Good morning, and happy Tuesday.
Yes, the debate over school resource officers continues, but there are other things happening in Minnesota schools. For example, more schools are installing solar panels on their roofs to generate electricity. As MPR’s Hannah Yang reports, it makes financial sense for many schools: In 2021, the state legislature established the Solar for Schools incentive program. It provides financial and technical assistance to districts wanting to install solar energy systems. The program also requires districts to integrate their solar energy projects into curriculum and make it a learning tool in the classroom. During the program’s first year, 63 Minnesota schools received grants to install solar energy systems. These projects, along with pending applications, represent an almost 50 percent increase in state schools using solar energy. It was so popular during the first round much of the available money was allocated. As a result, this year the Legislature added an additional 29 million dollars for K-12 schools.
Opponents of the Line 3 oil pipeline are celebrating a judge’s dismissal of charges against three Native women related to a protest more than two years ago. MPR’s Kirsti Marohn reports Winona LaDuke, Tania Aubid and Dawn Goodwin joined a rally at an Aitkin County construction site in January 2021. They were not arrested that day. Authorities charged them later by summons, after identifying them in social media posts. A trial was set to begin this week. But last week, District Court Judge Leslie Metzen dismissed the charges. She wrote of the government’s mistreatment of Indigenous people, and said LaDuke, Aubid and Goodwin were exercising their spiritual beliefs. LaDuke expressed gratitude over the ruling Monday. "To have the judge say that to criminalize us further would be a crime — that caused us all to kind of cry,” LaDuke said. “You know, because we're not criminals. We're women who want clean water." More than 900 people were charged over Line 3 protests. Fewer than 20 of those cases are still pending.
A new trade organization has formed to represent concerns of those involved in Minnesota's emerging legal marijuana industry. The acting director of the group called the Minnesota Marijuana Association is Frank Ongaro. He said the industry needs a place at the table as the ground rules are laid out. "Certainly as we look at what the landscape looks like for rules getting promulgated and timelines and what licenses will look like and and the like you know the industry recognized or some of these companies recognize that hey we have to start getting out in front of this," Ongaro told MPR’s Mark Zdechlik. Minnesota legalized adult-use marijuana on Aug. 1. Widespread retail sales are not expected until at least next year, although some Indian reservations have opened marijuana retail outlets.
And MinnPost takes a closer look at that decision from the Minnesota Supreme Court last week on police stops and the smell of burning marijuana: The 5-2 decision in State v. Torgerson appears to say that the smell of marijuana cannot give legal cover for police officers to conduct a warrantless search of an automobile. But what Justice Anne McKeig actually concluded is that the odor, alone, cannot justify a search. Most searches by police require a judge’s OK, but there are exceptions that have long been endorsed by state and federal courts, with the so-called automobile exception being at issue in this latest ruling. “Because we conclude that the odor of marijuana emanating from a vehicle, alone, is insufficient to create the requisite probable cause to search a vehicle under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement, we affirm,” McKeig wrote for the majority. But the ruling also upheld case law that says odor can be one of several pieces of evidence that could support a search. It just can’t be the only piece of evidence.
Gov. Tim Walz has appointed a new state commissioner. Tamar Gronvall will head the state Department of Administration starting on Oct. 9, according to a release from the governor’s office. Gronvall replaces Stacie Christensen, who has been temporary commissioner since June. Gronvall is a former tax court judge who has also served in the Commerce Department and the Attorney General’s office. She currently leads the Office for Conflict Resolution at the University of Minnesota.
Former Minnesota Republican Party operative and top donor Tony Lazzaro is appealing his conviction and sentence for child sex trafficking. MPR’s Matt Sepic reports that a jury convicted Lazzaro on charges that in 2020 he paid five girls for sex. They were 15 and 16 at the time. Judge Patrick Schiltz sentenced Lazarro to 21 years in federal prison, noting the "soulless, almost mechanical nature" of his crimes. Lazzaro gave notice of appeal last week. In an earlier filing, he alleged that several jurors did not disclose their relatives' connections to law enforcement and organizations that help sexual assault survivors. Lazzaro also claimed that prosecutors did not provide context when they showed jurors a photo of Lazzaro in a swimsuit with stacks of cash in the foreground. Schiltz rejected both arguments and denied Lazzaro's request for a new trial. Earlier this month, the judge sentenced Lazzaro's co-defendant Gisela Castro Medina, 21, to three years in prison. | 