Sen. Nicole Mitchell testifies, says she was there to check on her stepmother’s welfare

State Sen. Nicole Mitchell took the stand Thursday in her burglary trial at the Becker County Courthouse. The DFL legislator Woodbury told jurors she broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home over a year ago to check on her stepmother’s welfare. Mitchell says she chose to enter the house through an egress window into the basement because the upstairs doorway looked barricaded on the inside.

Mitchell says she chose not to announce her visit so she wouldn’t agitate her stepmother, who was increasingly showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The defense is expected to rest following their final witnesses Friday. Closing arguments could follow soon after.

A federal grand jury has indicted two men on charges that they tried to sell hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine in the Twin Cities.

Three tribal radio stations serving rural and tribal communities in northern Minnesota could lose funding under a bill which proposes to claw back federal funding for public media. Tribal stations serving White Earth Nation, Leech Lake band of Ojibwe and the Boise Fort band of Chippewa all receive federal dollars.

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith was discharged from George Washington Hospital in D.C. Thursday after being given a clean bill of health from a doctor. Smith was admitted to the hospital after becoming ill on Wednesday. Out of an abundance of caution, she stayed overnight in the hospital for observation.

Republican Scott Jensen is launching another bid for governor. The former state senator and family physician lost to Gov. Tim Walz in 2022.

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Defense may rest after Sen. Nicole Mitchell testifies in her burglary trial

Republican Scott Jensen announces he’ll again run for Minnesota governor

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