Brooklyn Center mayor proposes major public safety changes

 

View this email as a web page May 10, 2021 Tonight, look for partly cloudy skies early in the evening. There will be widespread frost late tonight, so bring in those hanging plants and cover those tomatoes. Lows will be in the upper 20s to mid-30s. Tomorrow will be sunny with highs near 60.  Get the latest on Updraft. Officials in Brooklyn Center are weighing major changes to public safety in the wake of the death of Daunte Wright last month.  Mayor Mike Elliott introduced the proposal as a city resolution over the weekend. It includes unarmed traffic enforcement officers and a unit dedicated to responding to mental health crises.  Elliott says other cities have experimented with alternatives to sending sworn and armed police to calls that are unlikely to involve violence or arrests.   "We think that that's a very successful model and we're looking to implement something like that here that's going to allow police to focus on what they're trained for," Elliott said, "and allow our residents to have other options in other types of support available to them when they're in need." The city council put off a vote this weekend, but is taking up the matter again at a council meeting Monday night — although it isn't clear when a vote may happen.  Minnesota reported no additional COVID-19 deaths in data released Monday by the state department of health. It's only the fourth day in a year with no  reported deaths.  It's a rare day, although it happened in March and April, as well. It comes as deaths have been ebbing from a spring rise, the daily average toll falling by about a death a week since mid-April.  Average daily hospital admissions have also been falling and the number of active cases identified in the state has dropped by nearly 30 percent in the last month. Deaths tend to lag illness and hospitalization, so the average daily toll looks like it will continue to decline.  Vaccinations, however, continue to ebb — falling below 10,000 for the third time in a week. It's the first time that's happened in the state since February, when doses were in short supply. Subscribe to our Minnesota Today podcast to get the up-to-date Minnesota news twice daily. — Tim Nelson Federal rescue dollars to start flowing to Minnesota this week Minnesota will get more money than previously expected from a federal COVID-19 rescue package, and that $2.83 billion is certain to factor heavily into a state budget deal. FDA OKs Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 12-15 age group The Food and Drug Administration says children 12 to 15 years old are now eligible to receive a key COVID-19 vaccine, as the agency on Monday expanded its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Anthea Yur, 'raising the vibration' of the Asian community Activist and organizer Anthea Yur has stepped up in the last year to support Minnesota communities of color and draw attention to violence against Asian Americans. Americans will lose unemployment benefits if they turn down jobs, Biden says Those collecting unemployment benefits under the American Rescue Plan must accept "suitable" employment when offered, President Joe Biden said on Monday, responding to last week's underwhelming April jobs report. There have been, on average, 10 mass shootings in the U.S. each week this year We're just 18 weeks into 2021, and already the U.S. has experienced 194 shootings in which four or more people were shot or killed, excluding the shooter. University of Colorado president says he will step down University of Colorado President and former Minnesota U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy announced Monday he would be stepping down from his position. 20 reported killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza after Hamas fires rockets A new round of Israeli-Palestinian violence continued to escalate Monday as Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza toward Jerusalem and Israel responded with airstrikes. SPONSOR   Cats take 'If I fits I sits' seriously, even if the space is just an illusion If you've spent any time around cats, you've seen them curl up in cozy spaces. A new study on feline cognition shows that they also like to sit in snug squares created by a kind of optical illusion. Preference Center ❘ Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Minnesota Public Radio 480 Cedar Street Saint Paul, MN, 55101