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GEORGE FLOYD-OTHER OFFICERS-TRIAL

Judge to hear requests to reset trial for 2 in Floyd killing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota prosecutors and a defense attorney for one of two former Minneapolis police officers who still face a state trial in George Floyd’s killing have made dueling requests for a new trial date. Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng are charged with aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter. Their trial was supposed to start earlier this month, but Judge Peter Cahill postponed it until January. Now, the state is requesting a speedy trial on behalf of Floyd’s family. Under Minnesota law, that means the trial could start in mid-August. But Kueng’s defense attorney is seeking a delay until April. Cahill will hold a hearing on the issue Tuesday morning. Thao and Kueng already were convicted of federal counts of violating Floyd’s rights.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-CHILD CARE PAY

No COVID-19 ‘hero pay’ upsets Minnesota child care providers

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Child care providers across Minnesota are upset they’re not eligible for the state’s COVID-19 “hero pay” program. Gov. Tim Walz signed the program into law in April. It enables front-line workers to apply for state-funded bonuses. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that about 6,450 child care providers who operate out of their homes will likely miss out on the $750 bonuses if they’re sole proprietors rather than limited liability companies. Julie Fees runs an at-home day care in St. Paul. She says being ineligible is “really disappointing and infuriating.”

BC-US-JUNETEENTH

Juneteenth celebrations emphasize ending racial disparities

DALLAS (AP) — A year after Juneteenth became a federal holiday in the U.S., people gathered this weekend at events filled with music, food and fireworks. Celebrations also included an emphasis on learning about the past and addressing racial disparities. President Joe Biden signed legislation last year making June 19 the nation’s 12th federal holiday. June 19, 1865, was the day that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to order freedom for the enslaved Black people in the state. It was two months after the Confederacy had surrendered in the Civil War and about 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Southern states.

ST. PAUL-TRENCH COLLAPSE

Two workers die after trench collapses on them in St. Paul

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Two construction workers died after a trench collapsed on top of them in St. Paul Friday afternoon and one of their bodies was found roughly 12 hours later under 9 feet of dirt. St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that a trench box that’s designed to prevent cave-ins was sitting next to where three men were working on an underground pipe before the collapse but it wasn’t being used. Mokosso said a third worker at the construction site tried to help the buried workers but quickly realized there was little he could do to help. The victims were not immediately identified by authorities.

FRATERNITY-HAZING

Two former Mizzou frat members charged in hazing incident

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Two former members of a University of Missouri fraternity have been indicted for a hazing incident that left another student blind and unable to walk or communicate after drinking a liter of vodka in October. The Columbia Missourian reports that a Boone County grand jury on Friday indicted former Phi Gamma Delta fraternity members Ryan Delanty and Thomas Shultz, both of St. Louis County, in the hazing of 19-year-old Daniel Santulli of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Both are charged with felony hazing and misdemeanors of supplying liquor to a minor or intoxicated person. Shultz also faces a felony for tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution.

AP-US-ELECTION-2022-MINNESOTA-GOVERNOR

Minn. Republican threatens retaliation against medical board

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen has threatened to retaliate against the Minnesota board that oversees doctors as it investigates him for the fifth time. Jensen calls the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice a “juggernaut” that he’ll deal with if he’s elected governor. Jensen, a family practice physician from Chaska, is a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic who has promoted alternative treatments. He said in a video posted on Twitter Thursday night that he shouldn’t have to practice medicine or run for governor with the cloud of a board investigation hanging over him. The board comprises 16 people, all appointed by the governor.

CLINIC SHOOTING-MINNESOTA

Judge: Attack that led to life sentence ‘simply unthinkable’

BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) — A judge has handed down a mandatory life sentence to a man who stormed a medical clinic in Minnesota, fatally shot one person and wounded four others, saying the act was unfathomable. Gregory Ulrich opened fire Feb. 9, 2021, at the Allina Crossroads Clinic in Buffalo, a city of about 16,400 people, 40 miles northwest of Minneapolis. He was sentenced Friday. A jury earlier this month found Ulrich guilty of the 11 charges against him, including premeditated first-degree murder for killing Lindsay Overbay, a 37-year-old medical assistant. Four other clinic staffers survived but suffered serious injuries. Wright County District Judge Catherine McPherson said during sentencing that the attack was “simply unthinkable.”

MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE

Special session unlikely on Minnesota budget surplus

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — It appears chances are dead for a special legislative session that could have brought billions of dollars in tax cuts and new spending in Minnesota. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz told reporters late Thursday that talks with Republican leaders had “reached an impasse,” leaving about $7.2 billion of an original $9.25 billion surplus unspent. About a week before the end of the regular session last month, Walz and top legislators announced an agreement to use $4 billion to cut taxes, $4 billion to increase spending and to save another $4 billion. Republican Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller blamed Democrats for the impasse, saying they wanted too much in spending.