A Democratic Minnesota state senator who once served as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve has been arrested on suspicion of robbery.
Police were called to a home in the 700 block of Granger Road in Detroit Lakes early Monday morning and arrested Nicole Mitchell, 49, of Woodbury, Minnesota.
When authorities responded and searched the home, they found Mitchell inside and detained her. The house was his late father’s and where his stepmother still lives.
The Becker County Prosecutor’s Office is now reviewing the report before determining whether Mitchell, who is a first-term Democrat and was elected to a four-year term in 2022, will be charged.
Before becoming a state senator, Mitchell had a decorated career in the military and worked as a television meteorologist, including spending years at the Weather Channel. His political career has focused on veterans and climate issues.
Nicole Mitchell, 49, a Minnesota state senator and former Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel, was arrested for alleged robbery in Detroit Lakes.
Colleagues expressed surprise and highlighted his work in the Senate on veterans and climate policy, along with his previous career in military and television meteorology.
The Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel was an aerial reconnaissance weather officer with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.
A spokesperson for the Minnesota Senate Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party said in a statement that the party was “aware of the situation and has no comment pending further information.”
‘Knowing very few details at this time, I am shocked by the news of Senator Nicole Mitchell’s arrest for first-degree robbery. The public expects legislators to meet a high standard of conduct. “As information comes out, we expect the actions to have consequences, both on the court and in his role in the legislature,” House Republican Leader Mark Johnson said in a separate statement.
Democrats currently hold just a one-seat majority (34-33) in the 67-member Minnesota Senate and the Legislature now heads into the final month of its 2024 session.
He currently represents District 47 and 85,000 residents. His district includes the town of Woodbury outside St. Paul.
During her time in the Senate, Mitchell has worked on policies related to veterans, child protection and climate change.
She also helped introduce a bill requiring criminal penalties for those who fail to comply with safe firearm storage standards, while also co-authoring a bill proposing that people incarcerated in the state be relocated from the prisons to their last indicated address.
Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell was particularly telegenic and often presented pieces to the camera when necessary on behalf of the military.
Mitchell would fly the WC-130J Super Hercules through the eye of active hurricanes to collect weather data using aircraft, known as a team called ‘Hurricane Hunters’.
Mitchell had been a weather forecaster since the early 2000s.
Mitchell was born in Fargo and raised in Minnesota, and his family moved to Woodbury in 1986, according to his official biography.
On her campaign page, Mitchell noted that for an end-of-session party in 2023 she planned to hold a fundraiser to continue working on “reproductive rights, climate change, voting rights, gun safety, trans rights and addressing hunger in Minnesota”. ‘
Mitchell was born in Fargo and raised in Minnesota, and his family moved to Woodbury in 1986, according to his official biography.
She was editor-in-chief of her high school newspaper and was elected Princess of Woodbury Days.
‘He also grew up loving the outdoors, often accompanying his father fishing and his stepfather hiking and camping in various beautiful places in Minnesota. Even after camping and hiking in various places around the world as an adult, the Boundary Waters and North Shore remain her favorite places to hike or camp,” she reads on her campaign site.
She joined the Army after high school and worked for the Air National Guard as a weather observer and then forecaster.
During her time in the military, she served as a meteorologist for the Air Force ‘Hurricane Hunters’, who fly planes into storms to gather details before they hit the United States.
He flew into Hurricanes Charley, Katrina, Wilma and Harvey.
“As a highly respected communicator, military member and scientist, Nicole is often personally requested to speak and participate in the military community,” her bio reads.
He currently represents District 47 and 85,000 residents. His district includes the town of Woodbury outside St. Paul.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and worked for a television station in Duluth as an assignment manager. She later started doing time on television.
The Air Force veterinarian returned to Minnesota in 2016 to start her family (her son is now 5) and worked for television and radio as a meteorologist before running for office.
Mitchell obtained her foster care license in 2018 and cared for six children full-time, including three with special needs.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and worked for a television station in Duluth as an assignment manager. She later started doing time on television.
Mitchell worked as a television meteorologist in Rapid City, South Dakota, South Bend, Indiana, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He then moved to the Weather Channel before joining Al-Jazeera America and CBS. While working at the Weather Channel, he earned his law degree from Georgia State University.
The Air Force veterinarian returned to Minnesota in 2016 to start her family (her son is now 5) and worked for television and radio as a meteorologist before running for office.
Mitchell obtained her foster care license in 2018 and cared for six children full-time, including three with special needs.
“In her free time, Nicole has always believed strongly in a commitment to community service and volunteering,” her bio notes. ‘The outreach work she has done has previously included volunteering at a battered women’s shelter, with children at a homeless shelter, as a big sister to big brothers/big sisters, and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). for abused and abandoned children. .’