Minnesota

Minnesota Senate to vote on school resource officer bill

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2024

Minnesota Senate to vote on school resource officer bill

The Minnesota Senate will consider a bill that lifts restrictions on the kinds of restraints school resource officers may use on students. The floor vote, scheduled for Monday morning, comes a week after the House approved a similar measure by an overwhelming majority.

The legislation is the result of months of talks between legislators and law enforcement officials after several police chiefs and sheriffs began pulling their officers out of schools in late August. Authorities argued that a 2023 tweak to the law describing how and when an officer may restrain students left campus police open to litigation.

Sen. Bonnie Westlin, DFL-Plymouth, who authored the Senate bill, said the legislation’s development “included the voices of many Minnesotans.” Legislators faced criticism last year for not inviting law enforcement leaders to weigh in on the original bill.

“Our work to clarify the roles of SROs has been centered on the belief that our schools are institutions of learning, and that every adult working in our schools should be there to provide a safe and supportive learning environment,” Westlin said. “I think we’ve achieved that with the help of many stakeholders and voices, and I’m very pleased it will now move to the full Senate.”

Essentially, school resource officers could only restrain a student if it was all but certain they were about to physically harm themselves or others, even if they were breaking the law. That led about 40 agencies to pull their officers out of schools.

Several kept their officers on campus. And in some cities, including Bloomington, police departments beefed up their school resource officer programs.

The new bill would separate school resource officers from other campus employees when it comes to student restraint and discipline. The Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST) would develop a training program for school resource officers and draft a model policy for school boards to adopt throughout the state.

School resource officers would also explicitly be barred from enforcing campus rules or handing out discipline to students who break them. They would also be coached on how to limit their use of physical holds on students, particularly prone restraint.

That legislation has faced pushback from some progressives and education advocates who argue it should not allow police to put children in the prone position, which was explicitly banned by the 2023 law. The practice is banned in special education settings.

Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a pair of clarifications to the law, which said police use-of-force statutes override those newer campus-based ones, leading some agencies to restore their school resource officer programs.

This story will be updated.

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Minnesota

Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say

Published

2 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Driver who fatally struck bicyclist in Minneapolis may have been impaired, police say

Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.

Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.

Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.

The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.

Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.

The incident is still under investigation.

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Minnesota

I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for $2.9M improvement project

Published

14 hours ago

April 20, 2026

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I-94 rest area in Minnesota closed until Independence Day for .9M improvement project

A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.

The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.

According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.

The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.

Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.

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Minnesota

UCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota

Published

1 day ago

April 20, 2026

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UCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota

Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?

Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.

While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.

UCLA’s Payton Brennan and his teammates are still undefeated in Big Ten play this season after sweeping Minnesota on Sunday. Ross Turteltaub

“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”

Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.

Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.

Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.

“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”

When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.

What it means

UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.

“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”

Turning point

Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.

That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.

Did you see that?

Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.

There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.

“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”