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FORMER CHIEF CHARGED

Former Alexandria police chief charged with theft

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Alexandria police chief was arrested and charged with theft for using city funds to purchase items for his personal use. After a yearlong investigation, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the 57-year-old Richard Wyffels, who retired in September 2020, charged more than $65,700 to a city-issued credit card, beginning in December 2014. None of the items that were purchased could be found in the Police Department. The Star Tribune reports Wyffels was arrested Friday. An attempt to reach Wyffels was not successful. The investigation is ongoing.

MINNESOTA ATHLETES-PAY

Minnesota plans to pay athletes for academic success

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota plans to start paying its athletes for doing well in the classroom. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Minnesota Athletics Director Mark Coyle announced the move Friday. The NCAA currently allows schools to give academic bonuses of up to $5,980 annually to athletes as per a federal judge’s mandate two years ago. The university set a school record over the past year with 431 academic All-Big Ten selections, 180 Big Ten distinguished scholars and 15 academic All-Americans. ESPN reported earlier this week that 22 of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools plan to pay athletes for high academic performance. Wisconsin was the only Big Ten squad.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

St. Paul school board to vote again on lifting mask mandate

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The St. Paul school board is set to vote again on whether to lift the district’s mask mandate. The Pioneer Press reported Friday that the board will vote Tuesday. The board voted 3-2 on March 22 to keep the mandate in place, rejecting the superintendent’s recommendation to drop it. The board said then it expected COVID-19 cases to rise after spring break and vaccination rates were low for people of color. But the Pioneer Press reported that it’s been almost two months since the district has reported more than 13 new cases involving students, staff and visitors in a single day.

SEXUAL ASSAULT-ARREST

Police arrest man for sexually assaulting 5-year-old in 2016

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Police have arrested a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl waiting for her school bus in St. Paul in 2016. The Pioneer Press reports that investigators collected DNA evidence at the time of the assault but periodic database searches didn’t turn up any matches until this past December. The match led police to a 19-year-old man. Officers arrested him in Cahokia Heights, Illinois, on Monday. He is awaiting extradition to Minnesota. The man would have been 13 at the time of the assault.

TODDLER OVERDOSE DEATH

Mother of toddler who died of drug overdose charged

WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The mother of a 3-year-old boy who died of a fentanyl overdose at a West St. Paul apartment has been charged with manslaughter. The 34-year-old woman was arrested Thursday and booked into the Dakota County Jail where she is being held on $250,000 bond. First responders were called to the apartment on Dec. 7, 2020 on a report of a child not breathing. The child was rushed to Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the boy died of a fentanyl overdose. A criminal complaint does not say how the toddler ingested the drug.

CONSERVATIVE LUNCH-CANCELED

Rochester country club cancels conservative group’s lunch

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — A conservative think tank isn’t happy with a Rochester country club that canceled its lunch event. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Center of the American Experiment was set to sponsor a lunch on public safety at the Rochester Golf and Country Club last month. According to the center, nearly 50 attendees were left standing in the parking lot after the club canceled the event. The center has filed a lawsuit accusing the club of breach of contract, alleging the club canceled the event after members circulated a petition against it. The center also is suing Erin Nystrom, a club member who created the petition, for interference with the contract.

BIRD FLU-MINNESOTA

Minnesota Legislature approves emergency $1M for bird flu

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature has rushed through $1 million in emergency funding to bolster the fight against bird flu. The highly contagious disease has cost the state’s turkey farmers more than 1 million birds so far. Senate Agriculture Chairman Torrey Westrom pointed out before the unanimous vote in the Senate and the 129-1 vote in the House on Thursday that the numbers of affected Minnesota farms and birds have doubled in less than a week. Minnesota is the top turkey producing state, with nearly 700 farms that raise about 40 million birds per year. Across the U.S., the outbreak is the biggest since 2015, with Iowa the hardest hit state.

MINNESOTA SENATE-TAXES

Minnesota Senate passes GOP tax cut but fight will continue

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Senate’s Republican majority has passed an $8.4 billion tax cut bill. The highlights include permanent income tax cuts for all taxpayers and excluding all Social Security income from the state income tax. Democratic leaders say the plan would disproportionately benefit the well-off. But six Democrats joined with Republicans on the 42-24 vote to approve the package Thursday. There’s little common ground between the Republican plan and the tax package unveiled by the House Democratic majority on Monday. Senate GOP leaders acknowledge that the final tax plan that emerges from the legislative session could look very different.