6/7/2024 -- Feeding Our Future Trial Bribes

Crime

Feeding Our Future Trial Juror Dismissed Over $120,000 Bribe Offers 💰

The Summary: A woman attempted to bribe a juror in the Feeding Our Future federal trial by offering nearly $120,000 in cash in exchange for a vote to acquit the defendants.

The Incident: The bribe attempt occurred at the juror's suburban house, where the woman presented the cash-filled gift bag to the juror's father-in-law late Sunday night. The juror promptly reported the incident to the authorities, leading to her dismissal from the trial.

Trial Developments: The trial, involving seven defendants initially charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and other offenses, is part of a broader case encompassing 70 individuals accused of defrauding federal programs meant to feed needy children during the pandemic.

House Raid: Just yesterday, federal agents raided the house of one of the defendants in the case.

Police

Officer Killed In South Minneapolis Shooting Was Working Overtime Shift

The Summary: Minneapolis Police officer Jamal Mitchell volunteered for an overtime shift that tragically ended in his death, according to Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

Staffing Shortage and Overtime: The MPD has been dealing with a staffing shortage since 2020. O’Hara mentioned that the current staffing is down by 40%.

Circumstances of Mitchell's Death: Mitchell arrived alone at the scene of a reported double shooting in south Minneapolis. Mitchell was shot while attempting to provide aid to two injured men, who were not victims of the original shooting.

“Mandatory overtime, low staffing levels and then we have this tragic thing happen. The [City] Council has to work more now than ever to get those numbers up.” -City Councilwoman LaTrisha Vetaw

Business

❯ Fortune 500 Businesses: 17 Minnesota based businesses recently made the Fortune 500 list which is up two from last year. UnitedHealth Group was up one spot at #4 while CH Robinson slipped 76 spots.

❯ Ridership Up: Metro Transit ridership saw a 12% increase through April, marking a gradual recovery since the pandemic. However, average weekday ridership remains significantly lower than pre-Covid levels.

What Else We’re Reading…

Spring In The Twin Cities Was The Warmest In 8 Years 🌡

According to Meterologist Sven Sungaard, this past spring was warmest since 2016 and the wettest since 2019. Additionally this May was the 13th consecutive month of above normal temperatures, highlighted by warmest winter in Twin Cities history.

Sports

Vikings Lock In Justin Jefferson 💲

The Summary: The Viking’s Justin Jefferson made history with his four-year, $140 million deal that reportedly comes with $110 million guaranteed.

How We Got Here: The contract comes after over a year of negotiation and unknowns if the Vikings would resign him.

2024 Season: The Vikings are certainly hoping for a full, healthy season out of Jefferson after he was sidelines for multiple games due to a hamstring injury. He’ll have a new QB throwing to him with rookie JJ McCarthy looking to take the starting job.

Other Sports News

⚾ The Minnesota Twins struggles against the New York Yankees continued as they were swept on the road. On the bright side, Royce Lewis is back and homered two times in the series.

🏀 The Minnesota Lynx continued their winning ways with a vicotry over the Los Angeles Sparks. They are now 7-3 and sit atop the Western Conference.

🏀 Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori interviewed for the head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Quick hits

Headlines From Around The Twin Cities ✔

❯ Mary Moriarty accused Governor Tim Walz of meddling in her prosecution of Ricky Cobb, saying it’s because she is queer (Minnesota Reformer)

❯ Rainy weather is leading to excessive amounts of mosquitos for this time of year (Kare11)

❯ The Minneapolis police union approved a contract for a 21% pay raise (Fox9)

❯ The EPA is mandating the Smith Foundry pay $80k in fines and stop furnace and casting operations within a year (KSTP)

❯ Minnesota’s new e-bike rebate website crashed after an overwhelming amount of website traffic (Axios)

A rally was held at Hopkins High School after an alleged attack on a transgender student (WCCO)

Quick hits

Headlines From Greater Minnesota ✔

❯ Rainy weather has caused flooding in multiple parts of the state, including the Cannon River (Fox9)

❯ The body of the second missing canoeist was recovered in the Boundary Waters (MPR)

❯ A new marijuana dispensary opening near Walker this week will be the closest to the Twin Cities (Leech Lake News)

The Final Word: Double Rainbow 🌈

I spent some time at the Lake Harriet Bandshell on Wednesday night — of course snagged some ice cream at the Bread and Pickle. Just after a brief rain there was a beautiful double rainbow over Lake Harriet.