Walz seeks at least $4.2 million for securing Chauvin trial in March

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz expects to send hundreds of state law enforcement agents into Minneapolis to secure the March trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of murdering George Floyd.

Walz's budget proposal asks lawmakers for at least $4.2 million -- and likely more through the creation of a special fund -- to pay for the security costs.

Here's the breakdown:

$2.382 million for State Patrol trooper overtime, lodging, food and supplies, which Walz's administration describes as "conservatively estimated." The state expects 400 troopers and 70 supervisors to be deployed to the Twin Cities during the trials.

$1.485 million for DNR officers. The state plans to send 125 officers to the Twin Cities, at an estimated cost of $1,200 per officer per day.

$385,000 for Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement officers. Seven officers would respond during the trials.

The GOP's carnival of hypocrisy

History will record that the second impeachment of President Donald Trump branded him forever as a catastrophically immoral and divisive leader. It will also mark most of his defenders in the Republican Party as duplicitous opportunists who claimed at the last moment that the country needed unity after they had contributed to the rhetoric bringing the nation to the precipice of civil war.

In their speeches in the House of Representatives during the impeachment debate, the 197 opponents of the measure put on a carnival of hypocrisy, a spectacle in which they tried to persuade their colleagues, the country, and perhaps themselves, that after they spent months trying to overturn the legitimate results of a democratic election, suddenly they cared about unifying and healing the nation above all else.

Who could possibly believe such a fiction?

Perhaps they think they can convince us that they now believe nothing matters more than coming together because they spent so much time spreading a different falsehood, claiming that Trump won in November.

Gov. Walz says he’ll issue executive order to use National Guard for State Capitol protection

During a press conference Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he will likely issue an executive order to mobilize the National Guard to provide security assistance at the State Capitol.

The governor’s announcement comes after an FBI memo warned of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington D.C. in the days leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

“The plans are in place,” Walz said. “I will probably either later today or early tomorrow be issuing an executive order to use the National Guard for the next several days as we prepare during this specific threat period to make sure that both our Capitol, our citizens and the peaceful transfer of power is done.”

On Monday, Gov. Tony Evers mobilized the National Guard to provide security assistance at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.

St. Croix GOP refuses to remove 'prepare for war' post, sheriff responds

A local Republican group in northwestern Wisconsin is refusing to take down an online message urging conservatives to "prepare for war."

The St. Croix County Republican Party's website includes a message that reads "if you want peace, prepare for war."

The message goes on to say that President Donald Trump changed the Republican Party and patriots need to continue the fight be counted as conservative warriors.

The state Republican Party has asked the county group to take the message down but the county group has refused.

12-year-old was killed after a grenade likely bought at an antique mall exploded

A 12-year-old in Virginia was killed by an exploding grenade investigators believe was bought from an antique mall in North Carolina, and now authorities are warning others may have been sold and could be live.

The grenades were thought to be chemically inactive Mk 2 grenades, a style used during World War II, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The child was killed on December 23 by an exploding grenade that ATF believes was bought on June 13 from the Fancy Flea Antique Mall in Shallotte, North Carolina.