Minnesota Today
Senate candidates campaign at Farmfest; Presidential candidates campaign in Eau Claire
(upbeat music) - This is Minnesota Today for Wednesday, August 7th. I'm Emily Reese, and here's what's happening in Minnesota. Candidates for U.S. Senate appeared at a forum at Farmfest in Southern Minnesota Today. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar was there, as well as several Republicans running in the August 13th primary, including former NBA player Royce White. He says federal policies meant to cut methane emissions will be bad for Minnesota livestock. Slowly but surely, your animals and you, as well, will be deemed non-essential. You've seen it before, you'll see it again. You need people who aren't afraid to say that, who aren't afraid to stand up to those who would make that claim. And I'm that candidate, and because of that, they call me an extremist, and I'm proud of it. White was endorsed by the State Republican Party over several other candidates, including retired Navy veteran Joe Frazier. White has a cash advantage over his Republican opponents. The winner will take on Senator Klobuchar in the fall. 15 people were charged yesterday, and what authorities call one of the most sophisticated drug trafficking operations in state history. During a drug bust in March, authorities seized 1,600 pounds of meth, 30,000 fentanyl pills, and large amounts of coke and firearms. That seizure led to the arrest of Clinton Ward of Minnesota, and 14 others. Here's U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. This is one of the largest and most prolific drug organizations that has operated in Minnesota. With today's indictment, we seek to hold all 15 members of the organization accountable. - Because of the scale of the drug operation, prosecutors are using the kingpin statute in hopes of winning longer prison sentences for those charged in the crimes. A day after Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is a running mate. They've embarked on a tour of battleground states. Hairs and Walz appeared together at a rally this afternoon in Eau Claire, afterward they're heading to a rally in Detroit, Michigan. The Minnesota Supreme Court today rejected a challenge to a state law that makes it easier for people convicted of felonies to vote. Matt Sepic has the story. - The law which the DFL led legislature approved last year allows people recently led out of prison to cast ballots, even if they have not finished probation or supervised release. The conservative Minnesota voters aligns alleged that lawmakers overstepped their authority, and that the state constitution requires that people convicted of felonies serve all parts of their sentences before their civil rights, including voting rights, may be restored. Inoka County Judge Thomas Lehman dismissed the case in December, the Supreme Court justices upheld Lehman's decision ruling that the alliance does not have standing as taxpayers to sue because there were no allegations that the state miss spent public funds. The law restored voting rights to an estimated 55,000 people. I'm Matt Sepic, Minneapolis. - Two people were arrested in Duluth this morning when police and other officials removed an encampment, Dan Crocker has more. - For months, a couple dozen tents had been set up in the plaza in front of Duluth City Hall in the St. Louis County Courthouse, where it started as a pro-Palestine protest quickly attracted several people experiencing homelessness. The city gave people sleeping there a seven day notice last week to vacate the area known as pryly circle. Setting ongoing public health and safety concerns, the city's life safety team and police officers removed the remaining people. Two people were arrested for the charge of obstructing. Last week, the Duluth City Council rejected a proposed ordinance to make camping on city property a misdemeanor. They instead made it a violation punishable by a $200 fine. I'm Dan Crocker, Duluth. - At least four tornadoes touched down in Southern Minnesota during severe storms on Monday evening. The National Weather Service had crews out in the field Tuesday to assess the damage. They confirmed the four tornadoes all rated EF1 with peak winds estimated at 100 to 105 miles per hour. One tornado touched down northwest of St. James, another followed a path southwest of Janesville, the third touched down south of Wasica, and the fourth followed a path between Emmons and Twin Lakes. There were no reports of injuries. Most of the damage was to trees, crops, and power lines. Timber Wolf star, Anthony Edwards yesterday led the US men's basketball team to the semifinals at the Olympics and had 17 points, the US beat Brazil. The US women's basketball team is playing now. They're playing Nigeria, USA men play Serbia tomorrow in the semifinals. Twins lost to the Chicago Cubs yesterday. They're playing again today. And then the twins host Cleveland for four games, double header on Friday. And then they also play the Guardian Saturday and Sunday. Minnesota Vikings continue training camp in Egan, the first of two preseason games happens Saturday. The links resume at WNBA play next week. They've been on a break for the Olympics and Minnesota United also on a break for leagues cups since they got eliminated from that tournament. They play again, the loons do on August 24th. Your forecast for Minnesota tonight, mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and storms, lows in the mid 40s to the low 60s. And then on Thursday, partly sunny with a chance of showers in the morning, mostly highs will be in the 60s for Minnesota tomorrow. That's it for Minnesota today. Thanks for listening. Phil Picardy will have an update for you on Thursday morning. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]