Stephen Swanson at WCCO News reports Thomas Lane, one of the former Minneapolis police officers convicted in the murder of George Floyd, has completed his federal prison sentence, but still remains in federal custody. Emma Nelson at the Star Tribune reports Minnesota added about 11,000 jobs and more than 3,000 workers in March, an uptick that marks continued recovery from the losses of the pandemic. Michelle Griffith at the Minnesota Reformer is reporting DFL lawmakers have added $500,000 to a budget bill to help keep the public cafeterias open in the Minnesota State Capitol and the nearby Mi ..read more

The family of Ricky Cobb II, the 33-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a Minnesota state trooper last summer, announced on Wednesday a federal lawsuit against the troopers involved in the incident. The civil lawsuit seeking monetary damages names troopers Ryan Londregan and Brett Seide and alleges they violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments via unreasonable seizure and use of excessive force when the troopers tried to forcibly remove Cobb from the vehicle and fired shots into the car. Cobb was killed in July during a traffic stop on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for drivin ..read more

In the coming days, Minnesota is expected to enact a first-of-its-kind law promoting teacher training on ableism and the history of the disability justice movement. The goal is to encourage the same kind of cultural competence that educators are asked to learn to make their classrooms welcoming to students of color.  Recommended but not mandatory at first, the professional development will be created and provided by people with disabilities. Backers believe the law will be the first in the country to empower people who experience ableism to educate teachers about it. The bill was the bra ..read more

With the looming prospect that Uber and Lyft will leave the Minneapolis market, riders and drivers alike will soon need alternative transportation. Thankfully, several individuals and companies have announced plans to fill the void both rideshare giants will leave, but these replacement services will need help getting their operations up and running. The very first step that these companies must take is to think of a name and the right branding. After all, this will define their very identities, and advertise to potential customers the nature of the services they will be providing. This bran ..read more

Katrina Bailey at the Minnesota Daily writes the National Park Service gave the Minneapolis Department of Community Planning Economic Development $75,000 in grant money to address the underrepresentation of African American history among local and national listings on the national registry. Tommy Wiita at Bring Me the News reports the City of Minneapolis has re-issued its appeal for organizations to run the two remaining Open Streets events that do not yet have operators. The events scheduled for this summer that still don’t have operators are ones planned for Central Avenue in Northeast and ..read more

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have long wanted to make something out of the millions of gallons of manure produced on the state’s farms.  Roger Ruan and a team of researchers have identified a process that does exactly that. It clears out certain harmful minerals from manure and preserves the ones that will be beneficial — in a way that can potentially benefit farmers and the economy.  The process relies on microbes that digest organic material to produce nitrogen fertilizer and methane gas. It also uses microalgae that extracts nutrients from the manure, which can then ..read more

One of the odd quirks of sports fandom is how much the suffering eclipses the savoring. Countless hours are spent on the precipice of dread, the memory’s overstuffed file cabinet of past disappointments hauled open again and again. It’s like opting for the Novocain before the x-ray, presupposing the cavity is there and the drill is coming. After a while, the suffering is accommodated and the martyrdom morphs into masochism. We can’t enjoy the bourbon without a dash of bitters. This mindset is especially relevant at the moment for followers of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team has just comp ..read more

I’m a professional commercial painter. I deal with toxic chemicals daily. In one of my first painting jobs, I worked 10-hour shifts overnight in a non-union company wiping down windows with an acetone-soaked rag, with no access to gloves, a respirator or other personal protective equipment. No one told me or the other workers on the site of the life-changing dangers associated with the unprotected use of acetone, a dangerous solvent, and I continue to be impacted by skin injuries from my exposure to this day, over 10 years later. This isn’t a case of a single bad actor company — it’s emblemat ..read more

You don’t have to buy a plane ticket to New York to see two luminaries of Broadway this weekend, when The Ordway presents Mandy Patinkin while Leslie Odom Jr. visits Pantages. Also this week, birding meets Black liberation as J. Drew Lanham dives into his latest poetry at Milkweed Books. Satiric agit-prop in opera theater form comes to life in An Opera Theater’s production of “The Cradle Will Rock,” and a fashion contest and runway show stirs up dreamy innovation at the Fillmore. Also this week, MotionArt presents dance films at the Center for Performing Arts, and The Somali Museum investigat ..read more

Dana Thiede at KARE 11 reports the Running Aces horse track is suing three tribal casinos in federal court, alleging they are offering card games they aren’t allowed to offer. Kim Hyatt at the Star Tribune reports 124 cats were removed from a home in Crystal, and a woman has been charged with felony animal mistreatment. It came about a week after an animal shelter took in 94 cats found in a home in Crosby. Andrew Hazzard at Sahan Journal reports Northern Iron, a metal foundry on St. Paul’s East Side, must reduce lead and particulate matter emissions under an order from the Minnesota Pollution ..read more