Attorneys for former CNN host turned independent journalist Don Lemon argued in a court filing Wednesday that recent examples of grand jury misconduct by the U.S. Department of Justice across the country warrant the release of transcripts from the normally secretive proceedings in his case.

Lemon pleaded not guilty in February to federal civil rights charges, following a protest at a Minnesota church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor. He is one of 39 people charged in the January incident.

Lemon insists he was at the Cities Church in St. Paul to chronicle the Jan. 18 protest but was not a participant.

Lemon and another independent journalist, Georgia Fort, filed a motion in February seeking transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that resulted in the indictments against them and seven others.

In the latest filing in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Lemon’s attorneys argue that “the past 15 months have seen an unprecedented and growing distrust in the Justice Department’s use of the grand jury process.” For that reason, the transcripts from Lemon’s grand jury should be released, his attorneys said.

“In the past two weeks alone, several courts have chastised Justice Department prosecutors for irregularities in the grand jury process and gone so far as to dismiss indictments for grand jury misconduct,” Lemon’s attorneys said in the Wednesday filing.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

— Associated Press

St. Paul

1 dead, 1 injured in separate crashes

A pedestrian died and a bicyclist was critically injured in separate crashes Tuesday night in St. Paul.

The first happened about 8:30 p.m. when the driver of a sport-utility vehicle struck a pedestrian at West Seventh Street and Watson Avenue. St. Paul Fire Department medics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The pedestrian was crossing Seventh Street, not in a crosswalk, based on preliminary information, according to Alyssa Arcand, a St. Paul police spokeswoman.

The driver stayed at the scene, was cooperative with police and showed no signs of impairment, Arcand said.

That also was the case with the driver in the crash with the bicyclist.

About 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a report of a crash in the 700 block of East Jessamine Avenue in the Payne-Phalen area. The driver of a minivan struck a man riding an electric bike, Arcand said. Medics took the man to the hospital in critical condition.

“Preliminary information indicates that the e-bike rider ran through a stop sign,” Arcand said.

The pedestrian was the fifth killed in a crash in St. Paul this year, according to police data.

— Mara H. Gottfried

North Metro

road closures set in two communities

Northbound Minnesota Highway 51/Snelling Avenue/Hamline Avenue in Roseville and Arden Hills will close this weekend for resurfacing, according to state transportation officials.

At 8 p.m. on Friday, construction crews will close northbound Snelling Avenue between Minnesota Highway 36 in Roseville and Interstate 694 in Arden Hills through 5 a.m. on Monday, June 1.

During the resurfacing work, cross streets will be closed.

Meanwhile, the southbound lanes of Snelling Avenue are tentatively scheduled for closure from 8 p.m. Friday, June 12, through 5 a.m. Monday, June 15.

All construction activities and traffic impacts are weather and schedule permitting and subject to change.

Work on the highway will be completed by late August, according to state transportation officials, before the beginning of the Minnesota State Fair. Additional work on the signaling systems and pedestrian/bicycle crossing upgrades will begin after Labor Day.

For more information go to: mndot.gov/metro/projects/snellingaveroseville-ardenhills. For updated road condition information, call 511 or visit 511mn.org.

— Pioneer Press

St. Paul

East 7th Street closures planned

Both directions of East Seventh Street between Mounds Boulevard and Minnehaha Avenue in St. Paul will closed this weekend from 6 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday as crews complete watermain replacement and sewer work.

The work will take place during daytime and nighttime hours, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The project and impact on traffic are subject to weather and schedule permitting, and might change, according to MnDOT.

Residents in the area can expect increased noise and vibration as well as with more traffic and an increased demand for parking on nearby side streets.

State transportation officials ask motorists to plan ahead and be prepared for the closure, followed detours and local laws on parking.

For more information go to the East Seventh Street and Arcade Street project webpage — at dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/e7th-arcade/index.htmlto.

Meanwhile, other nearby projects in include:

Earl Street reconstruction, led by city of St. Paul.

Kellogg Boulevard/Third Street Bridge, led by city of St. Paul.

Payne Avenue pedestrian intersection improvements, led by city of St. Paul.

Maryland Avenue reconstruction, led by Ramsey County.

Lead free construction projects, led by St. Paul Regional Water Services.

For updated road condition information, call 511 or visit www.511mn.org.

— Pioneer Press