Minnesota Today

A sentencing date is pending for Vance Boelter after he pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges stemming from last June’s attacks on Minnesota lawmakers and their families. That includes the killings of former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well the attack on DFL state Senator John Hoffman, his wife, Yvette, and their daughter, Hope. Under terms of the plea deal, Boelter will spend the rest of his life in prison.

More than a hundred men serving time at Rush City prison are boycotting the canteen to protest prison conditions.

A federal judge has denied a request from independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort to release grand jury transcripts in their case.

Target Field food and beverage workers announced they will strike on June 22 — during a game between the Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Vance Boelter today admitted killing a top DFL lawmaker and her husband during an early morning shooting rampage last year. Boelter’s plea means federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty.

And the Minneapolis City Council voted today to waive a special tax assessment for property owners in George Floyd Square.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

Minneapolis city officials say a new report on the economic effects of the federal immigration enforcement surge can help provide a roadmap for how to direct relief efforts. The city estimates the surge caused nearly $700 million in economic harm, most of that due to lost wages and business revenue.

Additionally, the Minneapolis City Council is set to take up two measures this morning related to George Floyd Square. One is whether to approve a special tax assessment on property owners at the square to help cover the cost of a street reconstruction project that just started.

Minnesota lawmakers want to memorialize a peer lost to political violence and prevent future threats. Almost one year ago, a gunman shot and killed House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home. The gunman also shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who both survived. The shootings rocked the state. And in the months since, lawmakers sought to remember the Hortmans by renaming a highway, bike trail and Capitol garden.

The man charged with killing Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark is expected to plead guilty this morning.

A Feeding Our Future defendant who fled to Kenya is back in Minnesota to face charges after surrendering to authorities.

Minneapolis estimates Operation Metro Surge cost the city $700 million

Minneapolis City Council to weigh two measures related to George Floyd Square

Steps to honor Hortman, prevent future tragedies take root in year since her assassination

Boelter expected to plead guilty in lawmaker attacks

The city of Minneapolis now estimates that the federal immigration enforcement surge caused nearly $700 million in economic damage.

And clean-up is underway after about 20 rail cars were knocked off the tracks in western Minnesota early this morning as severe storms swept through.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

A line of severe storms raced across Minnesota overnight, bringing wind gusts of more than 80 mph and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses. More severe storms are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening, especially across eastern Minnesota and into western Wisconsin.

City leaders in Minneapolis will release an updated impact assessment for Operation Metro Surge on Wednesday. The city now estimates that the federal immigration surge from December to April had a $700 million impact on the city, residents and businesses.

And the Department of Justice is not seeking the death penalty for the man accused of killing former DFL Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.

Severe storms knock out power to thousands across Minnesota

Minneapolis estimates Operation Metro Surge cost the city $700 million

Death penalty off the table for alleged Hortman killer

Air quality in the Twin Cities and much of central Minnesota may reach unhealthy levels this afternoon and evening. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert from noon to 9 p.m. for the Twin Cities metro area extending northwest to St. Cloud, Sauk Centre and Little Falls.

Like other alerts the past couple weeks, the concern is for ground-level ozone that forms on warm, dry days when sunshine reacts with pollutants in the air. Conditions should improve after sunset.

Fargo voters are choosing a new mayor and two other city commissioners Tuesday. And the city is changing up the method of voting after North Dakota lawmakers banned approval voting last year.

And DFL governor candidate Amy Klobuchar is out with a proposal aimed at addressing Minnesota's housing shortage. Klobuchar says the state should work with cities and counties to lift requirements that can add time and project expenses. The plan would also create incentives for communities that build more multi-family housing.

Lawmakers scrapped Fargo’s novel voting system. Tuesday's mayoral election goes back to basics

An Annunciation family is condemning the gaming platform Roblox for a game modeled after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Leah and Harry Kaiser said it’s “heartbreaking and unacceptable” to see tragedies like the one that critically injured their daughter recreated on the platform.

They sent a letter to Roblox calling for stronger safeguards against violent content. The company said on social media the simulation was removed in early February.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled the city of Faribault erred when it decided a proposed data center did not require a more in-depth environmental study. The nonprofit Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy appealed the decision, arguing the city did not have enough information about the project’s potential air and noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

A new congressional report dissects internal problems that could have allowed fraud to fester in Minnesota-run programs. The 200-page report by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform retraces fraud in nutrition and Medicaid programs and what was done about it.

It’s shaping up to be a hot, humid and stormy few days across Minnesota, with chances for severe weather. After scattered storms through tonight, highs are expected to climb into the upper 80s to low 90s across much of the state Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Department of Homeland Security has posted a proposed contract for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to use a private prison facility in western Minnesota to hold up to 1,600 immigrant detainees. That’s according to a contract proposal issued Thursday that seeks to use Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, owned by CoreCivic.

Gov. Tim Walz has requested the extradition of a Texas ICE agent to Minnesota to face assault charges related to the shooting of a man in Minneapolis during the federal enforcement surge.

Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

Minnesota lawmakers failed to add protections to an obscure discount drug program this year, amid complaints from the pharmaceutical industry that some large hospitals abuse the so called 340B program.

Republican-endorsed governor candidate Kendall Qualls says the campaign focus this year shouldn't be on President Donald Trump. Qualls is one of several candidates in a GOP primary race to determine the party nominee.

An ICE detainee from Burnsville with serious health problems was released Wednesday. Andrea Pedro-Francisco is a twenty three year old asylum seeker who has lived in Burnsville with her family since 2019. She was detained by ICE in February and sent to Texas just before a planned surgery to remove an ovarian cyst.