Kare11
Straw gun buyers now risk felony charges in Minnesota
Until now it has only been a gross misdemeanor in state law to buy a gun for someone who is prohibited.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Buying a firearm for someone who’s legally barred from owning one is now a felony offense in Minnesota, punishable by up to two years in prison. If that firearm is used in the commission of a violent crime, the sentence will grow to five years behind bars.
Minnesota’s new straw purchaser law went into effect Thursday, signaling a new era in combatting firearms trafficking and violent crimes in the state. Until now, it was classified as a gross misdemeanor, which is why those cases were often turned over to federal prosecutors who could bring more serious charges under federal codes.
Gov. Tim Walz held a press conference at Bloomington City Hall to highlight the change and thank lawmakers for passing the bill during the 2024 Session.
“I’m just grateful there’s a vision to make Minnesota safer, there’s a vision to get guns off the streets,” Gov. Walz told reporters.
“That there’s a vision to reduce gun violence with absolutely no infringement on those who lawfully own guns who use them for things many of us cherish.”
Bloomington Chief Booker Hodges said people need to think twice if someone asks them to buy a gun.
“If someone goes and asks you to go to the store and buy them milk, that’s okay. If someone asks you to go buy them a gun, like Gru here, the light bulb should go off,” Hodges said, while holding a printout of a scene from the Despicable Me movie.
“Why is someone asking you to buy them a gun?”
The idea gained new momentum this year after Burnsville Police Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth were murdered during a stand-off in February.
Authorities say the killer, Shannon Gooden, used weapons his girlfriend Ashley Dyrdahl bought for him because he was prohibited from owning one due to prior felony conviction. Dyrdahl has been charged in federal court with illegally purchasing firearms for Gooden, who died from a self-inflicted wound after ambushing his victims.
“Our first responders, those who heed the sacred call to protect and serve warrant every protection we can give them,” Rep. Kaela Berg of Burnsville, the Democrat who was the main author of the bill in the House, told reporters.
Previously prosecutors had to prove that the straw buyer knew the recipient of the gun was barred from having one, but the law that went into effect Thursday adds the line ““or reasonably should have known” the person was prohibited from possessing the firearm.
Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said the new straw purchaser law will be another tool for the BCA and law enforcement partners to help clamp down on violent crimes and arms trafficking to those who have lost their right to possess a firearm.
“You don’t have to pull the trigger to be held accountable when a violent crime occurs in Minnesota,” Evans said.
“So, you should think twice before you decide to buy a firearm for an individual that’s prohibited from possessing it because you will be held accountable with a felony.”
Republicans voted against the bill because it also included a ban on binary triggers. Those triggers, most often sold as an aftermarket accessory, allow for a second bullet to be fired upon the release of the trigger. The law bans any trigger that allows more than one round to be fired with a single squeeze.
That part of the law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025. It will make those triggers illegal, whether or not they’re installed on a firearm.
Sen. Ron Latz, who chairs the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, acknowledged the binary trigger law may invite legal challenges. The timing of those lawsuits is uncertain.
“It probably would come into effect if someone is charged with a criminal violation of it,” Sen. Latz said.
“The criminal defense may raise the constitutional issue. The court would have to determine if the issue is ripe and if there is standing for it.”
Mike Olson served in the Secret Service for over two decades and has some thoughts on what went wrong and what could be done better by the Secret Service.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s no secret that the agency tasked with protecting former president Donald Trump are constantly on the lookout for threats, especially following the assassination attempt in July.
The heightened level of concern has former Secret Service agent Mike Olson questioning the actions of Secret Service agents on Sunday. Olson was in the Secret Service for over two decades, and now runs his own security firm, 360 Security Services.
“I have been a part of those golf outings in my career and typically there is much more security on those outer roads outside of the fence line,” Olson said.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He did not fire any shots and never had Trump in his line of sight, the Secret Service’s acting chief said.
Routh appeared briefly in federal court in West Palm Beach, kickstarting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump’s life in as many months, raising fresh questions about the security afforded to him during a time of amped-up political rhetoric. It prompted Republican allies and even some Democrats to demand to know how a would-be shooter could get so close.
The Secret Service’s acting chief said the golf outing was ‘off the record’ and not released a part of the former president’s public schedule.
“True off the record is going without all the cars and trying to go undercover so to speak,” Olson said.
Routh was arrested Sunday afternoon after authorities spotted a firearm poking out of shrubbery on the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing. He was spotted by a Secret Service agent assigned to Trump’s security detail who opened fire. Routh sped away before being captured by law enforcement in a neighboring county, the authorities said.
Olson said in his experience, there were few levels of protection in off the record outings, usually meaning there wasn’t a massive outside perimeter around the location. This is the part he has questions about, considering the predictability of where the former President likes to golf in West Palm Beach and the day of the week he usually golfs. With heightened level of threat following the first assassination attempt at a rally in July, Olson thinks even ‘off the record’ outings need to be treated as a normal event.
“I am saying across the board, we need to really step things up between now and the election,” Olson said.
The U.S. surgeon general calls parental stress an urgent public health issue that requires the nation’s immediate awareness and action.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — We all know parenting can be stressful but the U.S. surgeon general said it goes beyond that.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has issued an advisory on parental stress, calling attention to an “urgent public health issue.” Murthy said. “advisories are reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action.”
Dr. Murthy said there are many factors affecting parents today. Beyond the traditional challenges, he mentions “there are new stressors that previous generations didn’t have to consider. These include the complexity of managing social media, parents’ concerns about the youth mental health crisis, and an epidemic of loneliness that disproportionately affects young people and parents, just to name a few.”
Meghan Tompkins of Golden Valley is a mom to three — ages 5, 3 and 11 months.
“My husband and I were just talking about it the other day, actually… deciding if we want to have another kid or not. We’re almost at this point, even with a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old and just their kind of basic activities… there’s kind of an expectation to put your kids in all these things and try everything and you want them to. But then we also feel like we’re kind of capped out almost,” Tompkins said.
According to the surgeon general’s advisory, 41% of parents say most days they are so stressed they cannot function.
“I try to talk to my mom about it and tell her that it’s different, that it is more stressful and the stresses are different, and she doesn’t really understand it,” said Emma Skala of Minneapolis.
Skala’s kids are ages 7 and 4. Skala homeschools her boys, citing school shootings as one of the main reasons behind her decision.
According to the report, school shootings or the possibility of one are a significant source of stress for nearly 75% of parents.
“I can’t fathom putting a small child through an active shooter drill. I just, it breaks my heart every time I hear about it. I cry every time I hear about any kind of school shooting that happens. That’s I think one of the main things is the safety of our children,” Skala.
The advisory also mentions nearly 70% of parents say parenting is now more difficult than it was 20 years ago, with children’s use of technology and social media as the top two cited reasons.
“I let my 3.5-year-old scroll YouTube and I’m nervous about that. Should I really be letting him do that? How much control do I have on that? And you know that we need to limit screen time, and yet that’s an easy go-to when I’m trying to make dinner… I’m trying to do my part-time job from home,” said Kristi Thao, who also has a 3-month-old baby.
Thao also mentioned how social media and access to so much advice can put more pressure on parents.
“Then we try all these different things but it’s like, then there’s so many options. I think having too many options can also make things more stressful. There’s too many choices,” Thao said.
The advisory acknowledges an “intensifying culture of comparison—often propagated by influencers and online trends—with unrealistic expectations around the milestones, parenting strategies, achievements and status symbols that kids and parents must pursue. Chasing these unreasonable expectations has left many families feeling exhausted, burned out, and perpetually behind.”
Lena K. Gardner became a mom three months before the pandemic.
“In my personal journey, I am a single mom by choice,” Gardner said. “And I thought I could do that because I have a big support network but COVID took that all away.”
The advisory states, “This high level of stress among parents preceded the COVID-19 pandemic, and the pandemic notably contributed to additional stressors on parents and caregivers.”
During the pandemic, Gardner isolated with her daughter. At the same time, her daughter would only sleep for 1.5 hours at a time before waking up.
“I became so sleep-deprived, I started having hallucinations. I called my therapist and I was like, ‘That’s it. Motherhood has broken me.’ And she said, ‘No it hasn’t. This is the first sign of extreme sleep deprivation.’ And she’s like, ‘You need help,'” Gardner recalled.
Once her daughter was in daycare, Gardner said she had to navigate daycare closures or exclusions during the pandemic.
“It still happens. Your kid gets COVID. They’re excluded for how many days and you’re left to bear the brunt of it,” said Gardner, whose parents have both passed away.
The report said social isolation and lack of social support can lead to heightened stress. On top of that, parents, on average, are working more than before.
“Most people are required to be at their jobs from something like 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. But schooling is from like 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it just doesn’t make logistical sense,” Gardner said.
She went on to say, “There are a lot of solutions and it baffles me why we’re not doing them more.”
Dr. Murthy mentioned the need for a cultural shift that recognizes the importance of raising children.
At the same time, he also pointed to the need for policy changes. Among his recommendations include promoting and expanding funding for programs such as Head Start and the Healthy Start program, establishing a national paid family and medical leave program, and ensuring parents and caregivers have access to affordable and high-quality mental health care.
The full advisory can be found, here.
Crews in northern Minnesota are still battling the Wood Lake Fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
ELY, Minn. — A wildfire in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has grown to 27 acres, causing the closure of more areas and portages.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, there was a small amount of rain overnight, and fire activity is minimal. Firefighters are working to suppress and contain the blaze.
The fire was first detected last Tuesday morning on an island within Wood Lake, north of County Road 18. The fire at the time was about three acres in size.
Starting this Tuesday, the Forest Service will close more lakes, portages, and campsites to visitors, including Wind Lake.
“We understand that this will impact visitors, cooperators, and communities near the restricted area. This emergency closure is necessary for the safety of our visitors, our wilderness rangers and our firefighters,” states a press release from the Forest Service.
The closures will most likely be in place until the fire is declared out.
Northern Minnesota has been experiencing drought conditions. The Forest Service said fuel conditions continue to be dry in the area, and new fire starts are possible.
You can find the most recent list of closures by clicking here.
