MADISON, Wis. (AP) — More details are emerging about Gov. Tony Evers’ plans to bolster funding for Wisconsin’s state parks. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released an analysis of Evers state budget Tuesday. It shows that Evers wants to spend an additional $2.8 million from the state conservation fund on parks over the biennium. About $931,000 annually would go toward $1.50-an-hour…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON – An effort by House Democrats to override President Donald Trump’s first veto has failed. That hands him a victory because his declaration of a national emergency at the Southwest border will remain in effect. The Democratic-controlled chamber has voted 248-181 in favor of overriding Trump’s veto. That fell 38 votes short of the 286 needed…
WINONA, Minn. – The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating a fatal fire in Winona. The duplex fire Monday left one person dead. Winona Fire Chief Curt Bittle says the victim’s body was found in the duplex after the fire was contained at the one-story wood-frame home. Bittle says the death has been ruled “suspicious” with the BCA investigating….
CHICAGO (AP) — Attorneys for “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett said Tuesday that charges alleging he lied to police about a racist and homophobic attack have been dropped. Smollett attorneys Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes said in a statement that Smollett’s record “has been wiped clean.” Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts related to making a false report that…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Leaders of the Minnesota House Democratic majority have unveiled a budget framework that’s similar to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget but adds a tuition freeze for students at public colleges and universities. The plan announced Monday also includes additional corporate tax loophole closings to raise more revenue. It includes the governor’s proposal for raising the…
ST. PAUL, Minn.-The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill to require drivers to use hands-free devices when they want to use their cellphones on the road. The 56-10 vote Monday sent the bill back to the House for further work because senators added some provisions that weren’t in the version the House passed last week. Gov. Tim Walz has said…
SUPERIOR, Wis.-The city of Superior has agreed to join a roughly $18.5 million project to remove contaminated sediments from Howards Bay to improve shipping and restore fish and wildlife habitat. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the Superior City Council approved agreements Tuesday to work with federal, state and private partners on the Howards Bay dredging project. Wisconsin Department of Natural…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arkansas-based Tyson Foods is recalling more than 69,000 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips because they may be contaminated with pieces of metal. The U.S. Agriculture Department said Thursday the products were produced on Nov. 30, 2018, and have a best if used by date of Nov. 30, 2019. The products have the establishment number “P-7221” on…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota the final permit it needs to proceed. The permit deals with how PolyMet will mitigate the project’s effects on wetlands. The Corps says the project will impact 500 fewer acres of wetlands compared with PolyMet’s original proposal. Col. Sam Calkins, commander…
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota’s unemployment rate increased slightly in February for the second consecutive month as brutal winter weather idled more than 6,000 construction workers. The state Department of Employment and Economic Development says the jobless rate last month was 3.1 percent, inching up from 3 percent in January. In addition to the loss of 6,200 construction jobs last month, Minnesota’s…
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – A 21-year-old man will spend 50 to 70 years in prison for the shooting death and mutilation of his childhood friend in a field north of Detroit. Andrew Fiacco was sentenced Thursday. A jury convicted him last month of second-degree murder, using a firearm during a felony, dismemberment and lying to a police officer. Prosecutors said…
UPDATE: MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has filed a motion to withdraw the state from an ongoing federal lawsuit seeking repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Kaul filed the motion Thursday after fellow Democrat, Gov. Tony Evers, ordered him to withdraw Wisconsin from the lawsuit. Kaul had been blocked from taking action under a law passed by…
SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook had stored millions of user passwords in plain text for years, the social media company confirmed on Thursday after a security researcher posted about the issue online. Facebook says there is no evidence that employees had abused access to this data. The company says the passwords were stored on internal company servers, no outsiders could access…
DEERWOOD, Minn. – A woman has died in a crash in Crow Wing County just days before her husband’s funeral. The Minnesota State Patrol says a Crosby man crossed the centerline on Highway 6 near Deerwood Wednesday and hit the woman’s car head on. Seventy-year-old Barbara Jo Blood died at the scene. The driver of the car that crossed over…
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – A scientific report says the Great Lakes region is warming faster than the rest of the U.S., which likely will bring more flooding and other extreme weather such as heat waves and drought. The warming climate also could mean less overall snowfall even as lake-effect snowstorms get bigger, according to the report released Thursday by a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A bitter, partisan debate erupted on the Minnesota House floor when Republicans tried to bring up a health care reinsurance bill that House Democrats oppose as a giveaway to the insurance industry. Republicans passed a $549 million reinsurance plan to hold down individual marketplace premiums when they controlled the Legislature in 2017. A bill the Senate…
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug specifically developed for severe depression after childbirth. The agency on Tuesday approved Sage Therapeutics’ Zulresso, an IV drug given over 2 ½ days. Sage said Zulresso will cost $34,000 without insurance, plus costs for staying in a hospital or infusion center. Whether the treatment gets…
OGEMA, Minn. – Authorities have identified the three people found dead in northwestern Minnesota as a mother and her two young children. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Wednesday said 28-year-old Emma LaRoque fatally shot herself at their home in rural Ogema in Becker County. The BCA says her children were homicide victims. They are identified as 4-year-old Frederick…
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin legislators are set to vote on whether to lift restrictions on the state’s elk hunt. Current regulations allow an elk season once herds in the Clam Lake and Black River regions reach 200 and 150 animals respectively. The rules limit the number of permits to 5 percent of the elk population. The Department of Natural Resources…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Roundup weed killer was a substantial factor in a California man’s cancer, a jury determined Tuesday in the first phase of a trial that attorneys said could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits. The unanimous verdict by the six-person jury in federal court in San Francisco came in a lawsuit filed against Roundup’s…
MADISON, Wis. – Gov. Tony Evers wants to boost Wisconsin’s unemployment benefits and eliminate some requirements to qualify for them. The changes included in Evers’ budget proposal would raise the maximum rate for unemployment benefits from $370 to $406 a week. Critics say the state should not raise benefits at a time of record-low unemployment. Scott Manley, a vice president…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Republican Nathan Nelson has won the special election to fill a vacant state House seat in east-central Minnesota. Unofficial returns show Nelson beating Democrat Tim Burkhardt in Tuesday’s election for the House District 11B seat. Nelson will fill the seat previously held by Jason Rarick, who was elected to the state Senate last month. Nelson is…
MOORHEAD, Minn. – A Detroit Lakes man is hospitalized in critical condition after a fish house exploded in Moorhead. The fire department says the explosion happened Sunday and that Michael Herzog was outside the fish house when firefighters arrived. A CaringBridge website says Herzog has second- and third-degree burns over 90 percent of his body. Herzog, a former Concordia Moorhead…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senate Republican leaders say a proposal to use tax credits to funnel donations into scholarships for low- and middle-income students to attend private schools is a priority for them. And they’re hoping to make it the subject of negotiations with Democrat Gov. Tim Walz and House Democratic leaders late in the session. Senate Taxes Chairman Roger…
MILWAUKEE – Officials say a man shot by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police on campus is hospitalized in stable condition. University Police Chief Joe LeMire said at a news conference Tuesday two officers found the man, armed with a gun, sleeping on a bench in the Fine Arts Complex building around 7 a.m., an altercation occurred and he was shot. The…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House has voted to hold drug manufacturers responsible for the state’s growing costs for dealing with the opioid crisis. The bill passed 94-34 Monday night. It would support prevention, education, intervention, treatment and recovery strategies. The state would pay for them by sharply raising its annual registration fees for pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug wholesalers…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – State data shows the number of deaths from opioids and suicides in Minnesota reached record levels in 2017. The Minnesota Department of Health says 783 people took their own lives in 2017, a 5 percent increase from the previous year. There were 422 deaths from opioid overdoses, a 12 percent increase from 2016. State officials have…
MADISON, Wis. – Republican lawmakers are introducing a bill that would allow some first-time drunken drivers to ask judges to erase their record. Sen. Andre Jacque and Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt’s proposal would allow first-timers to petition for expungement if they didn’t cause an injury and their blood alcohol content was less than 0.15 percent. They also would have to drive…
(AP) MADISON, Wis. – Foxconn Technology Group says its manufacturing facility in Wisconsin will be producing liquid crystal display screens by the end of 2020, with construction starting later this year. The news Monday comes after worldwide electronics manufacturing leader sent mixed signals earlier this year about whether it planned to suspend work in Wisconsin. The Taiwan-based Foxconn in February…
(AP Photo/Nati Harnik) (AP) – Some residents are still out of their homes and roads are closed throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota due to severe flooding. But, forecasters say drier weather this week should give cresting rivers and streams a chance to recede. Shelters at a church in Fond du Lac County and at Preble High School in Green Bay remain…
MILWAUKEE – Cash bond is set at $1 million for a 34-year-old man accused of killing a missing girl’s mother in Milwaukee. Dariaz Higgins appeared in court Sunday on charges including first-degree intentional homicide. Higgins is accused of fatally shooting 24-year-old Sierra Robinson and wounding another woman last week. Higgins is the father of 2-year-old Noelani Robinson. Authorities say a…
MADISON, Wis. – Gov. Tony Evers has declared a state of emergency across Wisconsin as heavy rain and melting snow flood roads, fields and communities. Evers issued the declaration in an executive order Friday afternoon. The order directs all state agencies to assist with response and recovery and authorizes Maj. General Donald Dunbar to activate Wisconsin National Guard units as…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency on Friday, overruling Congress to protect his emergency declaration for border wall funding. Flanked by law enforcement officials as well as the parents of children killed by people in the country illegally, Trump maintained that he is not through fighting for his signature campaign…
LE SUEUR, Minn. – No major injuries were reported after a Union Pacific Railroad train derailed in Le Sueur County, but two crew members were taken to the hospital as a precaution. KEYC-TV reports the train derailed Friday morning about 2 miles south of Le Sueur. Authorities say one locomotive and 12 rail cars left the tracks. The cause of…
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee’s police chief says authorities are asking for help “from the entire nation” to find a missing 2-year-old girl after a man was arrested on suspicion of killing her mother. Chief Alfonso Morales says Dariaz Higgins has been providing police with information on the whereabouts of his daughter, Noelani Robinson, but it has “proven to be untrue.” Higgins…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House has voted to ban vaping from bars, restaurants and workplaces statewide. The House approved the ban 100-25 Thursday in a move aimed partly at reversing the growing popularity of e-cigarettes among young people. The bill would restrict the use of e-cigarettes wherever tobacco smoking is currently banned under the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air…
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — At least 49 people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers on what the prime minister called “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.” One man was arrested and charged with murder in what appeared to be a carefully planned racist attack. Police also defused explosive devices in a…
MADISON, Wis. – Beto O’Rourke is coming to Wisconsin this weekend in an early campaign stop after launching his presidential bid in neighboring Iowa. O’Rourke was slated to appear Sunday at a coffee shop in Madison, the liberal capital city of Wisconsin. It will be O’Rourke’s second visit to the overwhelmingly Democratic city in a month. He met with University…
MADISON, Wis. – Butterball LLC is voluntarily recalling more than 78,000 pounds of raw ground turkey products as Wisconsin health officials investigate four salmonella cases in the state. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Thursday the four patients have the same strain of salmonella and are linked to the Butterball ground turkey products being recalled. Health officials say a…
WASHINGTON – In a stunning rebuke, the Republican-controlled Senate has voted to terminate President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Senate voted 59-41 for a resolution to halt Trump’s emergency order. Trump has promised to veto it, and it is unlikely that Congress will have the votes to override him. Yet the vote represents…
FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Ice-jam flooding along the Fond du Lac River in eastern Wisconsin has prompted the evacuation of some residents as water swamps local roads and the basements of homes. Firefighters from the city of Fond du Lac are going door to door to check on people along the river. At least 10 have been evacuated. A…
AUSTIN, Texas – Former congressman Beto O’Rourke is running for president. The 46-year-old officially announced his 2020 Democratic primary bid Thursday with an online post. After months of teasing a bid, he’s finally, formally hoping to turn buzz from a close loss in Texas’ 2018 Senate race into a White House try. O’Rourke nearly upset Sen. Ted Cruz. Since then,…
SEARLES, Minn. — A Minnesota man accused of removing his ailing wife from a care center, taking her home and holding what he described as a “death party” before she died has been charged with murder. Fifty-eight-year-old Duane Johnson had been charged with criminal neglect in the January death of his wife, Debra Lynn Johnson, at their home in Searles….
BILLINGS, Mont. – U.S. wildlife officials want to strip gray wolves of their remaining federal protections and declare the species recovered following a decades-long restoration effort. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal released Thursday would put wolves under state authority and allow hunting in more areas. The Associated Press reported last week that the proposal was coming. Critics argue…
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee police have arrested the man wanted for killing the mother of his child, wounding a second woman and for abducting the toddler. But, there is no sign of the 2-year-old girl. Dariaz Higgins was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon on Milwaukee’s northwest side. A second person was arrested for harboring a fugitive. The girl, Noelani Robinson, is…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the U.S. is issuing an emergency order grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft in the wake of a crash of an Ethiopian Airliner that killed 157 people. Many nations in the world had already barred the Boeing 737 Max 8 from its airspace, but until now, the Federal Aviation Administration…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to more than 3 1/2 additional years in prison. That’s on top of the roughly four-year sentence he received in a separate case in Virginia last week. The sentence followed a scathing assessment by the judge and a prosecutor of Manafort’s crimes. Categories: News, News –…
MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee police are searching for a man accused of fatally shooting a woman and abducting their young daughter. Thirty-four-year-old Dariaz Higgins of Milwaukee was charged Tuesday with first-degree intentional homicide. Police say Higgins is considered armed and dangerous. Higgins is accused of killing 24-year-old Sierra Robinson and wounding another woman on Milwaukee’s northwest side on Monday. Police say…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota’s legislative auditor says he can’t substantiate allegations that money defrauded from a state child care program found its way to terror organizations overseas. Lawmakers asked for the report following TV reports last year alleging that fraud in the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program ran as high as $100 million annually. The KMSP-TV reports, partly citing…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota’s legislative auditor is about to release a report on fraud in a state child care program that was undertaken after allegations that some of the money may have found its way to terror organizations overseas. Lawmakers asked for the report following TV reports last year alleging that fraud in the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program…
