You knew this would happen … Sarah Horner and Mara Gottfried of the PiPress report: “Fifteen minutes before the Anoka County sheriff's office closed Monday, Dec. 17, there was a line of residents still waiting to fill out forms needed to legally carry a gun in Minnesota, according to Cmdr. Paul Sommer. By day's end, 36 people had applied for permits to carry, making Dec. 17 a record day in Anoka County for the number of gun permits issued, Sommer said. A typical day sees 10 to 15 applications. Other counties in the Twin Cities saw significant jumps, including Hennepin, Washington and Dakota. … Statewide, there has been a 25 percent increase in the number of people with carry permits as of Dec. 1, 2012, compared with the same date the year before, according to state data provided by Andrew Rothman, vice president of Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance. In Anoka County, the number jumped from 1,655 in 2011 to almost 2,500 in 2012. Anoka's last daily record before Monday was Nov. 7, the day after President Barack Obama was re-elected.”
The Central Corridor isn’t finished, the Southwest Corridor is experiencing a difficult pregnancy, but the Bottineau line is coming together.Laura Yuen of MPR says: “Early plans for what could be the Twin Cities' fourth light-rail transit spoke are moving ahead, with the blessing of the city of Golden Valley. The city council in the first-ring suburb approved the proposed Bottineau route at a meeting Tuesday evening. Until now, Golden Valley has been the sole dissenter out of the five communities along the path connecting Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park. The opposition has been fueled in part by neighbors who say the trains would spoil the very essence of their community. … Golden Valley opponents of the route note that light-rail planners have an alternative. Another alignment once strongly considered by the county would send trains running through the heart of north Minneapolis. A $1 billion light-rail system could also pump life into neglected areas and serve low-income residents. But transit planners say that route, which would send trains down Penn Avenue, would also require the removal of about 100 homes.”
Congressman Tim Walz is a good example of politicians who are going to have to cross over to get effective gun control. Kevin Diaz of the Strib says: “U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Minnesota Democrat endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), said he is rethinking his opposition to a ban on assault weapons. ‘I feel like I've got feet firmly in different camps,’ he said in an interview Tuesday. ‘Between the right of gun ownership and public safety.’ Walz said that while he remains a ‘proud’ defender of gun rights, he believes the gun lobby and other Second Amendment advocates are ready to show more flexibility as the nation searches for ways to prevent tragedies like the one in Connecticut on Friday. … Walz was one of 65 Democrats in the U.S. House who signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in 2009 opposing any prospective moves by the Obama administration to ban assault or military-style weapons. But he said the Connecticut school massacre has shifted the ground both in public opinion and in Congress.” I’ll believe it when I see it.
The AP reports on a “right to die” group coming after Minnesota’s assisted suicide laws:“The group Final Exit Network is challenging the law after four of its members were indicted in May in the suicide of a Minnesota woman. Prosecutors say the defendants not only supported Doreen Dunn’s decision to kill herself in 2007, but provided her with information and support to follow through. Final Exit members claim they do not encourage suicide, but that the act of giving information and emotional support could be interpreted as ‘encouraging’ under a Minnesota law that makes it a felony for someone to intentionally assist, advise or encourage suicide. Defense attorneys who appeared at a hearing Tuesday in Dakota County District Court argued that the statute is unconstitutional.”
And we’re still about two weeks from New Year’s Eve …WCCO-TV says:“Officials said Tuesday about 1,300 people have been arrested for driving drunk so far this month across the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. … Officials said in the last five years, 651 people have been killed in drunk driving crashes, including 111 last year. DPS officials said about 30,000 people are arrested every year for DWI. In the last three Decembers, 28 people have been killed in drunk driving crashes and nearly 7,500 have been arrested for DWI.”
Here’s a kid you’d like around in an emergency …The AP says:“A 12-year-old Minnesota girl knew what to do when a bus driver blacked out last week. Rana Kraftson of Bayport ran to the front of the bus, pulled the bus driver's foot off the accelerator and pressed her hands on the brake pedal. She then got on the driver's CB radio and called for help. Rana says that's ‘what any reasonable human would have done.’ ”
Next time she might want to think about working a different street … Nicole Norfleet of the Strib says: “Former Minneapolis Police Lt. Marie Przynski has been convicted of theft and forgery three years after she was put on leave for stealing money from a police organization. According to a Tuesday announcement by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, Przynski, 60, of Maplewood, was convicted Friday of one count of theft by swindle and four counts of forgery. … While Przynski was on vacation in December of 2009, an officer noticed near the checkbook in Przynski's office was a withdrawal slip for $1,500 from the day before she left.”
A day later …Eric Roper of the Strib says: “A day after the city of Minneapolis released a database containing more than 2 million license plate scans, Mayor R.T. Rybak took rare action aimed at shielding the data from the public. The Legislature is already expected to debate legislation this session to restrict public access to license plate tracking data, which is largely derived from cameras mounted on local police squad cars across the state. But after complying with a request for Minneapolis' entire public database — featuring dates, times and locations of all plates scanned in a 90-day period — Rybak asked the state for a temporary reclassification that would immediately make it nonpublic.”
MPR’s Tom Scheck looks into possible legislative action on gun control, come January:“It's likely that discussion will occur soon as state Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, intends to hold hearings on gun control issues when he takes over as chair of the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee. As an example of the measures that might be on the table, Dibble said he wants background checks on people who buy firearms at gun shows. ‘I think it's time to open up this conversation to take a look at what we're doing,’ Dibble said. ‘The president said, 'Are we doing enough as a community and a nation to keep our kids safe?' and the answer is clearly no.’ … Gun control issues do not break down along party lines in the State Capitol, so DFL control of the Legislature does not necessarily guarantee any meaningful changes. One of the biggest supporters of gun control in the Legislature, state Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St.Paul, said he's not confident of his chances this year. He said special interests have repeatedly bottled up his efforts in past years. ‘The National Rifle Association has put the fear of God into most legislators of both parties, and consequently any time there is a suggestion or a bill or an opportunity for discussion about sensible gun laws, they are immediately struck down,’ he said.”