Authorities are installing screening equipment similar to that in airports to scan visitors for guns, knives, mace and other such items. The change comes after a district court judge and the county sheriff said they were worried about the lack of security in suburban courtrooms.

Judge Lloyd Zimmerman tells KARE-11 his reassignment from civil to family court is "very bad punishment" after he complained about poor security at suburban Minneapolis courtrooms.

The weapons were confiscated during the first week of newly installed security checkpoints in Edina, Minnetonka and Brooklyn Park. Knives, box cutters and pepper spray were among some of the prohibited and dangerous items collected.

While the policy doesn't officially go into effect until next week, the Southwest Journal reports sheriff's deputies were ordered to take down signs and personal items that were left unattended at Government Plaza.

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is attempting to secure funding to purchase an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to expedite underwater searches and help protect divers. The device will help officers search dark depths in rivers and lakes to help locate criminal evidence and possibly drowning victims.

Crews painted a special bike lanes along 15th Avenue and 4th Street as part of an effort to make bicycling safer in the city -- that intersection sees more than 3,500 cyclists every day and has been the site of several bike accidents.

The state's top court says judge Patricia Karasov was not living within her judicial district and failed to cooperate with an investigation into the matter. State law requires district judges to live within the district they serve.

Melissa Hill was the first Occupy Minnesota arrested outside the Hennepin County Government Center. The trespassing charges against her were eventually dropped. Now she's suing the county and Sheriff Rich Stanek, saying her Constitutional rights were violated.