Groups Seek More Funds to Avert Domestic Violence

ST. PAUL (AP) - The Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women is seeking more money to prevent domestic violence.

Liz Richards, the coalition's executive director, says the group is seeking an additional $1.5 million a year for advocacy services. Three domestic violence programs have closed in the past eight months and others have reduced services due to funding cuts.

The coalition is one of six groups holding their annual Action Day to End Violence Against Women at the Capitol Tuesday, meeting with legislators and rallying at 1 p.m.

The coalition says at least 14 female homicide victims in Minnesota last year allegedly were killed by a current or former partner. Seven women have died in alleged intimate-partner homicides in Minnesota this year, compared with four at this time last year.