Minnesota Today

Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat from Woodbury, is accused of breaking into her stepmother's home in April 2024. Her defense is that she was there to do a welfare check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Prosecutors say Mitchell was there to get some mementos of her late father’s — something Mitchell told police at the scene — and is guilty of trying to break in with the intent to steal. Attorneys on both sides say Mitchell's intent is what matters. The weeklong trial included testimony from Mitchell, her stepmother, family and responding officers. A conviction would likely make it impossible for Mitchell to stay in her role as a public official. An attorney with expertise in federal death penalty cases has joined Vance Boelter’s defense team. But prosecutors have yet to say whether they’ll seek capital punishment for the man accused of killing former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Boelter is charged with the Hortmans murder. He’s also accused of shooting and wounding DFL State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette and attempting to shoot their daughter Hope. A judge today gave the go-ahead for attorney Kimberly Sharkey to work on Boelter’s defense team. Sharkey — based in Las Vegas — is part of the federal public defender office’s death penalty unit. She joins Minneapolis-based public defender Manny Atwal. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson says a decision on whether to seek capital punishment is months away. He says it’s ultimately up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, with input from local prosecutors and the victims’ families.

Law enforcement shot and killed a person in St. Louis County Tuesday after the person allegedly set homes on fire and shot a weapon at officers. Also, Vance Boelter's attorney says his client plans to plead not guilty to charges he killed Minnesota DFL leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. A grand jury indicted him Tuesday on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty. This is the afternoon MPR News Update, hosted by Emily Reese. Theme music by Gary Meister.

Authorities say the man suspected of killing a DFL state lawmaker and her husband last month likely acted alone. Prosecutors have revealed new details about the investigation. The Justice Department has not decided if it will seek the death penalty in the case. Jurors in the trial of state Senator Nicole Mitchell are seeing what transpired when police responded to her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home. The first witnesses and evidence was presented yesterday in Becker County. Mitchell, a DFLer from Woodbury, is accused of felony burglary. The Minneapolis Police Officer who fatally shot Amir Locke during a no-knock raid in 2022 is responsible for leading the department’s use of force training. Council President Elliott Payne says it was the wrong choice to put the man who killed a 22-year-old Black man at the helm of use of force training, especially as the department works to repair trust with the community. Governor Tim Walz says Minnesota is likely to be confronted with higher costs administering Medicaid after recent federal changes. The federal prison camp in Duluth, which had been slated for closure, will now remain open. The Bureau of Prisons announced last December it would close the facility due in part to aging infrastructure. Now the agency says it’s changing course, following a reassessment and site visit last week from the bureau’s new director. The camp employs 90 people and currently houses fewer than 300 inmates.

Witnesses are on the stand after opening statements today in the burglary trial for DFL Senator Nicole Mitchell in a Becker County courtroom. And more than 200 Minnesota small businesses will get a funding boost from the state under a wave of funding that goes out soon. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Kelly Bleyer. Music by Gary Meister.

Starting next year, Minnesotans who use social media will see new warnings on those sites. And a Minnesota K-9 unit is heading to Texas to help with search and recovery efforts after this month’s devastating flash floods. Those stories and more in today’s evening update. Hosted by Jacob Aloi. Music by Gary Meister.

Gov. Tim Walz announced today that a special election to fill the Minnesota House seat of the late DFL Leader Melissa Hortman will take place September 16. And another round of Canadian wildfire smoke is moving across Minnesota today -- and an air quality alert is now in effect for the entire state through Monday morning. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

State lawmakers convened at the Capitol Tuesday for the first legislative hearing since two colleagues were shot last month. An effort to start the process of modifying a Minneapolis police reform agreement is now on pause. The Minneapolis City Council has voted to pause the effort to start modifying the existing MPD agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Supporters of the proposal want the city to add provisions from a federal consent decree that was dismissed by a judge earlier this year to its existing pact with the human rights department. The organization Abbey‘s Hope reached a milestone Tuesday in its effort to match Minnesota kids with life jackets. Scott and Katey Taylor formed the group after their 6-year-old daughter Abbey died following an incident in a wading pool where she got stuck in a filter pump. The historic Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis is reopening in full next month. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has temporarily turned off the lights on the Mississippi River bridges at Winona amid an ongoing mayfly hatch. The twin bridges carry State Highway 43 across the river to Wisconsin. The lights attract the insects in swarms and can create dangerous driving conditions.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is renewing his call for increased Capitol security following attacks on state lawmakers at their homes. Officials in west central Minnesota say people wanting to help with flood clean-up should contact a service organization such as the Red Cross, rather than just show up. Those stories in more in today’s evening update from MPR news. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

State lawmakers convened at the Capitol Tuesday for the first legislative hearing since two colleagues were shot last month. An effort to start the process of modifying a Minneapolis police reform agreement is now on pause. The Minneapolis City Council has voted to pause the effort to start modifying the existing MPD agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Supporters of the proposal want the city to add provisions from a federal consent decree that was dismissed by a judge earlier this year to its existing pact with the human rights department. The organization Abbey‘s Hope reached a milestone Tuesday in its effort to match Minnesota kids with life jackets. Scott and Katey Taylor formed the group after their 6-year-old daughter Abbey died following an incident in a wading pool where she got stuck in a filter pump. The historic Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis is reopening in full next month. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has temporarily turned off the lights on the Mississippi River bridges at Winona amid an ongoing mayfly hatch. The twin bridges carry State Highway 43 across the river to Wisconsin. The lights attract the insects in swarms and can create dangerous driving conditions.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has charged two people in what officials are calling a "massive" methamphetamine seizure. A Columbia Heights man is now charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his 16-year-old son. Jordan Collins Sr. was charged in Anoka County and made his first court appearance this morning.

State lawmakers convened at the Capitol Tuesday for the first legislative hearing since two colleagues were shot last month. An effort to start the process of modifying a Minneapolis police reform agreement is now on pause. The Minneapolis City Council has voted to pause the effort to start modifying the existing MPD agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Supporters of the proposal want the city to add provisions from a federal consent decree that was dismissed by a judge earlier this year to its existing pact with the human rights department. The organization Abbey‘s Hope reached a milestone Tuesday in its effort to match Minnesota kids with life jackets. Scott and Katey Taylor formed the group after their 6-year-old daughter Abbey died following an incident in a wading pool where she got stuck in a filter pump. The historic Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis is reopening in full next month. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has temporarily turned off the lights on the Mississippi River bridges at Winona amid an ongoing mayfly hatch. The twin bridges carry State Highway 43 across the river to Wisconsin. The lights attract the insects in swarms and can create dangerous driving conditions.

Minnesota school districts are facing a new financial hit after learning the Trump administration will withhold tens of millions in education funding. About three hundred nurses and other medical staff went on strike today in the Duluth area. They work at six Essentia Health facilities and are negotiating their first union contracts. Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

The cost of health insurance is soaring for Minnesota school districts and teachers. And the massive budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump over the holiday weekend makes some tax cuts permanent, and cuts spending on Medicaid.

The National Weather Service has confirmed the severe storm that struck Beltrami County in late June was a so-called microburst. Surveys show the “microburst” created a ten-mile swath of destructive straight-line winds — reaching as high as a hundred-and-twenty-miles-per-hour. St. Louis County on Monday opens a temporary collection site for debris from properties affected by wildfires earlier this year. That collection site at the old county garage along Highway 44 in Brimson. It’ll stay open Mondays through Saturdays through the end of July. The Camp House, Jenkins Creek and Munger Shaw fires burned thousands of acres in May and destroyed dozens of buildings, including homes and cabins. A 13-year-old boy died after being struck by a firework on Friday in Mahnomen County. Minnesota is warning people to be on the lookout for door-to-door pest-control scams. Drivers traveling Interstate 35 between Duluth and the Twin Cities will encounter lane closures in Carlton County, starting Monday. MnDOT crews will be wrapping up work that started last year on the Atkinson Bridge. That’ll mean single-lane traffic for both southbound and northbound traffic on weekdays through July 18.

Prosecutors are moving forward with their case against the man accused of killing former DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. Vance Boelter, 57, is charged in a six-count criminal complaint with the murder of the Hortmans early on June 14 and with shooting and wounding DFL State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette earlier the same night. Boelter is also charged with stalking the lawmakers. A Minnesota Department of Education employee no longer works there after a conservative news site reported on a prior conviction of criminal sexual conduct. And boaters can expect to see extra law enforcement officers on Minnesota waterways Friday and through the holiday weekend. Go deeper with the latest edition of the Minnesota Today newsletter. Prosecution moves forward after alleged Hortman assassin waives hearings Minnesota education agency employee out after sex-crime conviction surfaces Law enforcement warns boaters to drive sober this holiday weekend Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or RSS.