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ELECTION 2022-MINNESOTA-GOVERNOR

GOP candidate Scott Jensen announces crime-fighting plan

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen has announced a crime-fighting plan that would stiffen penalties for violent crime while boosting the role of the State Patrol and Minnesota National Guard. His 10-point proposal would create a specific crime for carjacking, which has surged in the Twin Cities. He would raise prison sentences for violent crimes and prevent nonprofit groups from bailing out people charged with violent crimes. And he says he would appoint judges who would impose the longest sentences allowed. Democrats were quick to criticize Jensen’s plan, pointing out that it contains no new money to bolster local police departments.

CARJACKING CHARGES-MINNESOTA

2 face federal counts in plot to carjack Uber, Lyft drivers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two men have been charged in an alleged conspiracy to violently rob and carjack Uber and Lyft drivers over several weeks. An 18-year-old Brooklyn Park man and a 20-year-old Minneapolis man were named Wednesday in a 20-count federal indictment that charges them with conspiracy, brandishing firearms, aiding and abetting carjacking and other crimes. The charges come weeks after U.S. Attorney Andy Luger announced a new strategy to address violent crime in the Twin Cities metro area. As part of his plan, he said all adult carjackers will be charged and prosecuted under federal laws.

JEOPARDY!-METEOROLOGIST

Minnesota meteorologist takes home $75K on “Jeopardy!”

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota meteorologist has won more than $75,000 over three days on “Jeopardy!” The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Eric Ahasic took home his biggest haul on Wednesday with $35,600 to bring his total winnings to $75,600. He earned $5,000 in Wednesday’s Final Jeopardy! segment, which posed this answer: “A participant in this 1773 event recalled, ‘Some of our numbers jumped into the hold … I never labored harder in my life.’ ” Ahasic said the Boston Tea Party, which was the correct response. His fourth episode is set to air Thursday afternoon.

TRIBAL LAND

Minnesota tribe to get 28,000 acres back

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota tribe is set to get back 28,000 acres that the federal government sold off in the 19th century. Minnesota Public Radio reports that the land is within the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa’s reservation but the tribe lost title to it after the federal government split it into parcels and sold it under the 1887 General Allotment Act. The nonprofit Conservation Fund bought the land as part of a larger purchase from the PotlatchDeltic lumber company in 2020 with the intent of returning it to the tribe. Tribal Chair Cathy Chavers says the land will be used for hunting, fishing and gathering berries.

MOTORHOME DRUG DEALER

Man dealing meth out of motorhome sentenced to 27 years

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Minnesota man accused of dealing drugs out of a motorhome has been sentenced to 27 years in prison. A federal indictment accuses 62-year-old Frank Stewart of participating in a drug ring that distributed massive amounts of methamphetamine in South Dakota and elsewhere. Stewart, of Browns Valley, Minnesota, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Two other defendants have been charged in the case. Stewart was arrested last year in Todd County, Minnesota, where police searched his motorhome and discovered a half-pound of meth, more than $9,000 in cash and two firearms.

LEGISLATURE-ETHICS

Sen. Omar Fateh disputes GOP claims of ethics violations

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An attorney for state Sen. Omar Fateh says the Minneapolis Democrat was never endorsed by a YouTube channel that serves the local Somali community, And she says his sponsorship of unsuccessful legislation to give the nonprofit a $500,000 grant was therefore not a reward for the channel’s support. The Senate Ethics Subcommittee heard from attorney Kristin Hendrick on Wednesday in the first of at least two meetings to determine whether there’s probable cause to formally investigate allegations leveled against Fateh by a group of Republican state senators. The attorney says Fateh paid for the ads and did not get free promotion from the channel.

DRUG SEIZURES-OFFICER SENTENCED

Former Minneapolis police officer sentenced in drug case

MINNNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer convicted of stealing drugs from people during dubious traffic stops has been sentenced to more than three years in prison. Ty Jindra was found guilty in November of stealing Tramadol, methamphetamine and oxycodone. In two cases he filed false reports and in one case he failed to mention that he had discovered pills, prosecutors said. The 29-year-old Jindra was also convicted of two civil rights violations, once for stopping a driver at a service station for a tag violation and once for pulling over three juveniles in a vehicle that slowly rolled through a stop sign. Both times he was accused of conducting illegal searches.

AP-US-OIL-SPILL-SHIPPING

Coast Guard: Oil spill closes shipping on St. Mary’s River

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario. (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says an oil spill has closed shipping traffic on the St. Mary’s River between Ontario and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Coast Guard said Thursday that the 5,300-gallon spill came from Algoma Steel in Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. The Coast Guard is asking all traffic to stay away from the affected area. It says the river is closed to shipping until further notice. The 75-mile river connects lakes Superior and Huron and serves as part of the border between Michigan and Ontario. Algoma spokeswoman Brenda Stenta said in a statement that “the source of the spill has been safely contained.”