Latest Minnesota news, sports, business and entertainment at 3:20 a.m. CDT

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Walz promises COVID testing expansion, vaccine incentives

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz says his administration will soon announce expanded COVID-19 testing options and launch new incentives to get teenagers vaccinated. Minnesota Public Radio reports Walz made the remarks Thursday while touring a testing site Duluth. The governor said the administration plans to “massively expand” testing capacity statewide. Meanwhile, state health officials are seeking donations of services, products and unique experiences to offer 12- to 17-year-olds who get vaccinated. The incentives will expand to 5- to 11-year-olds if they’re approved for shots. Walz said he anticipates that age group will become eligible by the last week in October or the first week of November. 

LOST OWL

Minnesota Zoo’s lost Eurasian owl dies of injuries

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (AP) — A Eurasian owl that escaped from the Minnesota Zoo was found injured and later died. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that a neighbor found Gladys the owl injured by the side of the road near the zoo. She died by the time the zoo’s medical team got to her. It wasn’t clear when the owl was found. The cause of death has yet to be determined. Gladys escaped during a flying exercise at the zoo amphitheater on Oct. 1. She was seen around the zoo but zoo workers couldn’t lure her back to them with food or other objects. The zoo’s animal care team hand raised Gladys from a chick and worked with her daily. 

POLICE SHOOTING-MINNEAPOLIS-NOOR

Ex-Minneapolis officer seeks 41 months in 911 caller’s death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys for the former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a woman who called 911 to report a possible rape behind her home are asking that their client be sentenced to 41 months on a lesser charge. Mohamed Noor was initially convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. He was sentenced to 12 1/2 years on the murder count — but the Minnesota Supreme Court tossed out his murder conviction last month. Noor will be sentenced on Oct. 21 on the manslaughter count. State guidelines call for anywhere from 41 to 57 months for that charge. It’s not clear what prosecutors will seek. The presumptive sentence is four years.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER

Ex-cop who killed Daunte Wright lays out possible defense

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former suburban Minneapolis police officer who has said she meant to use a Taser instead of a handgun when she shot and killed Daunte Wright in April is laying out her potential defenses. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter’s trial is set to start Nov. 30. Attorneys for Potter said in documents made public Thursday that they may argue that Wright’s death was an innocent accident or an innocent mistake. They also may argue that Potter’s perceived use of a Taser was reasonable. Potter is white and Wright was Black. She fatally shot the 20-year-old during a traffic stop. The defense is also asking that the first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges be dismissed.

MODIFIED GUNS-MINNEAPOLIS

Modified weapons showing up at more Minneapolis crime scenes

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities say handguns and rifles that have been modified into fully automatic weapons that can fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute have been involved in a string of Minneapolis shootings and have been showing up at more crime scenes. Police data show the city’s ShotSpotter network has recorded 78 automatic gunfire activations of 935 total rounds, compared with five such activations of 42 rounds at this time last year. It’s not clear how many converted weapons are on city streets, but authorities say they have been tracking incidents involving them.

SCHOOL BUS CRASH-CLAY COUNTY

4 students hurt in northwestern Minnesota school bus crash

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) — Four children were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening after the school bus they were riding in crashed with a pickup truck in northwestern Minnesota’s Clay County. Sheriff Mark Empting said the crash happened at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday in rural Clay County. Empting said the preliminary investigation shows the driver of the pickup truck may have failed to yield, but the investigation is ongoing. The school bus was equipped with a camera, which will be used in the investigation. The bus was carrying students from the Ada-Borup School District. 

CONVICTED WOMAN-DEPORTATION

Walz asks ICE to stop deportation of woman who sought pardon

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz is asking officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop deportation proceedings for a woman he says will be in grave danger if she is returned to her native Ethiopia. Amreya Shefa was convicted of manslaughter for fatally stabbing her husband in 2013 in an act that she described as self-defense after she said he held her prisoner in her home and repeatedly raped her. Shefa sought a pardon, which Walz supported, but it was not granted. Now, Walz is asking ICE to “administratively close” removal proceedings while officials consider her applications for nonimmigrant status for crime victims. A spokesperson for ICE declined to comment.

PHOTO FLAP

Attorney: Photo business that closed working with customers

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An attorney for a North Dakota photography business that abruptly went out of business and left many wedding couples in limbo says the company is working to release photos and images, It’s unclear whether customers who paid in advance for uncompleted work will be refunded. Two state agencies are investigating the shutdown of Glasser Images last week and the business owner is facing several lawsuits. Fargo attorney Tim O’Keeffe said the photos and videos are being secured and “kept safely” on hard drives, but it’s a “logistical challenge” to get them to customers and it could take weeks. Glasser Images photographed weddings throughout the Dakotas, Minnesota and Colorado without charging for travel costs, according to the company website.

The Associated Press