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….
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP File)ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota utility regulators have granted a final green light to Enbridge Energy’s proposed Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement. The Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday unanimously rejected the last pending petitions for reconsideration, including one from the state Commerce Department. The Commerce Department had joined with tribal and environmental groups…
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…
