2/23/2024 -- Burnsville Shooting Details and MN Legislature Update

Police

Details Emerge In Shooting of Burnsville Cops and Medic 🚔

The Summary: New details have come out from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension regarding the shooting that left two Brunsville cops and one medic dead.

What we know: Authorities responded to a sexual assault allegation at the Burnsville home shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday. Upon arrival, officers conversed with the suspect Shannon Gooden, who declined to vacate the premises, saying that he was unarmed and had children present inside.

Gooden's Actions: Despite negotiations lasting approximately three-and-a-half hours, Gooden opened fire without warning, firing over 100 rifle rounds at police. After barricading himself inside the home, Gooden died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Previous Allegations: Court records highlighted previous allegations of physical and emotional abuse by Gooden toward the mothers of his children. One of the women said that during the decade they were together, the abuse from Gooden was constant. Additionally, Gooden had been prohibited from owning firearms.

911 Transcript: A 911 transcript disclosed the initial distress call made from inside the Burnsville home with a woman asking for “help” and referencing her husband before the line dropped. 

Mourning The Loss: A public memorial service for the three fallen first responders is set for February 28 at Grace Church in Eden Prairie.

Government

Updates from the Capitol: Minnesota Legislature Weighs a Variety of Bills 🏛

The Summary: Since the start of the legislative session, Minnesota’s House and Senate Members have been busy discussing a variety of bills.

❯ Re-Zoning: A bi-partisan group of legislators is aiming to ease local zoning regulations with a bill that would require cities to legalize various housing types, including duplexes and apartment buildings on lots previously reserved for single-family homes.

❯ Social Media: A bill approved by a Minnesota House committee last week seeks to apply protections to children featured in "mommy run accounts" on social media platforms, mandating parents to deposit 30% of earnings into a trust account for the child and granting children the right to request deletion of images once they reach age 13.

❯ Gun Reform: DFL lawmakers have proposed additional gun restrictions primarily focused on reducing the sale and possession of semi-automatic rifles. A slim Democratic majority and hesitation from moderates will make these proposals difficult to pass. 

❯ Event Ticket Crackdown: Rep. Kelly Moller introduced legislation that would require pricing transparency from event ticketing companies, disclosure of resellers' identities, and prevent bots from scooping up limited ticket quantities. 

❯ Legalized Sports Betting: In the first hearing on legalized mobile sports betting, House lawmakers advanced the bill to the State and Local Government Committee.

Business

❯ Public Workers Approve Strike: More than 400 City of Minneapolis workers have voted to authorize a strike within the Public Works department due to concerns over wages, worker protections, and safety issues, following the expiration of their contract on Dec. 31, 2023.

❯ Home Depot Reinstates Worker: The National Labor Relations Board ruled that Home Depot's Minneapolis store violated labor laws by firing an employee for wearing a BLM message on their apron, ordering the store to rehire the worker.

❯ Cyberattack at UHG: UnitedHealth Group reported a cyberattack on one of its subsidiaries by a suspected nation-state actor. The attack resulted in disruptions to pharmacy orders. Spokespeople for UHG said they isolated the affected IT systems and remedied the issue. 

❯ MIA Under Fire: Turmoil has gripped the Minneapolis Institute of Art after the dismissal of a key curator, Robert Cozzolino, sparking allegations of mishandling by museum leadership over equity issues and curatorial decisions. 

Politics

Phillips Says Klobuchar Should Not Run For Re-Election

The Summary: In an interview with Chad Hartman, Presidential candidate Dean Phillips continued his pleas for older politicians, including Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar, to step down and not seek re-election.

“The fact that Senator Klobuchar is running for another re-election is absurd.”

Unity Ticket: Phillips also floated the idea of a bipartisan “unity ticket” with Nikki Haley who is currently the last remaining GOP challenger to Donald Trump.

GAME

Twin Cities Insider Crossword

Test our your Twin Cities knowledge with our first ever custom crossword puzzle.

What Else We’re Reading…

Man Finds Evidence of Glacial Lake in Highland Park 💧

St. Paul native Greg Brick has spent years exploring the unexplored across the Twin Cities. The most recent find from the former DNR geologist is evidence of an ancient glacial lake in Highland Park. On the finding, Brick said, “We can start putting together a picture of prehistoric St. Paul. You had roaring waterfalls, giant beavers.” Read the full Q&A he did with the Star Tribune following his discovery here.

Sports

Loons Season Kicks Off ⚽

The Summary: Minnesota United is opening their 2024 season on the road against Austin FC this Saturday.

Playoff Hopes: The Loons barely missed on making the MLS playoffs last year and are currently being picked as a “bubble team” to make this year’s playoffs by many analysts.

Offseason Transition: Just before the end of their 2023 campaign, the Loons fired head coach Adrian Heath, kicking off an offseason search for a new coach.

Loons Find Their Guy: Just days before their season opener, the Loons hired Manchester United assistant coach Eric Ramsay who will become the youngest manager in MLS history.

Other Sports Round-Up

🏀 Gopher Men’s Bball Wins: In a “must-win” game to keep March Madness hopes alive, the Gophers basketball team secured an 88-79 win over Ohio State.

⚾ Pohlad Interview: Twins ownership has come under heat from many fans for their limited offseason moves. When asked by reporters at Spring Training, Joe Pohlad shut down any talks of future significant Twins signings saying, "[we] are going to live where we're at right now."

🏒 Scoring Parade: Against the best team in the NHL, the Minnesota Wild put on a scoring clinic in a 10-7 win versus the Vancouver Canucks.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ In response to heightened car thefts, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday calling for a national recall of defective Kia and Hyundai models (Kare11)

❯ St. Paul has committed nearly $32 million for affordable housing in 'the Heights' (Star Tribune)

❯ St. Paul City Council meeting ended abruptly by protestors calling for an Israel/Hamas ceasefire (WCCO)

❯ The race to replace retiring DFL Rep. Frank Hornstein has drawn recent attention with four Democrats throwing their hat in the ring (Axios)

❯ A Minneapolis man was arrested for killing a woman who was found stuffed inside her refrigerator in Los Angeles (ABC)

Beyond the Twin Cities

Headlines From Greater Minnesota ✔

❯ Actor Hugh Jackman visited Chip Shots in Rochester for indoor golf on Tuesday (Bring Me The News)

❯ Xcel Energy sold land in Becker to Microsoft for a future data center (MPR)

❯ State officials say the number of people who have died from car crashes in Minnesota so far this year is nearly double what it was at the same time last year (KTSP)

❯ Lake Superior has record low ice cover with total cover at 2.7% compared to 40% on a more normal year (MPR)

The Final Word: Spring Training ⚾

Spring training for the Minnesota Twins is in full swing down in Florida which means we can reasonably start day dreaming of more moments like this.

Have a good weekend!

-Patrick