MILWAUKEE (AP) – A federal grand jury in Milwaukee has indicted two Texas residents in connection with textbook thefts at colleges around the country. Federal prosecutors said in a news release the grand jury indicted Ryan Lewis and Genisis Abellar, both of Houston, on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to transport stolen goods and interstate transportation of stolen property. Prosecutors…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A federal government decision to freeze risk adjustment payments under the health care law is threatening more than $70 million in funding for Minnesota health insurers and raising questions about the potential impact on premiums next year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Saturday it’ll hold the financial transfers, which shift money from some insurers…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) – A 23-year-old Minnesota man was charged with kidnapping a 13-year-old Kansas girl he met online. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister announced Dechon White, of St. Paul, was charged Monday in federal court in Kansas. Court documents indicate White and the girl met online in February. White traveled to Lenexa, Kansas, in July to visit the girl….
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative, politically connected judge, for the Supreme Court, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation’s highest court ever further to the right. A favorite of the Republican legal establishment in Washington, Kavanaugh, 53, is a former law clerk…
MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — All 12 boys and their soccer coach have been rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand, the Thai navy SEALs said Tuesday, ending an 18-day ordeal that riveted people around the world. The SEALs, who were central to the rescue effort, said on their Facebook page that the remaining four boys and their 25-year-old…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are hoping a new smartphone app will help them gain a better understanding of where people come across ticks in the state. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the Tick App helps people identify ticks and provides instructions on how to remove them from the body. The app gives users daily reminders to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota man is recovering from injuries after a St. Paul police dog got loose from its handler and bit the man outside his home. The Star Tribune reports 33-year-old Glenn Slaughter was leaving for work Friday when the dog bit him. Anne Shomshor, who is engaged to Slaughter’s brother, says police were looking for…
JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin prosecutor has decided he won’t file charges against three high school students who gave their classmates brownies laced with a sexual enhancement supplement. Rock County District Attorney David O’Leary and Clinton Police Chief David Hooker issued a news release on Monday saying that three Clinton High School students made brownies, secretly laced them with…
DALLAS (AP) – Authorities in North Texas say an argument over fireworks lead to the fatal shooting of an 80-year-old man over the weekend. Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin tells The Dallas Morning News Edward Cordero was shot Saturday evening in Lake Bridgeport after complaining to his neighbors about the fireworks they were setting off. The sheriff alleges Cordero retrieved…
WILLMAR, Minn. (AP) – Police say a couple died and a relative was critically injured when a car turned into the path of three motorcycles in central Minnesota. The State Patrol says 42-year-old James Young Jr. and 44-year-old Michelle Young of St. Cloud, Minnesota, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash Saturday on Highway 23 northeast of Willmar….
RED LAKE FALLS, Minn. (AP) – A northwestern Minnesota home day care provider is accused of killing a 2-month-old girl who was in her care. The Star Tribune reports that 30-year-old Sarah Kortan is charged with second-degree murder in connection with last month’s death in Red Lake Falls. Kortan remains jailed without bail. A court appearance is scheduled Wednesday. An…
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks will eliminate plastic straws from all of its locations within two years, citing the environmental threat to oceans. The company becomes the largest food and beverage company to do so as calls to cut waste globally grow louder . Plastic straws have become a flashpoint. A week after its hometown banned…
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — Four more of the youth soccer players trapped for over two weeks in a flooded cave in northern Thailand were brought out on Monday, an official said, bringing to eight the number extracted in the ongoing high-stakes rescue operation. “The eighth person is out and the operation is done for today,” Sitthichai…
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers kept up a brisk hiring pace in June by adding 213,000 jobs in a sign of confidence despite the start of a potentially punishing trade war with China. At the same time, the unemployment rate rose to 4 percent from 3.8 percent, the government said Friday, as more people began looking for…
HOUSTON, Mo. (AP) – A suspect in the death of a Minnesota girl who was living in Missouri has been released from prison but will remain on a tracking monitor. The Springfield News-Leader reports special prosecutor Steven Kretzer said Thursday 31-year-old Robert Peat Jr. will be released while the state investigates new developments in the 2017 death of 16-year-old Savannah…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton is heading to southwestern Minnesota to assess the damage caused by recent severe weather. The governor will meet Friday will local officials and community members in Slayton, Walnut Grove and Balaton. He’ll be joined on his trip by U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, Sen. Tina Smith, Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson and Emergency Management…
Update: The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for 38-year-old Mark Wautelet. Units searched a total of 425 square miles in 20 hours. KEWAUNEE, Wis. (AP) – The U.S. Coast Guard is looking for a missing fisherman on Lake Michigan near Kewaunee. Officials are searching Thursday for 38-year-old Mark Wautelet. Officials say Kewaunee Dispatch notified the Coast Guard late…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The national Kappa Sigma fraternity has terminated its University of Wisconsin-Madison chapter after people pushed a television off the chapter’s balcony and nearly hit a woman. Police believe the incident took place sometime this past weekend. Instagram videos show people pushing a cathode-ray television set off Kappa Sigma’s Madison house’s balcony while a crowd looks on….
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has accepted the resignation of scandal-plagued Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. Pruitt had become a constant source of embarrassment to a president who had entered Washington promising to “Drain the Swamp.” Pruitt has faced an array of ethical questions about his travel spending, security costs, dealings with industry…
MAE SAI, Thailand (AP) — A Thai official overseeing the rescue operation of a soccer team trapped in a flooded cave said the 12 boys and their coach may not all be extracted at the same time depending on their health. Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said Wednesday that “all 13 may not come out at the same time….
(Thailand Royal Police via AP)PHUKET, Thailand (AP) — A boat carrying dozens of Chinese tourists overturned Thursday in rough seas off southern Thailand and 49 passengers were unaccounted for, an official said. Strong winds were still blowing as searchers looked for the missing people off the tourist island of Phuket in the Andaman Sea. Phuket Gov. Norraphat Plodthong said 48…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Two people hiking in southern Alaska died in separate Independence Day accidents. A 5-year-old boy died Wednesday morning when he was struck by falling rock near Worthington Glacier in. Alaska State Troopers say the boy was near the glacier north of Valdez when a boulder the size of a bowling ball rolled off a ledge. The…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Police say a 19-year-old man flipped his car in Madison, Wisconsin, then fled the scene, removed some clothes and pretended to be a jogger unconnected to the wreck. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the unidentified man made a lane change Tuesday evening at the same time as another car. He over corrected, hit the shoulder…
Brian NelsonHIBBING, Minn. (AP) – State authorities are offering a reward for information in the death of a northern Minnesota man killed in his home last year. Sixty-year-old Brian Joseph Nelson was stabbed and found dead in his house behind The Bottle Shop liquor store last July in Hibbing. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday it will pay…
BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) – The northern Minnesota city of Bemidji is cleaning up the damage from a Fourth of July tornado. The National Weather Service says the EF-1 tornado touched down just west of Bemidji State University just before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. It packed winds of 100 mph and caused significant damage to buildings and trees along a path seven-tenths…
NEW YORK (AP) – Several people who hung a banner calling for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal on the Fourth of July have been arrested, and authorities say a person is scaling the statue’s base. National Park Service spokesman Jerry Willis says the climber was at the base beneath the statue’s foot Wednesday afternoon….
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (AP) – A western Illinois sheriff says the branch that fell on spectators during the Red, White, and Boom fireworks display, killing two, measured more than 8-feet around at its base and was about 45 feet long. Rock Island County Sheriff Gerald Bustos said Wednesday the branch fell from an oak tree that’s believed to be about…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended a municipal judge who was arrested on preliminary charges of violating a temporary restraining order and stalking. USA Today Network-Wisconsin reports Leonard Kachinsky was booked into jail Monday then released without charge. The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred Kachinsky from exercising the powers of a municipal judge until further notice,…
OLIVIA, Minn. (AP) – A 16-year-old driver in Minnesota had to climb out the back window of his car after he drove into a sinkhole following heavy rains. WCCO-TV reports that the Renville County Sheriff’s Office says the sinkhole formed after a culvert under the road washed out. The driver wasn’t injured in the Tuesday accident. The driver’s grandmother, Candace…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minneapolis officials are moving closer to offering city identification cards that would be available regardless of a person’s immigration status. The Star Tribune reports the ordinance is in its early stages and would be presented to the Minneapolis City Council before the year’s end. The identification card would be available to anyone in Minneapolis above 14 years…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Department of Corrections acknowledges it has missed a goal for providing body cameras to officers. The Legislature gave the department $591,400 to buy 200 body-worn cameras for officers in solitary confinement units at six maximum security adult prisons. But Corrections Secretary Cathy Jess acknowledged in a letter to legislative leaders Monday her department has…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Supreme Court has made permanent a pilot project that allows limited use of cameras in the state’s courtrooms. The high court gave its formal stamp of approval to the rules Monday. Media outlets and independent journalists still can’t provide full photo, video and audio coverage of trials. But the rules allow audio, video…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – An administrative law judge in Minnesota has dealt a setback to a proposed gas-fired power plant in Superior, Wisconsin. Minnesota Power wants to join with Dairyland Power Cooperative to build the plant, saying it would provide backup for wind energy that the Minnesota utility is adding to its system. But Judge Jeanne Cochran on Monday…
(Tad Vezner/Pioneer Press via AP)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A powerful downpour is washing out roads and flooding some basements in southwestern Minnesota. Lyon, Redwood and Murray counties were dealing with headaches Tuesday after an estimated 6 to 8 inches of rain fell overnight in some places. The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed highways in some flooded areas and warned travelers about…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin state Supreme Court says police can legally draw blood from unconscious drunken drivers. The court ruled 5-2 Tuesday that drivers automatically consent to a blood draw when they drive on Wisconsin roads. The court found that drivers who drink themselves into unconsciousness forfeit any opportunity to withdraw that consent. The ruling stems from a…
NEW YORK (AP) – Prosecutors say a former federal law enforcement officer traveled from Minnesota to New York City with plans to sexually abuse two girls. Ex-Federal Protective Service inspector Jesse Rodriguez was arrested Sunday when he showed up to meet an undercover officer posing as a mother of 8-and-13-year-old girls. Prosecutors say the 62-year-old Rodriguez brought condoms, lubricant, and…
(Greg Gilbert/The Seattle Times via AP) SEATTLE (AP) — Looking for a plastic straw to sip your soda? It’s no longer allowed in Seattle bars and restaurants. Neither are plastic utensils in the latest push to reduce waste and prevent marine plastic pollution. Businesses that sell food or drinks won’t be allowed to offer the plastic items under a rule…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A former worker at a St. Paul television station is charged with violent threats after authorities say he brought up the mass shooting at a Maryland newspaper while talking with the station’s security director. Gene Arntson was charged Monday in Ramsey County. The complaint said the 36-year-old Arntson was fired by KSTP-TV last year over…
Photo: Douglas Healey / Associated PressST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota is suing the major painkiller producer of OxyContin, alleging the pharmaceutical company misrepresented the medication and contributed to overdose deaths. Attorney General Lori Swanson filed the lawsuit against Purdue Pharma on Monday. It comes amid ongoing negotiations between Purdue and several states, including Minnesota. But Swanson tells the Star…
CHICAGO (AP) — Go ahead and have that cup of coffee, maybe even several more. New research shows it may boost chances for a longer life, even for those who down at least eight cups daily. In a study of nearly half-a-million British adults, coffee drinkers had a slightly lower risk of death over 10 years than abstainers. The apparent…
WASHINGTON (AP) – A new federal study finds bees are having a much harder time finding food in America’s last honeybee refuge. The country’s hot spot for commercial beekeeping is the Northern Great Plains of the Dakotas and neighboring areas, where more than 1 million colonies spend their summer feasting on pollen and nectar from wildflowers and other plants. Clint…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The rental market for vacation cabins in northern Minnesota is so popular that one county may change how such dwellings are classified to ensure the tax burden is fairly distributed. The Star Tribune reports that Minnesota properties fall into one of dozens of classifications for tax purposes, but some assessors say there’s no clear category for rented-out…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin residents have only a few hours left to apply for Gov. Scott Walker’s $100 per-child tax rebate. Parents can file claims on the state Department of Revenue’s childtaxrebate.wi.gov website through midnight Monday. The filing period began May 15. Claimants must have a child who was under 18 as of Dec. 31, 2017. The child had…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – St. Paul police have arrested two people suspected of fatally shooting a man at a festival at Como Regional Park. The police department said on its official Twitter account Monday morning they arrested 27-year-old Nougai Xiong of St. Paul and 28-year-old Yang Houa Xiong of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Police say Nougai Xiong is being investigated…
(Elizabeth Nida Obert/The Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP)SPRING VALLEY, Minn. (AP) — Community-supported agriculture farms in the Midwest have been putting fresh boxes of produce on the doorsteps of their urban and suburban neighbors since the 1990s. The volume of farmers trying their hand at the cooperative-based business formula has mushroomed, and CSA-grown boxes are getting delivered in all types of…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota conservation officials are blaming the illegal introduction of nonnative ornamental goldfish for large numbers of dead carp washing up on a lakeshore south of the Minneapolis area. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says a virus from the koi goldfish also has been found in at least eight other southern Minnesota lakes in the past year….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources plan to save an algae-plagued lake near St. Cloud has drawn both optimism and opposition. Minnesota Public Radio News reports the agency plans to drop Little Rock Lake’s level by 3 feet over three days on Aug. 1. The gates of the Sartell dam will be opened downstream on…
(AP Photo/David Goldman)ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines says it’s no longer allowing passengers to fly with “pit bull type” dogs as service or support animals, a policy that’s being met with criticism by groups that train service dogs and the people who use them. The Atlanta-based airline describes its ban as an “enhancement” to its policy on animals in…
(Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Enbridge Energy officials say they’re on track to finish construction and put the disputed Line 3 replacement crude oil pipeline into service in the second half of next year, assuming they get the remaining approvals. In an interview with The Associated Press, the president of the Canadian company’s Liquids Pipelines division says…
(Anne Arundel Police via AP)(AP) – A man who police say opened fire at a Maryland newspaper office Thursday, killing five and injuring two others, had a long, acrimonious history with the newspaper, including a lawsuit and years of harassment of its journalists on Twitter. Jarrod Warren Ramos, swiftly arrested by police after the attack, was charged Friday with five…
