| July 2, 2021 Almost the entire state can expect highs in the 90s Saturday and Sunday. A front moves across Minnesota starting on Sunday, that brings scattered showers and storms into northwestern Minnesota by Sunday afternoon. The precipitation spreads across the state by evening, then exits southeast early Monday. Find the latest on Updraft. Four Minnesota law enforcement groups have sued over a recently enacted law that changed the standard for justified use of deadly force by police. Their lawsuit challenges a 2020 law on the grounds it would violate an officer’s constitutional right against self-incrimination. The law went into effect this March. Gov. Tim Walz and the state are named as defendants. The deadly force law underwent a major rewrite following George Floyd’s killing. It narrowed the conditions for when lethal force is deemed appropriate and depends on an officer articulating an imminent threat.
Some commissioners in the Walz administration could face scrutiny and possible removal this month. The Republican-led Senate is remaining in special session to consider confirmations of agency leaders. That led to accusations today by Senate Democrats that Republicans were using commissioners to get back at them after an acrimonious budget negotiation. Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent says there’s no reason to weigh confirmations now.
Republican senators won’t say which commissioners could be fired, but the leader of the pollution control agency is deemed most at risk over her support of new vehicle emission rules. The latest reported number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota went up by one after more than 3 weeks of week-over-week case declines. Part of the reason the state recorded a tiny increase in new cases was an uptick of about 200 more tests than last Friday. The average positivity rate ticked down slightly. Subscribe to our Minnesota Today podcast to get up-to-date Minnesota news twice daily. — Nina Moini | MPR News | 