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AP-US-GEORGE-FLOYD-TEXAS-ARREST

Fate of George Floyd pardon request now with Texas governor

HOUSTON (AP) â€" A Texas agency has approved a request that George Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug arrest made by a now-indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid. Monday’s unanimous recommendation by the seven member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant the pardon will now be forwarded to Gov. Greg Abbott, who will make the final decision. A spokeswoman for Abbott hasn’t returned an email seeking comment. An attorney with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office who submitted the pardon request in April says she’s pleased by the board’s decision.

GEORGE FLOYD SQUARE-DEATH-PLEA

Man pleads guilty in fatal shooting at George Floyd Square

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) â€" A 31-year-old Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge for fatally shooting another man at the intersection where George Floyd died in police custody. Shantaello Christianson pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree manslaughter and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors say Christianson will be sentenced to 10 years as part of the guilty plea. Christianson admitted to killing 30-year-old Imez Wright outside Cup Foods on March 6. Authorities say Wright was shot multiple times in the chest and hand. The intersection became a makeshift memorial after Floyd’s death and is now known as George Floyd Square.

CAPITOL BREACH-MINNESOTA

3 Minnesota men charged in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) â€" Three more Minnesota men have been charged for allegedly participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Federal prosecutors charged 62-year-old Robert Westbury, his 19-year-old son Isaac Westbury and another man, 35-year-old Aaron James, with crimes ranging from assaulting Capitol police officers to disorderly conduct. The three men, from Lindstrom, were arrested about six months after another son of Westbury’s, 26-year-old Jonah Westbury, was also charged. With Monday’s arrests, a total of eight Minnesotans have been charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. More than 600 people have been charged overall.

ATV FATAL-CHILD DIES

Boy, 9, dies in crash of ATV operated by 10-year-old

HILLMAN, Minn. (AP) â€" A 9-year-old boy died and a 10-year-old boy suffered minor injuries in an ATV crash in central Minnesota. The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office says the 10-year-old was operating the side-by-side ATV near a cornfield in Lakin Township on Sunday evening when he lost control and the vehicle flipped. Both boys were thrown from the vehicle and the 9-year-old died at the scene. The crash is being investigated and additional details about the boys were not being released.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPENDING-MINNESOTA

Minnesota communities get more time to claim federal aid

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) â€" Minnesota is giving local governments a little more time to claim federal COVID-19 relief money to which they’re already entitled. Minnesota Management and Budget says eligible cities and townships now have through Oct. 11 to apply for American Rescue Plan aid to help them respond to the pandemic. The deadline had been Monday. Minnesota cities, counties, and townships were eligible for an estimated $2.1 billion altogether. Most of it has been distributed, but a sizable pot remains on the table. MMB says 113 eligible cities and 568 eligible townships have not yet requested their shares of an available $18 million.

APPEALS COURT-LIMBO CREEK

Court of Appeals sets precedent for drainage ditch projects

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) â€" The Minnesota Court of Appeals says Renville County must conduct an environmental review to determine whether a proposed drainage ditch improvement could harm one of the last free-flowing creeks in the heavily agricultural western county. The court Monday reversed a decision by the county board, which concluded the study wasn’t necessary. The dispute involves proposed improvements to a century-old drainage ditch that empties into the upper reaches of Limbo Creek. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy says the court ruling sets a precedent that means any drainage project across the state that affects a public water requires an environmental review.

TWIN METALS MINE

Minnesota DNR plans review of mining risk to Boundary Waters

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) â€" Minnesota regulators will take public comments in November and December as part of a court-ordered review of whether the state’s regulations for nonferrous mining are adequate to protect the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The Department of Natural Resources on Monday laid out plans for the review, which affects the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine near Ely. The DNR will consider the comments, then issue an initial order by mid-September 2022 that could lead to more proceedings. Twin Metals says its design would protect the wilderness. But opponents say it’s too risky to allow any copper-nickel mining upstream from the Boundary Waters.

STUDENT ASSAULT-TEACHER SENTENCED

Former teacher get probation for sexually assaulting teen

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) â€" A former central Minnesota middle school teacher and coach has been sentenced to probation for sexually assaulting a female high school student. Thirty-two-year Daniel Fragodt, of Melrose, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Stearns County District Court. He was sentenced Friday to five years of probation. According to a criminal complaint, the victim told investigators her sexual encounters with Fragodt began when she was 17 and occurred at school, a park-and-ride lot in St. Joseph and elsewhere. The complaint said the encounters took place from August 2018 to August 2019. Fragodt was a math teacher in the Albany School District.

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