MPR News Update

A new report on no-knock warrants in Minnesota shows 79 percent decrease in their use in the first full year since state legislators passed restrictions on the controversial law enforcement practice. There were 18 no-knock warrants issued last year. In 2023, that number was 84. And the year before that it was 179. The change to state law followed the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022, in which he was not a suspect.Navy veteran Tom Weiler is running for the U.S. Senate. Weiler, a former candidate for the U.S. House, is running as a Republican. He has filed campaign paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission. He's vying for the seat that will come open because Sen. Tina Smith is not seeking a new term.It is the last day to vote in a special primary contest in a northwest Twin Cities House race. Tuesday in St. Paul, residents are electing a new city council member in Ward 4. The seat was formerly held by Council President Mitra Jalali, who stepped down in January, citing health concerns. Ward 4 includes the neighborhoods of Merriam Park, Hamline-Midway, St. Anthony Park, Como and Mac-Groveland. Four candidates are vying for the seat.St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter says the group behind the ransomware attack targeting the city last month allegedly stole about 43 gigabytes of data, primarily from the parks and recreation department. Carter said the data ranged from work documents to copies of employee IDs, but did not include data like payroll or permits. The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners votes today on a measure to dismiss current directors of Hennepin County Medical Center and take over their duties in light of financial issues at the hospital. Otherwise, hospital and county officials say the hospital could have to make cuts to staff and programs, or risk closing by the end of the year. Commissioners have proposed eliminating the current hospital board and taking over budgeting and oversight. Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services says Minnesotans who applied for a Real ID back in April may just be receiving them now.

The city of St. Paul expects to begin putting its systems back online this week, after a cyberattack forced it to shut down its network for more than two weeks. St. Paul officials said Saturday night that the attack was a ransomware attack, adding that they've refused to pay the ransom and haven't found evidence of data theft. Minnesota state government took in less revenue than it was expecting in July — the first time that's happened since January.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Elena See. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

A prisoner attacked a corrections officer at a state prison in Rush City over the weekend. Corrections officials say an inmate stabbed an officer with a homemade knife. The guard suffered a puncture wound and was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was treated and released. The inmate is serving a life sentence for murder and has been transferred to a maximum security prison.The City of St. Paul has released details about a cyberattack that began more than two weeks ago. The city shut down its computer network, which included internet access at libraries, as a preventative measure.Some state lawmakers are vowing to drop political dialogue that could incite violence. A committee updating statewide K-12 health education standards is moving forward with revisions. More than 3,000 people attended CannaCon over the weekend, a cannabis convention in St. Paul with vendors looking to enter Minnesota's new cannabis market. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' spring waterfowl population count is in. The count was mixed: some species increased in numbers, others fell. The state's population of blue-winged teal dropped 60 percent from a year ago, likely due to drought conditions in the southern part of the state.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she will work to steer federal money to Beltrami County following severe storms. She says even though the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined the damage was not extensive enough to warrant federal disaster aid, there are other things that can be done in Washington to help the area.Forecasters continue to monitor the potential for another round of Canadian wildfire smoke to affect Minnesota this weekend.Prosecutors are seeking an aggravated sentence for a former jail nurse charged in an inmate's death.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Vance Boelter, the man accused of killing former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and shooting and wounding State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Wearing a jail uniform, Boelter stood beside his attorney in court yesterday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harry Jacobs said the government is sifting through hundreds of gigabytes and tens of thousands of pages of evidence.A Minnesota mother remains in ICE custody despite a judge's order for her release. The family members of people in Minnesota prisons say the state is moving too slowly in creating a new system to allow incarcerated people to use tablet computers. The tablets are used to message with family members, access educational content and play media like music. Business and home owners along the planned Blue Line light rail extension say they have not been able to access millions of dollars anti-displacement funding allocated by the state legislature. Nonprofit and public media officials are expressing concerns over a bill passed by Congress last month. They spoke about the fallout during a listening session put on by DFL Congresswoman Betty McCollum yesterday. The two left lanes of 35W will be closed in both directions between Roseville and Lino Lakes this weekend. That means long stretches of the highway will be reduced to a single lane in each direction. The closures begin tonight and run through early Monday.

The man charged with killing the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in federal court Thursday. The plea during the brief hearing in federal court in Minneapolis was expected; an attorney for Vance Boelter had said last month that he planned to plead not guilty.An MPR News investigation has found that several Minneapolis police trainers were accused of using excessive force in civil lawsuits the city settled before they received their current assignments.A Minnesota state senator says he'll move to regulate so-called ghost guns next year following a court ruling that altered the landscape on the firearms.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Metro Transit officials are recommending the closure of the Northstar Commuter Rail in early January. A key player in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme was sentenced yesterday to 28 years in prison.New security measures are in place at the state Capitol. The number of doors through which the public can enter the capitol is now limited to just two entrances, including just one of the three doors at the top of the capitol stairs. Visitors will encounter more security guards at each of those entrances as well. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty will not run for reelection in 2026. In a statement, Moriarty said she is choosing to focus on reforms and wants to spend the next 17 months "running the office, rather than running for office." Moriarty was elected in 2022 following Mike Freeman's retirement from the position after 24 years of service.The city of St. Paul says Mayor Melvin Carter's 2026 budget address, originally scheduled for next week, has been postponed. That's due to the city's ongoing efforts to respond to a cyberattack on its computer systems. Some city services, including online bill payments and public internet access in libraries, remain unavailable. The city says the mayor's budget address will be rescheduled for sometime in September.

The Minnesota Supreme Court created doubt Wednesday over the viability of a decades-old state law that makes it a crime to possess certain firearms that lack serial numbers. In overturning a lower court ruling, a majority of justices on the state's highest court stopped short of invalidating a 1994 law entirely on constitutional grounds. But the split ruling could make it harder for prosecutors to bring the gun charges as they have in hundreds of cases per year.New security measures went into place Wednesday at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul.Former Minnesota Sen. Justin Eichorn appeared in court Wednesday. He faces charges of soliciting a minor for sex, after being arrested in March in a Bloomington sting operation.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

The city of North St. Paul is trying to determine whether any private data was compromised after someone in its police department clicked on a nefarious email about a week ago. The city decided to bring in outside cybersecurity experts to look into the incident, as the city of St. Paul investigates its own cybersecurity breach detected last month. Authorities in Minneapolis are asking for the public's help in locating a 12-year-old girl who's been missing since Saturday.The children of the late Minnesota House DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, will be joining MPR News sister station The Current Wednesday morning. The segment is about their parents' love of music.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

DFL Senator John Hoffman spoke about surviving an assassination attempt to a conference in Boston. Hoffman said politicians must recommit to governance over grievance and to service over self. Hoffman was shot nine times in an early morning attack the same day former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed. Hoffman's wife, Yvette, was also shot multiple times.A new study co-authored by a University of Minnesota researcher outlines the challenges people in rural areas face regarding health care.St. Paul DFL state Rep. Kaohly Vang Her says she'll challenge Mayor Carter in the fall.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

The Minnesota Department of Human Services wants to terminate a housing stabilization program recently flagged for possible fraud.The department announced Friday it is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to end the program. Minnesota was the first state to use Medicaid funds to find more stable housing options for residents.This is the afternoon update from MPR News, hosted by Emily Bright. Theme music by Gary Meister.

Twenty-five people were taken to Twin Cities hospitals yesterday evening after a Delta flight hit severe turbulence before making an emergency landing at MSP.Most of Minnesota continues to see unhealthy air quality today, as smoke from Canadian wildfires lingers. Dr. Andrew Stiehm is a pulmonologist with Allina Healt and describes the short-term and long-term side effects of the smoke. This is the evening news update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Bright. Music by Gary Meister.

Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard today for cyber protection assistance in response to a cyberattack on the city of St. Paul. Parts of western Minnesota -- including Stevens County -- experienced flash flooding last night as another round of severe storms moved across the region. Those stories and more in today's evening update. Hosted by Jacob Aloi. Music by Gary Meister.

The driver who killed two people and injured 12 while driving drunk into the patio at Park Tavern in St. Louis Park last September was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday. Steven Bailey pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation in May. The storm front that blew through the state overnight will fuel more storms later today.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Jacob Aloi. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

State Sen. Nicole Mitchell has resigned, 10 days before she'd initially announced, following her conviction for breaking into her stepmother's home. Mitchell, a DFLer who represents Woodbury, initially said after her conviction last week that she would step down Aug. 4. The Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 will no longer lead use of force training for the department.In record numbers, mosquitoes are testing positive for West Nile virus in all seven counties of the Twin Cities metro.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Gracie Stockton. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Derrick Thompson was sentenced Thursday to 58 years for killing 5 women in high-speed crash. In June, a Hennepin County jury found Thompson guilty on all charges, including five counts of third-degree murder and 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide.Officials say they've found the body of a missing Wisconsin graduate student in the Mississippi River.Nearly six weeks after the political assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband -- and targeting of other lawmakers -- state legislators will get financial help to improve their safety.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Gracie Stockton. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Beginning Wednesday, Minnesota will offer rewards in missing and murdered Indigenous persons cases. The office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives will offer rewards of up to $10,000 in eligible cases. Rewards will be offered in cases open with a law enforcement agency and the MMIR officeHeavy rain has been sweeping across Minnesota Wednesday, with reports of up to a foot of water over roads in Ely and a number of flood watches and warnings in effect through Thursday morning. The National Weather Service reminds folks to avoid putting yourself in peril by driving on flooded roads.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Gracie Stockton. Theme music is by Gary Meister.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Twin Cities public television, or TPT, is laying off some of its staff. In an email to employees Tuesday, President Sylvia Strobel said, “Due to the loss of federal funding, we have made the decision to reduce our staff.” The email did not say how many people were let go. It said those impacted were notified Tuesday morning and their last day is Wednesday. Last week, Congress approved a recission bill that cut 1.1 billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.In Minneapolis, racial justice and police accountability leaders are criticizing city leaders for promoting a police officer who shot and killed a young man during a no-knock raid in 2022. Sgt. Mark Hanneman became a trainer several months after he shock Amir Locke, who was sleeping at an apartment when police burst in.A jury in Minneapolis has convicted two more members of the Highs street gang of racketeering. The men are among more than 100 defendants charged in a federal anti-gang effort.The chair of the Metropolitan Council, a long-time transportation leader in the state, will step down in September. More than a dozen people called for the shutdown of the Hennepin County trash incinerator outside a Hennepin County Board of Commissioners committee meeting Tuesday. State Sen. Nicole Mitchell is due to be sentenced Sept. 10 following her burglary conviction. The first-term DFLer was found guilty on a pair of burglary charges last week. They stemmed from a 2024 break-in at her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home.Hundreds of clinic workers at Essentia Health locations return to work Wednesday after a two-week strike. Nurses at several Twin Ports-area clinics are negotiating their first union contracts and they say Essentia is bargaining too slowly. Essentia has agreed to add more bargaining dates.

State Sen. Bruce Anderson will be interred at Fort Snelling National Cemetery next week. Anderson died unexpectedly Monday at age 75. State Sen. Nicole Mitchell is due to be sentenced in September following her burglary conviction. Hundreds of Essentia clinic workers in northern and central Minnesota will go back to work Wednesday after a two-week strike.This is an MPR News Evening update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music is by Gary Meister. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Sen. Nicole Mitchell will resign her senate seat following her conviction on felony burglary charges. Mitchell announced through her attorneys Monday that she will give up her seat by early August. It forces the Minnesota Senate into another period of political uncertainty and follows widespread calls for her to resign or be forced out if she doesn't.A new study shows that Olmsted County does not have enough housing stock to meet demand.Law enforcement in northeastern Minnesota is continuing efforts to find Gene Doherty, 40, last seen on July 1 in Silver Bay.Those stories and more in today's evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS. 

Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from Woodbury, is accused of breaking into her stepmother's home in April 2024.Her defense is that she was there to do a welfare check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer's disease.Prosecutors say Mitchell was there to get some mementos of her late father's — something Mitchell told police at the scene — and is guilty of trying to break in with the intent to steal.Attorneys on both sides say Mitchell's intent is what matters. The weeklong trial included testimony from Mitchell, her stepmother, family and responding officers.A conviction would likely make it impossible for Mitchell to stay in her role as a public official.An attorney with expertise in federal death penalty cases has joined Vance Boelter's defense team. But prosecutors have yet to say whether they'll seek capital punishment for the man accused of killing former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.Boelter is charged with the Hortmans murder. He's also accused of shooting and wounding DFL State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette and attempting to shoot their daughter Hope.A judge today gave the go-ahead for attorney Kimberly Sharkey to work on Boelter's defense team. Sharkey — based in Las Vegas — is part of the federal public defender office's death penalty unit. She joins Minneapolis-based public defender Manny Atwal. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson says a decision on whether to seek capital punishment is months away. He says it's ultimately up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, with input from local prosecutors and the victims' families.

Law enforcement shot and killed a person in St. Louis County Tuesday after the person allegedly set homes on fire and shot a weapon at officers. Also, Vance Boelter's attorney says his client plans to plead not guilty to charges he killed Minnesota DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. A grand jury indicted him Tuesday on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty. This is the afternoon MPR News Update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music by Gary Meister.

Authorities say the man suspected of killing a DFL state lawmaker and her husband last month likely acted alone. Prosecutors have revealed new details about the investigation. The Justice Department has not decided if it will seek the death penalty in the case.Jurors in the trial of state Senator Nicole Mitchell are seeing what transpired when police responded to her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home. The first witnesses and evidence was presented yesterday in Becker County. Mitchell, a DFLer from Woodbury, is accused of felony burglary. The Minneapolis Police Officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 is responsible for leading the department's use of force training. Council President Elliott Payne says it was the wrong choice to put the man who killed a 22-year-old Black man at the helm of use of force training, especially as the department works to repair trust with the community.Governor Tim Walz says Minnesota is likely to be confronted with higher costs administering Medicaid after recent federal changes.The federal prison camp in Duluth, which had been slated for closure, will now remain open. The Bureau of Prisons announced last December it would close the facility due in part to aging infrastructure. Now the agency says it's changing course, following a reassessment and site visit last week from the bureau's new director. The camp employs 90 people and currently houses fewer than 300 inmates.

Witnesses are on the stand after opening statements today in the burglary trial for DFL Senator Nicole Mitchell in a Becker County courtroom. And more than 200 Minnesota small businesses will get a funding boost from the state under a wave of funding that goes out soon.Those stories and more in today's evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Kelly Bleyer. Music by Gary Meister.

Starting next year, Minnesotans who use social media will see new warnings on those sites. And a Minnesota K-9 unit is heading to Texas to help with search and recovery efforts after this month's devastating flash floods.Those stories and more in today's evening update. Hosted by Jacob Aloi. Music by Gary Meister.

Gov. Tim Walz announced today that a special election to fill the Minnesota House seat of the late DFL Leader Melissa Hortman will take place September 16.And another round of Canadian wildfire smoke is moving across Minnesota today -- and an air quality alert is now in effect for the entire state through Monday morning.Those stories and more in today's evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.