“Shared jurisdiction” is coming to the White Earth Nation. Says Amy Forliti of the AP: “An American Indian tribe in northern Minnesota will become the first in the country to team up with federal prosecutors under a law designed to improve public safety on reservations, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday. The White Earth Nation will share jurisdiction with the Justice Department when it comes to prosecuting crimes such as murder, rape or felony child abuse, Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole announced Friday. Starting June 1, federal, state and tribal authorities will work together to examine those types of cases to see where prosecution makes the most sense.”
A Reuters story, by Sam Nelson, takes an optimistic look at our drought issues.“Increased rainfall and some snow are expected by the weekend and again late next week in the northern U.S. Midwest and southern portions of the region, which will add valuable soil moisture ahead of spring seedings of corn and soybeans, an agricultural meteorologist said on Friday. The extended drought last summer, the worst in 50 years, slashed more than 25 percent of the projected bushels of corn crop per acre, cutting supplies in the United States to the current 17-year low. ‘From 4 to 8 inches of snow or roughly 0.50 inch to 0.75 inch of moisture equivalent is expected in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin,’ said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA Weather Services. "It certainly will add soil moisture.'"
With our ruinous tax burden having already driven all of our millionaires to the Dakotas, I’m surprised to readthis AP story: “A South Dakota company is sponsoring a conference in Minnesota on investment and business opportunities in North Dakota’s booming oil patch. Sioux Falls-based Hegg Companies Inc. is holding the daylong conference Friday in Golden Valley, Minn.”
The latest in gun-grabbin’ … The AP says:“A Senate panel passed a bill Thursday night that would impose universal background checks for gun purchases, but that measure still has a tall and rocky hill to climb before becoming law in Minnesota. After hours of hearings last month on a dozen proposals to change the state's gun laws, the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed a plan that also would help county attorneys crack down on the owners of illegal guns and make it harder for people who lose their gun rights to get them back. … The bill passed on a 5-3 party-line vote, with all Democrats on the committee voting for it and all Republicans opposed. Those five Democrats are from urban areas of Minnesota.” All that goes without saying.
Green beer for the farewell?Tom Webb of the PiPress says: “The fragrances and Frango mints are all gone now. So is the popover mixer. And on Saturday, March 16, the last department store in downtown St. Paul slides into history, as Macy's closes its doors for a final time. But not before a farewell nod to St. Paul. The store will remain open until 6 p.m. Saturday, ‘even if everything sells out,’ said Macy's vice president Andrea Schwartz. ‘That's the day of the St. Paddy's Day parade and oftentimes our facilities are used.'" I assume she means indoors and not the outside walls.
First the Harlem Shake. Now this. Mara Gottfried of the PiPress reports:“The 'gallon smashing' prank might not have people crying over spilled milk, but it’s probably not making store managers happy. Here’s some background about the prank, which involves young people smashing a gallon of milk onto a store’s floor and sliding through it. Video of it has gone viral. It apparently came to St. Paul’s Midway Target on Saturday, March 9, about 11 p.m., when police say a 16-year-old girl carried out the prank and an officer cited her. An off-duty officer working at the University Avenue Target was called to the dairy aisle, where a manager was standing with an empty gallon of milk, said St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Paul Paulos. The officer asked the manager what was going on and he said it was a ‘gallon smash incident,’ Paulos said.”
PiPresser David Hanners’ court stories are always a good read:“[J]ust as they had done many times before, Erwin Lingitz and his wife stopped at the Cub Foods near their home so he could run in and pick up a prescription. And, just as the retiree had plenty of times before, Lingitz paused at one of the little tables offering free samples. This one was for lunchmeat, and the man took one and asked if he could take another for his waiting wife. He slipped it in his pocket. Two days later, the bruised and battered 65-year-old Gem Lake man was released from jail. The tale of what allegedly happened to Lingitz in the supermarket that spring day in 2010 is now a federal lawsuit. The retired lab machinist is suing Ramsey County, the sheriff's office, three of its deputies, the company that owns Cub Foods, the store's security guard and Twin City Lawmen, Inc., the company that hired the security guard. The suit says the guard thought Lingitz was shoplifting the free sample and manhandled him, and deputies who responded to the scene body-slammed him face-first into the sidewalk.” This wouldn’t have happened like it did if he had a conceal-and-carry permit.
A Minnesotan is cleaning up on “Jeopardy!” The Strib’s Neil Justin writes: “Drew Horwood’s life is in “Jeopardy!” — and he couldn’t be happier about it. The Maple Grove native has won eight straight times on the long-running game show that requires a wealth of knowledge on everything from Caribbean capitals to Broadway ballads. If his streak continues on Friday’s program, Horwood will be one of the most successful players of all time. Only two contestants in 29 years have won for more than nine days in a row. ‘I’ve wanted to do the show for as long as I can remember,’ said Horwood, 23, a systems analyst for Cargill and a former intern for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who has been tweeting her support.” I’ll take An Album Cover for $200, Alex.
Speaking of jurisdiction … . Stephanie Jones of the Racine Journal Times reports: “A Racine man has been forbidden from 'all the libraries on the face of the earth' after his alleged lewd and lascivious behavior in the Racine library. Tyree S. Carter, 20, was in court Thursday for charges of lewd and lascivious behavior and disorderly conduct after he was reportedly caught openly masturbating in the Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St. … Carter, who had been staying at the Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization of Racine, was transported to the Racine County Jail Wednesday, and Thursday his signature bond was set at $1,000. … As a condition of Carter’s bond, he was told to ‘stay out of all the libraries on the face of the earth,’ according to court records.” But … churches? Public parks? The mayor’s office? Lambeau Field?