ST. PAUL, Minn. – A bill to require motorists to use hands-free devices when talking on the phone while driving has passed its first committee stop in the Minnesota Legislature. A House transportation committee approved the bill on a unanimous voice vote Monday after hearing emotional testimony from several people who lost loved ones in crashes caused by drivers who…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Environmental groups are appealing air and water permits approved for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The groups argue the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ignored evidence that PolyMet intends to process more ore daily than called for in its air permit. And they argue the company’s water permit improperly allows pollutants to be discharged…
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)MILWAUKEE – The home of the Milwaukee Brewers will be renamed when MillerCoors’ naming rights expire following the 2020 season. MillerCoors said in a statement Tuesday the rights to Miller Park will go to American Family Insurance beginning in 2021. MillerCoors said American Family proactively pitched the Brewers “an incredibly rich offer” for future naming rights to the…
MINNEAPOLIS – Air travelers in Minnesota are enduring some of the longest screening waits in the nation, and it’s caught the attention of Rep. Ilhan Omar. The Minneapolis Democrat is highlighting those wait times as the federal government shutdown moves into its second month. She plans a news conference Tuesday from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where the average wait…
BRAINERD, Minn. — A second person who died from injuries sustained in an avalanche at a northern New Mexico ski resort is a Minnesota native. The deceased skier has been identified by family as 22-year-old Corey Borg-Massanari, who was raised in Brainerd. Borg-Massanari moved to Vail, Colorado from Minnesota to attend Colorado Mountain College. He worked for an outdoor equipment…
(AP Photo/Andy Manis)MADISON, Wis. – New Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is set to deliver his first State of the State speech to the Republican-controlled Legislature. Evers, a Democrat, is slated to speak in the state Assembly chambers at 7 p.m. It will be the first time in eight years someone other than former Republican Gov. Scott Walker has delivered the…
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to go ahead with its plan to restrict military service by transgender people while court challenges continue. The high court on Tuesday reversed lower-court orders preventing the Pentagon from implementing its plans. But the high court for now declined to take up cases about the plan. The…
FOND DU LAC, Wis. – One man is dead after two all-terrain vehicles broke through the ice on Lake Winnebago in Fond du Lac County. Authorities say a 55-year-old man was traveling in a group of ATV riders near the Fond du Lac River Monday about 9:30 p.m. when his vehicle broke through the ice. Another ATV carrying a 23-year-old…
(courtesy: Fox 9)ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — A 12-year-old girl has died after a snow fort collapsed while she was playing outside a church in suburban Chicago. Arlington Heights police are calling the death a “tragic accident.” Police say the girl, Esther Jung, was playing with a 9-year-old girl in the snow outside Rothem Church on Sunday. Their families began…
(AP) – Netflix is continuing its string of re-boots by bringing back “Unsolved Mysteries.” Netflix says the true-crime and paranormal activity show will follow the original format, but only focus on a single case. The first season will start with 12 episodes. The executive producer of “Stanger Things” will oversee the production. Netflix has not announced when the new “Unsolved…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The board of managers of the Minnesota State Fair has approved nearly $20 million in improvements and maintenance projects for the fairgrounds. Of that amount, $16 million is earmarked for a major new exhibit complex on the North End of the fairgrounds and $3.4 million for maintenance projects. The North End development is under construction. The…
MADISON, Wis. – A federal judge says top Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature violated the First Amendment when they blocked a liberal advocacy group from seeing their Twitter feeds. U.S. District Judge William Conley sided with the group One Wisconsin Now on Friday. The judge ruled the legislators acted in their official government capacity when they created their Twitter accounts,…
MINNEAPOLIS – Officials at a Minnesota high school wrote to parents after two students were pictured in a social media post doing a Nazi salute and holding a sign with references to Adolf Hitler. Jeff Erikson, principal at suburban Minnetonka High School, called the post “deeply offensive” in his note to parents. The Star Tribune reported the photo on a…
BALSAM LAKE, Wis. – Sheriff’s officials say one person has died after an SUV broke through the ice on a western Wisconsin lake. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says authorities received a 911 call shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday about a vehicle that had gone through the ice on Balsam Lake, about 50 miles northeast of the Twin Cities. About…
GRAND MARAIS, Minn. – A company tied to a man who led a polygamous sect’s South Dakota compound has purchased about 40 acres of land in northern Minnesota. Seth Jeffs is listed as registered agent for the company that acquired land west of the Lake Superior town of Grand Marais. Cook County officials said Friday the property was transferred in…
MADISON, Wis. – The state Supreme Court says the Department of Natural Resources lacked the authority to force a couple to modify their massive Madeline Island pier. The DNR granted Terrie and Philip Myers a permit in 2001 to build a 70-foot pier. The agency received complaints in 2012 and 2013 that the pier was contributing to shoreline erosion. The…
MANKATO, Minn. – Prosecutors in Minnesota have charged a woman whose 2-year-old child tumbled from the back seat of a moving vehicle while still strapped in a car seat. Forty-year-old Maimuna Hassan of Mankato was charged Thursday with child endangerment, failing to properly secure a child passenger restraint and a misdemeanor driver’s license violation. Dashcam video captured the moment the…
MADISON, Wis. – Gov. Tony Evers has picked the Wisconsin State Patrol’s next leader. Evers named patrol Maj. Anthony Burrell as superintendent on Friday. He will take over on Sunday. Burrell has served as a state trooper since 1990. He was promoted to sergeant in 2006, lieutenant in 2012 and captain of the patrol’s 11-county Northeast Region in 2015. He…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – An influential Democratic congresswoman wants to know why the Environmental Protection Agency opted against filing formal comments with state regulators when they considered whether to issue a key permit for the PolyMet copper-nickel mine in Minnesota. Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, a critic of the project who chairs a House subcommittee that oversees the EPA, says it’s…
MADISON, Wis. – A federal judge has struck down early-voting restrictions enacted by Wisconsin Republicans in a lame-duck legislative session last year. U.S. District Judge James Peterson ruled Thursday that the restrictions violate injunctions he issued in 2016 invalidating similar early-voting limits. He says the lame-duck limits are clearly inconsistent with the earlier injunctions. In the November election, the overwhelmingly…
TWIN LAKES, Wis. – A 14-year-old Kenosha County girl is accused of stabbing her father in the face after they argued about her online relationship. Police were called to an apartment in Twin Lakes Sunday where they found the wounded father. Investigators say they learned the 38-year-old man and his daughter were arguing about the online relationship before she attacked…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota’s state-run health insurance exchange has achieved a record number of sign-ups in its sixth open enrollment period. MNsure says 123,732 Minnesotans signed up for private health coverage before open enrollment ended Sunday. That’s nearly 400 more than the record set in the previous open enrollment period. MNsure CEO Nate Clark contrasted that Wednesday with the…
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says he will likely include a “first step” toward legalizing medical marijuana in his first state budget proposal. Wispolitics.com reported Wednesday that Evers made the comment in response to a question after meeting with board members of the Wisconsin Technology Council on Tuesday. Evers was asked about his views on marijuana and said…
BARRON, Wis. -Attorneys for a man accused of kidnapping a Wisconsin teenager and killing her parents are acknowledging his confession could present a problem in his defense. According to a criminal complaint, Jake Thomas Patterson told investigators he broke into 13-year-old Jayme Closs’ home near Barron in October, gunned down her parents and abducted her. He said he took her…
MINNEAPOLIS – Scientists say Minnesota is one of the fastest warming states in the country, as its famously bitter winters grow milder. The Star Tribune reports that University of Minnesota scientists met with state lawmakers Tuesday to discuss how climate change is affecting the state. Professor Tracy Twine says Minnesota’s winters are warming 13 times faster than its summers. Researchers…
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Shopko has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy according to a Wednesday morning press release. According to the release, “The Company is seeking to facilitate the restructuring as a result of excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures.” In addition to the filing Shopko also announced it will be closing an additional 38 stores and is relocating over…
(Aaron Lavinsky/Star Tribune via AP)BARRON, Wis. – The father of a Wisconsin man accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl and killing her parents says he cares about the girl’s family. CNN reports that 21-year-old Jake Patterson’s father, Patrick Patterson, visited the Barron County Justice Center on Tuesday saying he wanted to pass a note to Jayme Closs’ family. Patterson’s son,…
SAN FRANCISCO – Netflix is raising its U.S. prices by 13 percent to 18 percent, its biggest increase since the company launched its streaming service 12 years ago. Its most popular plan will see the largest price hike, to $13 per month from $11. That option offers high-definition streaming on up to two different internet-connected devices simultaneously. Even at the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Gov. Tim Walz pledges that state government won’t leave any Minnesotan behind as it works to fill gaps left by the partial federal government shutdown. Surrounded by faith, community and governmental leaders on Tuesday, the Democratic governor said the shutdown represents “uncharted territory” and that his administration is still assessing all the implications. But he says…
MADISON, Wis. – Hundreds of federal workers in Wisconsin are seeking unemployment benefits from the state as the partial federal government shutdown continues. The state Department of Workforce Development reported Tuesday that 426 unemployment claims were filed between Jan. 7 and Jan. 11. There are more than 29,000 federal workers in the state. Furloughed federal workers are being encouraged by…
BARRON, Wis. – The man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents has been transferred to a different jail. Twenty-one-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson had been held in the Barron County Jail since his arrest Thursday. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says he moved Patterson to adjoining Polk County Monday night. Fitzgerald confirmed that one of Jayme’s relatives…
MANKATO, Minn. – Authorities in Minnesota say a 2-year-old child is OK after tumbling from the back seat of a moving vehicle while still strapped in a car seat. Dashcam video captured the moment the car seat and toddler rolled out of the vehicle on Monday as the vehicle turned a corner on a street in Mankato. Witness Chad Mock…
BARRON, Wis. – A criminal complaint says a Wisconsin man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs spotted her getting on a school bus one day and made up his mind to take her. Jake Thomas Patterson was charged Monday with kidnapping and with killing Jayme’s parents. The criminal complaint says Patterson told investigators he was driving to his job at…
BARRON, Wis. – A Wisconsin man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents sat impassively as a judge set his bail at $5 million. Prosecutors on Monday charged 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of kidnapping and one count of armed burglary. Patterson appeared in court Monday afternoon via video…
RICE, Minn. – The new mayor of a central Minnesota town was arrested for driving under the influence as he prepared to drive a school bus. Authorities say Rice Mayor Erik Bonde was taken into custody after police were investigating a report that he had a suspended driver’s license. Officers say Bonde appeared to be intoxicated and they found a…
DULUTH, Minn. – Police say the Duluth officer shot and wounded in a fatal domestic assault standoff has been released from the hospital. Authorities say Officer Aaron Haller was treated at the hospital and released after he was hit by gunfire that killed his K-9 partner, Haas. The man involved in the standoff who fire the gunshots was later found…
OAKLAND, Calif. — A U.S. judge in California on Sunday blocked Trump administration rules, which would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control, from taking effect in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Judge Haywood Gilliam granted a request for a preliminary injunction by California, 12 other states and Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs sought to…
LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Police have surrounded a United Parcel Service facility in New Jersey in response to a reported active shooter. Television images show police cars surrounding the loading dock area of the building in Logan Township, about 20 miles south of Philadelphia. Armed officers can be seen crouching behind one of the vehicles. A person answering the…
WASHINGTON -The House has voted to ensure that all federal employees will be paid retroactively after the partial government shutdown ends. The bill passed Friday requires that all employees, including those who have been furloughed, be paid as soon as possible once the government reopens. The Senate approved the bill unanimously Thursday. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump,…
MILWAUKEE – Notable events in the disappearance and discovery of Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl who went missing after her parents were killed in the family home. Investigators say she was found alive on Thursday and that a suspect is in custody. October 15, 2018 – James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, are found shot to death in…
TOWN OF GIBSON, Wis. – Manitowoc County authorities are trying to determine who put a bomb in a backpack found in a ditch along a state highway. A person found the backpack off State Highway 147 on Wednesday and alerted authorities. Deputies determined it to be an explosive device with a fuse that appeared to have been lit but didn’t…
MINNEAPOLIS – Google is looking into building a $600 million data center in central Minnesota that would be powered by two wind farms. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy disclosed the data center project Thursday in a regulatory filing. The Google facility proposed in Becker would mark one of the largest private construction projects in recent state history and create about 50 full-time…
HASTINGS, Minn. – A Minnesota judge has found a 19-year-old man incompetent to stand trial on charges he pushed an 8-year-old boy off a slide at a suburban Minneapolis water park last summer. Judge Timothy McManus decided Tuesday the case against Roman Adams of Maple Grove cannot proceed because of “mental illness.” Adams faces two assault charges for allegedly pushing…
BARRON, Wis. – Authorities say they have jailed a 21-year-old man on kidnapping and homicide charges in the October killing of a Wisconsin couple and abduction of their teen daughter, who was found alive. Douglas County Sheriff Thomas Dalbec said at a news conference Friday that Jake Thomas Patterson was arrested Thursday after Jayme Closs was found near Gordon, where…
(Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP, File)BARRON, Wis. – A woman who helped a Wisconsin girl who’d been missing for three months following her parents’ deaths says the girl told her she’d been held against her will. Kristin Kasinskas says she took 13-year-old Jayme Closs into her home after the girl and a woman she’d approached for help came to her…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota may soon require drivers to use hands-free cellphones, and some lawmakers want to impose bigger fines for drivers who text, and treat distracted drivers more like drunken drivers when they cause serious accidents. Leaders of the Senate and House transportation committees have authored hands-free bills, and plan hearings this month and hope for floor…
MADISON, Wis. – Kimberly-Clark Corp. has notified Gov. Tony Evers’ administration that it will close its plant in Neenah by May 31. The Department of Workforce Development announced Thursday that the paper products giant had provided the workforce reduction notice. The plant’s closure was first announced a year ago. Kimberly-Clark also initially said it planned to close a larger facility…
(Josh Ritchie/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File)MIAMI — Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas is returning to a Florida port a day early and giving passengers full refunds of their fare after 277 guests and crew members were hit with an outbreak of Norovirus as it sailed to Jamaica. Cruise line spokesman Owen Torres told The Associated Press “we think…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, will testify publicly before Congress next month. Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee will be the first major public hearing for Democrats, who have promised greater scrutiny of Trump. Cohen is a pivotal figure in investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller into potential coordination between Russia and…
MILWAUKEE – Authorities say an alert Milwaukee bus driver rescued a young child found wandering barefoot on a freeway overpass in frigid temperatures. The Milwaukee County Transit System says the boy was less than a year old and wearing only a diaper and a onesie when bus driver Irena Ivic spotted him on Dec. 22. Security video shows the boy…
