In South Dakota, Democrats allowed voters with no political affiliation to participate in their June primary, but Republicans did not. The election initiative would amend the state constitution to end partisan primaries by having all candidates for an office run at once in what is sometimes called a ”jungle primary.”

Supporters of the change argue it would make elections better reflect voters’ wishes and ensure that 155,000 voters with no party affiliation can vote for their favored candidates in a primary.

But leaders in both major political parties have criticized the proposal, arguing that candidates of the smaller Libertarian and No Labels parties would be unlikely to ever appear on the general election ballot.

In a state where the GOP holds nearly 90% of the Legislature’s seats, it’s likely that in many places all of the general election candidates would be Republicans. Meanwhile, a broader electorate could help more moderate GOP candidates at the expense of more conservative ones favored by party leaders.

Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.

St. Paul police have released body camera footage of the moment officers shot a man at a busy intersection who was later suspected of killing three people in Minneapolis.

The department released 20 minutes of footage from body and traffic cameras. That footage shows police approach 40-year-old Earl Bennett, who held a gun to his head while walking barefoot and shirtless along University Avenue just before 8 p.m. Oct. 28. Bennett is hospitalized and remains in police custody. Police tried to de-escalate the situation by asking Bennett to lower the weapon and firing less lethal projectiles at him. Four officers fired at Bennett when he pointed the gun at them.

Bennett was taken to Regions Hospital where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

Footage from Officer Chase Robinson’s body camera shows police first taking a report from civilians of a barefoot man with a gun, then encountering Bennett just a couple minutes later. He holds a gun to his head and appears to yell and point at officers and people passing by.

“Drop the gun!” they repeatedly yell while Bennett insists it’s not loaded. He stands in the intersection of Snelling and University as officers take cover and attempt to wave traffic out of the way of danger. At one point a bystander on a bicycle says he will take the weapon out of Bennett’s hands because “he ain’t got no bullets” while an officer says “Do not go over there” and pleads with him to let officers handle it.

”Drop the gun, get on the ground man, we want to help you!” officers say, while less lethal weapons are fired at him. “We don’t want to kill you, man, please just drop the gun!” A moment later, Bennett appears to point the gun at officers and more than a dozen gunshots rang out. A nearby witness yelled “Y’all did not have to do that!” before around a dozen officers approached to check Bennett, who collapsed to the ground near the metro train tracks.

In a statement after the shooting, police chief Axel Henry said: “Our city experienced another episode of gun violence last week. Our officers responded to one of the busiest intersections in our state for a person shooting a gun. Given the location, time of day, and number of motorists, light-rail users, and people on foot and bicycles in the area, I am thankful more people weren’t injured.”

Five brothers and their father were burned when a unit at a storage facility caught fire in northwestern Minnesota.

The explosion and subsequent blaze occurred about 12:30 pm. Monday north of Bagley on 370th Street, the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office said.

Emergency responders arrived and found the man and children ages 6 to 14 with burns, the Sheriff’s Office said. The boys’ sister said the brothers were with their father at the time of the incident.

“Preliminary indications are that a propane tank had been leaking inside the metal storage unit, and when the doors were opened, the adult male lit a cigarette and an explosion ensued,” a Sheriff’s Office statement read.

Kyra Frank identified the five children as her brothers, according to an online fund-raising page she started to help the family with expenses related to the explosion. Frank identified the boys to the Star Tribune by their first names as Keegan, 6; Kaeto, 8; Braedynn, 10; Tannen, 12; and Zander, 14. She said their father, Randy Ritchie, was the man with them at the time. She said Ritchie also was in stable condition.

Frank said in the posting Monday that “all five are in critical condition and have been life-flighted to Hennepin MN for further care. … My mom is a single working parent and is now taking time off to be with her boys. She could use any and all the help given.”

Passersby helped the victims until the emergency responders took over and transferred the six to area hospitals, the Sheriff’s Office said.

In follow-up postings, Frank said all of her brothers were in a burn treatment center, but “there are still a lot of unknowns at this time but they are in stable condition. They have a long road ahead of them.”