Star Tribune
Salvation Army puts out call for bell-ringers for holiday season
The Salvation Army kicked off its annual Red Kettle campaign over the weekend, but it does not have enough bell-ringers to staff its donation buckets.
The nonprofit is seeking to raise $2 million during its holiday campaign, and a good portion of that comes from coins and dollar bills dropped in red buckets placed outside store entrances and on street corners. To reach that goal, Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to ring bells near the kettles and draw attention to the campaign.
The organization providing struggling families with food, housing and financial assistance throughout the year needs bell ringers to fill 15,000 hours, but so far only 4,000 hours have been reserved.
“Volunteers are the foundation of our Red Kettle campaign, because a kettle with a bell ringer will raise between $80 and $100 an hour — enough to feed three families for a week,” said Salvation Army Northern Division Lieutenant Colonel Randall Polsley. “All the analysis we’ve done confirms that a kettle without a ringer collects no donations, so volunteering as a bell ringer makes all the difference.”
Last year, the Salvation Army tested a new system at select kettles to allow donors to use credit cards and smartphones to make digital contributions. This year Salvation Army will use its “Tap To Give” devices at more Twin Cities locations.
“Many people no longer carry cash with them, and with ‘Tap To Give,’ we’ve made it incredibly easy to quickly make a small donation at the red kettle,” Polsley said.
Revenue during the annual holiday campaign was up last year, but still has not returned to levels prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said. But the need for help continues as families continue to face high prices for rent, food and utilities, they added.
“As more and more people come to the Salvation Army for help, we in turn rely on volunteer bell ringers for their help at this most important time of year,” said Sophie Crowell, volunteer relations director of the Salvation Army Northern Division.
If the verdict stands and the case proceeds to sentencing, Trump’s punishments would range from a fine or probation to up to four years in prison — but it’s unlikely he’d spend any time behind bars for a first-time conviction involving charges in the lowest tier of felonies.
Some of Trump’s supporters embraced his conviction, showing up to campaign rallies in T-shirts with slogans like ”Free Trump” and ”I’m Voting For the Convicted Felon.”
Because it is a state case, Trump would not be able to pardon himself once he returns to office. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes.
The hush money case was the only one of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial.
Special counsel Jack Smith is taking steps to wind down his two federal cases against the president-elect. One centers on Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, the other on allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold.
Trump, a Republican, has decried the hush money verdict as a ”rigged, disgraceful” result. He has claimed, without evidence, that the case brought by Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg was part of a Democrat-led ”witch hunt” meant to harm his presidential campaign.
A 39-year-old man has agreed to a $50,000 payment to settle his lawsuit that accused a Willmar police officer of an unlawful arrest based on race, the man’s legal representative announced Tuesday.
Christopher Flatten and the city were sued in June by Derrick Gilbert, of Willmar, on allegations that he was illegally arrested two years earlier.
The “walking while Black” arrest, as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called it, occurred when Flatten assumed Gilbert, who was walking to work, was another man, despite Flatten being unable to see Gilbert’s face, the suit alleged.
The ACLU said Flatten assumed Gilbert was another Black man he knew who was seven years younger, 4 inches shorter, 90 pounds heavier and has a much lighter complexion. The ACLU also alleged that Flatten knew the other man through “multiple interactions [and] knew what he looked like.”
In response to the suit at the time it was filed, the defense said Flatten “was acting in his official capacity as a … police officer and performing discretionary acts in the scope of his duties with a good faith belief his conduct was lawful, constitutional, proper and pursuant to probable cause.”
Gilbert said in a statement released Tuesday by the ACLU that “it was horrible to be walking to work and be accused of being a completely different Black man. I hope this will stop other officers from doing this to other Black men in Minnesota.”
ACLU attorney Ian Bratlie also issued a statement Tuesday that read, “We’re happy to have helped Derrick and sorry that he had to go through this. Black men should not have to worry about being over-policed in our society. It’s unjust, evil and un-American.”
The attorney representing the city and Flatten has been asked why the defendants chose to settle the suit, rather than go on trial.
Star Tribune
Nearly 3½-year term for teen who stole pricey dog while it was being walked in St. Paul
A 19-year-old man has received a prison term of nearly 3½ years for stealing a pricey dog from a woman in St. Paul and then trying to sell her pet for a quick buck.
Lonnie Ray Jenkins, 19, of St. Paul, was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated robbery in connection with the theft of the French bulldog-Boston terrier mix named Clementine on April 24 near the intersection of York Avenue and Arkwright Street.
With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Jenkins is expected to serve about 2¼ years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
The criminal complaint referred to another male involved in the crime, but police have yet to announce an additional arrest.
According to the complaint:
The dog’s owner said she Clementine, also affectionately called Tiny, were on their way to get ice cream late in the afternoon when two males started following her. She crossed the street out of concern for her safety, and the two males did the same. Once she got to her front steps, one male pushed her to the ground while the other grabbed Tiny and ran off.
The woman told police that Tiny is worth thousands of dollars and is embedded with an electronic identification chip. She feared that if Tiny didn’t get her medication, the dog would fall ill, she said.
Surveillance video showed two males walking in the area and wearing masks. Moments later an SUV picked up the males with Tiny.
New York prosecutors say they will oppose dismissing Trump’s hush money conviction
Chicago owed nearly $20 million in police overtime for special events this year; taxpayers may be on the hook
Prosecutors urge judge to consider postponing Trump’s sentencing until after his presidency
New York prosecutors say they will oppose dismissing Trump’s hush money conviction
Chicago owed nearly $20 million in police overtime for special events this year; taxpayers may be on the hook