A St. Paul police officer's loaded gun was stolen from his vehicle when it was parked outside his Roseville home, according to police. The loaded 9mm Glock, the officer's duty weapon, had been in the center console of his sport-utility vehicle, which may have been left unlocked.

Minnesota law prohibits carrying a handgun in a public place without a permit. The state Court of Appeals has overturned a St. Paul man's conviction because the judges say his front yard is not a public place. Police were called to the home by someone complaining the man was yelling and pointing the gun from his yard. The judges ruled police had no right to search the man or seize his gun.

The Court of Appeals ruled that a lifetime ban on gun ownership for people convicted of "crimes of violence" does not violate the state constitution.

You might think so by glancing at local headlines. Young women in Minnesota are being pressured to buy guns for criminals in exchange for cash – a trend rarely seen across the country, the Star Tribune reports. Meanwhile, St. Paul police are begging young people to put down their firearms as the rate of gun incidents soars. And the search for the killer of a 5-year-old boy in north Minneapolis continues.

Thieves have stolen dozens of firearms from Twin Cities gun shops in the last few months, KARE 11 reports. One Fridley story has been robbed three times in the last 15 months.

Plymouth city leaders suddenly shut down their aging, basement police shooting range last week, upsetting residents and volunteer firearms safety instructors who planned to use the range next month to train kids to shoot. The residents and instructors say the abrupt closing was directed at them because they initiated legislation for a new state law that requires publicly funded ranges to open for youth gun training -- a law that Plymouth leaders had opposed.