Two Texans plead guilty in a Northern Minnesota crypto kidnapping, it’s lights out at a Winona lighting factory, and the fifth annual Two Spirit Powwow is back at the Minneapolis American Indian Center this Tuesday.
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
COMING UP … PRIDE AND POWWOWS COME TOGETHER IN MINNEAPOLIS …
BUT FIRST …
--CRYPTO BROTHERS PLEAD GUILTY--
A WENDY’S RECEIPT… A RENTAL CAR… AND A FAMILY CABIN IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA HELPED UNRAVEL AN EIGHT-MILLION-DOLLAR CRYPTO KIDNAPPING CASE.
TWO TEXAS BROTHERS PLEADED GUILTY TO TARGETING A WASHINGTON COUNTY HOME FOR AN EIGHT-MILLION-DOLLAR CRYPTO ROBBERY.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAY TWO BROTHERS FROM TEXAS… ISIAH AND RAYMOND GARCIA… HELD A FAMILY AT GUNPOINT IN GRANT, MINNESOTA LAST SEPTEMBER... ZIP-TIED THEM.. AND FORCED ACCESS TO THEIR CRYPTO ACCOUNTS..
PROSECUTORS SAY ONE VICTIM WAS THEN TAKEN AT GUNPOINT TO THE CABIN... WHILE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS WERE HELD HOSTAGE BACK HOME.
INVESTIGATORS SAY A CRYPTO-CURRENCY DATA BREACH MAY HAVE LED THE ROBBERS TO THE VICTIM’S HOME.
INVESTIGATORS FOUND A SUITCASE NEAR THE HOME WITH A GUN AND A WENDY’S RECEIPT INSIDE. THEY TRACKED IT TO A RENTAL CAR... WHICH WAS THEN TRACKED BACK TO THE BROTHERS’ HOME NEAR HOUSTON.
BOTH BROTHERS FACE UP TO TWENTY YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON.
--BLACKDUCK DISBANDS ITS POLICE--
POLICING WILL SOON LOOK DIFFERENT IN THE NORTHERN CITY OF BLACKDUCK.
THE CITY COUNCIL VOTED MONDAY TO DISBAND ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT AT THE END OF THE YEAR … AND START CONTRACTING SERVICE FROM THE BELTRAMI COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE IN JANUARY.
BLACKDUCK HAS STRUGGLED WITH POLICE STAFFING … AND CITY OFFICIALS SAY THE CHANGE WILL SAVE TAXPAYERS UP TO 40-THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.
ONE COUNCILMEMBER SAYS THE CHANGE WILL GUARANTEE FULL-TIME POLICE SUPPORT.
[BLACKDUCK COUNCILMEMBER: THEY'RE ALREADY COVERING THIS AREA. THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE US POLICE PROTECTION. THIS IS GUARANTEEING US THAT 40 HOURS.]
--ST PETER POLICE SHOOTING UPDATE--
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IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA... A SAINT PETER POLICE OFFICER IS RECOVERING FROM A GUNSHOT WOUND AFTER A POLICE CHASE TURNED INTO A STANDOFF.
POLICE SAY THE SAINT PETER’S OFFICER WAS HIT IN THE ARM... HE WAS LAST REPORTED IN STABLE CONDITION.
THE CHASE STARTED THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN MANKATO POLICE TRIED TO STOP A SPEEDING DRIVER...
THE DRIVER SPED AWAY ... AND LATER BARRICADED HIMSELF INSIDE A HOME IN SAINT PETER.
POLICE SAY MULTIPLE SHOTS WERE FIRED… THEY FOUND THE MAN DEAD INSIDE THE HOME.
THE MINNESOTA BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION IS INVESTIGATING …
--WINONA LIGHTING FACTORY--
IT’S LIGHTS OUT FOR A WINONA FACTORY …
GEORGIA-BASED ACUITY BRANDS LIGHTING TOLD STATE LABOR OFFICIALS IT WILL CLOSE ITS WINONA PLANT IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA … LAYING OFF 86 WORKERS … BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.
THE COMPANY SAYS IT’S MOVING MOST OF THE WORK TO AN INDIANA FACILITY.
--HIBBING WATER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT--
BACK UP NORTH …ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN FEDERAL FUNDING IS HEADED TO HIBBING TO HELP MODERNIZE THE CITY’S AGING WATER SYSTEM.
HIBBING PUBLIC UTILITIES SAYS ITS LONG-TERM PLAN INCLUDES WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT, TREATMENT UPGRADES AND WORK ON A CENTURY-OLD RESERVOIR.
--AMAZON DISTRIBUTION CENTER – CHASKA--
SOUTHWEST OF THE TWIN CITIES … AN AMAZON DELIVERY STATION IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO CHASKA… EVEN AS CITY LEADERS ACKNOWLEDGE NEIGHBORS HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT TRAFFIC, SAFETY, NOISE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS.
THE PROJECT WOULD BRING ABOUT 300 PERMANENT WAREHOUSE JOBS… PLUS DELIVERY CONTRACTOR JOBS.
THE CHASKA CITY COUNCIL GAVE PRELIMINARY APPROVAL FOR A 218-THOUSAND-SQUARE-FOOT AMAZON FACILITY IN THE BIG WOODS BUSINESS PARK… NEAR HIGHWAY 212.
BUT… MAYOR TAYLOR HUBBARD ACKNOWLEDGED EXISTING ISSUES FOR RESIDENTS.
[MAYOR TAYOLOR HUBBARD: THERE ARE ALWAYS CONCERNS… HOW’S THIS GOING TO IMPACT ROAD SAFETY, TRAFFIC… HOW’S THIS GOING TO IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT… HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY, OUR UTILITIES…]
THE PROJECT WILL NOW BE REVIEWED BY THE METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL REVIEW.
--MINNEHAHA DOG PARK--
A POPULAR OFF-LEASH DOG PARK ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WILL REMAIN OPEN … BUT DOGS WILL SOON HAVE TO STAY ON LEASH.
THE MINNEAPOLIS PARK BOARD VOTED LAST WEEK TO END THE OFF-LEASH USE AT MINNEHAHA DOG PARK BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
COMMISSIONERS SAY THE AREA HAS CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR DAKOTA PEOPLE … AND A DOG PARK IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH THE LAND’S SACRED CHARACTER.
DOG OWNERS CAN USE THE PARK AS-IS THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR … WHILE THE PARK BOARD LOOKS FOR AN ALTERNATE OFF-LEASH SITE.
--RED LAKE NATION RUN-OFF ELECTION ABSENTEE VOTING THIS WEEK--
ABSENTEE VOTING IS UNDERWAY UP NORTH THIS WEEK IN RED LAKE NATION’S RUNOFF ELECTION.
THE RUNOFF WILL DECIDE THE TRIBAL CHAIRMAN’S RACE BETWEEN FORMER CHAIRMAN FLOYD “BUCK” JOURDAIN AND INCUMBENT CHAIRMAN DARRELL SEKI SENIOR.
THE MAY GENERAL ELECTION LEFT THEM JUST FIFTEEN VOTES APART.
VOTERS CAN CAST ABSENTEE BALLOTS ALL WEEK AT THE RED LAKE NATION GOVERNMENT CENTER.
THE RUNOFF ELECTION IS ON JULY 15TH.
--TWO SPIRIT POWWOW--
AND FINALLY …
DANCING … DRUMMING … AND GAY PRIDE MONTH COME TOGETHER THIS TUESDAY … AT “NEW NATIVE THEATER’S” FIFTH ANNUAL TWO SPIRIT POWWOW.
TWO-SPIRIT IS A TERM USED BY SOME NATIVE PEOPLE WHO HOLD BOTH MASCULINE AND FEMININE SPIRITS … OR WHO LIVE OUTSIDE WESTERN GENDER ROLES.
ORGANIZERS SAY THE POWWOW HONORS TWO-SPIRIT AND INDIGENOUS QUEER COMMUNITY MEMBERS … AND CALL IT A SACRED SPACE FOR VISIBILITY, CULTURE, AND LOVE.
REGISTRATION STARTS AT THREE P-M … WITH A COMMUNITY FEAST AT FOUR … AND THE GRAND ENTRY BEGINS AT FIVE-THIRTY.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.