VIRUS OUTBREAK-FLANAGAN

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan tests positive for COVID

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19, she announced Saturday. Flanagan says she received the positive test after caring for her 8-year-old daughter Siobhan, who tested positive on Oct. 22. The lieutenant governor received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine last spring. Flanagan said she and her husband, Tom, had been staying home for the past week to care for their daughter and avoid exposing others to the virus. Flanagan’s brother Ron, who was in his 50s and battling cancer, died of COVID in 2020.

LIQUOR SALES RECORD

Minnesota liquor sales soared in 2020 for a record year.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sales at municipal liquor stores in Minnesota soared in 2020 for a record-breaking year. sales at the state’s 213 “munis” jumped 10% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report  by State Auditor Julie Blaha. In recent years, a typical sales increase has been in the range of 1 to 3%. With many bars and restaurants either closed or operating at reduced capacity during parts of the year, people did more of their drinking at home, according to liquor store managers and employees. And the lifestyle shifts prompted by the pandemic played a major role. 

FARMINGTON-TRIPLE HOMICIDE

Man charged with murder in deaths of parents, brother

FARMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — A Farmington man has been charged with three counts of murder for allegedly fatally shooting his father and brother, then killing his mother with a hammer two days later. Twenty-six-year-old Blake Maloney was charged Friday in Dakota County. The bodies of 53-year-old Tracy Maloney, 55-year-old Jack Maloney and 23-year-old Scott Maloney were found Wednesday by a police officer who went to a townhome to check on Tracy Maloney’s welfare. The criminal complaint lists no motive, but says Blake Maloney told an officer he killed three people, and said he didn’t believe they were his family. A message left with Maloney’s attorney was not immediately returned.

AP-US-KENOSHA-PROTEST-SHOOTINGS-RACE

Ahead of Rittenhouse trial, race seen as underlying issue

Kyle Rittenhouse, the aspiring police officer who gunned down three people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a protest in the summer of 2020 against racism and police brutality, is white. So were those he shot. But for many, his murder trial next week will be watched closely as the latest referendum on race and the American legal system. The protest where the shootings took place was prompted by the case of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot in the back by a white Kenosha police officer.

AP-US-ELECTION-2021-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICING-EXPLAINER

EXPLAINER: What would Minneapolis policing ballot issue do?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis voters are deciding whether to replace the city’s police force with a new Department of Public Safety. The proposal evolved from calls to “defund the police” after the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis officer last year. There’s been an emotional debate over what the proposed changes to the city charter will or won’t do. Supporters seek a more just approach to public safety. But opponents say there’s no plan for what would follow. The City Council and the mayor would have to agree on at least the broad outlines of the new system within a month after Tuesday’s election.

AP-US-GEORGE-FLOYD-PROTESTS-ACQUITTAL

Man who shot at Minneapolis police sues city, officers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man found not guilty of attempted murder after firing at Minneapolis police during the unrest that followed George Floyd’s death has sued the city and numerous officers, alleging excessive force was used in his arrest. Jaleel Stallings also alleges in the federal lawsuit filed Thursday that several of his constitutional rights were violated following the shooting. Stallings’ attorney, Eric Rice, released body camera footage earlier this month that showed Stallings being assaulted by police following his arrest. A booking photo of Stallings taken after his arrest shows visible facial injuries. The lawsuit says the beating left Stallings with several injuries, including a fractured eye socket. The police department declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

FARMINGTON-TRIPLE HOMICIDE

Man arrested on suspicion of killing 3 people in Farmington

FARMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after three people were found dead in a Twin Cities-area home. Officers asked to check on a person visiting the Farmington home arrived shortly before 9:30 a.m. Thursday and found the bodies of three adults inside the two-story townhouse. Police say the suspect was arrested at the scene. He is being held on three counts of second-degree murder. He has not been formally charged. Farmington Police Chief Gary Rutherford says investigators do not believe the incident was random and there is no threat to the general public.

WRENCH ATTACK-ENERGY DRINKS

Judge says man unfit for trial, cites energy drink testimony

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge says a Minnesota man accused of killing three family members with a wrench is mentally incompetent to stand trial, citing testimony from doctors about his mental illness intensified by his consumption of energy drinks. David Ekers is charged with three counts of second-degree murder in last year’s attack in a Minneapolis suburb that killed his sister, mother and grandmother. The ruling last week by Judge Lisa K. Janzen says evidence of the negative effect of energy drinks on Ekers’ schizophrenia dates back to at least 2017. During one hospitalization in 2018, the judge says his “psychotic symptoms appeared worsened with the ingestion of large amounts of energy drinks.”

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