MADISON, Wis.-Five unions and a Democratic lawmaker have filed another lawsuit challenging measures Wisconsin Republican approved in a lame-duck session. The laws block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers from withdrawing from lawsuits without legislative approval, give lawmakers the power to decide how to spend money obtained from legal settlements and allow them to intervene in cases and hire their own attorneys…
MADISON, Wis.-Foxconn Technology Group says after speaking with President Donald Trump the Taiwan company plans to proceed with plans to construct a plant in Wisconsin that will make screens that can be used for small electronic devices. The news Friday comes after a week of confusion about Foxconn’s plans in Wisconsin. The company had said last year that it was…
SEARLES, Minn. – A Minnesota man is accused of removing his ailing wife from a care center, taking her home and holding what is described as a “death party” with methamphetamine before she died. Duane Johnson is charged with criminal neglect. Prosecutors say he failed to provide proper care for 69-year-old Debra Lynn Johnson who died at their home in…
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The former superintendent of the Rocori School District won’t serve any jail time after pleading guilty to indecent exposure, unless he violates terms of his probation. The attorney for Scott Staska told a judge in Stearns County District Court Thursday that the superintendent’s actions were the result of trauma and stress, including the 2003 school shooting…
DETROIT – Much of the Midwest was preparing for a rapid thaw after this week’s polar vortex sent wind chill temperatures plummeting below minus-50 in some places. But the transition to warmer conditions threatens a new set of problems. Ruptured water mains, leaky pipes and gutters, an influx of potholes and flooding of roads and bridges are among the potential…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the U.S. is pulling out of a treaty with Russia that’s been a centerpiece of arms control since the Cold War. The American withdrawal had been expected for months. It follows years of unresolved dispute over Russian compliance with the 1987 pact, which bans certain ground-launched cruise missiles….
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two state senators want to protect the right of Minnesota kids to operate lemonade or hot dog stands without fear of the police. Republicans Roger Chamberlain and Linda Runbeck have authored a bill to allow kids 14 and under to operate temporary stands without permits. It passed a Senate committee last week and awaits floor action….
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal judge in Minnesota has lifted a hold that had been placed on four lawsuits challenging the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. Thursday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen doesn’t list next steps, but her decision to lift the stay means the cases can proceed. The lawsuits filed by environmental groups seek to block…
(David Joles/Star Tribune via AP) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Dangerously cold weather is creating added pressure on emergency responders in Minnesota, where three times the number of firefighters were needed to battle a house fire. A house in St. Paul was covered in heavy ice as firefighters hauled hoses through the snow as temperatures plunged Wednesday to nearly negative…
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office says it’s investigating the death of a woman found frozen in her unheated apartment. The medical examiner says the 38-year-old woman was pronounced dead about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities say an investigation revealed the thermostat in her apartment had malfunctioned. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday. Another day of dangerously cold weather…
CHICAGO (AP) -United Parcel Service says it has halted deliveries in about 250 zip codes in the Midwest and western New York because of concerns for the safety of those making deliveries in the extreme cold. UPS Chief Operating Officer Jim Barber said Thursday that most of the routes that won’t receive deliveries are in rural areas. He says drivers…
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Police say a 60-year-old man was found dead outdoors in East Lansing. An autopsy will determine the cause of death, although foul play is not suspected. The deaths of at least two other Michigan residents have been connected to the extreme cold weather. Police say the man’s body was discovered Wednesday. In Ecorse, police identified a…
(AP) – A new report estimates that nearly half of all U.S. adults have some form of heart or blood vessel disease, a medical milestone that’s mostly due to recent guidelines that expanded how many people have high blood pressure. The American Heart Association said Thursday that more than 121 million adults had cardiovascular disease in 2016. Taking out those…
CHICAGO – The body of a University of Iowa student has been found on the campus in Iowa City, and officials say they believe his death was weather-related. Television station KCRG reports that the body of 18-year-old Gerald Belz was found behind an academic hall just before 3 a.m. Wednesday by campus police. He was taken to a hospital, where…
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — A look at how this week’s snowstorm and bitter cold have affected the United States, by the numbers: 22 – Number of states that recorded sub-zero temperatures Wednesday. Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York all saw temperatures that were below zero. New…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota lawmakers and activists are making a push to require drug companies to pay more of the costs of dealing with the opioid crisis. A House health and human services committee had its first hearing scheduled Wednesday on a bill to require manufacturers and wholesalers that sell or distribute opioids in Minnesota to pay registration fees…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Human Services says a data breach potentially exposed personal information on up to 3,000 people. Commissioner Tony Lourey tells legislative leaders it happened Sept. 28 when an employee fell for a phishing scam and clicked on a malicious link that caused the employee’s email account to send spam. Lourey says technicians could…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Foxconn Technology Group said Wednesday it is shifting the focus of its planned $10 billion Wisconsin campus away from blue-collar manufacturing to a research hub, while insisting it remains committed to creating 13,000 jobs as promised. The much-ballyhooed facility was heralded by President Donald Trump and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as…
(AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — Tyson Foods is recalling some chicken nuggets after customers said they found pieces of “soft, blue rubber” inside. The U.S. Agriculture Department said the 5-pound bags should be thrown away or returned. The agency says there are no confirmed reports of anyone getting sick from the rubber. The recall is for more than 36,000…
MINNEAPOLIS – Xcel Energy says the extreme cold has caused some customers to lose natural gas service in the Princeton area and has the utility issuing an appeal to other customers to turn down their thermostats. Utility spokesman Matt Lindstrom says about 150 customers lost heat as temperatures dipped into the negative 20 range Tuesday night. Lindstrom says the weather is…
CHICAGO – The Minnesota Department of Transportation pulled snowplows off the roads in nearly a dozen southeastern counties because of the extreme cold , while Wisconsin added state offices and agencies to its long list of closures. Minnesota transportation officials say some snowplows were experiencing mechanical problems because of subzero temperatures Tuesday, so officials decided to idle all plows overnight….
You may have heard that “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night …” will prevent mail carriers from completing their appointed rounds. But the unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service apparently doesn’t include the cold. Wednesday, the federal service says it will not deliver mail in all or parts of five Midwest states because of a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A “bipawtisan” group of lawmakers has introduced a bill to designate the Labrador retriever as the official dog breed of Minnesota. The legislation is named “Raven’s Bill” after the mascot of outdoor writer Ron Schara’s TV show “Minnesota Bound.” Raven III was one of several black labs wagging their tails through Tuesday’s news conference. While…
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Donald Trump’s longtime friend Roger Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges in the special counsel’s Russia investigation. Stone appeared Tuesday for his arraignment at the federal courthouse in Washington after spending the weekend blasting special counsel Robert Mueller’s case against him as politically motivated. The self-proclaimed dirty trickster was arrested last week during a pre-dawn raid at his…
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to give his State of the Union speech on Feb. 5. Trump said in a letter to Pelosi on Monday that it is his “great honor” to accept her invitation to speak before a joint session of Congress next week. He writes, “We have a great…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz won’t close schools statewide despite the extremely cold temperatures forecast for Tuesday through Thursday. The governor’s office said Monday that he’ll defer instead to local school districts to decide about closures. But he says parents and students should pay close attention to the local news and messages from their school districts on…
HILL CITY, Minn. — A 58-year-old man with dementia living in a northern Minnesota care center died from bleeding in the brain several weeks after he was repeatedly punched in the face by one staff member while another staff member held him down in his wheelchair, a state investigation shows. The Star Tribune reported Saturday that investigators accuse managers at…
(Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)MADISON, Wis. -Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has declared a state of emergency because of snow and impending dangerously cold temperatures. Evers signed the order Monday that directs all state agencies to assist if any emergency response and recovery efforts are needed because of the snowstorm and cold that has hit Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and other…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Lawmakers have unveiled legislation that would legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota, hoping to start what they acknowledge is likely to be a long and contentious discussion. The bills were introduced in the Senate on Monday by Edina Democrat Melisa Franzen and in the House by Golden Valley Democrat Mike Freiberg. They said at a news conference…
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Authorities say searchers have found the body of a Northern Michigan University student who went missing on a hike to photograph waterfalls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The search for 25-year-old Guiancarlo Estupigan began Friday in Marquette County’s Ishpeming Township and continued over the weekend. Sheriff Greg Zyburt says Estupigan was found dead Sunday afternoon. WLUC-TV reports his…
MADISON, Wis. – A Madison suburb is suing in connection with a deadly natural gas explosion this past summer. A VC Tech worker installing fiber-optic cable ruptured a natural gas line in downtown Sun Prairie in July. An ensuing explosion destroyed half a city block and killed firefighter Corey Barr . The Wisconsin State Journal reports the city filed a…
DETROIT (AP) – Two Midwest-based banks plan to merge to create a bank with $45 billion in assets that will be based in Detroit. Detroit-based Chemical Financial Corp. and Wayzata, Minnesota-based TCF Financial Corp. announced Monday the signing of an agreement under which the companies will combine in what they described as an all-stock “merger of equals.” Plans call for…
DENVER – A Minnesota man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal stalking charges. Federal prosecutors in Colorado say Eric Ronald Bolduan also must register as a sex offender following his release. Bolduan pleaded guilty to three counts of stalking and three counts of interstate communications in September. Prosecutors say he created…
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Wis. – In a recent release, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office says they do not anticipate filing a criminal complaint against Jake Patterson in the immediate future. Douglas County District Attorney Mark Fruehauf states: “A prosecutor’s decision whether to file criminal charges involves the consideration of multiple factors, including the existence of other charges and victim-related concerns….
(Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – With temperatures expected to reach 20 to 30 degrees below zero next week, Governor Tim Walz says he is exploring the possibility of closing Minnesota schools if temperatures remain extremely low. “I really trust local officials and superintendents and folks to make these decisions,” Walz said. “We’ll certainly see when it’s the proper…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a woman found under a car that had crashed into a wall at a hospital parking ramp. Deputies responded to the parking structure at Froedtert Hospital shortly before 4 a.m. where they found the unconscious woman under the vehicle with a head wound. Officials say the woman…
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota is pushing the speed limit to 60 mph on most two-lane state highways. The Star Tribune reports that state traffic officials say more than two-thirds of rural highways slated for the increase have already posted the new limit and that the rest should be completed this year. Many rural residents pushed for the change, but some national…
MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Health is investigating a tuberculosis outbreak among people associated with Minnesota State University, Mankato. Health officials believe the bacteria originated with an international student and spread to at least seven others. The majority are MSU students or former students. About 700 people who may have interacted with them, such as roommates and…
WASHINGTON -White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the arrest of former Donald Trump campaign adviser Roget Stone in the special counsel’s Russia probe has nothing to do with the president. Sanders’ comments came hours after Stone was arrested Friday during a pre-dawn raid at his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home. Stone was charged in a seven-count indictment that includes…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump will not accept a short-term deal to reopen the government unless it includes “a large down payment” for his promised border wall. The statement from White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday came as Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer were meeting to try…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A group of scientists is urging Gov. Tim Walz to join them in opposing Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project. Walz has said he’ll look at the science before he decides whether to continue a lawsuit filed by the state Commerce Department under the Dayton administration to overturn the Public Utilities Commission’s approval of the…
WABASSO, Minn. – A school district in southwestern Minnesota has canceled classes for the rest of the week because of a flu outbreak. The Wabasso School District called off all classes, activities and practices for Thursday and Friday. More than 20 percent of the district’s student body is ill with the flu. The Star Tribune reports 74 students and nine…
MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul is rejecting Gov. Tony Evers directive that he withdraw Wisconsin from a multi-state lawsuit seeking repeal of the federal health care law. Kaul tells the fellow Democrat Evers in a letter Thursday that he can’t do that without approval of Republican lawmakers. The news is a setback for Evers a day after he…
SEBRING, Fla. (AP) — An Indiana man accused of fatally shooting five people inside a Florida bank branch has long been fascinated with the idea of killing, but people who could have done something about it didn’t take his threats seriously, a woman who identified herself as his former girlfriend told a television station. Zephen Xaver, 21, “for some reason…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – General Mills is voluntarily recalling some bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached Flour because of salmonella concerns. The 5-pound bags have a “better if used by” date of April 20, 2020 and the UPC code 000-16000-19610-0. Customers should discard the product. The company says it discovered salmonella during sampling of the product, but it has not received…
DULUTH, Minn. – Two Duluth men have been convicted in federal court of trafficking a 15-year-old girl for sex. A jury in Duluth found 44-year-old Amos Kiprop Koech guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor. Koech’s alleged co-conspirator, 33-year-old Andre Mathis Jr., pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor…
(AP) – For the first time since 1901, the run-up to Valentine’s Day won’t include store shelves stocked with the classic Sweethearts candy. New England Confectionery Company (Necco), the Massachusetts-based candy manufacturer behind a slew of iconic brands dating to the 19th century, shut down after filing for bankruptcy in July. The good news for patient fans is that Clark…
PHOENIX (AP) — A nurse who was looking after an incapacitated woman at long-term health care facility has been charged with raping her, weeks after she stunned her caregivers and family who didn’t know she was pregnant by giving birth to a baby boy, Phoenix police said Wednesday. Investigators arrested 36-year-old Nathan Sutherland, a licensed practical nurse, on suspicion of…
(courtesy: Fox 9)ZIMMERMAN, Minn. — A St. Bernard who ran away from a foster home in Minnesota has been found alive after surviving 17 days in freezing temperatures. Ruff Start Rescue director Azure Davis says she wasn’t sure the 10-year-old dog named Old Lady was alive after so much time had passed. Old Lady bolted from her foster home Jan….
(AP) – Democrats Stu Lourey and Michelle Lee are vying in a primary for an open state Senate seat. The District 11 seat opened when Lourey’s father, Tony Lourey, was named state Human Services commissioner earlier this month. Tuesday’s winner will face Rep. Jason Rarick, a Republican from Pine City, and Legal Marijuana Now candidate John Birrenbach of Pine City…
