MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The chairman of the Oneida Nation is calling on Wisconsin lawmakers to eliminate remaining American Indian high school mascots, protect the environment and aggressively fight chronic wasting disease. Tehassi Hill spoke Tuesday during the annual State of the Tribes address before the Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers. Hill said 31 Wisconsin schools still use American Indian…
KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – An Illinois man is behind bars and facing possible reckless homicide charges in the deaths of three family members from Kenosha. Authorities say the pickup driver was intoxicated and speeding when he slammed into the back of an SUV in Salem Lakes, killing a doctor, a dentist and the dentist’s wife, a nurse. The doctor and…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz says his administration has renewed its challenge to a regulatory panel’s approval of Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. Walz told reporters Monday that the Commerce Department refiled its appeal last week with the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which had dismissed earlier appeals…
SAN FRANCISCO-Actress Felicity Huffman has agreed to plead guilty in the college admissions cheating scandal. Court documents made public Monday show Huffman and 12 other prominent parents will plead guilty in the scheme. Huffman was accused of paying $15,000 to have a proctor boost her older daughter’s SAT score. Huffman was among 50 people charged in what authorities have described…
ST. PAUL, Minn.-Minnesota House Democrats have unveiled a tax bill that includes $1.2 billion in higher taxes, mostly on corporate foreign profits, and they propose to spend about three-fourths of the new revenues on education. Leaders of the House Democratic majority said Monday that most individual Minnesotans would see tax cuts under their proposal. The bill would bring the state’s…
GREEN BAY, Wis.-A Green Bay police dog has been stabbed during an encounter with a suspect. Officers responded to a call about a man with a gun Sunday around 8 p.m. Police say they surrounded a house and the man came out. The police dog Pyro bit the man as officers attempted to arrest him and he stabbed the animal….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Two of Wisconsin’s most polluted sites on the Great Lakes are marking cleanup milestones. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the state Department of Natural Resources no longer designates the Lower Menominee River and the St. Louis River as impaired. Impairment designations indicate the area has experienced environmental degradation. The impairment designations were removed in February. The…
MINNEAPOLIS – The attorney for a former Minneapolis police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed woman is quizzing potential jurors about decision-making in high-stress situations. Mohamed Noor is charged with murder in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Noor shot the dual Australian-U.S. citizen when she approached his squad car minutes after calling 911 to report…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota House Democrats are making a push to allow all state residents to obtain driver’s licenses regardless of their immigration status. At a news conference ahead of Friday’s floor debate, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler said immigrants – whether they’re documented or undocumented – are Minnesotans. He pointed out that all Minnesota residents could get licenses…
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The college bribery scandal is bringing new attention to the debate over using standardized test scores to judge applicants. Numerous colleges have made SAT and ACT scores optional, with leaders saying they want to increase equity and diversity. David Hawkins of the National Association for College Admission Counseling sees more exploring the change. He says even before…
(Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office via AP) CINCINNATI -An FBI affidavit says an Ohio man who authorities say falsely claimed to be an Illinois boy missing for eight years has made similar claims twice before. The affidavit filed in federal court Friday says 23-year-old Brian Rini repeatedly told investigators he was Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at…
Authorities have rejected a teenager’s claim that he is an Illinois boy who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. The FBI says DNA testing ruled out the teenager as being Timmothy Pitzen, missing from Aurora, Illinois. Police say the story of teenager found wandering streets in Newport, Kentucky, on Wednesday didn’t check out. The teenager told police that he was…
MADISON, Wis. – A University of Wisconsin System regent committee is approving increasing the salary range for the system president. The regent Business and Finance Committee voted unanimously Thursday to set the minimum salary at $489,334 and the maximum salary at $734,000. The current minimum salary is $399,000 and the maximum is $598,500. Regent policies call for adjusting executive salary…
(Aurora Police Department via AP) CINCINNATI (AP) — Authorities conducted DNA testing to try to determine Thursday whether a teenager found wandering in Kentucky is who he claims to be — an Illinois boy who disappeared eight years ago around the time his mother took her own life. The teenager told police in Newport, Kentucky, on Wednesday that he had…
NEW YORK (AP) – Target is raising the minimum hourly wage for its workers for the third time in less than two years. The discounter said Thursday it plans to raise the hourly starting wage to $13 from $12 in June. The Minneapolis-based retailer announced in 2017 a plan to raise its starting hourly wages for workers to $15 by…
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee approved subpoenas Wednesday for special counsel Robert Mueller’s full Russia report as Democrats pressure the Justice Department to release the document without redactions. The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report, its exhibits and any…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Democrats who control the Minnesota House have unveiled a transportation budget that expands on Gov. Tim Walz’s spending and taxing proposals, while a Republican-controlled Senate committee, in a largely symbolic move, has voted down his transportation tax increases. The House Democratic transportation budget unveiled Tuesday mostly mirror’s the Democratic governor’s proposals, including a 20 cent gas…
MILWAUKEE – Steelworkers at Harley-Davidson have overwhelmingly rejected a new contract offer, while machinists have accepted a deal. United Steelworkers Local 2209 in the Milwaukee area and Local 460 in Tomahawk rejected the new deal Monday. WTMJ-AM reports the current contract between steelworkers and Harley took effect in 2012 and was set to expire Monday. But, the union will continue…
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) NEW YORK (AP) – A recent wave of cases of a mysterious paralyzing illness among children has waned. But U.S. health officials are accelerating their efforts to find a cause and a treatment. In a medical journal article published Tuesday, some of the federal government’s top infectious disease scientists say the problem seems to be getting…
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin voters picking a new state Supreme Court justice say the partisan backgrounds and support of the candidates in the officially nonpartisan race are a major factor. Appeals court judges Brian Hagedorn and Lisa Neubauer are facing off in Tuesday’s election. Hagedorn was former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s chief attorney and is backed by conservatives. Neubauer…
(Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP) MANDAN, N.D. – Police in North Dakota are planning to release more information in the deaths of four people whose bodies were found Monday at a property management company in Mandan. Authorities called a midday news conference to discuss the slaying of three men and one woman whose bodies were found at RJR Maintenance…
MANDAN, N.D. – North Dakota authorities say four people were found dead inside a property management company in Mandan and police are looking for a suspect. Mandan police say they have not yet identified the deceased but the victims were three males and one female. Authorities are not saying how they were killed. The company, RJR Maintenance and Management, is…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Gov. Tim Walz has signed a bill giving schools and students a break for all the days they missed due to this winter’s bitter cold and heavy snow. The bipartisan compromise, which was approved by both the House and Senate last Thursday, gives school districts more flexibility for making up all the days they canceled. Teachers,…
MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin System regents are getting ready to increase the salary range for the system president position. System officials are proposing setting the minimum salary at $489,334 and the maximum salary at $734,000. The current minimum salary is $399,000 and the maximum is $598,500. The new range would go into effect July 1. Regent policies call…
HASTINGS, Minn. – A former Minnesota middle school principal has pleaded guilty to charges of stalking, identity theft and burglary. KARE-TV reports the crimes 51-year-old Christopher Jerome Endicott is charged with occurred over five years and involved five separate incidents. Dakota County prosecutors on Monday announced Endicott’s pleas. A judge ordered a psychological evaluation for the former Lakeville Middle School…
MADISON, Wis. – Republican legislators want a state appeals court to force Democratic Gov. Tony Evers into letting 15 GOP appointees return to work. Republicans confirmed 82 appointees during a December lame-duck session. Evers rescinded the appointments March 22 after a Dane County judge ruled the session was illegal. But the 3rd District Court of Appeals stayed the ruling on…
MANDAN, N.D. – Police in North Dakota say “several” bodies have been found inside a business in suburban Bismarck. Officers responded to a medical call at the business Monday morning and found several people dead inside. The Mandan Police Department did not say how many and did not immediately respond to a request for more details. Morton County referred a…
MINNEAPOLIS – Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman after she called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. Thirty-three-year-old Mohamed Noor is charged in the July 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Noor is charged with murder and manslaughter. Potential jurors…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s focus on school lockdown drills and security infrastructure is inadequate in preventing school shootings and keeping students safe, according to two St. Paul researchers. Hamline University criminology professor Jillian Peterson has been working with Metropolitan State University criminal justice professor James Densley to collect data about individuals who committed mass acts of gun violence…
THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. (AP) – A Thief River Falls man is accused of killing a woman in his apartment and setting the living quarters on fire. The Star Tribune reports that 23-year-old Devon Pulczinski is charged in Pennington County District Court with second-degree murder and first-degree arson in connection with the fire and the death of a woman who…
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (AP) — Attorney General William Barr has told Congress to expect a version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation by mid-April. The attorney general sent a letter Friday to Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Barr says he wants the public to…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump says he will close the nation’s southern border, or large sections of it, next week if Mexico does not immediately stop illegal immigration. In a tweet Friday, Trump ramped up his repeated threat to close the border by saying he will do it next week unless Mexico takes action. The president called on…
MADISON, Wis. – The state Senate’s top Republican is rejecting 67 of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ appointments, saying a court ruling prevents him from filling the positions. Senate Republicans confirmed 82 of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s appointees during a December lame-duck session. A Dane County judge last week ruled the session was illegal, prompting Evers to rescind the appointments….
(AP)WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is announcing that he will fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative after his administration proposed a 90 percent spending cut. Trump is telling supporters at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that he will be providing $300 million for the cleanup program, framing the announcement as “breaking news.” Trump says “it’s time,” though…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Half of Minnesota’s bat species are nearing extinction because of a potentially fatal fungal disease. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources released its bat population survey findings on Thursday. The department found that the disease called white nose syndrome has killed up to 94 percent of bats that hibernate in state-monitored caves and abandoned mines. The…
(Garret Ellison | MLive)ST. PAUL, Minn. – Enbridge Energy is asking state regulators to replace a section of its oil pipeline that crosses the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation in northeastern Minnesota. Enbridge has filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission to replace a 10-mile, above-ground section of its Line 4 pipeline with a new…
ST. PAUL, Minn.-Just as quickly as the Minnesota Senate passed it, the state House shot down legislation to force the state Commerce Department to drop its appeals of a regulatory panel’s approval of Enbridge Energy’s hotly disputed plan to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. The Public Utilities Commission gave its final reaffirmation to the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Legislature has approved “snow day relief” legislation and sent it to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature. The bipartisan compromise approved by both the House and Senate on Thursday gives school districts more flexibility for making up all the days they canceled this winter due to bitter cold and heavy snow. Minnesota normally requires…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The superintendent of a Wisconsin high school district has outlawed cheerleading awards that objectify students’ bodies and ordered mandatory staff training on discrimination and harassment. Dr. Sue Savaglio-Jarvis said in a letter Monday to all principals and administrators in the Kenosha Unified School District that “mock awards of any such kind” are prohibited. The letter is a…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court won’t stop the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on bump stock devices, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns. The ban took effect Tuesday. Gun rights groups asked the court on Monday to stop the government from enforcing the ban for now. Chief Justice John Roberts declined one request for the…
(AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar is proposing an infrastructure plan she says will provide $1 trillion to fix roads and bridges, protect against flooding and rebuild schools and other projects. The plan announced Thursday is the first policy proposal from the Minnesota senator since she joined the 2020 race. Klobuchar’s campaign says her plan would leverage $650 billion…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — While someone in neighboring Wisconsin hit the top Powerball jackpot, a ticket sold in Minnesota will make someone a new millionaire. The ticket that matched all five white balls drawn Wednesday night, but missed the Powerball, is good for $2 million. That’s because the player chose the Power Play option to double the prize for those numbers….
(AP Photo/John Locher) NEW BERLIN, Wis. – The Wisconsin Lottery says a single ticket that matched all six Powerball numbers to win the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history was sold in a Milwaukee suburb. The ticket worth an estimated $768.4 million, or a cash option of $477 million, was sold in New Berlin. The city of about 40,000 people…
MADISON, Wis. – A Wisconsin appeals court has sided with Republicans and reinstated laws passed during a lame-duck legislative session that weaken powers of the Democratic governor and attorney general. The 3rd District Court of Appeals on Wednesday put on hold a ruling made last week striking down the laws as unconstitutional. The appeals court decision means that while the…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) WASHINGTON – Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is facing sharp pushback over a proposal to cut federal funding to the Special Olympics. Celebrities, politicians and activists have taken to social media to rebuke DeVos for her plan to cut funding for the group as part of $7 billion in reductions in 2020. The organization received $17.6 million from…
UPDATE: BARRON, Wis. -A Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents. Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. A count of armed burglary was dropped. The intentional homicide counts carry a sentence of life in prison. Patterson admitted to kidnapping Jayme after…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – It’s a sure sign of spring. The first ship of the season has made its way through the Soo Locks and into the Twin Ports at Duluth and Superior. The Stewart J. Cort arrived under the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth’s Canal Park Tuesday afternoon. The vessel’s owner, Interlake Steamship, says the 1,000 footer has a…
MADISON, Wis. – An appeals court says the state can involuntarily medicate prisoners even if they don’t pose a threat. According to court documents, a defendant identified as C.S. was convicted of mayhem in 2005 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. A jury in 2015 found C.S. was mentally ill and a judge ordered involuntarily medication. C.S. argued involuntary…
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File) BARRON, Wis. – The Wisconsin man charged with kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to enter a formal plea on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, kidnapping and armed burglary. Jake Patterson, 21, wrote a letter to Minnesota television station earlier this month stating his plans to plead guilty…
MADISON, Wis. – A second Dane County judge has blocked a portion of Republican-backed laws limiting Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul’s powers. Judge Frank Remington on Tuesday blocked language that requires Kaul to get legislative approval before settling cases. His order stems from a lawsuit by unions that argued the laws steal power from the executive branch….
