Feb. 7, 2024

Our weird winter gets weirder on Thursday. A low-pressure system moving into Minnesota Thursday brings scattered February rain showers and even a chance of thunder. Get more on Updraft.

Investigation continues into fire that destroyed landmark North Shore lodge

The State Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday that it was too soon to comment on a possible cause of the fire. The loss of the seven-decade-old main lodge along the shore of Lake Superior prompted an outpouring of stories and emotion.

Read here

Minnesota DFL challenges Legal Marijuana Now status ahead of 2024 election

In a petition filed with the state's Supreme Court, DFL Chair Ken Martin said the Legal Marijuana Now Party came up short in 2022 and 2023 of meeting legal requirements for major parties. Those standards got tougher under a law passed last year

Read here

🗳️ Early stats show Minnesotans are in no rush to vote in presidential primary

Figures released by the Secretary of State’s office show that roughly 173,000 absentee and mail ballots were transmitted as of early February; but fewer than 10 percent of those had been sent back and marked accepted.

Minneapolis expected to settle suit with journalists who covered 2020 protests

Lead plaintiff Jared Goyette and other journalists allege Minneapolis police and state troopers intentionally tear-gassed and fired rubber bullets at them as they tried to cover protests which followed the police killing of George Floyd.

🍼 Mayo Clinic Health System will stop delivering babies at its New Prague hospital

It’s just the latest Minnesota hospital to stop delivering babies, with some others — including the Essentia Health-run facility in Fosston last month — also moving labor and delivery services to larger, centralized hospitals in recent years.

🗳️ Minnesota justices explain why they left Trump on ballot now but could revisit later

“There is no Minnesota statute that prohibits a major political party from including an ineligible candidate on the presidential nomination primary ballot or sending delegates to the national convention to support an ineligible candidate,’” the newly published opinion said.

🚓 Falcon Heights, St. Anthony Village city officials reconsider policing partnership

Falcon Heights City Administrator Jack Linehan said the study found the policing contract with St. Anthony Village was a good fit for Falcon Heights due to proximity, logistics and cost. He acknowledged the renewed “partnership will raise concerns and painful memories of the killing of Philando Castile in our city.”

💉 Eli Lilly settlement caps insulin prices for Minnesotans

A settlement between the state of Minnesota and drugmaker Eli Lilly will give Minnesotans access to insulin for $35 a month, at least for the next five years.

🏫 DFL lawmakers offer a fix on rules around school officers restraining students

The proposed legislative fix would keep the ban on school employees using holds that restrict students’ ability to breathe or communicate distress, except “to prevent bodily harm or death.”

North Star Journey Live: Beyond the Border: The immigration crisis, up close

Changes to immigration policy are causing confusion and conflict—especially with the 2024 election right around the corner. But the issue isn’t just political. It’s personal. Families are stuck in a confusing system, and they want to know what’s ahead.

Sahan Journal and MPR News decided to reach out to people with real answers: community advocates, leaders, and legal experts. On February 8, we’re hosting a Sahan Community Live and North Star Journey Live event to dispel myths and misinformation and hear the impacts of our broken immigration system.

Join us for the live conversation on Thursday, February 8, at 6 p.m., in the theater of El Colegio High School, located at 4137 Bloomington Ave. in Minneapolis.

Register here.

– Anna Haecherl, MPR News

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