Crime, Law and Justice

A federal judge on Friday sentenced a central Minnesota man to nearly six years in prison and ordered him to pay $3 million in restitution for burning down his St. Cloud bar as part of an insurance fraud scheme.

Bloomington police say they seized 24 pounds of the painkiller fentanyl from a man at a hotel in the city, in what they say is one of the largest fentanyl seizures in Minnesota.

One of the three defendants in a sprawling food aid fraud case who'd left the country has returned to Minnesota and made his initial court appearance Thursday.

The case highlights concern over the environmental impacts of drain tiles and ditches used to drain excess water off farm fields.

Brian O’Hara, who oversees policing strategy in Newark, N.J., told reporters Thursday that driving down gun violence in Minneapolis would be his priority as chief. He asked critics of the Minneapolis Police Department to give him a chance.

In 2019, Jingyao Liu sued Richard Liu (no relation) and his company JD.com, alleging she was raped by him after a business dinner in August 2018 in Minneapolis.

No other information, including the exact charge, will be publicly available given the suspect’s age, officials said Wednesday. Prosecutors said the case remains under investigation, and they're considering additional charges.

Trials began this week in Idaho for 31 members of a far-right group accused of conspiring to riot at an LGBTQ event. But calls are growing for federal involvement to bring greater accountability.

Attorneys for the former Minneapolis police officer involved in a fatal crash while chasing a stolen car last year are alleging that the Minnesota State Patrol wrongly destroyed evidence in the case. They’re asking for sanctions against the prosecution.  

Calls at 17 different Minnesota schools on Sept. 21st reported an active shooter or gun on campus in St. Paul, Austin, Mankato, Rochester and Cloquet, among others. State officials investigated and say the calls were all a hoax known as “swatting.” Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, speaks with guest host Tim Nelson about the investigation into who made the calls.