Democrats in the Minnesota Senate will meet to choose a new leader after Woodbury Sen. Susan Kent announced recently she was stepping down as minority leader and will not seek reelection next year. Sens. Melisa Franzen of Edina, Nick Frentz of North Mankato and John Marty of Roseville have said they are interested in the leadership position. The DFL selection of a new caucus leader follows the same move last week by Senate Republicans. They picked Senator Jeremy Miller of Winona to replace Paul Gazelka, who stepped down to run for governor.

A judge in Minneapolis held a hearing this morning on the language of the proposed charter amendment involving public safety that the city council voted to put on this year’s ballot.  Attorneys for former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels and others filed a motion last week saying the council's revised language for the amendment has some of the same problems that led Hennepin County Judge Jamie Anderson to reject the original language last week. Attorneys for the city say the new motion is a “political effort” designed to prevent voters from deciding the issue. They said the new language is almost identical to what Samuels' attorneys requested in the first place.  

The Star Tribune had some impressive reporting over the weekend from Andy Mannix and Jeff Hargarten on the rise in crime in Minneapolis the past year, including homicides and shootings and the impact it has had on peoples’ lives. Also noted in the story, violent crime is much more likely to occur in some neighborhoods than in others. 

Also over the weekend the nation marked the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. David Montgomery and Evan Frost covered Minnesota’s ceremony for MPR News. At the national ceremony in Shanksville, Pa. former President George W. Bush, who made the decisions to send Americans to fight and die in Afghanistan and Iraq, seemed to equate the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 with the terrorists who attacked 20 years ago. “There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home,” Bush said. “But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols — they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them.”

The person convicted of bombing a Twin Cities mosquefaces sentencing in federal court today . A federal jury convicted Emily Hari, previously known as Michael Hari, last December of hate crime and explosives charges for the 2017 firebombing of the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison.Shrapnel from the 10-pound bomb pierced chairs and desks inside Dar Al Farooq. The attackers also tossed in a container of gasoline and diesel fuel. Several people inside the mosque were not injured, but the bombing left emotional scars, leaders said.

President Joe Biden is headed west today to talk about the wildfires that have burned this summer and to hold a rally with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is trying to survive a recall election tomorrow. Here’s some background on the recall from NPR if you haven’t been paying attention. 

Speaking of wildfires, the Greenwood Fire is still burning in northern Minnesota and officials said yesterday it is now 67 percent contained. The fire was first spotted nearly a month ago and has burned dozens of buildings. 

Finally, if you’re disappointed about the Vikings loss to Cincinnati yesterday, at least there’s some comfort in that no team from the NFC North Division won yesterday. That means next Sunday is like a whole new start to the season, right? It also means there’s still time to find something else to do on these beautiful late summer/early fall Sunday afternoons.