U.S. Drought Monitor report

Some good news and some bad news for Minnesota in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor update, issued earlier today.And a Hennepin County judge today found a Minneapolis man not guilty by reason of mental illness in the 2023 killing of a Loring Park grocery store clerk. All that and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

The chief of the Brooklyn Center police department says nearly two dozen people have been arrested in a human trafficking investigation that targeted four area hotels. And a congressional watchdog has cleared U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of allegations of 'false reporting of her assets.’Those stories and more in today’s evening update from MPR News. Hosted by Emily Reese. Music by Gary Meister.

A Somali man arrested in St. Paul is being held at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Adam Abdullah has no criminal record and was living legally in St. Paul after seeking asylum in the U.S. in 2023.Two of the defendants charged in the brutal killing of a transgender man from Minnesota in upstate New York last year were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said police should have filed an extreme risk protection order against the suspect in last week’s mass shooting in downtown Minneapolis.

Last week's mass shooting at a downtown Minneapolis apartment building is raising questions about what landlords can do when they're concerned about a tenant with a gun.And classes are back in session today for many Minnesota school children. Some districts got state approval to start the school year before Labor Day, but now that the holiday is behind us, most schools are now open.

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.