Minnesota Today®

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Minnesota Today
MPR News

Minnesota Today from MPR News brings you the most important stories from around the state. All on your schedule. Get updated on the latest news in about five minutes, every weekday morning and evening.

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County, state and federal officials continue to monitor the Rapidan Dam near Mankato, as the rain-swollen Blue Earth River carves a wider channel around the structure. And Minnesota's U.S. attorney Andrew Luger says federal prosecutors will take steps to safeguard juror identities after an attempted scheme to bribe a juror in a recent Feeding Our Future fraud trial. 
Federal prosecutors have charged five people in connection with a plot to bribe a juror to sway a verdict in a major nutrition aid fraud case. And eight small Minnesota cities will receive state funding to prepare for extreme weather caused by climate change.
Officials in the southwestern Minnesota community of Windom are dealing with flooding on the Des Moines River. The house perched over the eroding Blue Earth River near the Rapidan Dam fell into the rain-swollen river Wednesday night. And Minnesotans will have another shot at applying for an electric bicycle rebate next week.
Officials in Blue Earth County say the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River upstream from Mankato remains under threat of failure. But they also report the water flow around the structure is down slightly from yesterday. Highway 60 through Windom is among many southern Minnesota highways closed due to flooding. And the Lino Lakes City Council last night backed a one-year development moratorium that would temporarily stall a proposed housing development that includes a mosque.
As of 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, a house was still teetering on the edge of the newly-cut channel of the Blue Earth River by the Rapidan Dam. And Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park has closed tours to the mine due to flooding. 
Gov. Tim Walz and state emergency management officials held a briefing today to discuss the state's response to what the governor called, "catastrophic" flooding. The Rapidan Dam's structural integrity is causing concerns for downstream residents as flood waters may cause it to fail.
Rivers and streams across the region have gone over their banks. Gov. Tim Walz has declared a peacetime emergency so the Minnesota National Guard can help. And gymnastics fans will be in Minneapolis this week for the USA Gymnastics Olympic trials. Two Minnesota-born gymnasts already have Olympic resumes — Suni Lee from St. Paul and Shane Wiskus from Spring Park.
The Minneapolis Police Department released body camera video today from two separate fatal shootings involving police officers. On May 30th, police officer Jamal Mitchell was killed by a man who was later shot by officers. And much of southern Minnesota — and parts of northern Minnesota — are under flood watches until tomorrow afternoon. Heavy rain is forecast to continue overnight... dropping as much as five inches in some places.
The St. Louis County Board has declared a state of emergency as communities in northeast Minnesota continue to deal with severe flooding. And officials with Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth are monitoring the weather ahead of the race Saturday.
Officials are responding to floods across northern Minnesota... after as much as half of a foot of rain fell in some areas earlier this week. And both the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts have approved their budgets for next year.