News in :90 – March 9, 2021

The trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death is going ahead with jury selection after delays in the trial yesterday.

Prosecutors are asking the Court of Appeals to put Derek Chauvin’s trial on hold until the issue of adding a third-degree murder count is resolved. The appeals court did not immediately rule on that request, and Judge Peter Cahill said Monday that he intends to keep the trial on track until he’s told to stop.

St. Thomas is investigating an ethnic slur found on a chalkboard in an O’Shaughnessy Educational Center classroom Monday morning.The university says a faculty member reported the slur, which was a term historically targeted at Italian Americans, to St. Thomas Public Safety.

An officer documented the incident before erasing the board in the second-floor classroom.
This is the fifth incident involving a racial or ethnic slur documented on campus in the last five years.

Governor Tim Walz announced Tuesday that Minnesota is expanding eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine after reaching its goal of inoculating at least 70% of people 65 and older.

At St. Thomas, five positive COVID-19 tests were reported to St. Thomas’ Center for Well-Being last week, an increase of four from the previous week.
The number includes three students and two employees. One came from the Minneapolis campus.

Check TommieMedia for the full story.

Libby Simpson can be reached at libby.simpson@stthomas.edu