Fallout from St. Paul Crime Lab failure
The fallout from the St. Paul Crime lab debacle reached Dakota County because they used their service. But now it’s making it’s way into other courts in the form of challenges from defendants on the reliability of evidence testing overall. Rice County Attorney Paul Beaumaster says defendants have the right to question the evidence, however, as a County attorney, they have an obligation to do justice. They want to make sure the lab they use follows proper protocol. Beaumaster says the crime labs in Minnesota are the best in the “world” and he encourages vigorous examination of their findings. Rice County uses another lab service, however they’ve used St. Pauls a couple of times. Beaumaster says his office has received no challenges yet.
Melchert-Dinkel seeks State Supreme Court action
William Melchert-Dinkel is back rattling his conviction cage. Rice County Attorney Paul Beaumaster says Melchert-Dinkel has filed a writ to have his case heard by the Minnesota Supreme Court. They’ve not decided on the matter yet but Beaumaster thinks a decision on whether the Minnesota Supreme court will hear his case should be rendered soon. In the meantime, a group called Final Exit has filed an amicus brief which is a “friend of the court”. The brief explains why they think our statute should be not be constitutionally allowed. Final Exit is currently being tried in Dakota County for assisting suicide. The state Supreme Court does not have to hear the case.
Zoning Board praises NAPA, approves variance
The Zoning Board quickly approved the variance for Napa Auto Parts planned expansion. They also praised the owners for their attention to detail in completing the applications. The zoning and planning commission meeting is archived online at kymnradio.net.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane… it’s a weather balloon!
Look skyward tomorrow and you’ll see a rare sight in Northfield. James Flahten with the Minnesota Space Grant consortium, a NASA college level program says one of the ways they try to encourage Minnesota students in space activities is by building miniature spacecraft and launching them using weather balloons. Flahten says weather balloons can rise as high as 80,000 feet and from that height you can see the curvature of the Earth. They will be launching a weather balloon from the Northfield Middle School tomorrow morning at about 10 o’clock. They’ll be setting up at about 9 o’clock and they invite the public to come out and watch. After the launch they’ll track the balloon with a GPS tracker for up to an hour. This is part of Minnesota Aerospace and Aviation Week. There are several events going on around the state, for more information log onto airspacemn.org.
Celebrate Peace
Northfield is invited to celebrate its tenth observance of the International Day Of Peace this Friday. A gathering will take place in Bridge Square from 4:30 to 6 p.m. under the theme ”Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future”. Citizens of all ages will share music, poetry, ideas, and experiences. There will also be an open mic time.
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