HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) – A foster mother and her boyfriend have been charged in Dakota County with manslaughter and murder in the death of a 3-year-old boy who was in the woman’s care. Authorities say Zayden Lawson was fatally beaten last June. Thirty-one-year-old Zeporia Fortenberry is charged with second-degree manslaughter. A criminal complaint says Fortenberry knew her boyfriend, 27-year-old Charles…
PERHAM, Minn. (AP) – The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office has a suspect in custody in what authorities say is a double homicide. Officers responded to a reported assault at a rural Perham residence shortly before 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, and found two people dead at the scene. No other details were immediately released. Authorities did not immediately identify the people…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Republican lawmakers are pushing to allow employers to pay their tipped workers lower wages by counting tips in their wages. The so-called tip credit is a familiar proposal in Minnesota. But the gradual increase of the minimum wage in Minneapolis to $15 hourly by 2022 has increased the pressure at the Legislature. St. Paul is…
SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) – The police chief in a Minnesota city where an 8-year-old slashed three other students with a knife says he wishes he knew why the boy did it. Sauk Rapids Police Chief Perry Beise says the boy randomly cut three children at Pleasantview Elementary School on Monday morning, then went into the office and set the…
MINNEAPOLIS-Hundreds of travelers from Minnesota are stranded in Mexico because they are unable to rebook Sun Country Airlines flights that were canceled due to a storm at home, because the carrier has ended its seasonal service south of the border. Travelers are stuck in Los Cabos and Mazatlan. Sun Country, based in Eagan, Minnesota, says the flights that were canceled…
MINNEAPOLIS-As the second anniversary of Prince’s death approaches, the rock star’s heirs have yet to collect a dollar of his estimated $200 million estate. But bankers, lawyers and consultants have earned millions from it. The long saga to settle the estate provides a cautionary tale about what can happen when someone dies without leaving a will – as Prince did…
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-The Minnesota State Patrol says one person was killed when a Metro Transit bus broadsided a car that had spun out on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis. The fatal crash Sunday evening brought to at least five the number of people killed across the country since Friday as a mid-April storm churned up from the South and dumped 2…
HOUSTON- A family spokesman says former first lady Barbara Bush “has been a rock in the face of her failing health.” Jim McGrath did not elaborate as to the nature of the 92-year-old Bush’s health problems. She is at home in Houston. McGrath says Bush “has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care.”…
COLUMBIA, S.C.-South Carolina’s governor is expressing support for his state prisons chief following riots at a maximum-security prison that killed seven inmates. Gov. Henry McMaster’s spokesman Brian Symmes tells The Associated Press on Monday that the governor has “complete confidence” in director Bryan Stirling’s ability to lead the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Stirling was appointed by then-Gov. Nikki Haley…
WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) – President Donald Trump says he is “prepared to sustain” strikes against Syria until the use of chemical agents stops. The United States, along with assurance from France and the United Kingdom, launched a response Friday against the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad days after his government allegedly used chemical weapons on its citizens. But Trump…
(Photo: Oakland County Sheriff’s Office)ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) – A retired, white Detroit firefighter is charged with assault with intent to murder after a shot was fired at a black teen who police say knocked on the door of the man’s suburban Detroit home to ask directions to school. Jeffery Zeigler was arraigned Friday. The 53-year-old was arrested Thursday after…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) NEW YORK (AP) – A federal judge is ordering President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer to appear next week for arguments over the government’s raid on the lawyer’s New York City home and office. At a hearing on Friday, U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood told an attorney for Michael Cohen that his client needed to be there…
Garrison KeillorST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Public Radio says it has an agreement with Garrison Keillor to restore online access to old recordings of his “A Prairie Home Companion” radio show. MPR said Friday it will pay Keillor $275,000 for limited, non-exclusive rights to those shows for three years as well as Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac,” a short daily…
(Dodge County Sheriff’s Office via AP)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota woman who is wanted in connection with her husband’s death is now a suspect in the killing of a Florida woman, authorities said Friday. Lois Riess of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, has been charged in the shooting death of Pamela Hutchinson of Bradenton, Florida. Authorities aren’t aware of any connection between…
FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Delta Air Lines flight has made an emergency landing at the Fargo airport. KFGO reports the jet with 189 passengers on board was heading from Minneapolis to Anchorage, Alaska when the crew reported smoke in the cockpit Thursday night. Fire officials say the plane landed safely at Hector International Airport in Fargo about 7:30 p.m….
(AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department is increasing fees at the most popular national parks to $35 per vehicle, backing down from an earlier plan that would have forced visitors to pay $70 per vehicle to visit the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and other iconic parks. A change announced Thursday will boost fees at 17 popular parks…
HUTCHINSON, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say an explosion at a 3M Co. plant in Minnesota injured three people, one of them seriously. Hutchinson Police Chief Daniel Hatten says a piece of equipment malfunctioned about 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Hatten says one person was seriously hurt while the other two suffered minor injuries. All three victims were taken to hospitals. A 3M…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former FBI Director James Comey blasts President Donald Trump as “unethical” and “untethered to truth” in a new book. He calls Trump’s leadership of the country “ego driven and about personal loyalty.” Comey’s comments come in the new book in which he casts Trump as a mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Mark Dayton has criticized a self-described millionaire who says he legally qualified for food stamps and took them to prove the system is vulnerable to abuse. Rob Undersander of Waite Park told a legislative committee Wednesday that he and his wife collected about $6,000 in benefits they didn’t need over 19 months, and then…
(AP Photo | Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Kremlin spokesman is warning the U.S. and its allies against any steps that could destabilize the situation in Syria. Asked about possible U.S. strikes on Syria, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that “it’s necessary to avoid any steps that may fuel tensions in Syria.” He added that it…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is criticizing his predecessor, Republican Tim Pawlenty, who has announced plans to seek his old office. Dayton told the Star Tribune on Wednesday he doesn’t know what Pawlenty is going to run on because, as Dayton put it, “his record as governor was so abysmal.” Dayton charges that Pawlenty left Minnesota…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota will spend $1.3 million to temporarily add staff to handle the fallout from the launch of the state Licensing and Registration System. The Star Tribune reports that the state Driver and Vehicle Services office will draw funds from the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund. Cassandra O’Hern is the deputy commissioner of the Department of…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is calling on lawmakers to set aside $969,000 to keep the state’s only suicide prevention hotline from closing. The Minnesota Suicide Prevention Lifeline recently announced it would be forced to shut down next month without new funding. The 24-hour phone line links callers with local mental health professionals as well as…
(AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper, File)(AP) – Organizers are encouraging gun rights supporters to bring unloaded rifles to rallies at state capitols across the U.S. this weekend to counter a recent wave of student-led protests against gun violence. A group called the National Constitutional Coalition of Patriotic Americans is spreading word of the gatherings on social media. Coalition co-founder David Clayton…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – Another top National Security Council staffer is leaving the White House as new National Security Adviser John Bolton makes his mark. Deputy national security adviser Ricky Waddell will be exiting the administration, said two administration officials with knowledge of the decision who were not authorized to speak publicly. Waddell’s departure date has not yet…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans have cleared a procedural hurdle to confirm a former coal industry lobbyist as the No. 2 official at the Environmental Protection Agency. If confirmed as deputy administrator, Andrew Wheeler would be next in line to lead if embattled administrator Scott Pruitt is forced out or resigns. The Senate voted 53-45 Thursday to limit debate on Wheeler’s…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – State officials say they will give up on efforts to collect a backlog of $30 million in MinnesotaCare premiums that weren’t paid because of problems with a computer system. The Minnesota Department of Human Services says the problem has been fixed, but identifying the people who had not been billed would likely cost more than…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)NEW YORK (AP) – Mark Zuckerberg has faced two days of grilling before House and Senate committees to address Facebook’s privacy issues and the need for more regulation for the social media site. Yet the hearings in Washington managed to showcase the normally press-shy Zuckerberg’s ability to perform as an able and well-rehearsed, if a bit stiff, CEO…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require mandatory drug testing for some food stamp recipients. If adopted, the plan would give a win to conservatives seeking to cut the safety net program. An administration official briefed on the plan says it would be narrowly targeted, applying mostly to people who are…
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) – Prosecutors have charged a man and a woman from Fergus Falls with murder in the death of a 6-year-old boy they were caring for. Forty-year-old Bobbie Christine Bishop and 44-year-old Walter Henry Wynhoff are charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and malicious punishment of a child. The boy was unresponsive when he was brought to a…
(Photo: Markus Schreiber / AP file)ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota plans to spend the first phase of its $47 million from the national Volkswagen settlement on replacing large, old diesel equipment with cleaner vehicles. Volkswagen agreed to pay the money after it was exposed for programming diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. Minnesota gets $11.75 million in Phase…
ANSONIA, Conn. (AP) – Police say a Connecticut man with a crush on singer Taylor Swift robbed a bank and then went to the pop star’s Rhode Island mansion where he threw cash over a fence in an attempt to impress her. Bruce Rowley, of Derby, is charged with robbing an Ansonia bank on April 4. Police say “it seemed…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON (AP) – After Russia warned the United States against military strikes in Syria, President Donald Trump says missiles “will be coming.” Trump says on Twitter Wednesday: “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’” Russian lawmakers have warned that Moscow…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan will not run for re-election, his office announced Wednesday, injecting another layer of uncertainty as Republicans face worries over losing their majority in the fall. Ryan’s plans have been the source of much speculation and will set off a scramble among his lieutenants to take the helm. A self-styled budget guru, Ryan…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his company is “working with” special counsel Robert Mueller in his probe into Russian interference. Earlier this year Mueller charged 13 Russian individuals and three Russian companies in a plot to interfere in the 2016 presidential election through a social media propaganda effort that included online ad purchases using U.S. aliases and…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – President Donald Trump has formally nominated a Minnesota judge to be the state’s next U.S. Attorney. Erica MacDonald has been a judge in Dakota County since 2009. Before that, she was an assistant U.S. attorney in Minnesota for eight years, focusing on cases dealing with violent crimes, drugs, human trafficking and child pornography. MacDonald’s nomination to the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state has paid nearly $600,000 over the last decade to settle allegations of sexual misconduct by University of Wisconsin-Madison employees. New documents obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show 20 sexual harassment cases have been filed against UW-Madison workers since 2008. Six cases led to payouts totaling $591,050. The largest…
Bill Cosby (Reuters) NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Bill Cosby’s lawyer launched a blistering courtroom attack on the comedian’s accuser Tuesday, portraying her as a con artist whose goal was “money, money and lots more money.” Lawyer Tom Mesereau told jurors in his opening statement at the former TV star’s sex-assault trial that Andrea Constand wasn’t attracted to Cosby but was…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker plans to sign nine welfare overhaul bills into law that include increasing the work requirement for food stamp recipients and imposing it on parents for the first time. Walker planned to sign the bills Tuesday in Wausau, River Falls and Milwaukee. Republicans were united in support of the bills, saying the changes will…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s homeland security adviser is resigning in the latest White House departure. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Tuesday that Thomas Bossert would be leaving his post. She said that Trump was “grateful for Tom’s commitment to the safety and security of our great country.” Bossert was…
SAUK CENTRE, Minn. (AP) – A former Sauk Centre school bus driver has pleaded guilty to driving a bus full of children while he was drunk. Sixty-three-year-old Thomas Richard Bromen pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor count of driving a commercial motor vehicle while intoxicated. Bromen picked up 50 students from school by bus on Feb. 5. According to…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal agents carrying court-authorized search warrants have seized documents from President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. That’s according to a statement from Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan. He says the search warrants were executed by the office of the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York but they are “in part” related…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has proposed a new 10-year plan to manage the state’s deer population. The plan sets a statewide harvest goal of 200,000 deer. The Star Tribune reports that’s about 25,000 below what the state’s largest deer group wants. Leaders of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association have said a harvest closer…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minneapolis center that serves abused and neglected children is expanding to meet a growing need for services fueled by the opioid epidemic and increased recognition of abuse. Minnesota Public Radio reports that CornerHouse will add space in Rogers. CornerHouse is located in south Minneapolis, but center officials say children’s needs extend beyond the city. Rogers police…
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Chicken salad contaminated with salmonella bacteria made by an Iowa food processing company and distributed by Fareway Stores has sickened 265 people in eight states and caused one death in Iowa. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak which sickened people from early January through mid-March appears to have ended. Food…
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said Monday that 225 members of the state’s National Guard were heading to the U.S.-Mexico border to support President Donald Trump’s call for troops to fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration. More of the state’s Guard members will be deployed on Tuesday, said Ducey, a Republican. The Arizona troops…
(AP)WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has condemned the “heinous” suspected poison gas attack in Syria and said he’ll make a decision on the U.S. response within 24 to 48 hours. Speaking in the White House Cabinet Room Monday, Trump vowed to find out who is responsible for the attack that reportedly killed at least 40 people. Trump said during…
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Four people were injured when a car crashed into a house on Green Bay’s west side, pushing it almost a foot off its foundation and shearing off a gas line. Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Vanden Avond says the house was left uninhabitable after the Saturday afternoon incident. The Green Bay Press Gazette reports that…
TOWN OF DANE, Wis. (AP) – A 35-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman are dead after a two-vehicle head-on crash in the Town of Dane. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office says car driven by the man crossed the center line of Highway 113 and struck a van being driven by the woman about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Both drivers died at…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A pizza delivery man is recovering after being shot during a suspected robbery. WCCO-TV reports that the man was found slumped on the sidewalk about 8 p.m. Thursday with a gunshot wound to the head area. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that police say the man suffered a grazing bullet wound. A spokeswoman for Hennepin County Medical…
