ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has denied requests to reconsider the tailings dam permits that it issued for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine. The DNR said Wednesday that opponents did not raise any new issues that materially affect its 2008 decision granting the permits. The Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa and environmental groups…
NEW YORK (AP) – Pharmacy chain Walgreens plans to close 200 stores in the United States as it seeks to cut costs. The company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday the closings are part of its previously announced plan to trim costs by $1.5 billion in a few years. In May, the company announced plans to close 200 stores in…
(photo: twitter) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources is investigating a spill at a Jackson County frac sand mine. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the spill occurred Saturday at the 670-acre Wisconsin Proppants Hixton mine in the town of Curran northwest of Black River Falls. Town Chairman Dwight Swenson says he saw signs of a spill…
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) – A Bloomington man is charged with fatally stabbing his wife. Fifty-six-year-old John Lawler is facing a second-degree murder charge and is expected in court Wednesday. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says prosecutors are seeking bail of $1 million. A criminal complaint says Lawler and his 47-year-old wife, Darla King, returned their townhome about 6 p.m. Sunday…
BARRON, Wis. (AP) – The house where Jayme Closs was kidnapped and her parents were fatally shot has been torn down in northwestern Wisconsin. The bank that owns the house near Barron had it demolished Tuesday after consulting with relatives about the property. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald tells the Star Tribune his department released the crime scene back to…
FRIDLEY, Minn. (AP) – Two young sisters were burned, one critically, when a van caught fire in a Walmart parking lot in a northern Minneapolis suburb. Authorities say the girls were alone in the van Tuesday morning for 45 minutes to an hour as their mother shopped in the store in Fridley. A van next to the girls’ van caught…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Johnson Controls International is devoting $140 million to address pollutants from firefighting foam in northeastern Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the company’s third-quarter earnings report indicates it will set the money aside to clean-up pollution from PFAS in Marinette, where its Tyco Fire Products unit is based. PFAS are man-made chemicals found in products such…
LITTLE CANADA, Minn. (AP) – Authorities have made an arrest in a fatal stabbing in Little Canada. Ramsey County sheriff’s officials say a 30-year-old woman, found covered in blood at her residence, was arrested early Monday. A woman about the same age was found dead outside the home about 10 p.m. Sunday. Authorities believe the suspect and victim knew each…
(AP Photo/Guillermo Arias, File) NEW YORK (AP) – Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison has died. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf says Morrison died Monday night at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She was 88. She was the first black woman to receive the Nobel literature prize, awarded in 1993. The Swedish academy hailed her use of language and her “visionary…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz says he’ll seek hearings on gun measures this fall after the latest mass shootings in Ohio and Texas. Democratic leaders and gun safety advocates in Minnesota have for years pursued universal background checks and “red flag” laws, which let police take guns from people thought to be a threat to themselves and…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A state appeals court has dealt a setback to environmentalists who challenged Minnesota’s rules on hard-rock mining. In a unanimous opinion, the court said on Monday the rules developed by the Department of Natural Resources are valid. Environmentalists argued the rules are too vague to protect Minnesota’s natural resources. Two companies are preparing to build…
CARP LAKE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) – Authorities have identified a pilot who died after a small plane crashed in a remote area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. WLUC-TV reports Ontonagon County officials have identified the pilot as 36-year-old Jack Maccani of Ironwood. He was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Cellphone location data helped locate the plane in a remote area…
DULUTH, Minn. – According to the City of Duluth a portion of Superior Street will close for repairs on Wednesday. The city says Superior Street between Mesaba and 6th Avenue West will close to replace some cracked concrete panels. The road will close after 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday and will remain closed for approximately one week. Sixth Avenue West will…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota authorities are charging singer R. Kelly with two counts of prostitution and solicitation involving a girl under 18 for an alleged incident in 2001. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says Robert Kelly is charged in an incident involving a girl he met at a concert. Freeman says the girl was trying to get an autograph from…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Data shows opioid manufacturers distributed about 842 million pills to Minnesota pharmacies from 2006 to 2012, amounting to 156 pills for each resident. Minnesota Public Radio News, analyzing data obtained by the Washington Post after a legal battle, reports that most of the pills were circulated in urban Hennepin and Ramsey counties, but that rural…
EL PASO, Texas (AP) -A hospital official says another victim of the weekend mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, has died. Dr. Stephen Flaherty, of the Del Sol Medical Center, says the patient was one of two victims of Saturday’s attack to die at the hospital on Monday. Police earlier announced the death of one of the patients. The new…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is calling the recent mass shootings “evil attacks” that are crimes “against all humanity” and says unity must replace hatred in society. Trump gave a speech from the White House on Monday following weekend shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left 29 people dead and dozens wounded. He called the shootings…
(AP) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says Washington “must come together” in the wake of two mass shootings this weekend to “get strong background checks” for gun users. But he is providing no details on what sort of legislation he would support. Trump, who will make remarks later Monday, tweeted about the weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio that…
(AP Photo/John Minchillo) DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – The Latest on a deadly mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio (all times local): 5:05 p.m. The popular nightlife area where a gunman killed nine people and injured dozens of others has reopened to the public. The Oregon District was reopened Sunday afternoon, hours after the second mass shooting in the U.S. within 24…
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Twenty people were killed and more than two dozen injured in a shooting Saturday in a busy shopping area in the Texas border town of El Paso, the state’s governor said. Among the possibilities being investigated is whether it was a hate crime, the police chief said. Two law enforcement officials who spoke to The…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Wisconsin health officials say they’ve linked vaping to 11 recent cases where teenagers and young adults developed “severe lung disease” that required hospitalizations. Officials said Friday they’re investigating another seven cases that may also be linked to vaping. The health department says all the patients they interviewed reported vaping in the weeks and months prior to being…
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – A county in northwest Minnesota is about to become the first in the state to let cellphone callers stream live video and audio to dispatchers when they call 911 for help. Pennington County Sheriff Ray Kuznia tells the Minnesota Public Radio News that the technology will be implemented later in August. Kuznia added it should help…
(courtesy: Fox 9) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The family of a 5-year-old boy who survived being thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in April says he finally has been moved out of intensive care and into a rehabilitation program. The boy, identified only as Landen, has been at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis since he was thrown nearly…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced developments in two cases involving the sexual assaults of minors – and adults who allegedly failed to protect them. The department announced Thursday that it settled a lawsuit with Ramsey County involving the sexual assault of a then-16-year-old lifeguard by her supervisor in 2013. The lifeguard reported the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – New revelations about overpayments to two American Indian tribes are bringing more scrutiny to Minnesota’s Department of Human Services. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Thursday the department overpaid the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the White Earth Nation by $25.3 million for substance abuse treatments covered by Medicaid. The newspaper cited internal memos….
JUNCTION CITY, Ky. (AP) – Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Don Gilliam said the fires are out from a gas line explosion early Thursday that killed a person and sent five others to a hospital. The explosion happened on an Enbridge Texas Easter natural gas pipeline near Danville. He says six structures were impacted and some destroyed altogether by the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump intensified pressure Thursday on China to reach a trade deal by saying that beginning Sept. 1, he will impose 10% tariffs on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports he hasn’t already taxed. The move immediately sent stock prices sinking. The president has already imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese products, and…
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new report says a July survey of business supply managers suggests economic growth will slow over the next three to six months in nine Midwest and Plains states. The report issued Thursday says the Mid-America Business Conditions index dropped to 52.0 in July from 55.4 in June. It’s the lowest figure in more than three…
TOWER, Minn. (AP) – Two former officials in the northern Minnesota city of Tower are charged with criminal misconduct for allegedly trying to oust a newspaper publisher from a city agency. Ex-Mayor Joshua Carlson and former City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith allegedly tried to remove Timberjay editor and publisher Marshall Helmberger from the Tower Economic Development Authority. A criminal complaint says…
ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota man has been sentenced to up to a month in jail for leaving his 5-year-old son alone in the woods as punishment. Thirty-two-year-old Gregory Allan Wilson of St. Peter was sentenced for gross misdemeanor child neglect Tuesday. Wilson pleaded guilty in May, and additional charges of domestic assault and malicious punishment of a…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has confirmed Kelly Craft to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, ending a more than seven-month vacancy in the position. Craft was confirmed despite Democratic concerns about her inexperience and conflicts of interest. Craft is a longtime GOP activist from Kentucky who is currently U.S. ambassador to Canada. She and her husband,…
SHAWANO, Wis. (AP) -Authorities say human remains have been found on a northwest Missouri farm that has been the focus of a search for two missing Wisconsin brothers. Clinton County Sheriff Larry Fish announced Wednesday the remains were found on a farm near Braymer. He says the remains have not been officially identified. No cause of death has been determined….
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration says it will set up a system allowing Americans to legally access lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar made the announcement Wednesday morning. Azar, a former drug industry executive, says U.S. patients will be able to import medications safely and effectively, with oversight from the Food and Drug…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Charges have been filed against nine people so far as a result of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s work to test thousands of kits containing evidence collected from sexual assault victims. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul said in an interview Wednesday he expects that number to increase as more tests are completed and prosecutors review evidence….
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A conservative law firm is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to dramatically scale back the ability of governors to change the intent of lawmakers through partial budget vetoes. If successful, the move would reverse more than four decades of precedent. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit Wednesday…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Delta Air Lines pilot suspected of drinking before his flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been arrested. A report by airport police says the pilot had an “alcoholic container” in his possession and was suspected of being impaired. He was scheduled to fly to San Diego, California Tuesday morning. The Star Tribune reports the pilot,…
(AP) – The U.S. Education Department is being urged to close a loophole that has allowed some wealthy families to get federal aid meant for low-income students. Federal authorities have been notified that some parents in Illinois were transferring guardianship of their children to friends or relatives to make it appear they came from poorer backgrounds, making them eligible for…
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities in Wisconsin say a man suspected of killing four people may have been imitating the abduction last year of teenager Jayme Closs. Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said Tuesday that investigators may never know exactly what led to the Sunday attacks. He says Ritchie German Jr. killed three of his family members and later killed a…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A person with direct knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press the Minnesota Wild have fired general manager Paul Fenton after just one season. The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team had yet to make the formal announcement. The Athletic first reported the news. Fenton’s lone year on the…
DULUTH, Minn. –Two Duluth men were sentenced on Monday for trafficking a 15-year-old girl for sex. A jury found 44-year-old Amos Kiprop Koech guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor on January 24. Koech’s alleged co-conspirator, 33-year-old Andre Mathis Jr., pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor on January 10….
SEATTLE (AP) – Capital One says a hacker broke into a database containing details likes home addresses and birth dates. The bank reported the breach is affecting 100 million people that tried to open credit cards. Investigators say 140,000 social security numbers have been compromised and 80,000 bank account numbers were also stolen. The company claims that based on their…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A leading conservative attorney says he has never heard anyone in the Legislature say there were plans to circumvent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to enact redistricting without his approval. The comment Tuesday from Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty leader Rick Esenberg comes a day after he was quoted in a story by the liberal online…
BRAYMER, Mo. (AP) – A judge has denied bond for a man charged with tampering with a rental vehicle used by two missing Wisconsin brothers. Garland “Joey” Nelson made his first court appearance via video Monday and was denied a request to be released on bond. Nelson is charged with tampering with a motor vehicle used by Nick and Justin…
(courtesy: Fox 9) UPDATE: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A worker has been freed after being trapped for three hours in a trench that collapsed at a construction site in downtown Minneapolis. Deputy Minneapolis Fire Chief Todd White says the worker was talking, alert and in stable condition when he was lifted out in a stretcher-basket around 11 a.m. Monday. The man…
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities in northwestern Wisconsin say shootings at two homes have left five people dead, including the suspected shooter, and two others injured. Chippewa County sheriff’s officials say deputies responded to a 911 call about a shooting at a residence in Lake Hallie about 10:30 p.m. Sunday and found a man and woman dead. Two other…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – At least two possible tornadoes caused damage in northern Washington County and McLeod County as severe weather swept across Minnesota. The National Weather Service says one tornado was reported near Scandia and another was spotted east of Silver Lake Sunday. Both left a trail of downed trees and power lines as well as some structural damage. Heavy…
GILROY, Calif. (AP) — A 6-year-old boy described by his grandmother as always kind and happy was one of three people killed and at least 15 others injured when a gunman heard to be “really angry” opened fire during the closing moments of a popular weekend garlic festival in Northern California. Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said the gunman was…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota corrections official who resigned recently is accused of leaking private internal data as well as lobbying for her husband’s nonprofit. Sarah Walker stepped down last week, just a few months after Gov. Tim Walz appointed her a deputy commissioner in the Department of Corrections. Walker this week said she was accused of improper…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators are approving T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion takeover of rival Sprint, despite fears of higher prices and job cuts. Friday’s approval by the Justice Department and five state attorneys general comes after Sprint and T-Mobile agreed to conditions that would set up satellite-TV provider Dish as a fourth wireless company, so the number of major U.S. providers…
DETROIT (AP) – Bernie Sanders has become the second Democratic presidential hopeful to call for shutting down an oil pipeline that crosses a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. The Vermont senator said in a tweet Thursday that Enbridge’s Line 5 should be decommissioned and new fossil fuel infrastructure banned. Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids from…
