RACIAL INJUSTICE-MINNESOTA-EXTREMISTS

‘Boogaloo’ member sentenced to 4 years on weapons charges

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The second of two self-described members of an anti-government extremist group accused in Minnesota of dealing firearm components to informants acting as members of Hamas is headed to prison. A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Benjamin Ryan Teeter, of Hampstead, North Carolina, to four years behind bars. He pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities say Teeter and 32-year-old Michael Robert Solomon of New Brighton, Minnesota, sold silencers and other firearm components to FBI informants during the unrest following George’s Floyd’s killing. Solomon was sentenced in March to three years in prison.

FALLING TREE-DEATHS

Falling tree kills Twin Cities couple in northern Wisconsin

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Twin Cities couple is dead after a tree fell on them while they were camping in northern Wisconsin. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports 39-year-old Sandy Michael Langseth II and 45-year-old April Sheldahl of White Bear Lake Township were camping along the Flambeau River’s north fork on Sunday. Sheriff’s officials say the tree hit them while they were sitting at a picnic table. Emergency responders declared them dead at the scene. Nearby anglers told authorities a strong wind kicked up before they heard a tree fall.

ELECTION 2022-MINNESOTA

Minnesota GOP hopefuls for AG, Congress, face primary fights

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — GOP-backed candidates for attorney general and a vacant southern Minnesota congressional seat will have hurdles to clear in the state’s Aug. 9 primary. But former Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek cleared the lane for endorsed candidate Scott Jensen when he failed to file at the secretary of state’s office by the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz got a boost when former broadcast personality Cory Hepola, who was backed by Andrew Yang’s Forward Party, also failed to file. Democratic strategists had feared that Hepola’s third-party run could siphon votes away from Walz in the November election.

MINNEAPOLIS-MUSLIM PRAYER

Muslim call to prayer arrives to Minneapolis soundscape

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — This spring Minneapolis became the first large city in the United States to allow the Islamic call to prayer to be broadcast publicly on loudspeakers. So far only one mosque is doing so, three times a day. But more of the city’s two dozen mosques are getting ready to start their own broadcasts. They’re setting up rooftop sound systems and readying meetings to consult with neighbors, hoping to avoid the kind of backlash that has occurred elsewhere. The transforming soundscape is testament to the large and growing Muslim community in Minneapolis, home to big numbers of refugees from war-torn Somalia.

CAPITOL BREACH-CONVICTIONS

Northern Iowa father, son get prison time for Capitol riot

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a northern Iowa father and son to prison for their participation in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Daryl Johnson, 51, and his son Daniel Johnson, 30, both of St. Ansgar, admitted to entering the building through a broken window and pushing through a police line once inside. Daryl Johnson will serve 30 days in jail and Daniel Johnson with serve four months. Defense attorneys for both men sought probation and no jail time. Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich handed down the sentences in Washington.

TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING-PROTEST

Minnesota students walk out to demand gun changes

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hundreds of students in Minneapolis are demanding tougher gun laws. The Star Tribune reports hundreds of kids walked out of class shortly after noon on Tuesday and gathered downtown to demand state legislators adopt tougher gun laws in the wake of last week’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. Fridley High School junior Jean Rhodes says the school shooting was even more unnerving because it came less than two weeks after a white gunman killed 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York. She says students deserve to feel safe. The students want officials to create a statewide advisory group to discuss steps to reduce gun violence in schools.

DEREK CHAUVIN-LAWSUITS

New federal lawsuits target ex-cop who killed George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two Minnesotans have filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the city of Minneapolis and former Officer Derek Chauvin. They allege they were traumatized in 2017 when Chauvin used what they call his “signature move” of kneeling on a subject’s neck, which is how he killed George Floyd in 2020. Both lawsuits filed Tuesday claim racism was behind his actions. Plaintiffs John Pope Jr. and Zoya Code are Black and Chauvin is white. Chauvin’s attorneys have not responded to requests for comment, but the City Attorney’s Office calls the incidents “disturbing” and says it hopes to reach settlements.

SEVERE WEATHER

Storms, tornadoes leave thousands without power in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of people in Minnesota and South Dakota are without electrical power as the region recovered from storms and tornadoes that left damaged buildings, trees and roadways. The National Weather Service says in a preliminary report there were four tornadoes on Monday in western Minnesota, along with wind gusts and large hail. More than 37,000 people were reported to be without power early Tuesday. Cities across the region reported extensive damage to buildings. No fatalities from the storms had been reported early Tuesday.