Minnesota News Briefs: Minnesota College Republican Chariman in favor of same-sex marrige

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ST. PAUL - The two-term chairman of the Minnesota College Republicans has announced his support of legalizing gay marriage in the state.

21-year-old Ryan Lyk is a University of Minnesota student and former intern for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. He is urging others in his party to support legislation in favor of same-sex marriages and says it is *not* the role of government to dictate who can be married. The state legislature could vote on the issue later this spring.

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Spirited discussion today as a House committee passed a bill that would allow domestic fatality review teams to collect information from courts, jails and prisons following violent situations that result in the death of either the victim or the suspect. The proposal was put together after the murder of Tensia Richards in a Cottage Grove strip mall parking lot at the hands of her abusive husband. Cottage Grove Police Sergeant Randy McAllister says the information may allow them to better prevent such tragedies in the future. But Republican Representative Mary Liz Holberg says she's concerned there could be unintended consequences if other people's records are mixed into that information.

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They thought they were in, but now some high school students hoping to attend Minnesota State University Moorhead have learned their applications for admission were rejected. Minnesota State Moorhead has been sending out letters informing 232 high school students that they did *not* meet enrollment requirements, and the acceptance letters they received earlier were a mistake. MSU-Moorhead intended to set aside the applications for individual review because the students did not meet the standards for automatic admission, but that didn't happen -- and it took the admissions office six months to realize the mistake. Officials say they'll offer an academic success program that will allow the students into the university if successfully completed.

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Senator Al Franken (DFL-Minneapolis) will meet this week with Vice President Joe Biden and a group of other senators to talk about mental health issues, including Franken's bill to expand access to mental health care in schools. Franken says he's been working on mental health issues since he was first elected to the Senate, but it took on greater urgency after Sandy Hook. Franken's bill would fund programs that would allow schools to work with community health centers to expand access to care. The legislation would also fund training for all school employees to recognize signs of mental illness in young people.

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