Report: Hennepin County deputies’ bodycam footage being concealed with liberal use of ‘undercover’ status

Bodycam footage taken by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office deputies who are serving “undercover” is not shared with the public, raising questions about how often the agency is using “undercover” status and how the situation affects accountability, the Minnesota Reformer reports.

Two Hennepin County public defenders “have tallied 66 cases since April 2025 — about one per week — in which the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has used protections for undercover officers to restrict body camera footage from being shared with the public. There are likely even more cases that haven’t crossed their desks.”

Related: Bodycam usage has grown among Minnesota police departments five years after George Floyd’s murder

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer says he’s “done being careful” and that immigrants who don’t assimilate “should go the hell back to where they came from.” Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s response: “I assimilated all the way to Congress and this idiot still tells me to go back where I came from.”

The Minneapolis City Council has lifted a ban on adult bathhouses that members blamed on homophobia of the ’80s when it passed, MPR News reports. “Council members emphasized that the vote doesn’t mean that bathhouses will become legal and ready to open immediately. Instead, it is the beginning of a long and technical process that sets the city up for a pathway to consider permitting bathhouses and other sex venues in the future.”

Related: Documenters report: Minneapolis City Council to vote Thursday on bathhouse ban, ShotSpotter contract

Hundreds of people attended a open house in Hermantown this week about Google’s proposed data center, and company officials answered questions ranging from energy and water use to noise and local tax revenue, the Duluth News Tribune reports. On the water use question, Google officials said the primary water use will be bathrooms and drinking water, because the center would use a closed-loop air cooling system.

“Honks, billboards and heartbreak,” declared FOX 9’s headline on a story about the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid being traded to the Charlotte Hornets. “Naz Reid’s influence can be seen far beyond the court. His name has appeared on towels as far away as Florence, Italy, and his fandom in the Twin Cities is marked by candles, tattoos and billboards. The phrase ‘Naz Reid’ has taken on a life of its own in Minnesota.

Related from MinnPost Community Voices: Why requiring bodycam use among ICE agents is pointless

A memorial is planned Saturday for a St. Paul woman who was struck by a 17-year-old driver as she walked across Hamline Avenue in the crosswalk at Midway Parkway, the Pioneer Press reports. Barbara Mork-Woodford was struck June 8 and died this week.

And don’t miss these stories from MinnPost…

• Matthew Blake’s Capitol Conversations features a conversation he had with DFL House Leader Zack Stephenson about where he and the rest of the State Capitol press corps fell short in their coverage this session. (read more)
• Sheila Regan interviewed Justin Vernon of Bon Iver for Artscape about his upcoming music festival. (read more)
• Forrest Peterson explains the state’s process of evaluating impaired waters as we continue to consume the latest news out of Washington on the status of the reflecting pool. (read more)

The post Report: Hennepin County deputies’ bodycam footage being concealed with liberal use of ‘undercover’ status appeared first on MinnPost.