Star Tribune
Kim Potter was set to help lead use-of-force training in Washington state. Then it was canceled.
Kimberly Potter, the former Brooklyn Center police officer who served 16 months in prison for manslaughter in the 2021 death of Daunte Wright, was initially set to help train enforcement officers for the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board next week.
The training would have been led by both Potter and Imran Ali, the former Washington County prosecutor who stepped down from prosecuting Potter’s case, Ali said Saturday.
But the board canceled its “Remorse to Redemption: Lessons Learned” training after the Seattle Times called to ask about it, the newspaper reported Saturday. The board reportedly took its action out of respect for the Wright family.
Wright’s mother, Katie Wright, could not be reached for comment Saturday, but told the Times she was upset with the idea of Potter “having that spotlight.” A spokesperson from the Liquor and Cannabis Board did not respond Saturday to a request for comment.
But Ali, now senior director of training, consulting and investigation services at the Twin Cities law firm Eckberg Lammers, confirmed that the board notified him via email the contract was canceled. Board leaders did not give a reason or address any concerns with him beforehand, he said.
“I knew it’d be controversial. I understand that aspect of it,” Ali said. But he said he saw Potter’s involvement as a way to have other officers learn from her mistakes.
“I think that if we continue to silence thoughtful discussion, if we continue to silence training, we’re going to continue to make the same mistakes,” he said. “It was apparent to me that what she wanted to do, was to do whatever she could do to effectuate change.”
Ali stepped down from Potter’s case and resigned his position with the Washington County Attorney’s Office after receiving “vitriol” infused with “partisan politics,” he said, from activists demanding justice for Wright.
Many factors contribute to the total size of a college bill, but there’s no question the costs of a higher education have rapidly escalated. This week, Bethel University announced it would cut its undergraduate tuition by $18,000 a year as they move toward new pricing methodologies.
Scholarships, discounts and other financial incentives reduce college bills for many students, while expenses including room and board and study materials add to them. With that in mind, according to a chart published annually by Minnesota’s Office of Higher Education, these are the 10 most expensive colleges in Minnesota based on tuition and fees. The state has not released its 2024-25 prices, so the most recent state-published chart is from 2023-24:
Star Tribune
St. Paul woman sentenced for role in theft of valuable French bulldog off Maplewood porch
A St. Paul woman has been sentenced for her role in the theft of a valuable dog off the porch of a Maplewood home which was then held for ransom.
Chanessa Rena Gipson, 35, was put on probation for two years Tuesday. She had pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District court to a gross misdemeanor of aiding and abetting theft in connection with stealing a French bulldog named Pablo on May 8, 2023.
Judge John Guthmann set aside a 360-day jail sentence and dismissed two felony theft counts.
In December, accomplice Christopher S. Brigham, 25, was sentenced to a term of 1¾ years after pleading guilty to felony theft.
Pablo’s owner, Lynnea Sterling, told police she paid $10,000 for the dog. Limited supply has made the breed especially expensive; Frenchies are challenging to breed and have small litters.
On Wednesday, Sterling said Pablo has yet to be found. She’s resigned to the likelihood he’s dead.
“We had a sighting a couple weeks back,” she said, but nothing came of it.
Concerned that small towns and counties might not have the resources to develop an effective solar ordinance, the Center for Rural Affairs surveyed every local solar ordinance in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota to create a model of best practices. Their guide shows how counties across the region set down rules for solar arrays for everything from setbacks to decommissioning, ground cover, glare, height restrictions, screening, and operations and maintenance.
“I can say this is an issue that’s not unique to Hugo,” said Cora Hoffer, a spokesperson for the Center for Rural Affairs.
Local opinion was split at a Planning Commission public hearing in July, but the Commission ultimately did not recommend a solar garden ban. (Richard Tsong-Taatariii)
Hugo adopted a solar ordinance in 2016 that included zoning restrictions and a requirement that solar gardens be limited to parcels of at least 10 acres. It also requires ground-mounted systems that can’t be taller than 15 feet.
The first solar farm in 2018 was a 1 megawatt installation near the intersection of 165th St. N. and Henna Avenue North known as the FastSun Solar Farm. It drew complaints, according to a history of the issue prepared city planner Max Gort, and the City Council enacted a moratorium on solar gardens in February 2023 to allow time for more study.
The city eventually increased property setbacks for solar gardens from 50 feet to 100 feet, adding a 200-foot setback for public rights-of-way and dwellings on adjoining property. The revisions also restricted the size of solar gardens to five acres, required trees at least six feet tall at the time of planting be installed as screening, and required that ground areas not occupied by equipment be planted with native, pollinator-friendly plants.
After making the modifications to the city’s solar ordinance, the City Council lifted the first moratorium in July 2023.
