The inmate who died at Minnesota Correctional Facility — Stillwater over the weekend is believed to have ingested synthetic drugs.

Minnesota Department of Corrections officials identified the man as Dalmario Smith, 22, who was serving time for escape from custody and on a drive-by shooting charge.

Smith was found unresponsive in his cell at the Bayport facility around 3:30 a.m. Saturday. DOC staff initiated lifesaving efforts, officials said, but Smith was pronounced dead at 3:53 a.m.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted the autopsy, and DOC officials said a preliminary investigation shows no signs of foul play. Investigators, however, are looking into the “possible ingestion of suspected synthetic drugs” based on evidence found in Smith’s cell, officials said.

Synthetic drugs are a challenge for prisons in Minnesota and across the nation, according to the DOC. Because they can be infused into paper that enters facilities through the U.S. Postal Service, Stillwater prison staff recently began photocopying all incoming mail with the exception of legal mail that is protected by attorney-client privilege.

DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell said that he and the rest of the DOC staff extend their condolences to Smith’s family.

“If this death is determined to be drug-related, we will make every effort to determine who introduced and provided the substance for the purpose of pursuing prosecution to the fullest extent of the law,” Schnell said.

— Mary Divine

Comcast helps provide Wi-Fi in public housing

The St. Paul Public Housing Agency has partnered with Comcast to provide Wi-Fi to all 16 PHA buildings in St. Paul, which is more than 2,500 housing units receiving internet.

This partnership is Comcast’s first collaboration with a Minnesota-based housing agency to provide preinstalled, already-on connectivity to the Xfinity network for residents, according to Comcast.

“We want to make sure that residents can get connected to the internet, whether it be for a job, telehealth or calling loved ones,” said Jill Hornbacher, senior director for external communications at Comcast. “We’re committed to connecting people to what matters the most.”

The network will be installed in phases — the first two SPHA buildings had been recently connected to the internet and the other 14 buildings will have Wi-Fi by the end of 2024. To set up the internet, residents need to call Comcast or use the Xfinity app.

Comcast plans to expand its partnership to other housing agencies in Minnesota to provide accessible internet, Hornbacher said.

— Gwynn Vang

County names director of social services

Ramsey County on Monday tapped a longtime social worker to head its Social Services Department.

Sophia Thompson, who has overseen its mental health division for three the past three years, will take over the department as director on July 1.

“Sophia has been a powerful member of our department for more than 15 years,” Deputy County Manager Kathy Hedin said in a news release. “Her hands-on experience working with underrepresented communities, her proven leadership skills at the county and her continued passion for this important work make her the ideal person to lead this department.”

Thompson first joined the department as a senior child protection worker in 2008. Last month, she received the Social Worker of the Year Award from the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Thompson earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota.

Thompson replaces Michelle Basham, who resigned as director of Social Services in March after just four months in the job. Tina Curry, who leads the Public Health Career Pathways program, served as interim director.

The Social Services Department is the county’s largest, with a 2023 budget of $117.8 million and 683 full-time positions.

It administers a wide variety of programs, including mental health services, child protection, foster care, civil commitment, adult protection and chemical dependency services.

— Nick Woltman

Body recovered from vehicle in Minn. River

Authorities say the body of one person was recovered Tuesday when a submerged vehicle was pulled from the Minnesota River in Bloomington.

The recovery operation began Sunday night when authorities were called to the Lyndale Avenue Boat

Launch on a report of a vehicle entering the river.

Witnesses saw the vehicle enter the water shortly before 8 p.m. and become fully submerged. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Water Patrol located the vehicle with sonar but divers were unable to safely enter the rain-swollen river. Other recovery attempts were unsuccessful, according to the sheriff’s office, which was assisted by a number of other south metro agencies.

On Monday, a commercial salvage diving company was summoned by the sheriff’s office to assist with the recovery. On Tuesday, the JF Brennan Co. was able to hook the vehicle and pull it from the river shortly before 11 a.m.

One person was found dead inside. The Hennepin County medical examiner will perform an autopsy and establish positive identification.

Meanwhile, the deputies using sonar to locate the vehicle also found a second submerged vehicle nearby. It was pulled from the river shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday. The sheriff’s office said the vehicle appeared to have been in the water for some time and was not related to the first vehicle.

Both incidents remain under investigation by the sheriff’s office.

— Staff report

Boy dies in juvenile treatment center

A 13-year-old boy was pronounced dead Monday at a juvenile treatment facility in west-central Minnesota.

According to a news release, Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt said staff at Prairie Lakes Youth Programs, law enforcement and emergency medical services provided an initial medical response after the report of an unresponsive client, but it was determined the 13-year-old boy was deceased.

Police and EMS were dispatched at 7:50 a.m. Monday to the facility in the 1800 block of Civic Center Drive

Northeast. Felt did not identify the facility by name, but Prairie Lakes Youth Programs, a privately operated provider of residential juvenile treatment, is located there.

Felt said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will lead the investigation into the death because it occurred in a state-licensed facility. Felt said at this time there is no indication of any trauma or violence related to the boy’s death.

— Forum News Service

High court to consider lawsuit over Evers veto

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto that locked in a school funding increase for the next 400 years, the justices announced Monday.

The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Litigation Center filed a lawsuit in April arguing the governor exceeded his authority. The group asked the high court to strike down the veto without waiting for the case to go through lower courts.

The court issued an order Monday afternoon saying it would take the case. The justices didn’t elaborate beyond setting a briefing schedule.

At issue is a partial veto Evers made in the state budget in July 2023 that increased revenue public schools can raise per student by $325 annually until 2425. Evers took language that originally applied the $325 increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and vetoed the “20” and the hyphen to make the end date 2425, more than four centuries from now.

Wisconsin governors, both Republican and Democratic, have long used the broad partial veto power to reshape the state budget. It’s an act of gamesmanship between the governor and Legislature, as lawmakers try to craft bills in a way that are largely immune from creative vetoes. The lawsuit contends that Evers exceeded his veto authority and his action was unconstitutional.

— Associated Press