DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — A state senator from Woodbury, Minnesota was arrested Monday morning after police were called to a home in Detroit Lakes for a report of a burglary.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell was booked in Becker County jail Monday for first-degree burglary after officers responded to a home on Granger Road at around 4:45 a.m. Formal charges are still pending.
Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd said in an interview that dispatchers received a 911 call at 4:45 a.m. from a homeowner about “an active burglary in process at her residence.” Officers searched the home and arrested Mitchell, Todd said.
The chief said he could provide few other details because the case was still under investigation. Todd added that he was waiting to hear back from the county attorney's office and that a complaint detailing the allegations might not get filed until Tuesday.
Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the case.
The Democratic senator, who was elected in 2022, is a former meteorologist and still serves as lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, commanding a weather unit, according to her official profile.
Public records and an obituary posted by a Detroit Lakes funeral home show that Mitchell’s father, who died last month, and stepmother lived on the same block of the same road in Detroit Lakes as where the senator was arrested. The stepmother did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
In a statement, the Minnesota DFL Caucus said it is aware of the situation and "has no comment pending further information."
On the other side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R-East Grand Forks) released a statement saying, "Knowing very few details at this time, I am shocked by the news of Sen. Nicole Mitchell’s arrest for first-degree burglary. The public expects Legislators to meet a high standard of conduct. As information comes out, we expect the consequences to meet the actions, both in the court of law, and in her role at the legislature.”
Mitchell was arrested while the Senate is on Passover break. Her arrest comes at an awkward time for Senate Democrats, who hold just a one-seat majority with four weeks left in the legislative session. Mitchell's absence would make it difficult to pass any legislation that lacks bipartisan support.
Sen. Mitchell worked as a meteorologist with the U.S. military and for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio before being elected to the Senate in 2022. She still serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, commanding a weather unit, her official profile says. She worked for The Weather Channel earlier in her career.
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