A Minnesota state senator from Woodbury faces a felony burglary charge after authorities say she broke into her stepmother’s Detroit lakes Minnesota home to retrieve her late father’s ashes and other sentimental items.

Nicole Mitchell, 49, a DFL lawmaker from Woodbury was arrested early Monday, April 22, 2024 after police in Detroit Lakes were called to a home for a burglary.  (Courtesy of the Becker County Sheriff’s Office)

Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmaker, was arrested early Monday morning after police found her inside the home, according to charging documents filed Tuesday in Becker County District Court.

Charges say the senator told arresting officers her father had recently died and her stepmother had stopped communicating with family members, and that she wanted her late father’s ashes, and belongings including pictures, a flannel shirt, and other items of sentimental value.

Public records and an obituary posted by a Detroit Lakes funeral home show that Mitchell’s father, who died last month, and stepmother lived on the same block of the same road in Detroit Lakes as where the senator was arrested.

According to charges:

At around 4:45 a.m. Monday, Detroit Lakes police responded to a 911 call from a woman reporting a burglary of her home in the 700 block of Granger Road in Detroit Lakes. When officers arrived, they searched the house and found a person inside.

Officers then arrested Mitchell, 49, who while being detained told the stepmother “something to the effect of” she was “just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”

The senator was dressed in all-black clothing and was wearing a black hat. Officers also discovered a flashlight in a sock covering which court documents said appeared to be a modification to reduce the amount of light that it would emit.

Mitchell told police she had made the roughly 200-mile drive from Woodbury to Detroit Lakes starting at around 1 a.m. early Sunday morning, court documents said. She admitted to entering her stepmother’s home through a basement window where she had left a backpack containing her drivers’ license, two laptop computers and a cell phone.

“Clearly I’m not good at this,” Mitchell allegedly told officers, later adding she knew “she did something bad.”

Mitchell was booked into the Becker County jail early Monday morning on suspicion of first-degree burglary. She was scheduled to make her first appearance in court at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

First-degree burglary is a felony offense with a minimum punishment of six months in jail or a county workhouse, a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, a $35,000 fine, or both.

Becker County Brian McDonald could not immediately be reached for comment.

DFLers have 34 seats in the Senate, compared with the 33 held by Republicans. If Mitchell can’t return to the Capitol, Democrats may have trouble passing partisan legislation between now and the end of session later next month.

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Whatever happened to Google’s “Don’t be evil” motto?

That corporate maxim is apparently gone, and the Internet behemoth has decided to display its super villain side. The latest example is a campaign in California to demonstrate just how easily the company could crush news outlets if state lawmakers dare to pass a law requiring that tech companies, such as Google, share advertising revenue with the journalists who produce much of the content on their platforms.

Google announced last week that it would remove links to California news websites from search results. The company portrayed the move as a “test” to prepare for the possible implications if the California Journalism Preservation Act passes. The company has not said how long or how widespread the test will be.

We’re not fooled and neither should be anyone else who cares about the survival of independent news reporting.

The California Journalism Preservation Act is supported by the California News Publishers Association and the News/Media Alliance, of which The Los Angeles Times is a member.

Google’s announcement was clearly intended as a threat to news organizations and state lawmakers to stand down — or else. Specifically, Google could shut news organizations out of the world’s primary search engine, making their content difficult to find and imperiling their existence. It was also a show of force to lawmakers to let them know that attempts to regulate Google would not be tolerated.

Google certainly isn’t the first company to play hardball in politics or business. However, this is more than lobbying lawmakers. Google has a near-monopoly on online search, accounting for 90% of the market, and many people find their news by conducting searches. Removing local news outlets from its search results means Californians will not be able to find important information about what’s happening in their communities and with their government. That undermines democracy, which relies upon an informed citizenry.

Given the power of Google and other major tech platforms, why would news outlets take on this fight? Because the status quo is unsustainable. It’s important to understand how most news organizations fund their reporting, and why there’s a national and worldwide effort to press Google, Meta and other major platforms to share advertising revenue with the companies and people producing news content.

News outlets rely on revenue from advertising. When people click on a link to view a story on a news website, the outlet gets a portion of the revenue from ads that appear next to the story. Google argues that it supports news operations by linking to stories, which helps drive traffic to news websites. That’s true. But it and other platforms increasingly cull facts from and post snippets of stories in response to search or to fill social media feeds, eliminating the need for people to click through to the news website. This means the company that pays to produce that news story won’t get the ad revenue associated with it.

Google, in particular, relies on news content for its search results. Try searching “Shohei Ohtani” or “earthquake” and see how many results are from news organizations. It’s a lot. Yet the news outlets, whose reporters, editors and photographers produce those stories, are not being paid for the use of their work. That’s a major reason why so many newspapers, magazines and other news operations have been forced to lay off staff or shut down in the last few years.

The California Journalism Preservation Act would require that large platforms compensate news outlets for the use of their content. The bill by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) was inspired by similar laws passed in Australia and Canada. It would establish a right for news companies to receive a “journalism usage fee” for their content, with the fee set through an arbitration process. The bill requires news companies to spend at least 70% of the revenue on reporters and news staff.

Wicks introduced the bill last year, but it was delayed so lawmakers, news organizations and tech companies would have more time to work on the details. There are still concerns, including how such a law could benefit big out-of-state news organizations at the expense of smaller local news operations. Those are problems to be solved but they shouldn’t stop negotiations or good-faith efforts to come up with a workable compromise before the first state Senate hearing in June.

That’s why Google’s decision to cut off California outlets now is so jarring — and it may have backfired. Lawmakers don’t like being bullied. Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire blasted the company, calling the move “clearly an abuse of power and demonstrates extraordinary hubris.”

Indeed, Google’s power flex demonstrates how much this one corporation controls access to information. If lawmakers weren’t concerned about that before, they should be now.

— The Los Angeles Times

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A missing date

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (National), has called on the Biden administration to “demand that the Israeli government de-escalate the crisis it started.” Apparently the CAIR calendar does not contain an October 7th.

Alan Miller, Eagan

Mental health and new moms

I am writing in response to Lisa Jarvis’ column (“Biden’s $12 billion for women’s health should be just a start,” March 24) to expand on information provided regarding President Biden’s executive order signed March 18. Little is mentioned in this column regarding the severity of mental health disorders experienced by women — specifically maternal mental health.

According to The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, 1 in 5 pregnant and postpartum women will suffer from a mental illness. Unfortunately, only 15% of those experiencing symptoms of maternal mental health will actually pursue treatment, and 9% of those women receive adequate treatment. This matters because according to the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, maternal mental health and substance use are the primary cause of death postpartum up to one year. Furthermore, untreated maternal mental health costs the United States approximately $14 billion each year. President Biden’s executive order calls for $5 million (funded by the USDA) in further research to learn about symptoms of and mortality related to maternal mental health disorders by avenue of WIC recipients.

Given medical assistance funds approximately 40% of births in the United States, this seems a great place to start. While $5 million is meager, we have to start somewhere.

After the birth of my daughter 13 years ago, I was diagnosed with severe postpartum depression. I was fortunate to have the support of my family and a pre-established mental health professional, but so little was known about the condition I shared with far too many women, especially those without the support my daughter and I were fortunate to have. As a current graduate student of social work at St. Kate’s, I’m happy to say my studies have taught me the last 13 years has brought bounds of research that has informed policy to benefit the mothers bearing the future of our country.

Ruth Eilts, Elk River

 

Shared responsibility

It’s called living in society. As participants in a community, however large or small, we are individually required, to some degree, to participate in the daily lives of those around us; even if only to pause in the street to allow our neighbor to turn slowly into their driveway from the street in front of us. We no longer burn piles of dead leaves in our yards.

If we lend a vehicle to a friend or relative, we are at least partially responsible if that person speeds through an intersection and disrupts traffic flow or causes an accident. If a young member of our family picks up a loaded gun we have neglected to secure and shoots somebody, we are, to some degree, responsible. We are responsible if a member of our family becomes dangerous to others, we are responsible to report to authority.

If the installation of cameras at intersections to record traffic-law infractions results in citations to the vehicle owner, that is also part of our responsibilities as citizens. And, if such installations result in fewer traffic accidents, that is a positive outcome.

It’s called living in society.

Carl Brookins, Roseville

 

Abusers and pets

I’m writing in response to the article ‘Domestic abuse and pets present a conundrum — New foster care program seeks to help victims‘, published in the April 2 edition.  Thank you for giving visibility to the work of the Minnesota Pet Foster Coalition and the work these organizations do to help remove victims of domestic violence and pets from situations where their lives are at risk.

Someone I love was in an abusive relationship where the abuser killed multiple shared pets; despite the awareness that this happens, before reading the article, I did not know just how prevalent the issue of abusers threatening, injuring or killing pets as a method to manipulate or coerce victims is.  In a National People and Animals Living Safely (PALS) survey,  97% of domestic violence survivors stated that keeping pets with them is an important factor when considering whether to seek shelter, and half of respondents would not consider seeking shelter without them.

With cross-agency collaboration, the Minnesota Pet Foster Coalition is better equipped to meet the urgency and complexity of domestic violence situations. I am appreciative to see local organizations get recognition for the work they’re doing for the well-being of people and animals.

Jess Rometti, Minneapolis

 

A parking-ticket puzzle

I’m surprised St. Paul Ward 1 Councilmember Anika Bowie was unaware of her parking and speeding tickets. She explains that “I haven’t received my tickets because I haven’t changed my address on my driver’s license.” Parking tickets are left on the car’s windshield and speeding tickets handed directly to the driver. She obviously ignored the court’s past-due letters mailed to her Roseville address. Did she not inform the U.S. Post Office that she now resided in St. Paul? The first lesson in politics is “tell the truth.”

Peter K. Butler, St. Paul

 

The pursuit of balance

Thanks to the Pioneer Press for printing “Liberal Bias at NPR, old-school journalism and the reluctance to admit a mistake” in its Other Voices editorial section. This editorial, which originated in the Chicago Tribune, addressed Uri Berliner’s recent essay regarding his concerns with the increasingly narrow Point of View presented by his long-time employer, National Public Radio.

Berliner’s original piece was published in the Free Press online outlet. While profoundly damning, it is a very measured and thoughtful critique of recent trends at NPR and, to a lesser degree, other legacy news outlets. His primary point is that, while NPR purports to present a broad perspective reflecting its public funding, it has increasingly adopted a role of “progressive” (strong liberal) advocacy over balanced journalistic presentation of all perspectives. It is far from “inclusive,” he argues, because it does not present views or information inconsistent with the progressive narrative.

While I am a Democrat and agree with a good number of NPR’s perspectives (e.g. hatred of all things Trump), my strong sense is that NPR has gone “off the rails.” I thought the Chicago Tribune editorial was very important and compelling in its support for Berliner’s piece. Again, I thank the Pioneer Press for publishing this editorial. In general, I find that the Pioneer Press does a great job in terms of providing journalistic balance; a balance that is lacking in other significant media outlets.

Peter Langworthy, St. Paul

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MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at least late June, after a Moscow court on Tuesday rejected his appeal that sought to end his pretrial detention.

The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was detained in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent over a year in jail, with authorities routinely extending his time behind bars and rejecting his appeals. Last month, his pretrial detention was continued yet again — until June 30 — in a ruling that he and his lawyers later challenged. A Moscow appellate court rejected it Tuesday.

In the courtroom on Tuesday, Gerhskovich, wearing a white T-shirt and an open checked shirt, looked relaxed, at times laughing and chatting with members of his legal team.

His arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg rattled journalists in Russia, where authorities have not detailed what, if any, evidence they have to support the espionage charges.

Gershkovich and his employer have denied the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.

Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips in soaring U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin’s military operation in Ukraine. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years — including WNBA star Brittney Griner — have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S.

In December, the U.S. State Department said it had made a significant offer to secure the release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, which it said Moscow had rejected.

Officials did not describe the offer, although Russia has been said to be seeking the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was given a life sentence in Germany in 2021 for the killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked this year about releasing Gershkovich, appeared to refer to Krasikov by pointing to a man imprisoned by a U.S. ally for “liquidating a bandit” who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya.

Beyond that hint, Russian officials have kept mum about the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeatedly said that while “certain contacts” on swaps continue, “they must be carried out in absolute silence.”

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.

Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an employee of the Soviet Union’s U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI, also on spying charges.