A bill in the Minnesota State Senate would require state prosecutors to notify the legislature every time they choose to not prosecute a felony case that has enough evidence to establish probable cause.
The bill, which had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday is part of the GOP package of “Law and Order” bills. It was introduced because some Republican Senators are unhappy with the choices made by some prosecutors around the state. Senator Scott Newman, a Republican from Hutchinson who authored the bill, said “The wholesale decision not to prosecute and hold those who have committed crimes accountable is not good for my constituents, and I don’t think it’s good for Minnesota.”
Rice County Attorney John Fossum said some prosecutors in the Metro Area choosing to not prosecute cases that began as a traffic stop in the wake of the Daunte Wright case has particularly irked many in the GOP. Fossum said he thinks not prosecuting based on that alone is misguided, but he also feels the bill itself is a misguided idea.
“Prosecutors have an obligation to not try cases that they can’t prove,” he said. His concern is the bill will limit Prosecutorial Discretion which could cause ethical problems.
“It doesn’t fit well with the role of a prosecutor as a minister of justice, which is one of our obligations. We are supposed to seek justice in every case. Not just convictions in every case, not just prosecution in every case, but what is justice. It’s a difficult balancing test, and there’s a lot that goes into it.”
Fossum said there can be many reasons to not prosecute a case. As cases are investigated, sometimes the facts become less clear. Moreover, he said, sometimes a prosecutor will choose not to try a case in order to protect the victim.
“Particularly if the victims are children. That gets to be really hard, and it gets to be a difficult balancing test. If the victims can’t or should not testify, we have to weigh that in terms of how far we take that case, and do we take that case to trial.”
Senator Newman’s bill was widely criticized by Democrats on the committee, as well as by members of the County Attorney Association who testified on Wednesday. There does not appear to be a companion bill in the House. The committee did not vote on the bill, but instead chose to hold it over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill later in the session.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Rice County Attorney John Fossum can be heard here
Locals offering ways to help humanitarian efforts in Ukraine
A local graphic designer has partnered with one of Northfield’s most popular gift shops to offer some help to those suffering at the
hands of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.
Julie Johnson of North Star Life Designs has designed a sticker in the shape of a sunflower, the national flower of Ukraine, emblazoned with the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, and Denny and Karen Vinar have them on sale for $5 each at their store, Petalina. One hundred percent of the proceeds are being donated to the American Red Cross, which in turn is passing the money through the money to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
The Vinar’s said when Johnson approached them about selling the stickers, it was not a difficult decision.
“Nobody likes war,” said Karen, “but this is sickening. The bombing of a maternity hospital, hundreds of children. You see this on TV, and you have to turn it off. It’s too much.”
Dennis, an Army Veteran who served in Germany in the early 1960’s, said he felt honor bound to help when presented with the opportunity, but had one condition before he would agree.
“I said at least 80% of the money has to go to the cause. We can’t do this and then have someone put the money in his front pocket. It’s important that the money go where we say it’s going.
“The guy who looks at me when I’m shaving in the morning – I answer to him. This has to be honest.”
After Johnson told him all the money would go to helping the people of the Ukraine, he heartily agreed.
The Vinars say in just over a week, at $5 each, they have raised more than $1000. And there are plenty more of the stickers coming.
“Julie brought us 30 this morning,” he said, “and she’s bringing more than 100 this afternoon.”
The stickers are available at Petalina on a cash-only basis. The stickers, along with t-shirts bearing the design are also available online at Johnson’s Etsy store under North Star Life Designs.
Rock & Roll Revival debuts tonight, tickets available
A few tickets remain for Rock & Roll Revival, the biennial music extravaganza put on by the students at Northfield High School.
The show will break with tradition tonight, when the fifteenth edition of the production debuts just one year after the fourteenth edition.
Last year, the show was presented outdoors in the High School parking lot. Ray Coudret, a well-known local musician, math teacher, and the director of Rock & Roll Revival said so many facets of the show had to be changed, and so many compromises had to be made last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision was made to offer another production this year.
The fifteenth edition of the show is called “The British Are Coming.” Coudret said it is a celebration of past shows, with a nod to the British Invasion of the mid-1960’s. The selection of songs from that era, he said, will include obvious choices as well as a couple of surprises.
“So, when we first started, you got your Beatles and the Stones, you have to start there, right? You have to have them. Then we have The Dave Clark Five with Glad All Over, we’ve got Lulu, we’ve got a little Petula Clark, Don’t Sleep in the Subway is the song we took there. And Dusty Springfield, definitely a big part of the British Invasion, and then one that you wouldn’t think of as British, but we have some Fleetwood Mac in the show.”
The show will run tonight through Sunday, and then again next Thursday March 24th through Saturday March 26th. Tickets are priced at $15 and are available online on the front page of the Northfield Public Schools website.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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