A Minnesota tradition might get higher prizes, gas prices are still going up, and the trial starts for a man accused of firebombing an ice cream parlor — twice.
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
COMING UP...
[REPRESENTATIVE JIM NASH: THERE IS PROBABLY NOTHING MORE MINNESOTAN THAN A MEAT RAFFLE.]
A MINNESOTA TRADITION MAY SOON OFFER BIGGER PRIZES ...
AND... NEW LAWS AT THE TOP OF THE AGENDA AS LAWMAKERS RETURN TO THE CAPITOL...
BUT FIRST...
--VIDEO OF ICE SHOOTING RELEASED--
NEWLY RELEASED VIDEO SHOWS WHY THE D-O-J DROPPED ITS CASE AGAINST TWO VENEZUELAN MEN … ONE WHO WAS SHOT BY AN ICE AGENT.
IT HAPPENED IN MID-JANUARY IN NORTH MINNEAPOLIS.
AT THE TIME.. THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SAID THE AGENT FIRED IN SELF-DEFENSE AFTER THE MEN ATTACKED HIM WITH A SNOWSHOVEL AND BROOMSTICK.
HENNEPIN COUNTY ATTORNEY MARY MORIARTY SAYS THE VIDEO NOW SHOWS THE AGENT LIED.
[HCA MARY MORIARTY: IN THE LATEST OF A LONG STRING OF HUMILATIONS, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WAS FORCED TO DROP BOTH CASES WITH PREJUDICE, MEANING THE CHARGES CANNOT BE REFILED.]
THE VIDEO SHOWS A MAN … JULIO CESAR SOSA-CELIS … STANDING IN HIS FRONT YARD... WITH HIS PHONE AND A SNOW SHOVEL..
THE VIDEO THEN SHOWS AN ICE AGENT CHASING ANOTHER MAN TOWARDS SOSA-CELIS’S FRONT YARD. THE MAN IS CELIS’ ROOMMATE.
SOSA-CELIS DROPS THE SHOVEL AND RUNS INSIDE THE HOUSE..
WE THEN SEE THE ICE AGENT TACKLING THE ROOMMATE... CELIS RUNS BACK OUTSIDE, EMPTY-HANDED... AND HELPS HIS ROOMMATE UP AND INTO THE HOUSE.
YOU THEN SEE THE AGENT TAKE A SHOOTING STANCE IN THE FRONT YARD …
MORIARTY SAYS THE AGENT SHOT AT THE MEN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR … AND HIT SOSA-CELIS IN THE LEG.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS DROPPED THE CHARGES AGAINST SOSA-CELIS AND PLACED TWO AGENTS ON LEAVE …
--FLETCHER’S FIREBOMBING TRIAL--
THE MAN ACCUSED OF FIREBOMBING AN ICE CREAM PARLOR – TWICE IN 15 HOURS... IS NOW ON TRIAL.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SAY 30-YEAR-OLD FIROMSA AHMED UMAR THREW MOLOTOV COCKTAILS AT FLETCHER’S ICE CREAM SHOP BACK IN OCTOBER. ONE BROKE THROUGH THE WINDOW. ONE LANDED OUTSIDE.
INVESTIGATORS SAY A LARGE L-G-B-T-Q PRIDE FLAG IN THE WINDOW MAY HAVE BEEN A MOTIVATING FACTOR …
UMAR FACES UP TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CHARGES OF FELONY ARSON AND POSSESSION OF AN UNREGISTERED DESCTRUCTIVE DEVICE.
[MUSIC TRANSITION : 03]
--LEGISLATIVE SESSION RESUMES--
STATE LAWMAKERS ARE BACK AT THE CAPITOL FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
BILLS STILL UP FOR DEBATE INCLUDE... REGULATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY...
AND LEGISLATION TIGHTENING FRAUD OVERSIGHT AND HUMAN SERVICES FUNDING... AND A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE CHILD TAX CREDIT.
MOST PROPOSED LEGISLATION ENDED UP IN A CATCH-ALL OMNIBUS BILL WITH A FATE YET TO BE DETERMINED...
BUT... ONE BILL RIGHT NOW LOOKS LIKE A FRONT-RUNNER... TO PASS WITH OVERWHELMING BIPARTISAN SUPPORT … AND WITHOUT POLITICAL GAMESMANSHIP ... IS MEAT RAFFLE LEGISLATION.
AS MEAT PRICES CLIMB … SO DOES THE COST OF RUNNING GOOD RAFFLES.
THE BILL WOULD INCREASE THE MAXIMUM RAFFLE TICKET PRICE FROM TWO BUCKS TO FIVE… AND TOP PRIZES FROM 70-DOLLARS TO TWO HUNDRED.
[REPRESENTATIVE JIM NASH: YOU PLUNK DOWN A LITTLE BIT OF CASH … YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE WHEEL SPIN … AND YOU WIN MEAT! THIS IS FANTASTIC STUFF!]
IF PASSED… THE NEW RAFFLE RULES WOULD GO INTO EFFECT AUGUST FIRST.
--GAS AND DIESEL PRICES--
MINNESOTA DRIVERS... TRUCKERS.. AND FARMERS ARE FEELING A NEW PRICE SPIKE...
AAA SAYS REGULAR GAS AVERAGES ABOUT THREE-FIFTY-SEVEN A GALLON... UP 16-CENTS FROM A WEEK AGO.
DIESEL IN MINNESOTA IS NOW AN AVERAGE OF FIVE-DOLLARS-EIGHT-CENTS A GALLON... UP 20-CENTS IN THE LAST WEEK.
THAT MATTERS BECAUSE DIESEL IS THE FUEL THAT MOVES MOST OF WHAT YOU BUY…
WHEN DIESEL CLIMBS MORE THAN FIVE BUCKS A GALLON.. FREIGHT COSTS CLIMB... THOSE COSTS SHOW UP AT THE GROCERY STORE CHECKOUT LINE… IN THE PRICE OF EVERYDAY ITEMS LIKE A LOAF OF BREAD... OR A GALLON OF MILK...
--FARMING AND FERTILIZER COSTS CLIMB--
IT’S A DOUBLE HIT FOR FARM COUNTRY....
A KEY INDICATOR FOR FARMERS’S COST OF FUEL FOR SPRING PLANTING... IS NUMBER TWO DIESEL... IT’S UP ALMOST TWO DOLLARS SINCE JANUARY... TO AN AVERAGE OF FIVE--38-PER GALLON.
AND RETAIL FERTILIZER PRICES ARE SURGING... DEPENDING ON THE TYPE... FERTILIZERS ARE UP TWENTY TO –THIRTY-FIVE-PERCENT JUST SINCE LAST MONTH.
[MUSIC TRANSITION OR NATS SOUND]
--I-94 BRIDGE WORK--
[AND FINALLY: ]
IF YOU COMMUTE REGULARLY BETWEEN MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN ON I-94 … TAKE NOTE:
CONSTRUCTION RESUMED MONDAY ON THE BRIDGE SPANNING THE SAINT CROIX RIVER … CONNECTING LAKELAND TO HUDSON.
TRAFFIC WILL KEEP MOVING … BUT EXPECT LANE CLOSURES AND SHIFTS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AS CREWS REPAIR JOINTS … PATCH CONCRETE … AND PUT A NEW OVERLAY ON THE BRIDGE DECKS.
WORK IS EXPECTED TO WRAP IN OCTOBER.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.