Minnesota
Midday Headlines – April 16th, 2024 – Minnesota News Network
>>MN 1st Lady Walz, Lawmakers, Advocates Rally for Gun Safety
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz, lawmakers, gun violence survivors, and more are gathering at the State Capitol this morning (TUES, 9 a.m.) to advocate for gun safety. Led by Moms and Students Demand Action, the group will rally for current legislation being considered by Minnesota lawmakers, including bills requiring improved secure firearm storage, gun owners to report Lost and Stolen guns to law enforcement, and a reduction in gun trafficking. Other rally speakers include Senator Bonnie Westlin of Plymouth, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, and Red Lake School shooting survivor Fran Mendoza.
>>NWS Issues Red Flag Warning in Northeast MN for Extreme Fire Risk
(Undated) — The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Red Flag Warning for several northeast Minnesota counties effective immediately through 9:00 p.m. due to extreme fire risk conditions. Affected counties include Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis. No burning is allowed when the warning is in effect, and residents should check any recent burning piles to ensure the fire is completely out.
>>U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear Mike Lindell’s Petition on Cell Phone Seizure
(Washington, DC) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a petition from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell that the FBI violated his constitutional rights when agents seized his cell phone at a fast food drive-thru in Mankato two years ago. The high court discussed the issue in late March and issued their decision Monday without comment. Lindell says the U.S. government has been “weaponized” against him, and he’ll return to court to try to get his cell phone back. Lindell is the subject of a federal investigation into a security breach in the 2020 election in Colorado.
>>Twin Cities Felons Pleads Guilty to Illegal Possession of a Firearm
(Minneapolis, MN) — A Twin Cities man has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm. Court documents say 45-year-old Salvador Pachecho was stopped by a Minnesota State Patrol trooper on October 7th, 2022, for multiple traffic violations. Troopers smelled marijuana in the car, and a drug-sniffing dog located additional drugs in Pachecho’s vehicle. A search of the car turned up a Kahr .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol inside a backpack. Pachecho is set to be sentenced at a later date.
>>Wadena Man Sentenced to Over 13 Years in Prison in Connection with Vehicular Homicide
(Stillwater, MN) — A Wadena man has been sentenced to over 13 years in prison for his role in killing 80-year-old Shirley Bilden of Maplewood in 2021. 36-year-old Scott Hardy pleaded guilty in February to a plea deal convicting him of the charge of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, resulting in death. Court documents say police responded to a call that a Chevrolet Tahoe parked outside a Cub Food in Oakdale was stolen around 4 p.m. July 10th, 2021. When officers arrived and asked Hardy to leave the car, he fled quickly. Police eventually found Hardy had run a red light, which caused a crash between two other vehicles. Three people were injured in the crash, including Bilden, who died from her injuries four days later at the hospital. Hardy was arrested shortly after fleeing the collision, attempting to steal another car at a nearby cemetery.
>>Nearly 100 MN Farms Recognized As Century Farms
(Minneapolis, MN) — Almost 100 farms in Minnesota are receiving recognition for being family-owned and operated for over a century. The Minnesota State Fair and Minnesota Farm Bureau have announced this year’s Century Farms list. One family has continuously owned each of the 97 farms on the list for at least 100 years, is still being used for farming, and covers a minimum of 50 acres. This year’s list includes several farms that date back to the 1800s, the oldest being the Berquam-Krogstad Family Farm in Houston County, originally purchased in 1855.
>>Minnesota Lotto Winner
(Roseville, MN) — Someone playing the lottery in southwestern Minnesota is nearly two million dollars richer. A Gopher 5 ticket sold at Food N Fuel in Worthington is worth $1,911,615. The game is played on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The prize now resets to $100,000 for the next drawing.
>>Ludacris and T-Pain Coming to the 2024 Minnesota State Fair
(Falcon Heights, MN) — Hip-hop artists Ludacris and T-Pain will perform at the Minnesota State Fair on August 27th. Ludacris has sold over 24 million rap albums and is an actor in the Fast & Furious movie franchise. T-Pain is an award-winning rapper, singer, and producer known for using the auto-tune effect on his vocals. Tickets for the August 27th show go on sale this Friday.
Minnesota
Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota
Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.
Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.
Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.
The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.
The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.
The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.
The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.
Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.
Minnesota
Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters
A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.
The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.
In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.
Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”
The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.
All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”
Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.
This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.
The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”
Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.
Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”
Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.
Minnesota
Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator
A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook.
Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown.
Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19.
The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan.
The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition.
Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records.
In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025.
Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.
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