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North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live is a daily, five-minute newscast that shines a spotlight on the stories and perspectives of Minnesota’s diverse communities, including Black, Latine, Asian American, East African individuals, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, laborers, veterans, and those from Greater Minnesota.
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: Today: a judge's ruling overrides tribal authority, why your keyless car is at risk of being stolen, and a warning about illegal use of hydraulic jets.
I'm Katharine DeCelle.
A judge has ruled that Minnesota can prosecute marijuana crimes on tribal land, even after the state legalized recreational cannabis. A White Earth Nation member is facing felony charges after his tobacco shop was raided in 2023. The accused argued that the case should fall under tribal authority, and he should be protected by treaty rights. An appeals court rejected the claims. The raid occurred the day after Minnesota legalized recreational marijuana. If convicted, the accused faces up to five years in jail, up to ten thousand dollars in fines, or both.
Up next: Most new cars are keyless. While the feature adds convenience, it comes with a cost most people don't know about. In some ways it makes it easier to steal. Jose Ozoria tells us how you can keep your keyless vehicle safe.
Jose Ozoria: Car thieves have gone high tech. The cliche image of a car thief smashing a window or using a Slim Jim to force a car door to unlock is no longer 100% accurate as cars have become more technologically advanced. The convenient keyless feature that allows car owners the ability to enter and start their cars at the push of a button is being exploited by car thieves as a quick and discreet way to steal cars using cheap, easily available devices to turn your car fob into a Trojan horse. Brynna Knapp of AAA Minnesota describes the primary method that thieves use to accomplish their goal.
Brynna Knapp: The most common method with keyless car theft is called a relay attack, and that's when thieves use an antenna to pick up the signal from a key fob, amplify it, and then unlock and start your vehicle at a distance where the key otherwise wouldn't work.
Jose Ozoria: In approximately 60 seconds, the signal is intercepted, the car is unlocked and driven away in complete silence without any broken glass or alarms. Lieutenant Bryan Hernerding of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department lists some of the vehicles that are most susceptible to being stolen this way.
Bryan Hermerding: We're seeing it in more newer vehicles, more higher-end vehicles, your Mopar vehicles, your Dodge Jeeps, just because the technology is so sophisticated in there that basically it all runs on wireless related signals.
Jose Ozoria: According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, even if your car isn't stolen, car thefts impact you directly. Higher insurance premiums means you pay for the fact that your neighbor's car was stolen. These stolen cars mean that auto insurers will classify you as living in a high-risk area and charge you accordingly. Brynna Knapp goes over some tips AAA has for car owners to make it difficult for thieves to steal their cars.
Brynna Knapp: One is investing in signal blockers, and they block electromagnetic signals from being transmitted. Checking your vehicle settings so you know. Maybe going to your dealership or where you purchase your car. You know, disabling keyless features such as keyless entry and ignitions. Keeping your keys away from exterior doors and windows. Reprogramming your key fob. One extra precaution, using a steering wheel lock.
Jose Ozoria: Automakers have started making improvements adding motion sensors to key fobs. If the sensor doesn't detect recent movement, the fob goes into sleep mode and stops transmitting. Lieutenant Hermerding describes what happens after these cars get stolen.
Bryan Hermerding: You know, sometimes we're seeing a lot of these high-end vehicles, though, being sold on Facebook. They're given a new VIN number and sold as a totally different vehicle. Or a lot of times we're seeing them going overseas too, where they're being sold to places as far off as Iraq and foreign countries like that.
Jose Ozoria: He tells us what car owners can do to improve the chances of their cars being recovered if stolen.
Bryan Hermerding: Whatever app you may have for brand of car, making sure that you have, you're signed up on there, and that you can manually track where your vehicle is. That's one of the first things we look at when we're trying to get these cars back, is, is it trackable or not? And then if it is, sometimes we've had success getting that back to folks within a matter of hours, really.
Jose Ozoria: For North Star Stories, I'm Jose Ozoria.
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ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding residents that hydraulic jets cannot be used to disturb the bottom of a lake or destroy plants. Residents living along lakes and rivers typically use hydraulic jets to push plants and dirt from their property. Minnesotans can only place hydraulic jets aimed upward at the water's surface to avoid harming the environment. The DNR says aquatic plants are vital for clear water, shoreline protection, and wildlife habitat. Residents wanting to improve their shoreline are encouraged to check the DNR website before doing so.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.