A Minnesota state senator from Woodbury faces a felony burglary charge after authorities say she broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes Minnesota home to retrieve her late father’s ashes and other sentimental items. Nicole Mitchell, 49, a DFL lawmaker from Woodbury was arrested early Monday, April 22, 2024 after police in Detroit Lakes were called to a home for a burglary.  (Courtesy of the Becker County Sheriff’s Office) Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker, was arrested early Monday morning after police found her inside the home, according to charging documents fi ..read more

When St. Paul City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson read through written comments submitted on the proposed St. Paul Bicycle Plan, she was taken aback to find just a handful of emails from her East Side ward, despite public outreach from city staff for more than a year. And by a handful of comments, she means exactly that. “I pulled out the written comments from Ward 7, and I had a mighty three,” said Johnson during the city council meeting last week, urging East Siders to pick up the phone, submit an email or pen a letter. “Just know that we are reading them. It goes to a real human.” Neverthe ..read more

An east metro state senator was in custody Monday after her arrest in connection with a report of a home burglary in northwestern Minnesota. Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker from Woodbury, was booked into the Becker County jail early Monday morning after her arrest for suspected first-degree burglary, according to Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd. Mitchell was charged on Tuesday in connection with suspected burglary. Nicole Mitchell (Courtesy of the Becker County Sheriff’s Office) At around 4:45 a.m. Monday, Detroit Lakes police responded to a 911 call reporting a ..read more

Gov. Tim Walz on Monday announced the appointments of Theodora Gaïtas and Sarah Hennesy as associate justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Gaïtas will replace Margaret H. Chutich and Hennesy will replace G. Barry Anderson. Both Chutich and Anderson are retiring, it was announced this January. With the appointments of Gaïtas and Hennesy, Minnesota’s highest court will be restored to a female majority when the new justices join the bench. It also means the court will be completely made up of justices appointed by Democratic-Farmer-Labor governors. At a Monday Capitol event announcing the new ..read more

Erik Georgievich Beda arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport last month on a United flight from Chicago with nothing but a small plastic bag containing his Russian passport and other paperwork. Beda, who knows only a few words of English, had no money. He hadn’t eaten for almost 24 hours. He arrived in snowy Minnesota wearing all the clothes he had: a button-down long-sleeve shirt, green hiking pants and hiking boots without shoelaces. Erik Beda receives a bag of essentials from Travelers Assistance shortly after his arrival with just the clothes on his back March 22, 2024, at M ..read more

A bipartisan push to legalize sports betting in Minnesota still has momentum at the Legislature, but the odds it’ll succeed this year are still unclear. Thirty-eight states have legalized gambling on sports in some way since 2018, including all of Minnesota’s neighbors. Efforts in the Minnesota Legislature have failed despite optimism after the state’s tribal gaming association said it would back legalization two years ago — a key factor in gaining support from a wide swath of Democrats. Headwinds This year, proposals have advanced in both House and Senate committees, but face headwinds once a ..read more

A new Minnesota proposal stands poised to follow Texas and Florida in violating centuries of First Amendment protections against government compelling or blocking speech. The proposed legislation raises similar concerns to cases the Supreme Court heard last month to block Texas and Florida social media laws on constitutional grounds. These bills (HF 4400/SF 4696) put Minnesotans at risk of more government control over online speech. Many people forget that the First Amendment not only safeguards private individuals or companies from having the government intrude on their sp ..read more

Gov. Tim Walz went to St. Paul’s Como Lake Wednesday to get a close-up view of the damage that copper wire thieves have caused to 100 light poles, darkening the path around the popular destination. “Our teams come and replace them and replace them and replace them,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told him about fixing the wire. “We’ve seen these stripped out literally the next day.” “From the very same one?,” Walz asked. “From the very same one,” Carter answered. Walz and Carter visited Como Regional Park to highlight what they say is a need for legislation to curb copper wire theft. The legisla ..read more

The Minnesota DFL on Monday disavowed a local party chapter’s endorsement of a Minnesota House candidate convicted of second-degree felony assault as Republicans criticized the move to back him in the first place. Democrats in Senate District 12 in northwestern Minnesota endorsed Judd Hoff over the weekend. He is running against Republican Rep. Mary Franson of Alexandria. In August 2020, Hoff assaulted a person with a machete after a confrontation. According to court documents, Hoff argued that he was using self-defense. Hoff received a 13-month prison sentence. He served about eight ..read more

A Minnesota Indian tribe asked the state Court of Appeals on Tuesday to overturn a Minnesota Racing Commission decision allowing a new form of betting at two horse tracks. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community filed a petition with the court seeking to block a recent regulatory change. Earlier this month, the Minnesota Racing Commission approved a gambling game known as historical horse racing, which uses terminals to allow bets on races from the past. Lawyers for the Shakopee community argue the commission lacked authority to approve the games. The companies that operate Canterbury Park in ..read more