Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday.
The debate over gun control in the United States started again after a gunman killed at least 19 children at a school in Uvalde, Texas. '“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?" President Joe Biden said in a speech from the White House Tuesday night. “Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?" The death toll also included two adults. The gunman died after being shot by responding officers, police said. The school shooting came days after a racist shooter killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The Associated Press reported that late Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer set in motion possible action on two House-passed bills to expand federally required background checks for gun purchases, but no votes have been scheduled.
It will be Republican Brad Finstad against Democrat Jeff Ettinger in the August special election to finish out the term of the late 1st District U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn. Ettinger won the DFL primary Tuesday with more than 64 percent of the vote. On the Republican side it was a squeaker, with Finstad edging out state Rep. Jeremy Munson by 389 votes, or about 38 percent to 37 percent. Finstad claimed victory early this morning. “The race in this special election will provide a clear contrast. I promise to fight the extreme Biden and Pelosi agenda that is devastating our families,” Finstad said in a statement. “I will work to slash inflation, get control of the border, restore American energy independence, and put our families first. Our district should not become a rubber stamp for the radical Democrat agenda that keeps kids out of classrooms, shuts small businesses down, and forces strict mandates on everyone but themselves.” Ettinger told MPR’s Mark Zdechlik he’s ready to take the race to the special election in August. “We’re very excited. It’s really an honor to have the trust of the voters in the district,” Ettinger said. “I’m ready for the next stage of the race. I intend to offer the district a non-politician’s alternative — someone who will be inclusive and respectful in representing the district.” Hagedorn’s widow, former state GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan finished a distant third in the GOP race with 8 percent of the vote.
It’s been two years since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officers, and while some are still working to change the Minneapolis Police Department, it looks like the biggest changes are likely come from the courts.MPR’s Matt Sepic reports Marcia Howard, a Black 49-year-old high school English teacher and retired Marine, wants a substantive change in how police treat people of color. “The only thing that seems to change anything in the city of Minneapolis is collective action. We’re not burning down Lake Street. We’re not walking down University Avenue,” Howard said. “We’re standing in place, in situ, where a Black man was lynched in public. And we’re saying we’re not moving.” Last month, Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero called for judicial oversight of the MPD after releasing the results of a two-year investigation that found a “pattern or practice” racial discrimination. The U.S. Justice Department began a similar investigation more than a year ago. Meanwhile criminal cases are still moving ahead. Former officer Thomas Lane — who helped Derek Chauvin pin Floyd to the street — pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter. In exchange for a three-year sentence, prosecutors agreed to drop a count of aiding and abetting murder. J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, the other former officers who were on duty with Chauvin when he murdered Floyd, are expected to go on trial June 13 on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
And President Biden is expected to sign an executive order today on policing.The Associated Press reports the order reflects a less extensive approach than Biden originally wanted because Congress was unable to agree on legislation that would have increased oversight of law enforcement. It is the result of months of negotiations among White House officials, civil rights groups and police organizations. The administration began working on executive action after bipartisan talks to pass police reform legislation in Congress stalled last year. "We know full well that an executive order cannot address America’s policing crisis the same way Congress has the ability to, but we’ve got to do everything we can," said a statement from NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
If you’re over 21 you’ll soon be able to buy edibles or drinks that contain small amounts of THC that come from legally grown hemp because of a bill passed Sunday night. The Star Tribune has the story: "It's really good for retailers, because it provides (legal) certainty, and also for consumers, because you have safety mechanisms in place," said cannabis attorney Susan Burns. Hemp and extracts like CBD have been legal so long as they contained less than 0.3 percent delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the primary intoxicant in marijuana. But the intoxicating, hemp-derived cousin of delta-9 THC — delta-8 — is already being widely sold in Minnesota and has until now operated in an unregulated, legal gray area. Now, hemp-derived THC concentrations of up to 5 milligrams per serving and 50 mg per package will be allowed in properly labeled edibles and drinks in Minnesota. That's about half the standard dose found in recreational marijuana products in other states.
Seven Republican members of the Minnesota Senate filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis. The complaint focuses on his sponsorship of a $500,000 grant to a nonprofit that endorsed him. It also asks the Senate Ethics Committee to look into Fateh’s brother-in-law’s actions during his primary election campaign that led to the brother-in-law being convicted of lying to a federal grand jury. “Minnesotans deserve to know elected officials are seeking to support the general improvement of the lives of Minnesotans when we take on legislation and not using the power of the state to advance our own personal interests,” the group wrote in its complaint. The Minnesota Reformer reported on the grant Fateh sponsored for Somali TV, a YouTube channel. Fateh hasn’t commented, but DFL leaders in the Senate put out a statement of their own. “The Senate DFL Caucus welcomes scrutiny when credible information presents itself, even if or when it involves one of our members,” the statement said. “We have confidence that our Senate colleagues on the Ethics Committee will conduct a fair, bipartisan inquiry." | 