(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…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The State Fire Marshal says fire deaths in Minnesota dropped 47 percent in 2018. A total of 36 people died last year in fires in Minnesota, according to preliminary figures released Thursday by the Department of Public Safety’s State Fire Marshal Division . That’s down from 68 fire deaths in 2017. The decline comes after a…
TOWN OF CENTERVILLE, Wis. – Sheriff’s officials say a teen died when a minivan being driven by a 15-year-old girl crashed in Manitowoc County. Authorities say the young driver, who did not have an instruction permit, and another passenger were injured in the crash about 1 a.m. Thursday in the Town of Centerville. A 17-year-old boy who was in the…
MADISON, Wis. – Department of Corrections staff in Wisconsin racked up $50 million in overtime in 2018. An internal review shows the overtime at the state’s adult correctional institutions increased by $7 million from 2016. Overtime expenses for 2017 were not available. The overtime is largely caused by staffing vacancies. The State Journal reports about 680 correctional officer and sergeant…
MADISON, Wis. – Gov. Tony Evers says he will be sending a letter to Attorney General Josh Kaul this week calling for Wisconsin to “change our stance” in a multi-state lawsuit seeking repeal of the federal health care law. Evers campaigned on withdrawing from the lawsuit, but after he won the lame-duck Republican Legislature changed the law to require legislative…
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. – A pharmaceutical drug supplier to Shopko says the Wisconsin-based retail chain is expected to file for bankruptcy next week. McKesson Corp. says it supplied Shopko with $67 million in drugs since Nov. 11 but has not been paid since early December. McKesson this week asked a judge for a restraining order to keep Shopko from selling the…
MINNEAPOLIS – Several members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation say they’ll donate their pay to charity during the partial federal government shutdown. Reps. Pete Stauber, a Republican, and Angie Craig, a Democrat, said Monday they would donate their salaries during the shutdown . Stauber plans to donate his pay to the Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs in Duluth. Craig says she’ll donate…
MLBMINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Twins have set the date for retiring Joe Mauer’s No. 7 jersey. The Twins announced Tuesday that Mauer’s number will be retired in a pregame ceremony at Target Field on “Joe Mauer Day” on Saturday, June 15. The event will take place before the Twins’ 6:10 p.m. game against Kansas City. More details will be announced…
(Twitter)ST. PAUL, Minn. -The 2019 Minnesota Legislature is in session. The House and its new Democratic majority were called to order around noon Tuesday, while the Senate, where Republicans hold a two-vote majority, convened soon afterward. The opening day floor sessions were devoted to formalities and organizational matters, including the election of Democrat Melissa Hortman as House speaker. Dozens of…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Democrats will take control of the Minnesota House when the 2019 Legislature convenes at noon. Democrats gained 18 seats in the November elections to win the House with a 75-59 majority. Senate Republicans hold a narrow two-seat majority going into the session. Their leaders plan a news conference Tuesday morning to unveil their first five bills…
WASHINGTON – With no breakthrough in sight, President Donald Trump is set to argue in a prime-time address that a “crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border requires the wall he’s demanding before ending the partial government shutdown. Trump’s speech on Tuesday night will be followed by his visit Thursday to the southern border. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted…
SAULT STE MARIE, Mich – An annual ice-breaking effort is starting on waterways in and around northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie says Operation Taconite commenced Monday in response to expanded ice growth in commercial ports along western Lake Superior and the St. Marys River in the eastern Upper Peninsula. Operation Taconite…
BARRON, Wis. – Authorities in Barron, Wisconsin, are planning to provide an update on their investigation into the apparent abduction of a 13-year-old girl whose parents were killed. Jayme Closs has been missing since her parents, James and Denise Closs, were found fatally shot in their home on Oct. 15. Barron County Sheriff Christ Fitzgerald says next week will mark…
WAUSAU, Wis. – A Wisconsin baby sitter accused of killing a 2-month-old boy has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide. A criminal complaint filed Friday says 28-year-old Marissa Tietsort of Wausau caused the infant’s death in October, then put him in a snowsuit and car seat and let his mother pick him up – without telling her the child was…
ST. PAUL, Minn. -New Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is using his inaugural address to stress the need for better education and health care for everyone. Walz spoke at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul after taking the oath as Minnesota’s 41st governor since statehood. Walz told the crowd of dignitaries and supporters that disparities in the state’s educational system are…
(AP Photo/Andy Manis)MADISON, Wis. – Newly sworn-in Gov. Tony Evers is calling for a rejection of “the tired politics of the past” in his first speech as Wisconsin governor, saying “we’ve become content with division.” Evers delivered his inauguration speech Monday at a packed Capitol rotunda ceremony attended by five former governors and other dignitaries. Evers says the people of…
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources is getting its first female commissioner. The Star Tribune reports that 46-year-old Sarah Strommen was appointed to the lead the agency Thursday. Strommen has held high-ranking positions at environmental advocacy groups Friends of the BWCA and Minnesota Land Trust. She was with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources before joining the…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)ST. PAUL, Minn. – Tim Walz is preparing to take the oath to become Minnesota’s 41st governor since statehood. The Democratic former congressman from Mankato says he’s ready to hit the ground running after Monday’s ceremonies at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. He’s already named all but one of his state agency heads. Minnesota’s other constitutional officers…
MINNEAPOLIS – Gov.-elect Tim Walz has named Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington as the public safety chief in his incoming administration. Walz on Friday also said he’s keeping two more commissioners from Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration: Cynthia Bauerly at the Department of Revenue and Mark Phillips at the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. The Democratic governor-elect tapped former…
MADISON, Wis. – Ousted Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says he would be interested in running for office again, maybe even for governor in four years. Walker spoke to The Associated Press on Friday, just three days before he’s replaced by Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers. Walker’s immediate plans are to hit the speaking circuit. He says he will also be…
(photo: Twitter)ST. PAUL, Minn. – The son of a Minnesota state senator appointed to incoming Gov. Tim Walz’s administration says he’ll run for his father’s seat. Stu Lourey, who has worked as an aide to Sens. Al Franken and Tina Smith, declared his interest in the seat after his father Tony was named Human Services commissioner on Thursday. Both Loureys…
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers dramatically stepped up their hiring in December, adding 312,000 jobs in an encouraging display of strength for an economy in the midst of a trade war, slowing global growth and a partial shutdown of the federal government. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9 percent, but that reflected…
(AP)WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court is siding with the Trump administration in a case about the Pentagon’s policy of restricting military service by transgender people. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday that a lower-court judge was wrong to block the Pentagon from implementing its preferred policy. The unsigned ruling will…
(AP) – Ford is recalling more than 953,000 vehicles worldwide to replace Takata passenger air bag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel. The move includes 782,000 vehicles in the U.S. and is part of the largest series of recalls in U.S. history. Included are the 2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, the 2010 and 2011 Ford Ranger, the 2010…
MADISON, Wis. – Two Republican legislators have introduced a bill that would make first-time drunken driving a crime in Wisconsin. Rep. Jim Ott and Sen. Alberta Darling began circulating the proposal for co-sponsors on Thursday. Wisconsin is the only state where first-offense drunken driving is a civil violation and not a crime. Ott and Darling’s bill would make a first-time…
HASTINGS, Minn. – Gov.-elect Tim Walz has named state Sen. Tony Lourey to take over Minnesota’s Department of Human Services, an agency responsible for nearly one-third of the state’s spending. Lourey was among seven commissioners named Thursday as Walz continues filling his administration before taking office next week. Walz, a Democrat, also promoted Department of Natural Resources Assistant Commissioner Sarah…
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON — The House has elected Nancy Pelosi as its speaker as Democrats take command of the chamber for the new Congress. The near party-line majority vote makes her the country’s most powerful Democrat as the party begins two more years of confronting President Donald Trump. Except now, Pelosi’s Democrats will be able to set the House’s legislative…
