Good morning and happy Tuesday, the first of August.
Three Minnesota State Patrol officers are on administrative leave after one of them shot and killed a man on Interstate 94 Monday morning. MPR’s Tim Nelson reports that the trooper, on patrol in Minneapolis at about 2 a.m., spotted a car without visible taillights and pulled the car over on westbound I-94, north of downtown Minneapolis, the Minnesota State Patrol said in a statement Monday afternoon. The driver was found to be wanted in Ramsey County on a suspected felony-level offense and troopers attempted to take him into custody, the patrol said, adding that the driver refused to exit the vehicle and drove away. At least one trooper fired during the incident, and a Minnesota Department of Transportation camera video shows patrol cruisers pursuing the fleeing car, later boxed in against the median near the 42nd Avenue bridge over the interstate. The driver died. Black Lives Matter activists identified the man as 33-year-old Ricky Cobb of Minneapolis.
A new month means new laws, most notably the one that legalizes adult possession and use of marijuana. MPR’s Mark Zdechlik had the basics yesterday , and Dana Ferguson looked into where Minnesotans can get cannabis seeds, now that home growing is legal. And it turns out, the state is not quite ready on its end: State seed law requires businesses to undergo occasional testing to verify that information about their seeds stack up to what they claim on a label. But that process has lagged since the state hasn’t yet been able to start testing. “We haven't started accepting things for testing. And in Minnesota, we require things to be labeled with a test that's able to substantiate those labeled claims,” said Michael Merriman, seed regulatory supervisor at the state plant protection division. “That's to protect the consumers of seed in the state.” Merriman said that about 30 businesses have applied for state permits to label cannabis seeds so far. Minnesotans can legally buy cannabis seeds labeled in other states. Merriman says that’s frustrated some retailers who would like to offer more Minnesota-grown seeds right away. “I think it's going to be difficult for in-state people to work since we're still waiting on rules and the Office of Cannabis Management to get established. People aren't actually able to start growing plants yet and selling plants and that's where they'll get their seed sources from,” Merriman said.
Another new law puts restrictions on gun sales. The Star Tribune has an explainer: Minnesota is joining 18 other states that have laws requiring expanded background checks for firearm purchases and transfers, a change long sought by gun control advocates. Democrats in control of the Legislature included the change, which takes effect Tuesday, in a sweeping public safety package passed last session. It also includes new rules around owning a machine gun and the creation of extreme risk protection orders — a "red flag law" — that will make it harder for people deemed a danger to themselves or others to get a firearm.
Minnesota is undertaking one of its biggest bond sales in state history today to finance public construction projects. MPR’s Brian Bakst reports that the state is set to sell $1 billion in bonds, which is long-term debt used to raise cash toward infrastructure upgrades. They range from new or remodeled buildings to trails and park visitor centers to theaters and arts facilities. It involves projects that lawmakers authorized in recent years. This bond sale is the third largest on record for Minnesota. State officials expect other bond sales this fall related to housing, a redevelopment project in Duluth and a rehabilitation of the State Office Building adjacent to the Capitol.
A new national poll shows a tie between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The New York Times reports: President Biden is heading into the 2024 presidential contest on firmer footing than a year ago, with his approval rating inching upward and once-doubtful Democrats falling into line behind his re-election bid, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll. Biden appears to have escaped the political danger zone he resided in last year, when nearly two-thirds of his party wanted a different nominee. Now, Democrats have broadly accepted him as their standard-bearer, even if half would prefer someone else. Still, warning signs abound for the president: Despite his improved standing and a friendlier national environment, Biden remains broadly unpopular among a voting public that is pessimistic about the country’s future, and his approval rating is a mere 39 percent. Perhaps most worryingly for Democrats, the poll found Biden in a neck-and-neck race with former President Donald J. Trump, who held a commanding lead among likely Republican primary voters even as he faces two criminal indictments and more potential charges on the horizon. Biden and Trump were tied at 43 percent apiece in a hypothetical rematch in 2024, according to the poll. | 