MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker plans to take action on a sweeping package of Republican-authored lame-duck legislation that restricts early voting and weakens the powers of the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general. Walker’s office announced the event at noon Friday at a Green Bay state office building. Walker has repeatedly signaled support for the bills and downplayed…
DULUTH, Minn. – Del Monte is recalling more than 64,000 cans of “fiesta” corn seasoned with red and green peppers. Del Monte says the reason for the recall is the canned corn is under-processed and could be contaminated, possibly leading to botulism if eaten. Botulism is a life-threatening illness that can cause, among other symptoms, muscle weakness and paralysis. If…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz declined an invitation to join a bipartisan group of new governors in a meeting with President Donald Trump, drawing some criticism from Republicans. The six-term Democratic congressman stayed in Minnesota this week to meet with transition staff and advisers, even as his counterparts from South Dakota, Wisconsin and other Midwestern…
HAYWARD, Wis. – Businesses and schools across the U.S. were evacuated because of a bomb threat hoax, including the Hayward Area Memorial Hospital. Officials in states across the country say businesses received emailed bomb threats Thursday that were part of what they believe is a nationwide hoax. The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office says they were informed of a bomb threat…
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.- Bloomington police say a student at Normandale Community College who allegedly assaulted two faculty members during a classroom dispute had a gun in his backpack. Authorities say the 21-year-old St. Paul man on Wednesday struck a 51-year-old female instructor several times and also assaulted a 47-year-old male faculty member who intervened. The student fled but was apprehended in…
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker plans to offer paper-products giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. a deal worth $25 million to keep a plant open and save nearly 400 jobs. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Thursday that the deal will be done using powers Walker currently has but that would be taken away under a bill Republicans passed in a lame-duck…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota regulators have rejected the latest attempt by environmental and tribal groups to stop Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its aging Line 3 crude oil pipeline. The Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to reject petitions from groups opposed to the project. The groups wanted the commission to reconsider its decision to approve a certificate…
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association has launched a six-month public relations campaign dubbed “Wear the Badge” to try to increase the number of recruits into the profession. The Star Tribune reports that the recruitment campaign emphasizes the community service parts of police work through videos and online advertisements. The effort comes as top law enforcement officials say…
MADISON, Wis. – Gov. Scott Walker plans to make what he’s calling a “major economic development” announcement at the Kimberly-Clark factory in northeast Wisconsin. The announcement Thursday comes after the Legislature failed to pass a tax incentive bill that company officials said was needed to keep the factory open. It employs about 300 people. Walker has been working on an…
MINNEAPOLIS – Opponents of Enbridge Energy’s proposed Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement are turning their attention to fighting the project on other fronts as a Minnesota regulatory panel prepares to take one of its final steps to allow it to proceed. The Public Utilities Commission on Thursday will discuss whether to reconsider its decision to approve a route permit…
(Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)ST. PAUL, Minn. – An 80-year-old man injured in an explosion at his St. Paul home last month has died. A spokeswoman for Regions Hospital in St. Paul tells the Star Tribune that John Lundahl died Tuesday at the hospital from his injuries. The Nov. 23 explosion left Lundahl with significant burns and a broken arm…
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation establishing a panel to oversee a hotly disputed tunnel that will house an oil pipeline beneath the waterway linking Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Snyder acted Wednesday, a day after the Republican-dominated Michigan Legislature gave the bill final approval. It creates the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to monitor construction and…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Tax revenues from charitable gambling are generating so much revenue for paying off the debt for U.S. Bank Stadium that Minnesota officials say corporate taxes are no longer needed for that purpose. The state projects the stadium’s reserve account will hit $193 million by 2012. So, officials plan to drop an annual infusion of $20 million…
NEW YORK – President Donald Trump’s former lawyer has been sentenced to three years in prison. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III said Wednesday that Michael Cohen deserved a harsh punishment for crimes including tax evasion, lying to Congress and arranging illicit payments to silence women who posed a risk to Trump’s presidential campaign. The judge rejected arguments by…
CENTER CITY, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota jury has convicted a snowmobiler who struck and killed an 8-year-old boy on Chisago Lake. Jurors on Tuesday convicted Eric Coleman, of Chisago City, of third-degree murder, drunken driving, criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation. Coleman’s attorneys conceded he was guilty of the other charges, but not murder. The crash last January…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota lawmakers have heard from patients and families dealing with diabetes that they need help with the soaring cost of insulin. Sen. Matt Little convened an informal discussion at the Capitol Tuesday to gather information on what steps the state should take. The Lakeville Democrat says the cost of insulin is “immorally high” and there appears…
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Vikings have fired offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, whose first season on the job ended after just 13 games amid a sharp decline in production by the offense over the past six weeks. Quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski was made interim offensive coordinator on Tuesday morning, following a 21-7 loss at Seattle on Monday night. Stefanski will take…
RACINE, Wis. – A Wind Lake gymnastics studio owner and coach accused of possessing child pornography and placing a recording device in the bathroom of his facility has accepted a plea deal and avoided trial scheduled for this week. Authorities say they retrieved nearly 200 videos from 50-year-old James Kivisto’s computer recorded in the bathroom of the Wind Lake Gymnastics…
MINNEAPOLIS – A Northfield man accused of going on a drug-crazed rampage during an annual peace gathering in Superior National Forest has been committed to a treatment center. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that 21-year-old Spencer Fredrickson allegedly raped a woman, bit off part of a man’s finger and attacked a sheriff’s deputy at the late-August Rainbow Gathering. Authorities say…
CUSHING, Minn. – Crews have recovered the bodies of two neighbors who died while ice-fishing on a lake in central Minnesota. Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen says the fishermen were reported overdue Sunday evening on Fish Trap Lake north of Cushing. The sheriff’s office also learned that a side-by-side ATV was missing. Responders first found the body of 69-year-old Wayne…
(Time Magazine via AP)NEW YORK (AP) – Time magazine’s 2018 person of the year are the “guardians and the war on truth.” The group is made up of four journalists and a newspaper that Time says “are representatives of a broader fight by countless others around the world. Time’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal made the announcement Tuesday on NBC’s “Today” show….
(DNR) MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin agriculture officials have confirmed 11 more cases of chronic wasting disease on a Washington County deer farm. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection quarantined the farm in March after a buck there tested positive. The agency announced Monday that 11 additional animals of the farm have tested positive for the disease. A team…
BARRON, Wis. (AP) — The city of Barron is holding a “tree of hope” lighting ceremony in honor of missing 13-year-old Jayme Closs. The local middle school student has been missing since her parents were slain Oct. 15. James and Denise Closs were fatally shot in their home, and investigators believe Jayme was abducted. Wednesday’s event at Riverview Middle School…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Warmer weather is affecting some winter sports at the University of Minnesota. Higher temperatures cause more snowmelt and shorter ski seasons. Two seasons ago, the university’s Nordic ski team could not participate in the American Birkebeiner, which was canceled because of warm weather. Gopher winter sports are off to a better start this season, but the team…
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – A Sheboygan woman is accused of running a drug house and hiding the corpse of an overdose victim in a crawlspace, along with stealing his ID and debit card. Police acting on tips found the body of 30-year-old Matthew Mercure in Mullens’ apartment on Nov. 20. Andrea Mullens has since been charged with four felonies and one…
Bald Eagle StareST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Raptor Center has euthanized a second eagle this hunting season because of lead poisoning. The Raptor Center says it sees lead poisoning cases annually beginning with deer hunting season and lead bullets are the main cause. The birds scavenge on an animal that’s been shot and wind up eating lead…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota will have a projected $1.5 billion surplus for the next two-year budget period, state officials announced Thursday, setting the stage for a spirited debate over taxes and spending in the legislative session that starts in January. The healthy surplus gives Democratic Gov.-elect Tim Walz and the Legislature more room for spending initiatives, tax…
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Regents have approved a plan to increase pay for employees of the University of Wisconsin System by 3 percent each of the next two fiscal years. The Board of Regents unanimously approved the pay plan at a meeting in La Crosse Thursday. Regents also backed an identical pay plan for UW-Madison. The proposal calls for full…
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota political party leaders and state and local officials are considering mail balloting for the 2020 presidential primary, a dramatic change from past practices in which citizens make their selections in party caucuses. The state will switch to a more straightforward primary system beginning in 2020 that allows voters to cast ballots for their preferred choice for president…
MINNEAPOLIS – A sole finalist is in line to become the first female president of the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents on Wednesday advanced Joan Gabel, provost at the University of South Carolina, as the single finalist for the president’s job. Regents Chair David McMillan says Gabel “has shown strong leadership,” and the presidential search…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota officials are preparing to release a budget forecast that will set the stage for the debate over taxes and spending in the 2019 legislative session. Minnesota Management and Budget is due to issue the forecast late Thursday morning. The revenue and spending projections are expected to show a significant surplus, which would give Gov.-elect Tim…
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. – Wisconsin retailer Shopko is closing 39 stores in 19 states. Shopko spokeswoman Michelle Hansen says each store employs 10 to 25 employees, putting the scope of job cuts at about 400 to nearly 1,000 positions. Liquidation sales begin Friday with the stores closing by the end of February. The Green Bay area department store chain operates about…
(Jean Pieri/Pioneer Press via AP)ST. PAUL, Minn. – Cities across Minnesota are turning to spraying brine on roads to help keep them ice-free, with some saying it’s better than salt. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has added brine sprayers to its fleet of 840 snowplows. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Ramsey County almost tripled its salt-spraying capacity last winter….
(AP) – USA Gymnastics is turning to bankruptcy in an effort to ensure its survival. The embattled organization filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on Wednesday as it attempts to reach settlements in the dozens of sex-abuse lawsuits it faces and to forestall its potential demise at the hands of the U.S. Olympic Committee. USA Gymnastics filed the petition in…
NEW YORK – Elm Pet Foods is the latest maker of dog food to issue a recall over elevated levels of vitamin D, which can cause kidney failure at high enough levels. Similar recalls have been issued by ANF Inc., Sunshine Mills Inc., Natural Life Pet Products, and Nutrisca over the last month. Elm and others urge consumers to either…
MADISON, Wis. – The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature has approved a sweeping package of bills weakening the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general. The state Assembly approved the lame-duck legislation Wednesday morning. The Wisconsin Senate did the same less than three hours earlier after lawmakers worked through most of the night. The bills now go to outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker,…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Department of Natural Resources plans two special deer hunts this month aimed at limiting the spread of chronic wasting disease in wild deer in southeastern Minnesota. The DNR on Tuesday announced the hunts in specific deer permit areas south of Interstate 90. Residents and nonresidents can take part in the hunts from Dec. 21 to…
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has proclaimed Wednesday as a National Day of Mourning in remembrance of former President George H.W. Bush. Out of respect for the 41st president, the federal government will be closed, and the United States Postal Service will suspend regular mail deliveries, retail services and administrative office activity. Additionally, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq…
NEW YORK – More U.S. beef is being recalled because it may be contaminated with salmonella. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday a unit of Brazil’s JBS is now recalling a total of more than 12 million pounds of raw beef that was shipped around the U.S. JBS Tolleson in Arizona already recalled about 7 million pounds of beef…
MADISON, Wis. – Sweeping proposals to weaken the incoming governor and attorney general in Wisconsin have been advanced to the full Legislature for approval. But the Republican-controlled committee around midnight Monday night did not advance a bill to change the date of the 2020 presidential primary, a move that would cost millions and drew widespread opposition from election officials. That…
MADISON, Wis. – Gov. Scott Walker has appointed a high-powered attorney to serve on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. Walker has selected Scott Beightol to serve until May 2023. He replaces Republican Bryan Steil, who resigned last week to focus on his first term in Congress. Beightol is a partner in the Michael Best and Friedrich law…
MADISON, Wis. -Two dozen Wisconsin health care providers, insurance companies and others in the industry are asking legislators to drop changes affecting Medicaid that Republicans offered in a lame-duck session. The letter Monday was signed by the most powerful health care organizations in the state including the Wisconsin Medical Society, the Wisconsin Hospital Association, UW Health and the Medical College…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota health officials are adding Alzheimer’s disease as a qualifying condition to get medical marijuana. The state Health Department announced Monday that the new condition would take effect in August 2019. Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says there is “some evidence” that marijuana improves the mood, sleep and behavior of people with Alzheimer’s. The department takes public…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing an Indiana company over a data breach that exposed information of over 8,000 Minnesotans. Swanson filed the lawsuit Monday against Medical Informatics Engineering Inc. According to Swanson, hackers in 2015 stole protected health information of over 8,000 Minnesotans from MIE, which provides web-based electronic health records services to medical…
MINNEAPOLIS – Environmental groups have gone to court to challenge the state’s decision to grant key permits for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and its allies say the permits would allow PolyMet to threaten water quality downstream for centuries, that they fail to address safety concerns about the mine’s proposed waste…
photo courtesy: honortheearth.orgST. PAUL, Minn. – A leading opponent of Enbridge Energy’s planned Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota has applied for a seat on the regulatory panel that approved the project. Winona LaDuke is executive director of Honor the Earth, a tribally rooted environmental group. She announced Monday that she has applied for the Public Utilities…
BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Beltrami County prosecutors say they’ve charged five people in connection with the death of a teen who fell to his death from the seventh floor of a Bemidji State University dormitory. The county attorney’s office says five men have been charged with two gross misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor. Nineteen-year-old Isaac Jon Morris,…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – People across southern Minnesota are digging out from the first major snowstorm of the season. The National Weather Service says the storm dumped 11 inches of snow on Sherburn and near Lakefield as of Sunday morning. Winnebago reports 9 inches of snow, Mankato 8 inches and Caledonia 7. Minneapolis had nearly 3 inches. Meteorologist Chris O’Brien at…
BEMIDJI, Minn. – The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has identified the officer and deputy who fatally shot an armed suspect following a struggle over a gun. Officer Bidal Duran with the Bemidji Police Department and Deputy Brandon Newhouse with the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Officer are both on standard administrative leave following the incident. The deceased armed suspect has also been…
photo courtesy: Twitter/NWSUPDATE: Officials have canceled a tsunami warning for coastal areas of southern Alaska following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that shook Anchorage. National Tsunami Warning Center senior technician Michael Burgy said the tsunami warning was automatically generated, Officials monitored gauges to see if any underwater landslides would generate tsunami waves. Because there were none, the warning was canceled. Police had…
