GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

Minneapolis mayor, Council spar on policing ballot wording

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey are sparring over the language on a ballot proposal to dismantle the city’s police department and remake it into an agency that focuses on public health and safety. The City Council had pushed wording of the ballot question favored by groups that are pushing to transform the city’s policing, the Star Tribune reported. A group of activists and several City Council members are asking voters in November to replace the police department with a “public safety department” that employs licensed peace officers “if necessary.” But Frey twice vetoed ballot language approved by the City Council.

AP-US-GRAY-WOLVES-PROTECTIONS

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by former President Donald Trump's decision to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive hunting and trapping for the animals in the Great Lakes and northern Rocky Mountains. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director for Ecological Services Gary Frazer suggested the agency could intervene if wolf populations suffer declines that could again threaten them with extinction. Idaho, Montana and Wisconsin have adopted new rules intended to drive down the predator's numbers. Gray wolves rebounded in parts of the U.S. over the past several decades from widespread extermination in the 1900s.

AP-US-WINNEBAGO-CORPORATE-MOVE

Winnebago moves headquarters from Iowa to Minnesota

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Recreational vehicle and boat manufacturer Winnebago Industries is moving its corporate headquarters from Iowa to Minnesota. The company has been based in Forest City, Iowa, since its founding in 1958. It said Thursday that the official shift to Eden Prairie, Minnesota will be effective Dec. 1. The company’s executive offices have been in Minnesota since 2016. That's when CEO Michael Happe became president and CEO of Winnebago. He's the former head of Eden Prairie-based lawnmower maker Toro Co. and did not move to Iowa. Winnebago Industries employs about 6,500 employees with 100 based out of its Eden Prairie office. The company says manufacturing locations will remain the same.

AP-US-ENBRIDGE-ENERGY-LINE-3

Minnesota asks federal court to block Line 3 tribal lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota has gone to federal court to block a lawsuit over Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project from proceeding in tribal court. The novel case names Manoomin as the lead plaintiff. Manoomin is the Ojibwe word for wild rice. Wild rice is sacred in Ojibwe culture. The lawsuit in White Earth tribal court is the first “rights of nature” enforcement case brought in a U.S. tribal court. The Star Tribune reports the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources filed for an injunction in U.S. District Court on Thursday to quash the wild rice lawsuit, saying the tribal court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear the case.

AP-US-R-KELLY

Ex-tour manager testifies against R. Kelly about Aaliyah

NEW YORK (AP) — A former tour manager for R. Kelly has testified that he paid a $500 bribe to get the singer, Aaliyah, a fake ID so Kelly could secretly marry her in 1994 when she was 15 years old. The ID helped clear the way for the R&B legend to marry Aaliyah after he began a sexual relationship with her and believed she had become pregnant. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 when she was 22. The testimony Friday was part of Kelly’s sex-trafficking case. He is accused of abusing women, girls and boys during the course of his 30-year singing career. Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.

WILDFIRES-MINNESOTA

Minnesota wildfire jumps highway, triggers more evacuations

FINLAND, Minn. (AP) — Authorities fighting a northeastern Minnesota wildfire have ordered additional evacuations after the blaze jumped a highway. The U.S. Forest Service sent in ground crews and water-dropping aircraft Friday after the Greenwood Fire crossed over to the west side of Lake County Highway 2, just north of Stony Lake. Deputies were evacuating residents from the Stony Lake and Sand Lake areas near where Highway 2 intersects with Minnesota Highway 1. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were affected. The area is dotted with seasonal cabins and some year-round residences. Earlier in the week, authorities evacuated around 90 residents from the McDougal Lake area.

MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS

Embattled Minnesota Republican Party leader resigns

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The embattled leader of the Minnesota Republican Party has been forced to resign following accusations that she ran an operation that was rife with verbal abuse, intimidation and sexual misconduct. Jennifer Carnahan initially resisted calls to resign, saying she had no knowledge of sex-trafficking allegations against a close friend and prominent GOP donor. She said had been defamed by a “mob mentality" attempting to ruin her reputation. Late Thursday, the party’s 15-member board voted 8-7 to give Carnahan three months salary, about $38,000, with Carnahan casting the deciding vote on her severance. The board also approved investigations into the party’s finances and human resources protocols.

AFGHANISTAN-MINNESOTA

Walz extends Minnesota's welcome mat to Afghan refugees

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is extending a welcome mat for refugees from Afghanistan. In a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday, Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan offered to to work with the federal government to continue Minnesota’s history of welcoming refugees by assisting with the resettlement of people fleeing Afghanistan. They wrote that Minnesota has a strong tradition of helping them rebuild their lives and become part of the community. Minnesota is already home to some of the largest Hmong, Somali and Liberian communities in the U.S., as well as a small Afghan community.

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