(Fox 9) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Powerball jackpot has soared to an estimated $1.20 billion after no ticket matched all six numbers on Halloween night. The winner, who must match numbers on five white balls (1-69) and the red Powerball (1-26), also has the option to claim a one-time lump sum payment of an estimated $596.7 million before taxes. Lottery officials said the current jackpot ranks…
DULUTH, Minn. — Lake Superior has its number of ghostly stories, and one group is bringing that experience to trick-or-treaters. Over at the Harrison Community Center, people could hear some ghostly-inspired stories of the shipwrecks of Lake Superior with seven different scenes, including one about the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. The event has been postponed twice due to COVID, but this…
WASHINGTON (Fox 9) – Teachers, first responders, government workers, and others in public service roles have until Monday to file applications for a special waiver related to student loan forgiveness. Last year, temporary changes were made to U.S. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a troubled student loan forgiveness program designed for borrowers working in public service jobs — but long criticized for its complex requirements….
ST. CROIX, Wis. (FOX 9) – A 54-year-old man from Hennepin County died Sunday morning following a crash in Wisconsin with a suspected drunk driver who traveled the wrong way on I-94, according to the state’s department of transportation. The incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes of I-94 near mile marker 4 in St. Croix. The Wisconsin State Patrol…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Without the help of a service animal, Twin Cities teacher Allie Brown says she’d likely be unable to live alone because of a medical condition. But this weekend, Can Do Canines stepped in to help her and 19 other people in need. The organization relies on donations to breed and train service animals for people with disabilities, matching more than…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Halloween activities are picking up across the Northland. The Humane Society of Douglas County hosted a trunk or treat event along with a dog and cat costume contest. In the spirit of Halloween, Staff members were all dressed up handed out candy and treats for the furry friends. Animals in costume competed for a treat basket from…
(FOX 9) – While it may seem like a harmless prank, pointing a laser at planes and other aircraft mid-flight can put pilots, passengers and the people below in danger. Laser strikes involving aircraft in Minnesota more than doubled in 2021 from the previous year. However, at least one government watchdog agency claims not enough is being done to tackle the problem….
GORDON, Wis. — The Gordon community in Wisconsin continues to rally for its local post office. With the hopes of putting a halt to its intended closure which is due to its lease expiring in 10 days. On October 20, a rally was held by residents pushing to keep the post office open. Some people travel to Gordon for their…
(FOX 9) – Pediatricians say they usually they see the most cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, among children 2 and under, but now they’re seeing a lot more older children getting exposed, too. “This year, we did see it start sooner – a little bit earlier in the fall or late summer. And then now, we’re seeing more and more…
DULUTH, Minn.–A vacant building in the heart of downtown Duluth is getting closer to demolition to make way for future development. Fencing and concrete barriers are now set up around the ‘Hotel Astoria’, on the corner of East Superior Street and First Avenue. The sidewalk in front is blocked off. An antique store, gift shop, and Chinese restaurant were once…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – One of the final two former Minneapolis police officers facing state charges in the murder of George Floyd has pleaded guilty. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty Monday morning to aiding and abetting manslaughter – the day his and co-defendant Tou Thao’s trial was set to begin with jury selection. Both Kueng and Thao were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and…
UPDATE (October 24, 12:50 p.m.) — A 48-year-old bus driver has been sentenced after allegedly driving the Denfeld Boys Basketball team while drunk in December. According to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office, Shawn Edward Zelazny pleaded guilty to Second Degree DWI on Monday. He was sentenced to two years supervised probation and 60 days in custody in which he will…
(FOX 9) – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its initial report of the events that led up to a plane crashing into a home that killed three people in northern Minnesota. The report was released sometime this week and offers insight into what happened during the fight but does not provide a cause for why the plane crashed into a home…
Categories: Community, News, News – Latest News
DULUTH, Minn. — The skywalk in Duluth that connects a parking ramp to Essentia Health’s clinic on First Street is re-opening on Monday. It was shut down temporarily for construction crews to do some work on it for the Vision Northland project. If you have an appointment at the First Street location, you can park in the ramp and use…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – As state and local leaders fight crime at the troubled Merwyn’s and Winner gas station on West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis, another problem gas station on the same street is getting help from a different source. Now the Marathon gas station will soon have a new owner: Real Believers Faith Center, a church located next door. “Me and my wife are elated….
UPDATE (October 21, 12:10 p.m.) — The Hibbing woman who was caught on video putting a flyer into a mailbox and taking another one out, has confessed. Hibbing Police learned that the 61-year-old woman was volunteering to distribute campaign materials. A member from the specific campaign called her after watching the footage and she admitted to taking the pamphlet from…
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) – The Mall of America is the latest large venue to weigh the pros and cons of a weapons detection system. A spokesperson for the mall said it is testing out metal detectors at the north doors over the next month, but the location might change. Bags will be checked, too, if they set off the metal detectors….
(FOX 9) – Gov. Tim Walz and challenger Scott Jensen squared off in a debate Tuesday night in Rochester, marking the first general election gubernatorial debate between the two candidates. The debate, hosted Tuesday night by KTTC, covered a wide range of topics over an hour period. Below, we have compiled some excerpts of the candidates’ own words on a variety of…
(FOX 9) – Watch the gubernatorial debate between Gov. Tim Walz and challenger Scott Jensen in the player above starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Gov. Tim Walz and challenger Scott Jensen will square off in a debate Tuesday night in Rochester, marking the first general election gubernatorial debate between the two candidates. The debate, hosted by Gray Television, will…
WASHINGTON (Fox 9) – Millions of Americans in need of hearing aids can now buy them without a prescription in the United States — and likely at a much cheaper price. Starting Monday, Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Best Buy, and Hy-Vee are now offering over-the-counter hearing aids at stores and online, the White House said. A new class of hearing aids was established under…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa announced Monday over $11 million in fines, financial assurances, and environmental projects have been levied against Enbridge over spills and breaches caused by their Line 3 pipeline. The MPCA says it found Enbridge violated a series of…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minnesota labor officials on Monday said nearly 1 million bonus checks have been sent to eligible frontline workers. The $487.45 checks are a thank-you gift from the state to those who worked on the front lines during the pandemic. State officials said earlier this month a total of 1,025,655 people would get $487.45 each. Approved applicants who signed up…
EDINA, Minn. (FOX 9) – Several students at a middle school in Edina, Minnesota had to be treated by school staff and paramedics Friday after attempting the “One Chip Challenge,” a social media trend in which participants film their reactions after eating an extremely spicy tortilla chip. School officials at South View Middle School called an ambulance after several students complained of…
DULUTH, Minn. — More than 350 maurices associates are visiting the corporate office in Duluth this week to connect with the company and also give back to the community. Formerly known as “The Best Day Ever,” maurices is now calling the community service day the “Difference Making” event, held between the training and bonding experiences the company has put on…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The first two defendants have pleaded guilty in the massive Feeding Our Future fraud case. Bekam Merdassa was the first to plead guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in federal court Thursday morning. Hanna Marekegn also pleaded guilty on Thursday. Bekam Merdassa’s guilty plea Merdassa has two masters degrees, but is now looking at up to 30 months for bilking the…
(FOX 9) — Rapidly rising mortgage rates have more than doubled this year. Pair that with a record increase in home prices, and many prospective buyers have been pushed out of the market. But recent data from a mortgage lending data specialist offers some relief. Each month, the Black Knight Mortgage Monitor looks at a variety of issues related to…
(FOX 9) – A 14-year-old girl was killed in a rollover crash in Wisconsin and the 16-year-old driver is suspected of being intoxicated behind the wheel. According to the Barron County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a single-vehicle rollover crash on 16 ½ Avenue near 19 ¾ Street, just north of Cameron, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 10. The initial investigation shows…
SUPERIOR, Wis. The man accused of threatening to enter a Superior daycare with a rifle last Thursday has been charged. 33-year-old Brandon Cole-Breezee of Duluth is charged with terroristic threats, stalking, domestic abuse, being an out-of-state felon in possession of a firearm, disorderly conduct, and criminal damage to property. According to the criminal complaint, Cole-Breezee not only told his ex-wife…
President Joe Biden declared Sunday as “Leif Erikson Day,” and of course, one of Duluth’s parks is named after the historic Norse figure. Historians say that Leif Erikson is believed to have been one of the first European explorers to reach North America in the year 1000 A.D., about 500 years before Christopher Columbus did. Erikson was a Norse Viking…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minneapolis North High school graduate and accomplished medical engineer died of blunt force trauma injuries on Sept. 12, after a fall while barefoot water skiing in Brooklyn Center. Paul Oman’s death has hit many in the water sports community hard because of the many ways he was responsible for bringing the community together. Remembered by close friends for his…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday he is suing Fleet Farm for selling guns to straw buyers. The lawsuit alleges Fleet Farm sold at least 37 guns to straw purchasers, a person purchasing a gun for an individual not allowed to own one, over the course of 16 months. Ellison says one of the guns traced to…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Bonus payments for Minnesota frontline workers will start going out this week, with over 1 million people receiving nearly $500. Gov. Tim Walz on Monday announced that 1,025,655 Minnesota frontline workers will receive $487.45 to “recognize their work on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” a news release said. State officials will begin sending out the payments on Wednesday,…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – More than 130 mental health workers at Allina Health will start a three-day unfair labor practices strike on Monday. The workers, who are members of the union SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, will begin their strike at 10 a.m. on Monday at Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis and Unity Hospital in Fridley. The picket lines will run from 10…
EMBARRASS TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Two people have been arrested and charged after investigators say they burglarized a business on Wednesday in the Embarrass Township. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called out to an unidentified business just after 9 p.m. on September 28th on the 4800-block of Highway 21. When deputies arrived, they found ceiling tiles had…
MINNESOTA — AAA released its survey results for how some Minnesotans are planning holiday travel. The company surveyed 400 people. AAA says the majority of people are tying up the details for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel right now, while others are planning to wait a little longer. More than a fourth of Minnesotans surveyed said they’re booking their travel needs…
(FOX 9) – Heating costs are expected to skyrocket this winter, just as extra federal relief dollars expire and inflation continues. Minnesota heating assistance programs are preparing for an influx of applications, as the cost of natural gas is expected to skyrocket for the second year in a row. Some estimates have natural gas prices rising around 35 percent this winter. “This…
RICHFIELD, Minn. (FOX 9) – Following a shooting at their homecoming game, three schools in Richfield, Minnesota are closed today after receiving threats, the district announced. The district has not released the nature of the online threats or how creditable they believe they are, but after Friday when two people were shot, they decided to close three schools: Richfield High School, Richfield Middle School, and…
(FOX 9) – It’s election season in Minnesota. Early voting started Friday, 46 days before the Nov. 8 midterm election. This year, all four statewide offices, 201 seats in the state Legislature, and eight congressional districts are up for grabs. Voters who had already made up their minds trickled into election offices across the state to fill in ballots. Whether you plan to vote…
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The swatting calls at more than a dozen Minnesota schools on Wednesday appeared to come from the same person, according to authorities on Thursday. There were at least 14 schools in Minnesota targeted with fake active shooting reports, and there could be more, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said on Wednesday. This came after a rash of swatting calls across the…
DULUTH, Minn. — The suspect accused of pulling the trigger of his gun inside the Speedway gas station in Duluth earlier this month has been charged. 30-year-old Joseph Francis Butler is charged with three felonies: second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless discharge of a dangerous weapon, and being a person who shouldn’t have a gun in the first place…
(FOX 9) – There have been multiple incidents this week of people reporting active shooters at schools across Minnesota, with authorities calling these “swatting” incidents. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) says it is aware of “multiple swatting incidents involving active shooter events or mass casualties at schools across Minnesota.” Local law enforcement are responding to these reports, but no incidents…
(Fox 9) — Americans are likely going to pay more to heat their home over the winter months. The average cost of heating a household is set to increase by 17.2% this winter, compared to winter last year, according to a forecast by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), an educational and policy organization for federal programs that help low-income families…
HUDSON, Wis. (FOX 9) – A family in Hudson is desperate to find their highly trained service dog after it vanished on Friday. Four-year-old Mila is a yellow labrador retriever and serves as a guide dog for owner Anne Naber, who is completely blind. Mila disappeared from the family home in Hudson around 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The dog doesn’t tend…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota’s unemployment rate ticked up to 1.9% in August as hiring slowed, though the jobless rate remains near a historic low amid a tight labor market. The state lost 3,100 jobs in August, according to Minnesota Employment and Economic Development officials. State officials also revised July’s gains downward to 17,100 from their initial estimate of 19,100. Minnesota had…
DETAILED ROAD CLOSURES FROM THE DULUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: “On Friday, September 16, at 3:00 p.m Harbor Drive between the Irvin slip and the Aquarium will close to traffic for Kid’s Inline Sprint Races. The Great Lakes Aquarium lot will remain accessible during this time. It will open at the conclusion of the Inline Marathon on Sunday, September 18 at 8:00…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – The man who targeted hundreds of girls in a sextortion scheme has been sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Yue Vang, 31, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort. He was sentenced to 516…
(Fox 9) — Tarun Malkani, the CEO of Nestle S.A.’s Gerber Products Company, said last week that he expects the U.S. infant formula shortage to improve by October. Malkani said the Nestlé company is still in “critical task force mode.” During a Thursday media event at Nestle’s U.S. headquarters in Virginia, he said that Gerber added market share as it…
(FOX 9) – A hockey dad and Isanti businessman has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 30 years for the murder of Jeanne Childs in June 1993. Jerry Westrom, 56, was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree murder last month. A judge on Friday, Sept. 9, sentenced him based on 1993 guidelines, which are slightly different from current state…
MINNETONKA, Minn. (FOX 9) – A Minnesota couple were among the 10 people killed when a seaplane crashed near Whidbey Island in Washington on Sunday. Rebecca and Luke Ludwig were killed when the plane went down. UnitedHealthCare, which is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, confirmed to FOX 9 on Tuesday Rebecca Ludwig works for the company and was on the plane. According to social media, the couple had two…
