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…
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a newspaper office in Annapolis on Thursday, killing five people and gravely wounding a number of others before being taken into custody in what appeared to be one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history, police and witnesses said. Police gave no immediate details on the…
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP File)ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota regulators have approved Enbridge Energy’s proposal for replacing its deteriorating Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota, but they haven’t yet settled on the route. The Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to grant a certificate of need for Enbridge. The Calgary, Alberta-based company says the pipeline needs…
(WJLA via AP)ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Multiple people were shot Thursday at a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, with a witness saying a single gunman fired into the newsroom. A reporter at The Capital tweeted that a single individual shot multiple people. Phil Davis, who covers business and politics for the newspaper, tweeted that the gunman shot through the glass door…
(Garret Ellison | MLive)ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota regulators have begun deliberations on whether to approve or reject Enbridge Energy’s proposal for replacing its aging Line 3 oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. The Public Utilities Commission entered a fifth day of hearings on the project Thursday. Commissioners began deliberations after they finished questioning representatives on both sides of the…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – The hepatitis A outbreak in Louisville and other parts of Kentucky is now the worst in the country. The Courier Journal reports state health officials confirmed Wednesday at least 969 people have contracted the liver disease. State Public Health department Commissioner Dr. Jeff Howard says the outbreak is the worst on record across the nation and…
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)SEATTLE (AP) — Your Amazon packages, which usually show up in a UPS truck, an unmarked vehicle or in the hands of a mail carrier, may soon be delivered from an Amazon van. The online retailer has been looking for a while to find a way to have more control over how its packages are delivered. With…
SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) — Police in suburban Atlanta say a body found inside of a walk-in beer cooler at the major league home of the Atlanta Braves belongs to a Minnesota man who was doing contract work at the stadium. Cobb County police on Wednesday identified him as 48-year-old Todd Keeling of White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Authorities say Keeling had…
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday, giving President Donald Trump the chance to cement conservative control of the high court. The 81-year-old Kennedy said in a statement he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, he has held the key vote on…
NEW HOPE, Minn. (AP) – A standoff that started with a domestic dispute in New Hope has ended peacefully 18 hours later. New Hope Police Capt. Scott Slawson says a man who was allegedly holding two children in a town house surrendered Tuesday afternoon. Slawson says the man was taken to a hospital for an evaluation. The two children were…
NEW YORK (AP) – The 28-year-old political newcomer who upset U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in New York’s Democrat primary says she brings an “urgency” to the fight for working families. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former organizer for Bernie Sanders, spoke Wednesday on the MSNBC “Morning Joe” show. Ocasio-Cortez says her father died when she was a teenager and her mother cleaned…
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to organized labor. The justices are scrapping a 41-year-old decision that had allowed states to require that public employees pay some fees to unions that represent…
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) – An agitated passenger was escorted off a Spirit Airlines flight that landed in Rochester, Minnesota, for a medical emergency. Rochester Police Lt. Mike Sadauskis says the 38-year-old woman from Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, was asked to leave the flight after it landed Monday morning. The incident started when the flight from Houston to Minneapolis was diverted to…
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) – A former Mendota Heights high school teacher has been sentenced to six months in jail for sexually assaulting a student. Thirty-two-year-old Christine Lee Funk faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for three counts of criminal sexual contact with the 17-year-old boy. Instead, Funk pleaded guilty to one count and the two others…
(AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)FISHERS, Ind. (AP) — Police say a child fired a shot from a loaded handgun after finding it in a sofa at an Ikea store in suburban Indianapolis. Fishers police say no one was injured from the gunshot about 2 p.m. Monday at the furniture store along Interstate 69 just northeast of Indianapolis. Police Sgt. Tom Weger…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – State investigators have released the names of two Minneapolis officers who shot and killed a black man who authorities say had a gun. Thurman Blevins Jr. was fatally shot Saturday by Officer Ryan Kelly and Officer Justin Schmidt after a foot chase through a north Minneapolis alley. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Kelly has been…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) SEATTLE (AP) — Seventeen states, including Washington, New York and California, sued President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday in an effort to force officials to reunite migrant families who have been separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. The states, all of which are led by Democratic attorneys general, joined Washington, D.C., in filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court…
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say two people killed a man on a Minnesota farmstead before burning the body and burying the remains in two separate sites. Thirty-nine-year-old Jason Jensen and 34-year-old Kayla Westcott are charged with aiding and abetting murder with intent, but without premeditation. They face 40 years in prison if convicted. Jensen and Westcott were arrested during…
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upheld President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries, rejecting a challenge that it discriminated against Muslims or exceeded his authority. The 5-4 decision Tuesday is the court’s first substantive ruling on a Trump administration policy. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by his…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Authorities say a speeding driver has died in a crash on Milwaukee’s south side after police ended their pursuit of the motorist. The crash happened about 3:30 a.m. Monday. Police say a suburban Greenfield officer tried to pull over the man for a traffic violation, but he sped away. Greenfield police began a pursuit, but then canceled…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Wisconsin’s top Republican leaders are not criticizing President Donald Trump’s trade policy or Harley-Davidson’s decision to shift the production of motorcycles headed for Europe from the U.S. to factories overseas. The Milwaukee-based company said Monday it’s making the move because of a spike in European Union tariffs on its motorcycles exported from the U.S. A spokeswoman for…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota county sheriff who resigned unexpectedly last month is accused of threatening a female employee in the sheriff’s office. The Star Tribune reports that an investigation ordered by the Chisago County Attorney’s Office shows that Rick Duncan wrote threatening letters last fall directing the employee to go with him to a training session in Bemidji and…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The University of Minnesota says students who can’t get into its selective Twin Cities flagship will be steered to the four other campuses as the system looks to grow by 3,000 over the next six years. The Pioneer Press reports that the Twin Cities campus accounts for 71 percent of the system’s more than 44,500 undergraduates. However,…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says officials have recovered a black and silver handgun from the scene of a Minneapolis police shooting that left a man dead. The bureau, which is investigating the shooting, said Sunday that the man ran from officers while holding a gun. Authorities say Minneapolis police officers pursued and then shot the…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Some Wisconsin schools will be using gunshot-detection sensors when classes resume this fall to try to get police to respond more quickly to a mass shooting. The sensors are among various security upgrades schools are rolling out with grant money state lawmakers approved this year after the shootings in Parkland, Florida. The Kenosha Unified School District plans…
NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks says it will accelerate its store closings in the U.S. next year as it tries to boost sluggish sales. The Seattle-based company announced Tuesday that it will close 150 under-performing stores in heavily penetrated markets, up from the usual rate of 50 closings a year. The company also said it expects 1 percent growth in…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Activists are encouraging people to use test strips on drugs as the number of fentanyl overdose deaths rises in Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio reports that the strips offer a simple way for people to tell whether there’s potentially dangerous fentanyl in the drugs they’re about to take. Fentanyl is considered more powerful than heroin. The…
