MINNESOTA-PUBLIC-DEFENDERS
Minnesota public defenders agree to a settlement to avoid a strike.
- PAUL, Minn. (AP) -ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota public defenders have signed an agreement on a tentative contract that could have brought the majority in the state’s court system to halt. Negotiators representing the unionized attorneys and members of the Minnesota Board of Public Defense met with the state mediator on Friday. Union spokesperson Gus Froemke said Saturday that the agreement was signed shortly before midnight. Public defenders from across Minnesota have claimed they’ve been forced to the brink due to the high number of cases part of coronavirus outbreaks. The strike was scheduled to start as early as Tuesday. The union claims that the tentative agreement will include the cost of living adjustments until 2023.
AP-US-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-US-CITIZEN-KILLED
American that was cut off in Ukraine was able to fly into conflict to help sick partners.
A family member of the American man who was killed following the Russian strike on the north Ukrainian city of Chernihiv announced on Saturday that he returned to Ukraine to seek the treatment he had sought for his long-time partner. Sixty-eight-year-old James “Jimmy” Hill told his family members that the only thing he wanted was to slow the progress of multiple sclerosis, which has already ruined his partner Irina Teslenko’s capacity to walk. The family claimed that the victim was killed by a Russian bomb that hit an area where around 1000 civilians waited to get buses to get out of the city. Hill was from Minnesota and was currently staying in Idaho.
VANCE-MINNESOTA
Minnesota GOP tap new event speaker following Vance quits.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) (AP)– Minnesota Republicans have hired as a new speaker for their annual dinner following the cancellation of Ohio U.S. Senate candidate, and author J.D. Vance was forced to cancel. Vance’s resignation was prompted by criticism from both sides of the party for an opinion he expressed that appeared to dismiss Ukraine in its fight with Russia. The state GOP official claims that Vance’s cancellation decision was due to an unplanned conflict. Vance’s visit to Minnesota was planned as he traveled across Ohio, hosting town hall meetings. Minnesota GOP announced on social media that Minnesota GOP posted that Matt Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union, will be the keynote speaker on April 1, the day of the GOP’s event.
AP-US-SCHOOL-FIGHT-VIDEO
Video shows cop kneeling over Wisconsin student’s neck.
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) Schools officials from Kenosha, Wisconsin, released surveillance footage of an off-duty police officer placing his knee on the neck of a 12-year-old girl to stop her from escaping during an argument over lunchtime. Kenosha Unified School District released redacted footage of the March 4 fight. Kenosha district of the Unified School District has released the redacted footage of the March 4 incident on Friday. The footage shows a Kenosha officer working as a security guard, intervening in the fight, and fighting in the fight with the woman. He is thrown to the ground, striking his head against the table. The officer then presses the girl’s head to the ground and puts his knee to rest on her neck for approximately one minute before handcuffing her and dragging her from the restaurant.
MINNESOTA-BUDGET
The New Walz plan for surplus includes bigger tax rebate checks.
NEW HOPE, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz has released an updated plan on using the state’s massive budget surplus, which includes the idea of income tax rebates that are $1,000 each for couples. The revised budget plan announced on Thursday comes after last month that the state’s surplus is now $9.25 billion. It formally outlines an idea he had floated back then for a tax rebate check that would be $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples. Senate Republicans insist on using the majority of the surplus to pay for permanent income tax cuts. House Democrats seek to direct the money to low-income Minnesotans and social programs.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-WAR-US CITIZEN KILLED
American among the dead civilians by Russian strike in Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) –A American man has been killed during a Russian strike on the Northern Ukrainian city Chernihiv in which the man sought medical attention for his companion. His death, Jim Hill, of Diggs, Idaho, was reported on Thursday through his mother. In an update on Facebook, she stated that Jim Hill was in the bread line along with others who were shot dead with Russian army snipers. Ukrainian officials have reported 10 victims killed in Chernihiv as they waited for bread at the front of the line. Chernihiv police and officials from the U.S. State Department confirmed the death of an American, but they did not name the individual who died. Hill was, at minimum, only the third U.S. citizen to be killed in the conflict.
LEGISLATURE-BACK
The back will leave Legislature after almost 30 years in the Legislature.
- PAUL, Minn. (AP) -ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Senator. Tom Bakk will retire at the end of the year, putting an end to an illustrious career in politics that saw him rise to the rank of the Democrats, the most powerful lawmakers before when he resigned from the party. Back announced that he would not be running for reelection, describing his time as a representative for northern Minnesota in the Capitol as “one of the biggest benefits that I have ever had in my entire life.” Back, 67 and from Cook was in the Legislature for more than 30 years, since his first election into his seat in the House in 1994. He led the House Democratic-Farmer-Labor Caucus for nearly a decade and ran for governor as a Democrat in 2010. However, Back quit the party in 2020, along with his fellow DFL Senator. David Tomassoni of Chisholm as independent who sided with Republicans to form the majority.
GEORGE FLOYD-PROTESTS-SETTLEMENT
$2.4M will be offered to the man who was shot in the eye during Floyd’s protests
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minneapolis (AP)The Minneapolis man who lost an eye after being struck by the projectile shot by police during protests following George Floyd’s death will receive a $2.4 million payout. Soren Stevenson was part of an enclave of people gathered in a grassy area close to an on-ramp for the interstate when he was hit with the projectile of 40 millimeters on May 31, 2020. In an interview at his lawyer’s office, Stevenson said to reporters that Stevenson believed that a SWAT officer fired directly into his face. Stevenson said he wasn’t protesting or disobeying police at the moment.
