Minnesota Department of Commerce and MNsure released information Friday on rates and options for 2022 in advance of open enrollment, which begins Nov. 1. They say average premiums will be lower because more Minnesotans than ever before will be eligible for tax credits to lower their costs, thanks to federal stimulus funding. Every county in Minnesota will have at least two insurers offering individual market plans, with all but seven counties having three or more insurers.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-STANDOFF

Minnesota lawmakers at odds on division of $250M COVID fund

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers have $250 million in federal COVID-19 aid to give away, but they can’t agree on how to spend it. The Frontline Pay Working Group is tasked with figuring out how to divide the money among frontline workers. The panel blew past a Labor Day deadline, and the St. Paul Pioneer Pres reports that its Republican and Democratic members are still at loggerheads over who should get the money and how much they should receive. Republicans want to offer the tax-free bonus to those workers who they say took on the greatest risk. Democrats want to spread the money more widely.

PHEASANT SEASON

South Dakota pheasant season nears with promising numbers

SOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota pheasant hunting season gets underway in two weeks, and the numbers look more than promising. According to the Game, Fish and Parks Department, last year’s season was spectacular in South Dakota, with hunters harvesting over 1 million birds. And the department says 2021 is shaping up to be even better. A mild winter plus a dry spring and summer have contributed to potentially record pheasant numbers. Pheasant hunting in South Dakota is a long-standing tradition for many hunters across the country and the Midwest. KELO-TV reports some believe the state could see even more out-of-state hunters this year because of its loose pandemic rules.

AP-US-RACIAL-INJUSTICE-RIOT-CHARGE

Man pleads guilty to firing 13 times during Floyd protest

MINNNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Texas man who says he is affiliated the anti-government “boogaloo” movement has pleaded guilty to opening fire on a Minneapolis police station last year during unrest over the death of George Floyd. Ivan Harrison Hunter was accused of firing 13 rounds from a semi-automatic assault-style rifle on the Third Precinct police station while protesters were inside the building. The Boerne, Texas, man pleaded guilty to a federal riot charge. A judge ordered a presentence investigation. Floyd died in May 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. His death sparked protests around the world.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA PRISONS

More prison inmates vaccinated than corrections employees

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Corrections has been more successful getting inmates immunized against the coronavirus than it has for its own employees. As of this week, about 80% of prisoners in Minnesota have been fully vaccinated, while the immunization rate for corrections employees is just over 65% and at some prisons, it’s lower. Fewer than 60 percent of staff at Moose Lake and St. Cloud have gotten the shot. A new mandate took effect this month which requires all Minnesota state employees working in the office or on site to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing for COVID-19. Corrections officials say about 1,400 unvaccinated staff members are being tested on a weekly basis.