Most Minnesota schools start classes Tuesday, but some got permission to start earlier

Most Minnesota schools are having their first day of classes Tuesday, but a few dozen got permission to start early this year. For 40 years, Minnesota law has required schools to start classes after Labor Day. Back-to-school season means back to riding the big yellow bus. But as Minnesota sees record high diesel prices, school bus operations are juggling more costs to get students to the classroom.North Dakota is banning some forms of kratom and is regulating others. People use the drug recreationally and to help with pain. GoFundMe pages have been created to support at least two people who were critically injured last week in a mass shooting at a downtown Minneapolis apartment building. Investigators say three were killed in the shooting, including the shooter. Several people were injured, including Minneapolis police officers.

The mass shooting in Minneapolis at an apartment building earlier this week started as a custody handoff between the suspected shooter and a former partner. And Minnesota officials can fine technology companies that enable creation of AI-generated nude images of real people, after a federal judge declined to put a new state law on hold as a lawsuit proceeds.

The ICE agent who allegedly shot and wounded a man in Minneapolis will be charged with lying to federal investigators. And authorities continue to investigate yesterday’s mass shooting at a downtown Minneapolis apartment building that left three people dead, including the suspected gunman.Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

Three people, including the suspected shooter, are dead and six other people were injured, including three police officers, following a shooting Wednesday afternoon at a downtown Minneapolis apartment complex.Minnesota’s first congressional district race is gaining national attention as a political newcomer attempts to unseat GOP incumbent Rep. Brad Finstad. Minnesota senators successfully pushed to postpone a ban on hemp products.A Hennepin County judge set a Nov. 2 trial date for the man who killed DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. Vance Boelter is serving two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years after pleading guilty in June to federal charges. But at a hearing Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to similar state charges.

Students in the Fridley school district are returning to classes Wednesday morning. The Fridley school district was among those most affected in the Twin Cities by Operation Metro Surge.The first imports of discounted, foreign beef are expected to enter the U.S. this month. President Donald Trump announced the imports last week, requiring this new beef to be sold at 25 percent below the market price.A judge in Minneapolis Tuesday handed lengthy prison sentences to the two men convicted in a mass shooting last year. Hennepin County Judge Juan Hoyos sentenced Arlonzo Williams Jr.Members of Minnesota's Nepali community and supporters gathered outside the state Capitol Tuesday to honor the victims of flash floods and landslides in Nepal and Tibet.

Photos reportedly showing federal Homeland Security agents stationed at or near the Minnesota State Fair have spread on social media. That’s caused heightened concern, in the wake of last winter’s federal immigration surge. But fair officials say they are not immigration agents.And Minnesota's Supreme Court heard arguments today in a discrimination case weighing whether a Catholic school illegally fired a transgender employee.

The 38 people charged in connection with an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church say they have been singled out for selective or vindictive prosecution. A motion to dismiss filed Monday in federal court says the defendants, including journalists who covered the protest, are being prosecuted for protected speech. The motion says protesters who disrupted a service at an LGBTQ-friendly church in Orlando, Florida, last year did not face charges. It alleges the Florida protesters were not prosecuted because their political views aligned with President Donald Trump and his administration.The Democratic candidate running against Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer says Congress has been weakened under President Donald Trump. Election policy expert Doug Chapin is running against Emmer in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. Emmer is part of Republican House leadership and has won his six previous races easily. Chapin says Emmer has allowed executive power to grow on his watch, but says the changing district and an anti-incumbent mood could work in his favor.A months-long strike in Chisago County is officially over after the county board approved contract agreements for striking workers. About 125 county workers had been on strike since May. That was about a third of the county’s staff, including health and human services workers and other government center employees. The union says the three-year deal includes pay raises and better health care plans.Thousands of dead fish have washed up on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs in recent weeks. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says it is common for some fish to die every summer, but hotter-than-normal weather has increased lake temperatures. That can be hard on cold-water fish such as tullibee, also known as cisco. Cisco populations are under pressure in some Minnesota lakes that are warming due to climate change.