AP-US-ELECTION-2021-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICING

Minneapolis voters weigh fate of police after George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Voters in Minneapolis are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The election comes more than a year after George Floyd’s death launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country. Mayor Jacob Frey is also in a tough fight for a second term. He faces a bevy of opponents who attacked his leadership after Floyd’s death. Results from the ballot question are expected Tuesday night. But the mayoral race is a question mark because Minneapolis uses ranked choice voting. If no candidate reaches 50% in the first round of counting, the winner would be determined Wednesday. 

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER

Media makes fresh plea for access to ex-cop Potter’s trial

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — News organizations are making a fresh plea to the judge overseeing the case of a former Minnesota police officer charged in the death of Daunte Wright. They’re asking her to allow live video coverage of former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter’s trial because of the continuing threat of COVID-19 and the strong public interest. Judge Regina Chu has barred livestreaming the trial, which starts Nov. 30. But a media coalition has asked the judge to reconsider. They say COVID cases have spiked. And they say the resulting limitations apparently will mean a total exclusion of the public and all but a few members of the media.

ACCESSIBLE VOTING

Access to voted for disabled generally good in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Those who monitor voting access for people with disabilities say Minnesota generally does a good job on the issue, but the state’s is not without challenges. Minnesota Council on Disability ADA Director David Fenley says while barriers still persist, Minnesota provides good general access for voters with different disabilities. Polling stations are equipped with an accessible voting machine for people with vision impairments, with many counties using an electronic ballot marker machine called  AutoMARK. The website of a new Minnesota-based organization called Able to Vote connects staff to people who need assistance finding transportation to the polls, coming up with a voting plan or reporting an accessibility barrier.

MIDWEST ECONOMY

October survey shows growth, but scant confidence in economy

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states shows significant jumps in employment and inventories since September, but confidence in the economy over the next six month remained at a dismal low. The overall index for October of the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions released Monday rose to 65.2 from September’s 61.6. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. But the survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, failed to budge from 37 recorded in September. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

ELECTION 2021-MINNEAPOLIS POLICING

Plan to replace Minneapolis PD worries many Black residents

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A proposal to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new public safety unit goes to the city’s voters this week. The idea on Tuesday’s ballot has its roots in the abolish-the-police movement that erupted after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year. It draws strong support from younger Black activists energized by Floyd’s death, as well as from some Black and white residents across this liberal city. But the plan, which would drop a requirement that the city have a minimum number of police officers, has aroused concern in some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods, where many Black residents fear it would make them more vulnerable just as violent crime is spiking.

ADDICTION CENTER EMBEZZLEMENT

2 sentenced for stealing $777,000 from addiction center

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two employees of a Native American addiction and counseling center, including its executive director, have been sentenced on charges of embezzling more than $777,000 in federal funds. Federal officials in Wisconsin say Fredericka DeCoteau, of Cloquet, Minnesota, was sentenced Friday to 2 years in prison. Edith Schmuck, of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison. A judge ordered DeCoteau and Schmuck to jointly back restitution of $777,283. DeCoteau and Schmuck worked at Ain Dah Ing, a non-profit halfway house in Spooner, Wisconsin. DeCoteau was the executive director and Schmuck was the bookkeeper. The center offers mental health and alcohol and substance abuse services to Native Americans from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin tribes.

AP-US-CANADA-LYNX

Canada lynx to keep species protections under legal deal

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials have agreed to keep species protections in place for Canada lynx. A federal judge in Montana on Monday approved a settlement between the U.S. Interior Department and environmentalists who had sued to retain protections for the snow-loving wild cats. Lynx have been listed as a threatened species since 2000. During the Trump administration, officials said the lynx had recovered after their numbers rebounded in some areas. But some scientists and wildlife advocates warn climate change could undo that progress by reducing lynx habitat and the availability of a key food source _ snowshoe hares. A new recovery plan for lynx is due by 2024.

SLAIN STUDENT-APPEAL

Prosecutors begin round 2 of arguing Rodriguez death penalty

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Prosecutors in North Dakota’s first and only death penalty case say defense attorneys are wrong by claiming the judge didn’t go far enough in explaining why he threw out the sentence for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. Rodriguez was convicted of killing University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. Judge Ralph Erickson in September ordered a new sentencing phase be conducted, saying his defense team failed to consider key factors. Defense attorneys filed a motion arguing that the judge left out Rodriguez’s intellectual disability as one of those factors. In a response filed Friday, prosecutors said Rodriguez’s attorneys “flatly fail to establish the existence of a manifest error or newly discovered evidence” and “cannot satisfy the very stringent standard to warrant alteration or amendment.”

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