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Hennepin County - Latest Stories

ACLU says Hennepin County’s restrictions on Occupy MN ‘run afoul’ of 1st Amendment

By Jon Collins | 11.03.11 | 3:15 pm

The letter argues against Hennepin County’s new rules on Occupy MN, saying they run “afoul” of the First Amendment.

Hennpin County Jail in downtown Minneapolis. Photo: Wikipedia

Hennepin County holding accused transgender murderer in solitary confinement

By James Sanna | 06.30.11 | 12:17 pm

A transgender woman charged with murder in Hennepin County is currently being held in solitary confinement in the county jail, local LGBT rights activists say. The activists are attacking the county for using a measure criticized by many national transgender rights organizations as a flawed attempt to keep the accused safe while she awaits trial.

Gov. Mark Dayton

Mark Dayton leads Tom Emmer by around 9,000 votes

By Andy Birkey | 12.02.10 | 8:30 am

With DFLer Mark Dayton’s lead in the gubernatorial race hovering around 9,000 votes, Republican Tom Emmer’s campaign has increased its ballot challenges: Emmer’s 2,141 frivolous challenges, which dwarf Dayton’s 39, are now focused on Hennepin County, where election manager Rachel Smith is seeking to change counting procedures that have been slowed by the volume of Emmer’s challenges. The state GOP accused her of taking Dayton’s side in the recount.

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Counties, Dayton and Ritchie file documents refuting Emmer’s claims

By Andy Birkey | 11.21.10 | 1:20 pm

Ramsey, Anoka and Hennepin counties as well as Mark Dayton’s legal team and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have filed paperwork arguing against the Republican Party of Minnesota’s Supreme Court challenge alleging phantom votes and asking for a reconciliation of voter sign-ins with ballots in all 4,130 precincts in the state. All parties argue that precincts followed procedures that have been in place since 1982.

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Gubernatorial recount to start Nov. 29

By Andy Birkey | 11.16.10 | 11:30 am

With a recount looking more and more likely, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has laid out a plan for the canvasing operations. The recount of the governor’s race is set for Nov. 29, which will follow the Canvassing Board’s decision on whether a recount will happen. That board is scheduled to meet on Nov. 23. Leading up to those meetings, counties are prepping for the recount and dealing with an enormous number of data practices request from the campaigns. DFLer Mark Dayton leads Republican Tom Emmer by more than 8,700 votes.

AM.MN: No sofa change left for you, Minnesota Vikings

By Chris Steller | 01.05.10 | 8:30 am

am.mn logoThe Minnesota Twins got the public to fund their ballpark back in the good old days, when Hennepin County residents were rolling in the sofa change that paid for Target Field via a new sales tax. Now the county…

U of M removing toxic waste from family student housing site

By Chris Steller | 11.17.09 | 1:55 pm

Starting in 1947, thousands of young families have lived on four Southeast Minneapolis city blocks, in housing provided by the University of Minnesota. But it wasn’t until last year that anyone raised the alarm that the land many of those families have called home appears to be a toxic waste dump.

Pollution agency won’t rule yet on petitions for Hennepin burner study

By Chris Steller | 10.08.09 | 12:18 pm

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) won’t take a position — yet — on whether to require a new environmental study before Hennepin County’s downtown Minneapolis incinerator can burn more trash, because the agency doesn’t have a pending application for the project.

Recycling law may stem ‘tsunami’ of discarded TV sets

By Paul Schmelzer | 01.28.09 | 4:06 pm

With just three weeks to go until the deadline for digital TV conversion, government officials, thrift store owners and landfill operators are bracing themselves for a wave of outdated sets.

Supes ’n’ Dupes: Minnesota Supreme Court grills recount rivals on duplicate ballots

By Chris Steller | 12.23.08 | 5:13 pm

The Minnesota Supreme Court was visited by ghosts of Last Week Past on Tuesday afternoon as the two sides in the statewide Senate recount paid their second visit in five days. Attorneys for Democrat Al Franken and Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman who debated last Friday about wrongly rejected absentee ballots argued over different issue today: the Coleman camp’s request to stop the recount to determine whether votes on ballots that were damaged and then duplicated for counting purposes on Election Day were counted twice during the recount.