UPDATE: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report includes President Donald Trump’s written responses submitted in the Russia probe. Trump’s responses are being released by Attorney General William Barr without redactions and comprise 12 pages. Trump told Mueller he had no recollection of several key events in Mueller’s probe, including a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between top aides and a Russian…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson says he is working on legislation to help stem the flow of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson wants to toughen the initial standard for asylum seekers to “more than a probable chance” they’ll experience violence or persecution in their home countries. Right now, if people can demonstrate “credible fear,” they’re…
(Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office via AP) UPDATE: (AP) – Authorities say the young Florida woman who was allegedly obsessed with the Columbine shooting is dead. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader told reporters Wednesday that the FBI found Sol Pais dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The FBI had said that Sol Pais, flew to Colorado on Monday night and…
(courtesy: Fox 9)ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Classes at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul have been canceled after a bomb threat forced the evacuation of students, staff and even babies who were rolled out of an on-campus day care center in their cribs. The university alerted students, faculty and staff to evacuate McNeely Hall and surround buildings…
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) – A Brainerd man is accused of attacking a woman with a machete in St. Cloud before using the weapon on himself. Police say the man went to the woman’s apartment building to meet her Monday afternoon, pulled out a machete in the lobby and cut her in the shoulder and wrist. Authorities say the woman…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A bipartisan proposal designed to protect patients and make it easier for them to get needed prescription drugs was up for a public hearing in the Wisconsin Legislature. The measure has broad support from health care providers and people with chronic diseases. It’s modeled after laws in 18 other states setting protocols for so-called step therapy….
BARRON, Wis.-Authorities say a Wisconsin man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents is refusing to cooperate in his presentence investigation. The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that a probation and parole agent filed a one-paragraph letter Monday telling a Barron County Circuit Court judge that Jake Patterson stated he was advised by his lawyer not…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is joining with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in support of a bill that would create uniform procedure for the processing and collection of sexual assault kits. Kaul and lawmakers on Tuesday announced the bill that’s designed to prevent a future testing backlog. The bill establishes requirements and timelines for…
(Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Testimony in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed woman has raised questions about whether officers were trying to protect one of their own. The incident commander turned her body camera off when talking to Mohamed Noor after the July 2017 shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond….
(DNR) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Department of Natural Resources Secretary Preston Cole says he doesn’t understand why baiting and feeding deer is still allowed in Wisconsin given the spread of chronic wasting disease. State law bans baiting and feeding in infected counties for 36 months and for 24 months in neighboring counties. If another deer tests positive during that span,…
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (AP) – Police say two children were among those injured when a SUV driver ran a red light and crashed into a school bus in Brooklyn Park. Deputy Chief Mark Bruley says the children and drivers of both vehicles were taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The bus was headed to Athlos Leadership…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Gov. Tim Walz announced Tarek Tomes as the incoming Commissioner of Minnesota IT Services. The governor held a news conference Tuesday morning to announce the new head of Minnesota IT Services, also known as MNIT, the state agency responsible for information technology systems across all executive branch departments. “As a recognized industry leader and experienced public…
(Bloomington Police Department) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man charged with throwing a 5-year-old boy off a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America told police he was angry at being rejected by women at the Minnesota mall and was “looking for someone to kill” when he went there last week, according to a criminal complaint Monday. Emmanuel Aranda, 24, of…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – President Donald Trump is spending America’s tax filing day in Minnesota. Trump arrived in Minneapolis on Monday and was headed to a trucking company in the suburb of Burnsville to host a roundtable discussion on the economy. The president says the economy is doing well. He also says a package of corporate and individual tax cuts he…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department expects to make special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation public on Thursday morning. Spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Monday the redacted report will be sent to Congress and made available to the public Thursday. Mueller officially concluded his investigation late last month and submitted a nearly 400-page report to Attorney General William…
UPDATE: The soaring spire of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has collapsed in flames, and a church spokesman says the entire wooden interior of the 12th century landmark is burning and likely to be destroyed. A massive fire engulfed the roof of the cathedral in the heart of the French capital on Monday afternoon as Parisians watched in horror. Notre…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — TCF Bank made more than $620,000 in card fees from University of Minnesota students on the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses last school year, according to a consumer advocacy group’s report. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group released a study last week that found 44% of the university’s students have TCF bank accounts, Minnesota Daily reported. University…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – President Donald Trump is using Tax Day on Monday to visit Minnesota, a state he nearly won in 2016 and would like to flip in 2020. But questions remain about how much Trump is benefiting politically from the federal tax overhaul, his signature legislative accomplishment. An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last week showed that most…
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. – Police have arrested a high school junior in the killing of two people at a home in eastern Wisconsin. Police officers found the victims at the house in Grand Chute during a welfare check Sunday. The 17-year-old boy was arrested at the home. The teen is being held at the Outagamie County Jail on suspicion of…
Update: BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – A witness says a woman screamed that her child was thrown from a balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Brian Johnson told WCCO-TV the woman was screaming, “Everybody pray, everybody pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge.” Johnson says the woman was screaming that her child was thrown from…
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)ORONO, Minn. (AP) – A prominent businessman who once held a stake in the Minnesota Vikings apparently fatally shot his wife before killing himself. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner issued a report Friday that concluded 77-year-old Alexandra Light Jacobs died of multiple gunshot wounds. The medical examiner says 77-year-old Irwin Lawrence Jacobs died of multiple self-inflicted…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz has signed a bill that will require motorists to use hands-free devices to talk on the phone while driving on Minnesota roads starting Aug. 1. At a signing ceremony Friday, Walz paid tribute to dozens of people surrounding him who lost loved ones in crashes caused by distracted drivers, saying lives will…
Update: Minnesota Power crews have restored power to all customers in the Pike Lake area. Update: Crews are working to restore power to about 650 customers in the Pike Lake area. Restoration is expected by 3:45 p.m. Update: Power has been restored to all customers in the Eveleth area. HERMANTOWN, Minn. – Over 2,400 people are still experiencing power outages…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities say a Minnesota teen was video chatting on her cellphone and driving nearly 100 mph when a state trooper pulled her over on a busy highway near St. Peter. The Star Tribune reports that 18-year-old Theresa Redenius, of Lakeville, is charged with careless driving. The trooper says he could see Redenius was “still on active FaceTime…
(Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP) ORONO, Minn. (AP) – The children of a one-time part owner of the Minnesota Vikings and his wife have asked for privacy while they grieve their parents’ deaths. Irwin and Alexandra Jacobs’ children confirmed their parents’ deaths in a short statement issued Wednesday through a public relations firm. Authorities haven’t publicly identified the couple but…
LONDON-The U.S. Justice Department has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer. The charge was announced Thursday after Assange was taken into custody in London in connection with a U.S. extradition request, as well as for breaching U.K. bail conditions in 2012. His lawyer has previously said that Assange planned…
WASHINGTON-President Donald Trump will travel to Minnesota on Monday, the April 15 tax filing deadline. Trump is hoping to win Minnesota in the next election and has been citing tax cuts and his work on trade deals as positives that will help Republicans win in 2020. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the trip to reporters traveling with the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota authorities say nearly five dozen people are facing charges for sex trafficking following an undercover operation in several Twin Cities communities. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says 28 victims were rescued from sex trafficking situations, including one minor. The sting was conducted April 4-8. Undercover agents and investigators posed as minors or as…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Minnesota on Monday, the April 15 tax filing deadline. Trump is hoping to win Minnesota in the next election and has been citing tax cuts and his work on trade deals as positives that will help Republicans win in 2020. The Federal Aviation Administration sent an…
(courtesy: Fox 9) ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (AP) – The state police standards board has revoked the license of the former police chief in St. Joseph accused of misconduct. Chief Joel Klein was placed on administrative leave in April 2018 and resigned in May. The St. Cloud Times says the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training conducted an investigation…
ORONO, Minn. (AP) – Police say they’re investigating the deaths of two people at a home in Orono. Authorities say bodies of a male and female were discovered at the home about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Police are being assisted by Hennepin County sheriff’s investigators and the state Crime Lab. Officials say there is no apparent risk to the public in…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The liberal candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race has conceded to her conservative rival, deciding against a recount in a contest where the two were separated by just half a percentage point. Lisa Neubauer’s conceded Wednesday to Brian Hagedorn. Unofficial results showed Hagedorn with a nearly 6,000-vote lead after the April 2 election. That didn’t measurably…
MADISON, Wis. – Property taxes on the owner of a median-valued home are projected to increase under Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, but not as much as they would under current law. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released its estimate for property taxes Tuesday. Under the Evers budget, property taxes are projected to go up 2 percent in 2019 and…
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…
