Category: State Issues

House DFLers work to advance reforms to Minnesota’s corrections system

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Saturday, the House/Senate Conference Committee on the Public Safety & Judiciary budget discussed proposed reforms to the state’s corrections system. House DFLers on the committee presented well-crafted proposals to protect the safety of those in our state prisons and jails, to improve probation terms that can help those serving time to better their lives, and to stop practices that traumatize young people in our juvenile justice systems. Lawmakers heard from people who’ve lost loved ones in Minnesota jails as they considered proposals to improve safety within facilities.

“Everyone who enters a correction facility deserves to be safe and should have hope that as they re-enter society, they can be a successful, contributing member of their community. Today, we heard how our systems are falling short of those objectives,” said Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL – Saint Paul), Chair of the House Public Safety & Criminal Justice Reform Committee. “We have the capacity to build a corrections system that both delivers the accountability that comes with wrongdoing, while recognizing the humanity and worth within each and every person.”

Commissioner Paul Schnell and other officials from the Minnesota Department of Corrections provided testimony on the budget proposals, including Deputy Commissioner Curtis Shanklin who discussed the importance of juvenile justice reforms. The committee discussed the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, a proposed new sentencing approach allowing those incarcerated to earn early release by successfully completing goals within an Individualized Rehabilitation Plan. Lawmakers also discussed proposed reforms to how technical violations can best be handled for individuals on probation and new regulations regarding the use of jailhouse witnesses. 

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Changes to state sexual assault laws advance in the Legislature

Legislation to address a Minnesota Supreme Court case limiting prosecutions for sexual assault has advanced.

The court ruling had found that a state law on mental incapacitation relating to criminal sexual conduct does not apply to individuals who are voluntarily inebriated.

The bill would change the definition of mentally incapacitated “to remove a roadblock to prosecuting cases where the victim was intoxicated,” according to supporters. Continue reading.

St. Paul man sentenced to prison and $12 million restitution for arson of Minneapolis’ Third Precinct

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Branden M. Wolfe of St. Paul also stole police weapons, other gear during last summer’s riots in Minneapolis. 

A St. Paul man who helped burn down the Minneapolis Third Precinct headquarters and stole police weapons and other gear during last summer’s riots was sentenced this week to 3 ½ years in prison and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution.

Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, was among hundreds who gathered outside the south Minneapolis police station on May 28, three days after George Floyd was killed during an encounter with four Minneapolis police officers, which was captured on bystander video. The crowd tore down a fence surrounding the building and chanted, “Burn it down!”

While others set a fire, Wolfe rolled a barrel into the police station with “the intent to accelerate” the blaze, according to court records. He also entered the building and stole a police vest, duty belt, handcuffs, earpiece, baton, knife, riot helmet, pistol magazine, police radio, police overdose kit, uniform name plates and ammunition, according to prosecutors. Continue reading.

Derek Chauvin, 3 former officers indicted on federal civil rights charges

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A federal grand jury Friday has indicted Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis officers for civil rights violations related to the death of George Floyd.

Why it matters: The new charges mean the officers could face another high-profile criminal trial following a yearlong racial reckoning across the nation.

Details: The grand jury indicted Chauvin in two cases: for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes in May 2020 and for a similar arrest of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.  Continue reading.

Speaker Hortman and Majority Leader Winkler on Governor Walz’s timeline to end COVID-19 restrictions

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Majority Leader Ryan Winkler released the following statements on Governor Walz’s timeline to end COVID-19 restrictions:

“Minnesotans have done a great job rolling up their sleeves and getting vaccinated, and that has gotten us close to the end of this pandemic,” said Speaker Hortman. “It’s my hope that Minnesotans continue getting vaccinated so that we can stay ahead of any variants, get our state fully opened, and get back to the things we have missed since COVID-19 started.”

“With new leadership in the White House and Minnesota’s robust public health infrastructure leading the nation in vaccine distribution, the end of this pandemic is near,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “From the start, Republican politicians told Americans COVID-19 was ‘just the flu’ and Donald Trump told us it would go away ‘like a miracle.’ Democrats are defeating COVID because we have taken a public health approach informed by scientists, not armchair epidemiologists.”

The daily coronavirus update: Minnesota reports six cases of variant first found in India

The Minnesota Department of Health reports that 2,589,032 people — or roughly 46.5 percent of the state population — have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

Eleven more Minnesotans have died of COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Health said Tuesday, for a total of 7,174.

Of the people whose deaths were announced Tuesday, two were in their 80s, three were in their 70s, five were in their 60s and one was in their 40s. One of the 11 people whose deaths announced Tuesday was a resident of a long-term care facility.

MDH also said Tuesday there have been 581,335 total cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota. That number is up 995 from the total announced on Monday and is based on 13,840 new tests. The last time Minnesota reported fewer than 1,000 new cases in a day was March 23, though Tuesday’s data comes on a relatively small number of tests. Continue reading.

Fishing opener turns political in Otter Tail County

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County tries to reel in opposition to Walz visit. 

In this era of red vs. blue, even a walleye can become a political football.

The Governor’s Fishing Opener, set for May 15 in Otter Tail County, has drawn criticism from some residents who aren’t fans of Gov. Tim Walz.

Nick Leonard, deputy Otter Tail County administrator, told the County Board this week that he’s fielded a few phone calls from residents who aren’t thrilled to have Walz visit. Continue reading.

Sen. Tina Smith: Conversations with Minnesotans May 1, 2021

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Hi Friends, 

This month, we observed “National Public Health Week”, and I had conversations with three Minnesotans who are doing groundbreaking work in public health. Our discussion revolved around one of the toughest problems facing public health-addressing the health care needs of underrepresented communities.

My first guest was Dr. Charity Reynolds, MD who is the Medical Director at the Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in northeastern Minnesota. In our discussion, Dr. Reynolds told me how she collaborated with the Tribe to build trust between public health workers and the community, a community with historic medical distrust. This trust, along with Tribal self-governance and infusion of resources, made Fond Du Lac one of the first places in the state to vaccinate all of their elders. You can watch the video here. 

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Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: May 1, 2021

Governor Walz Joins Bipartisan Leaders in Minnesota Legislature to Call for Action on Police Reform

On Thursday, Governor Walz joined bipartisan leaders in the Minnesota Legislature to call for action among Minnesota Senate Republicans on police reform, following the passage of meaningful police reform legislation in the Minnesota House.

“The accountability we saw last week for George Floyd is the floor – not the ceiling – of what we need to do in Minnesota to advance police reform. True justice comes through real, systemic change to prevent this from happening again,” said Governor Walz. “I applaud the effort in the Minnesota House to advance meaningful legislation that would make Minnesota a leader in effective and fair law enforcement policies, practices, and behaviors. I urge the Republicans in the Minnesota Senate to listen to Minnesotans and take action.”

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: May 1, 2021”

Feds plan to indict Chauvin, other three ex-officers on civil rights charges

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Ex-cop would face federal charges in two cases; three others just in Floyd case. 

Leading up to Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, Justice Department officials had spent months gathering evidence to indict the ex-Minneapolis police officer on federal police brutality charges, but they feared the publicity frenzy could disrupt the state’s case.

So they came up with a contingency plan: If Chauvin were found not guilty on all counts or the case ended in a mistrial, they would arrest him at the courthouse, according to sources familiar with the planning discussions.

The backup plan would not be necessary. On April 20, the jury found Chauvin guilty on all three murder and manslaughter counts, sending him to the state’s most secure lockdown facility to await sentencing, and avoiding the riots many feared could engulf the city once again. Continue reading.