Minnesota Department of Corrections Expands Abortion Coverage for Inmates

The Minnesota Department of Corrections will now pay for any inmate’s abortion, regardless of the reasons for seeking the procedure, according to a new policy.

The new policy, adopted January 10, replaces a 2018 policy that limited the department’s coverage of abortion to cases where the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest or if the life of the mother was at risk.

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Protesters Continue to Occupy Stillwater Street in Front of Prosecutor’s House

Minnesota Protest

Protesters continue to occupy the street in front of a Stillwater, Minnesota, prosecutor’s home, over a week after their demonstrations against the attorney first grabbed headlines.

Pete Orput has served as the Washington County attorney for over a decade. He recently chose to pursue a manslaughter charge, as opposed to murder, in the case of Kim Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright earlier this month. Since Orput charged Potter, he has been subject to public vitriol leveled against him by protesters who disagree with his decision.

Livestreams of Monday’s demonstration show that BLM-affiliated individuals totally obstructed the street in front of Orput’s home with vehicles and even set up chairs, a podium and a sound truck in the roadway.

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Police Tell Minnesota Citizens to ‘Be Prepared’ as Two Prisons Close

Citing financial woes The Minnesota Department of Corrections (MNDOC) will be closing two prisons.

Prisoners from the Togo and Willow River prisons will be transferred to other facilities and  100 employees will be laid off as a result of the move. These cuts come only a few weeks after 48 Department of Corrections Employees were let go in response to budget concerns resulting from the coronavirus. 

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ACLU Asks Minnesota Government to ‘Limit Arrests to Most Serious Offenses’ During COVID-19 Pandemic

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota has asked the state government to “aggressively” limit arrests to “the most serious offenses” during the coronavirus pandemic.

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