A special primary election on Tuesday will determine the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee for the state Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Wodbury, who was convicted on felony burglary charges in July.

Vying for the DFL nod in Senate District 47 are two sitting state representatives: Rep. Ethan Cha, DFL-Woodbury, and Amanda Hemmingsen Jaeger, DFL-Woodbury. Hemmingsen Jaeger won the District 47 DFL endorsement at the Aug. 12 convention.

Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (Courtesy of the candidate)

The winner of the primary will face Republican Dwight Dorau in a Nov. 4 special election. District 47 includes the city of Woodbury in Washington County and the southern part of the city of Maplewood in Ramsey County.

The special election’s outcome could change the balance of power in the Minnesota Senate, where the DFL has a one-seat majority.

Woodbury has favored DFLers in recent elections, though many expect Republicans to invest in the race as victory would flip control of the Senate. Democrats have controlled the chamber since the 2022 election.

Rep. Ethan Cha. (Courtesy of the Minnesota House of Representatives)

The circumstances leading to the vacancy — Mitchell’s criminal conviction and unwillingness to resign even as she was stripped of committee assignments and DFL caucus involvement — could prove a potent message for Republicans, former lawmakers from the area have said.

Still, it would be a steep climb for the GOP as the east metro suburbs have become bluer.

Mitchell, a DFLer, won election to the Senate with nearly 59% of the vote in 2022. Hemmingsen-Jaeger won House District 47A, which falls in the Senate district, with more than 60% of the vote in 2024 and 2022.

Dorau, a retired Air Force commander, ran against Cha in the 2024 election for House District 47B and lost by nearly 9 percentage points.

Both DFL candidates’ House districts fall within the Senate district. Each are in their second terms in office, Hemmingsen-Jaeger won reelection last year with 61% of the vote and Cha with 54%.

Senate District 29 election

Mitchell’s former district isn’t the only pending special election for state Senate. Republican Sen. Bruce Anderson of Buffalo died unexpectedly in July, leaving a vacancy in the District 29 seat.

On Tuesday, primary voters will pick one of three candidates for the GOP nomination: Rachel Davis, Michael Holmstrom Jr. and Bradley Kurtz.

The winner will face sole DFL candidate Louis McNutt in a Nov. 4 special election for Senate District 29, which includes most of Wright County, and parts of Meeker and Hennepin counties.

District 29 heavily favors Republicans and is not seen by political observers as an especially competitive race.

Record year for special elections

The special primaries come amid a record year for special elections in the Minnesota Legislature. Gov. Tim Walz has called six total.

Vacancies due to deaths, criminal cases and a candidate residency dispute have led to the unusual number of off-year elections.

Absentee voting started on Aug. 18. Polling places are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More information on polling places can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website: pollfinder.sos.mn.gov.

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By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday called for a county coroner to resign after state inspectors found at least 20 decomposing bodies behind a hidden door in a funeral home he owns.

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Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter told inspectors from the state Department of Regulatory Agencies that some of the bodies had been awaiting cremation for about 15 years, according to a document from state regulators. Cotter also told them he may have given fake ashes to families who wanted their loved ones cremated.

Inspectors found a “strong odor of decomposition” during a Wednesday inspection of Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, about 110 miles south of Denver, and discovered the bodies in a room hidden behind a cardboard display. Cotter asked the inspectors not to enter the room, according to the documents.

Polis said Cotter undermined public trust with how he handled the bodies and should resign immediately. Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero also called for Cotter’s resignation at a news conference Friday.

“No one should ever have to wonder if their loved one is being taken care of with dignity and respect after they’ve passed, and Mr. Cotter must be held to account for his actions,” Polis said.

The governor does not have the authority to remove Cotter, an elected official, from office. If Cotter does not resign, voters could petition for a recall election to remove him.

Cotter did not immediately respond Friday to email and phone messages seeking comment on the calls for his resignation.

Cotter has not been arrested. Pueblo County District Attorney Kala Beauvais said no charges will be filed until a “slow and thorough” investigation is complete.

Investigators are still searching the property in hazmat gear and collecting evidence to build a criminal case and start identifying the victims, said Armando Saldate III, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. He said the bureau has received more than 500 calls from people who believe their loved ones may be among the deceased.

“We know that families are desperately seeking information,” Saldate said. “This is going to be a long and complex case. We have a lot of forensic evidence to process and a great deal of information to sort through from the public.”

Colorado long had minimal oversight of funeral homes, which allowed for numerous abuses. In one case, nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found stored at room temperature in a building in Penrose, about 30 miles from Pueblo.

The discovery in Pueblo occurred during the first inspection of Davis Mortuary, conducted under state laws adopted last year to tighten oversight of Colorado’s funeral industry. Before the change, funeral homes could only be inspected if a complaint was filed against them. State regulators said Davis Mortuary did not have any prior complaints.

Cotter was elected as county coroner in 2014, and his current term is set to end in 2027. He and his brother, Chris, bought Davis Mortuary in 1989 after learning from their father, who owned and operated funeral homes in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, according to the mortuary’s website.

An attorney with the National Funeral Directors Association, Chris Farmer, said the discovery at the Pueblo funeral home suggests Colorado’s increased oversight of the industry is working.

“These inspectors should be lauded for finding remains behind ‘hidden doors,’” said Farmer, the industry group’s chief counsel. “There are over 250 funeral homes and crematories in Colorado…It will take some time to inspect them all.”

Associated Press writer Matthew Brown contributed reporting from Billings, Montana.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday called for a county coroner to resign after state inspectors found at least 20 decomposing bodies behind a hidden door in a funeral home he owns.

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Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter told inspectors from the state Department of Regulatory Agencies that some of the bodies had been awaiting cremation for about 15 years, according to a document from state regulators. Cotter also told them he may have given fake ashes to families who wanted their loved ones cremated.

Inspectors found a “strong odor of decomposition” during a Wednesday inspection of Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, about 110 miles south of Denver, and discovered the bodies in a room hidden behind a cardboard display. Cotter asked the inspectors not to enter the room, according to the documents.

Polis said Cotter undermined public trust with how he handled the bodies and should resign immediately. Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero also called for Cotter’s resignation at a news conference Friday.

“No one should ever have to wonder if their loved one is being taken care of with dignity and respect after they’ve passed, and Mr. Cotter must be held to account for his actions,” Polis said.

The governor does not have the authority to remove Cotter, an elected official, from office. If Cotter does not resign, voters could petition for a recall election to remove him.

Cotter did not immediately respond Friday to email and phone messages seeking comment on the calls for his resignation.

Cotter has not been arrested. Pueblo County District Attorney Kala Beauvais said no charges will be filed until a “slow and thorough” investigation is complete.

Investigators are still searching the property in hazmat gear and collecting evidence to build a criminal case and start identifying the victims, said Armando Saldate III, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. He said the bureau has received more than 500 calls from people who believe their loved ones may be among the deceased.

“We know that families are desperately seeking information,” Saldate said. “This is going to be a long and complex case. We have a lot of forensic evidence to process and a great deal of information to sort through from the public.”

Colorado long had minimal oversight of funeral homes, which allowed for numerous abuses. In one case, nearly 200 decomposing bodies were found stored at room temperature in a building in Penrose, about 30 miles from Pueblo.

The discovery in Pueblo occurred during the first inspection of Davis Mortuary, conducted under state laws adopted last year to tighten oversight of Colorado’s funeral industry. Before the change, funeral homes could only be inspected if a complaint was filed against them. State regulators said Davis Mortuary did not have any prior complaints.

Cotter was elected as county coroner in 2014, and his current term is set to end in 2027. He and his brother, Chris, bought Davis Mortuary in 1989 after learning from their father, who owned and operated funeral homes in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, according to the mortuary’s website.

An attorney with the National Funeral Directors Association, Chris Farmer, said the discovery at the Pueblo funeral home suggests Colorado’s increased oversight of the industry is working.

“These inspectors should be lauded for finding remains behind ‘hidden doors,’” said Farmer, the industry group’s chief counsel. “There are over 250 funeral homes and crematories in Colorado…It will take some time to inspect them all.”

Associated Press writer Matthew Brown contributed reporting from Billings, Montana.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is allowing the robotaxi company Waymo to test a few of its autonomous vehicles in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, officials said Friday as the technology picks up in popularity in other metro areas.

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The company will start with a pilot program to test up to eight autonomous vehicles in the city until late September, officials said. The vehicles won’t be picking up passengers, since that’s not currently allowed by local rules, and are required to have a test vehicle operator behind the wheel while they zip around the city’s busy streets.

Waymo’s robotaxis are already in place in U.S. cities such as Austin, Texas; Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Annabel Chang, a policy head for the company, said the company is “pleased to have reached this next step in New York City.”

New York officials last year launched a set of safety requirements around the testing of autonomous vehicles, saying that the city “presents some of the most challenging urban street environments” for the autonomous vehicles.

In a statement Friday, Mayor Eric Adams said “as we continue to implement responsible innovation, we will always prioritize street safety.”