Criminal charges will not be filed against the parents of Rudy Sweere, a 3-year-old rural Wadena boy who died from an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound in December, according to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office.

On Dec. 29, Otter Tail County dispatchers were notified of the shooting in northwestern Minnesota, and law enforcement, emergency medical services and rescue personnel responded, finding the child with a gunshot wound to his head. The boy was transported to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

According to the sheriff’s office, an investigation into the incident revealed that the residence had childproof safety mechanisms in place, including secured doors and cabinets. The incident occurred in a room where the child was not permitted unsupervised access. However, a door equipped with a childproof mechanism was inadvertently left partially ajar for a brief period, allowing the child to enter. The handgun was stored in a closed drawer.

“After a thorough review of the evidence, the Otter Tail County Attorney’s Office determined there is no reasonable likelihood of a successful prosecution,” the sheriff’s office said. “As such, no charges will be filed.”

Under Minnesota statute, it is a gross misdemeanor to negligently store or leave a loaded firearm in a location where a person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access to it, unless reasonable steps are taken to secure the firearm.

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Authorities have identified a northern Minnesota skier who died in a weekend accident at Giants Ridge in Biwabik.

Christian Richard Hufnagle, 21, of International Falls, was pronounced dead at the Aurora hospital, according to the Gilbert Police Department.

The agency, which handles calls for Biwabik, reported that first responders were called to the hill for an injured skier Saturday. The release did not indicate the nature or time of the accident or the skier’s injuries.

Giants Ridge Ski Patrol staff brought Hufnagle off the slopes, and the Biwabik Ambulance Service transported him to the nearby hospital, but lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.

Police said the Giants Ridge Ski Patrol was assisting in an investigation of the accident.

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Richard Carlbom has been elected as the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Carlbom has served as mayor of St. Joseph and currently serves as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Tim Walz.

Carlbom was elected during Saturday’s State Central Committee Business Conference at Edina High School.

“Our DFL coalition is united and ready to fight back and win,” Carlbom said in a statement. “Minnesotans are fed up with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and we are going to help them get involved right now, not two years from now. This is our chance to grow our party and help Minnesotans join the fight for a better future. Democrats across the country have looked to the Minnesota DFL as a model for how to win and improve people’s lives, and we are going to build on those successes together.”

The position was previously held by Ken Martin, who was elected the head of the Democratic National Committee in February. Martin’s selection came as Republicans in November took control of the White House and Congress.

“A heartfelt congratulations to the new chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, my friend: Richard Carlbom,” Martin said in a statement. “I’ve known Richard since he was first elected as Mayor of Saint Joseph. He’s fought for Minnesota families his whole career and — with the Trump Administration coming after communities everywhere — he understands exactly what’s at stake right now. Minnesota has one of the strongest state parties in the country and I am confident it will remain in good hands under Richard’s leadership.”

Carlbom got his start in politics as a College Democrat in 2002. He was elected as mayor of St. Joseph in 2004 just months after graduating from St. John’s University in Collegeville. Soon after, he became a field organizer with the DFL during the 2006 election cycle. He went on to work as campaign manager for then-U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in 2010, when Walz overcame a national Republican wave and won reelection.

In 2012, Carlbom was the campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families — the ballot campaign that made Minnesota the first state in the nation to defeat a constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage.

Carlbom has served as Walz’s deputy chief of staff since March 2023.

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By JACQUES BILLEAUD

A man accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas will remain jailed until his trial on federal charges of arson and possessing an explosive device, a judge ruled Monday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah concluded no pretrial release conditions could be imposed on Paul Hyon Kim, 36, to assure the public’s safety, citing the dangerous nature of the crimes and saying it wasn’t a matter of burglary or simple vandalism.

“What occurred in this instance was so much more violent and dangerous than those acts. The acts appeared to be intended to create fear,” Youchah said.

The judge also said she found it fair to say “the intent of the act was to influence and potentially coerce others into action.”

Authorities say Kim threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles and fired several gunshots in a Tesla service center’s parking lot early March 18. No one was injured.

Security video played at a police news conference last week showed the suspect, dressed all in black and covering his face, paint the word “resist” across the glass doors of the service center.

Prosecutor Jacob Operskalski said Kim posed a danger to the community. He said it wasn’t clear what Kim mean by writing “resist” on the doors.

“We can surmise the defendant is going to resist court orders,” Operskalski said.

Michael Becker, an attorney representing Kim, called the attack a “glorified property crime with political overtones” and said “(Tesla CEO) Elon Musk’s undue influence on our federal government cannot be overstated enough.”

There has been an uptick of attacks on property with the Tesla logo across the U.S. since President Donald Trump took office and tapped Musk for a prominent role overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency that has conducted large-scale federal layoffs.

Some of the most prominent instances have taken place in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest.

Authorities say an Oregon man threw several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returned another day and shot out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard, more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom, damaging vehicles and windows.

A 70-year-old Idaho man was arrested Saturday for aggravated battery after allegedly driving his vehicle into a man who had been driving a pickup with pro-Trump flags during a protest at a Tesla dealership in suburban Boise. The pickup driver drove himself to a hospital, where he was treated and released.

Prosecutors in Colorado have charged a woman in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships that authorities say also included Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on a building. And federal agents in South Carolina have arrested a man accused of setting fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston.

Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this story.