Author: The Associated Press

Wisconsin Ordered to pay for two Transgender Surgeries

a Preliminary Injunction was Granted Wednesday

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A federal judge has ordered Wisconsin to pay for surgeries that two transgender Medicaid recipients need to treat their gender dysphoria. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Cody Flack and Sara Ann Makenzie filed a lawsuit in April, saying the state’s rule denying all coverage for such surgeries violates their civil rights. U.S. District Judge William…

Minnesota Boys sue to Join Girls High School Dance Teams

The Boys say the Rules are sex Discrimination

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Two Minnesota teenagers are suing the Minnesota State High School League because they are not allowed to dance on the girls’ competitive dance teams at their schools. Sixteen-year-olds Dmitri Moua of Maplewood and Zachary Greenwald of Minnetonka filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday with help from the Pacific Legal Foundation, which has worked on similar cases in Minnesota…

Long Standoff Outside Burnsville Costco has Ended

The Standoff Lasted for 12 Hours

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (AP) – A 12-hour standoff between police and a man said to be armed with a gun has ended in the parking lot of a Costco store in Burnsville, but authorities have not yet released how the situation was resolved. Police say the standoff ended about 5 a.m. Thursday and that there is no threat to the community….

DNR Announces First Plan to Manage Minnesota Deer Population

The Plan Seeks a Harvest of 200,000 Whitetails

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has outlined the state’s first deer management plan. The plan announced Tuesday seeks a target harvest of 200,000 whitetails. The plan is the result of a two-year effort that included meetings around Minnesota and input from a 19-member citizen advisory committee. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr says the agency has…

State Authorizes $20,000 in Grants to Help Sun Prairie

The Grants Will Help the Community Recover

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker is announcing that $20,000 in disaster relief grants will be available to help victims of this month’s natural gas explosion in Sun Prairie. The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority grants will be available to provide emergency housing assistance to residents who lost their home due to the explosion and fire. Volunteer Sun…

Swanson Forms Task Force to Review Rape Investigations

The Task Force Will Include Victim Advocates

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is joining a chorus of politicians calling for change after a Star Tribune report unveiled widespread failings in police department rape investigations. The Minneapolis newspaper published a yearlong investigation that analyzed more than 1,000 sexual assault cases statewide in a recent two-year period and found pervasive problems. Police never assigned…

Drowning Victim Recovered From Vermillion River

No Other Details Were Released

HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) – The Dakota County sheriff’s dive team has recovered a drowning victim from the Vermillion River. The sheriff’s office says sonar was used to locate the victim early Tuesday. The sheriff’s office says it has been searching for the victim in the southern part of the county since Monday. No other details were released. The Vermillion River…

Family of Woman Killed by Minneapolis Officer Sues

The Lawsuit Seeks Monetary Damages

Justine Damond, Fox 9MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The family of a woman who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year after she called 911 to report a possible assault is suing the officer, his partner and the city. A lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court alleges Justine Ruszczyk Damond’s civil rights were violated when she was shot July…

Divers Recover Body of 13-Year-old boy From Mine pit Lake

He was Swept Aaway by a Strong Current

CROSBY, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say divers have recovered the body of a 13-year-old Minneapolis boy from a mine pit lake in the Crosby area. A spokesman for the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office says the boy was playing Frisbee with his father Friday evening when the disc landed in the water. He was swept away by a strong current…

Woman Injured by Lightning Strike at Country Thunder

The Woman was Transported for Treatment

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department says a woman attending the Country Thunder Wisconsin Music Festival in Twin Lakes has been seriously injured by a lightning strike. Sheriff’s officials say it happened about 12:30 a.m. Friday at the festival’s campground. The woman was transported to Northern Illinois Medical Center for treatment. Authorities identified the woman as a…

Walker Wants Federal Disaster Declaration for NW Wisconsin

Flooding Caused More Than $13.1 Million in Damage

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker has asked President Donald Trump’s administration to issue a federal disaster declaration for six northwestern Wisconsin counties that saw flood damage in June. Heavy rains fell across northwestern Wisconsin beginning June 16, washing out many roads and culverts. Walker sent a letter to Trump on Friday asking for federal aid to help local…

Charges Filed in City Council Brawl

Hagen Resigned his Council Seat

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. (AP) – Charges have been filed against two City Council members from Thief River Falls who were involved in a knockdown, chair-swinging brawl that resulted from a discussion about a children’s splash pad. The Pennington County attorney has charged Joshua Hagen with fifth-degree assault and Jerald Brown with disorderly conduct stemming from the physical fight at…

Semi Crash Sends Hogs Spilling Onto Minnesota Highway

A few of the Pigs Died

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – Some pigs went hog-wild on the highway after a semi-truck overturned in southern Minnesota. The semi crashed at an interchange of Highways 169 and 14 near Mankato Wednesday morning. Hogs escaped from the punctured trailer and spilled onto the roads. The Minnesota State Patrol says the 30-year-old semi driver lost control and rolled on the ramp….

Officer Dies After Assault by Inmate at Minnesota Prison

Gomm was a 16-Year Department Veteran

BAYPORT, Minn. (AP) – A corrections officer has died after he was assaulted by an inmate at the Stillwater state prison. The Minnesota Department of Corrections says Officer Joseph Gomm was attacked by an offender at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Gomm was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he was pronounced dead. Gomm was a 16-year veteran of the…

Minnesota State Fair announces dozens of new attractions

Seven new Rides Have Been Added This Year

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota State Fair has announced dozens of new attractions for the 2018 edition of the Great Minnesota Get-Together . Thrill-seekers will find seven new rides, including five on the Mighty Midway. They include a two-level haunted house ride that fair officials say will be the largest traveling haunted attraction in North America when it…

Man Charged in Girlfriend’s Death Dies in ATV Crash

The man had Been Charged in a Snowmobile Crash That Killed his Girlfriend

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) – A La Crosse County man charged in a snowmobile crash that killed his girlfriend has died in an all-terrain vehicle crash in northern Wisconsin. Thirty-one-year-old John Marshall, of Brice Prairie, died Saturday in a crash on the north side of Birch Lake in the Town of Edgewater. Marshall was charged with homicide by intoxicated use…

FEMA Teams Visit Northern Wisconsin Damaged by Flooding

They Will Visit Douglas and Bayfield Counties

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) – County officials in northern Wisconsin are hoping the Federal Emergency Management Agency will validate their estimates of about $11 million in damages caused by last month’s flooding. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that emergency managers from Douglas, Bayfield, Burnett, Ashland and Iron counties documented flood damage in a briefing with FEMA officials on Monday. Wisconsin Emergency Management…

Insurance Company not Liable for Hunter’s Injuries

The Judge Ruled in Favor of State Farm

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – An insurance company isn’t liable for a hunter who was accidentally shot in the head nearly four years ago. According to court documents, David Devine shot Patrick Humfeld in the head while both men were hunting on John Marsh’s property in Galesville in November 2014. Humfeld sued State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Marsh’s insurance company,…

Court Says Indefinite Drug Tests are not a Condition for Welfare

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Court of Appeals has found that people with prior drug convictions can’t be required to undergo random drug testing indefinitely as a condition of receiving state welfare benefits. Monday’s ruling comes in the case of 62-year-old Kim Verhein, who lost her Minnesota Supplemental Aid benefits when she refused to take a drug test in 2015….