Coming up on Morning Edition: MPR News reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox joins Cathy to discuss a lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan. The family of Ricky Cobb II, who was shot and killed by Londregan during a traffic stop in July, says they plan to file a lawsuit Wednesday.
Coming up at 9 a.m.: On this Wellness Wednesday, we’re talking about infidelity: Why it happens and how to deal with it — whether you’re the person who has been cheated on, or the person who has done the cheating.
And we want to hear from you, too. Have you cheated in a relationship? Tell us why you did it. Or maybe you’ve been cheated on. How did infidelity impact your relationship and how did you move forward? Call 651-227-6000 during the 9 a.m. hour.
A bill working through the Legislature would require child welfare workers to take steps to prevent out-of-home placement of African American or disproportionately represented children.
A working group study last year found that African American kids make up nine percent of the population but 18 percent of children in need of protection or services cases. That number was even greater — 27 percent — for out-of-home placements and delinquency cases.
“There have been situations where parents who don’t have any previous criminal history, they want to be parents, but they might just be struggling a little bit, have had their children taken away from them, because of a misunderstanding,” said the bill’s author, Rep. Esther Agbaje, DFL-Minneapolis.
Caseworkers say while the goal is worthy, they are concerned about their ability to carry it out without adequate funding, staff and direction.
The St. Paul City Council is set to vote Wednesday on a zoning proposal that would prepare new surface parking lots for a future with more electric vehicles. The proposal says new surface parking lots with more than 15 spots would have to be EV capable.
“You won’t see a great change overnight. But hopefully in the next decade or two to come, we’ll look back at this and see a real change and see the foresight and all the money saved as we help people get involved in the EV revolution,” said city planner Bill Dermody.
Report: Last year ended with a surge in book bans. According to PEN America, 4,349 books were banned from schools between July and December 2023, more than the entire previous school year. More than 3,000 of those bans were in Florida.