MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s state tax burden increased slightly last year for the first time in a decade due largely to a pandemic-related economic surge, according to a report released Wednesday. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum’s study found total state and local taxes in Wisconsin grew to $34 billion last year, up 7.1% from 2020. Overall, combined state and…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz has announced plans to open three more community testing sites for COVID-19 as the rapid spread of the omicron variant puts new strains on Minnesota’s testing capacity. According to updated figures Tuesday, Minnesota is coming off its deadliest month of the pandemic for 2021, with 874 deaths in December. The state’s seven-day test positivity…
NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has signed off on two measures to increase access to additional doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The CDC on Tuesday recommended shortening the recommended interval of time between when people who had an initial series of Pfizer vaccinations and when they receive a Pfizer booster shot, from six…
(Dane County Sheriff’s Office via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Opening statements were scheduled for Tuesday in the trial of a 23-year-old Wisconsin man charged with killing and dismembering his parents. A jury was selected Monday in Dane County Circuit Court to hear the case against Chandler Halderson, who faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide and mutilating and hiding a…
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Officials say Minnesota’s blood bank donations are at a 10-year low. Red Cross spokeswoman Tonia Teasley says many people are not donating because they are worried about their own health during the coronavirus pandemic. Teasley says across the region blood donations are down 10 percent. Sen. Amy Klobuchar hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on the issue Monday…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz says coronavirus cases due to the fast-spreading omicron variant will most likely race through Minnesota’s public schools in the next few weeks now that students are back in class. Walz told Minnesota Public Radio on Monday that school administrators across the state are right to be concerned. He noted that modeling by the Mayo…
UNDATED (AP) -The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters as it confronts the omicron surge. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday allowed extra Pfizer shots for children as young as 12. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older, and the FDA says they’re also warranted for 12- to 15-year-olds. The FDA also said everyone eligible for a Pfizer…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Wisconsin’s largest school district will transition to virtual instruction beginning Tuesday because of an increase in staff testing positive for COVID-19. Milwaukee public schools were scheduled to resume in-person learning Tuesday, but because of an influx of reported positive COVID-19 cases among district staff, the emergency safety measure is being implemented. The district says its goal is…
NEW YORK (AP) – New York’s attorney general recently issued subpoenas to former President Donald Trump and his two eldest children in connection with an ongoing civil investigation into the family’s business practices. Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in a court filing Monday that it is seeking testimony and documents from Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump “in…
Photo: AP/Chris Pizzello LOS ANGELES (AP) – Actress Betty White, whose saucy, up-for-anything charm made her a television mainstay for more than 60 years, has died. She was 99. People and the Washington Post reported Friday the news of White’s death. Her witty style gave life to a roster of quirky characters over more than a half-century. They included the…
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan’s health and education departments are urging schools to postpone or make virtual large gatherings, including sporting events if they are not “essential” – as COVID-19 cases spike across the state. The recommendation is intended to keep schools open when classes resume after the winter break next week. It was included in a letter to K-12…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Most Minnesota law enforcement agencies have chosen not to implement guidelines mandating officers with a history of misconduct wear body cameras. The League of Minnesota Cities two years ago created a model policy requiring problem officers wear cameras. A Minneapolis Star Tribune analysis found only 10 of 108 agencies with publicly available body camera policies have implemented…
COOKE CITY, Mont. (AP) – Two Minnesota men died in an avalanche in the mountains north of Yellowstone National Park. Park County officials say a group of eight snowmobilers was riding near Scotch Bonnet Mountain north of Cooke City at mid-day Monday. One of the men got stuck on a southeast-facing slope and another man was trying to help dig…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) – The head of the Minnesota Nurses Association is ripping new CDC guidelines that shorten the recommended COVID-19 quarantine periods. Under the new recommendations, vaccinated health care workers who are exposed no longer must isolate. M-N-A president Mary Turner called the new policy a “disaster.” Turner said,” It may be good for businesses’ bottom lines to…
HOLMEN, Wis. (AP) – Convenience store chain Kwik Trip is poised to open its 800th store this week. The La Crosse Tribune reports the chain is set to open the milestone store in Holmen at 5 a.m. on Thursday. The store will be about 9,000-square-feet and will feature a car wash and a grocery market with fresh food delivered daily….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota has topped a million cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began in March of 2020. The state Department of Health confirmed 4,155 new cases, lifting the total number of infections to 1,000,361. The figures released Monday do not include cases from the holiday weekend, which are expected to be updated Tuesday. Minnesota’s case count includes…
ELY, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota appellate court has affirmed that a wilderness advocacy group has the standing to challenge state rules on copper mine sites. The Minnesota Appeals Court’s ruling Monday means that Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness’ lawsuit can continue. The group filed the action in June 2020 arguing the 29-year-old sitting rules should prohibit copper mining along waters…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter according to a third and final estimate of the nation’s economic growth for that period. But prospects for a solid rebound going forward are being clouded by the rapid spread of the latest variant of the coronavirus. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the nation’s…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. consumer confidence rose this month as Americans shrugged off concerns about rising prices and COVID’-19’s highly contagious omicron variant. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Wednesday that its consumer confidence index – which takes into account consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their outlook for the future – rose to 115.8 in December, the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Jurors in the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright have begun their third day of deliberations after a question to the judge suggested some are concerned they may not be able to reach an agreement. The jury asked Judge Regina Chu on Tuesday afternoon how to proceed if…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A 20-member team from the U.S. Navy is headed to Green Bay’s Bellin Hospital to help the overwhelmed facility treat patients with COVID-19. Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency dispatched the team to assist. Wisconsin hospitals are struggling to keep up with a surge in COVID-19 patients while also dealing with…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration has signed a deal allowing gambling on sports and other events at St. Croix Chippewa tribal casinos. Evers’ administration announced Monday that it has amended the state’s gambling compact with the tribe to offer event wagering. The St. Croix Tribal Council approved the amendment on Nov. 30. The U.S. Department of…
(AP) – U.S. population growth dipped to its lowest rate since the nation’s founding during the first year of the pandemic as the coronavirus curtailed immigration, delayed pregnancies, and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents, according to figures released Tuesday. The United States grew by only 0.1%, with only an additional 392,665 added to the U.S. population, from July…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — State regulators who three years ago issued an air quality permit for a proposed copper-nickel mine in northwestern Minnesota stood by their decision in a report released Monday that said the mine did not provide misleading information on its plans. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency report is a blow to several environmental groups and the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden plans to deliver 500 million free COVID-19 tests to Americans, increase support for hospitals and expand the availability of vaccines to confront a winter surge of coronavirus cases driven by the fast-spreading omicron variant. Biden will stress in a Tuesday speech the importance of getting vaccinated to protect from a wave of infections as…
(Court TV, via AP, Pool) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A jury will resume deliberations in the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who says she meant to use her Taser instead of her gun when she shot and killed Daunte Wright. The jury returns Tuesday after meeting for about a half-day Monday following closing arguments. Prosecutors accused Kim Potter of…
NEW YORK (AP) – Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S. Federal health officials said Monday that omicron accounted for an estimated 73% of new infections last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers show nearly a six-fold increase in the proportion of infections in only…
O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) – A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that swept across the north-central U.S. last week has been classified by the National Weather Service as a serial derecho – the first on record December. At least 45 tornadoes have been preliminarily confirmed in the Dec. 15 storms that crossed the Great Plains and Midwest amid unseasonably warm…
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say preliminary autopsy results show seven people whose bodies were discovered inside a Minnesota home did not die from “any obvious trauma.” Police say all seven victims, including three minors, lived at the residence in south Moorhead. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office in St. Paul conducted the autopsies but did not determine a cause…
LONDON (AP) – Britain’s main nurses’ union has warned that exhaustion and surging coronavirus cases among medical staff are pushing them to the breaking point. That is adding to pressure on the government for new restrictions to curb record numbers of infections driven by the omicron variant. The warning Monday throws into stark relief the unpalatable choice Prime Minister Boris…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – An intertribal agency says Wisconsin’s draft environmental review for a reroute of an oil and gas pipeline is incomplete and flawed. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released its draft environmental impact statement last week for a roughly 40-mile reroute of Enbridge’s Line 5 in Ashland and Iron counties. The pipeline carries up to 23 million gallons…
(Court TV, via AP, Pool) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A prosecutor is telling jurors that the suburban Minneapolis police officer who says she meant to use her Taser instead of her gun when she shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright knew what she did was wrong. The jury will get the case against Kim Potter following Monday’s closing arguments. Prosecutor…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota police officer on trial in the shooting death of Daunte Wright was expected to take the stand Friday, hoping to persuade jurors to acquit her of manslaughter charges in what she has said was a gun-Taser mixup. A compressed defense case for Kim Potter appeared likely to wrap up after just two days, with jurors…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s unemployment rate tied a record low of 3% in November, a number last hit exactly three years ago, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday. The state rate is below the national unemployment rate of 4.2% for November. The state rate was down from 3.2% in October. Wisconsin gained 12,300 private-sector jobs over the…
(Court TV via AP, Pool File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors on Thursday rested their case against Kim Potter, the suburban Minneapolis police officer charged in the shooting death of Daunte Wright. After a week of hearing from witnesses called by the prosecution, Potter’s attorneys will get their chance to defend the former Brooklyn Center officer, who they said will take…
(Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle via AP) OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A powerful storm system blew through the Great Plains and Midwest, combining with unusually warm temperatures to close highways and prompt numerous tornado warnings. The winds gusting up to 80 mph hit parts of Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. The strong winds whipped up dust that reduced visibility to zero west…
BOSTON (AP) – Housing advocates say evictions are increasing around the country, several months after a federal moratorium was allowed to end. The rise in cases, although below pre-pandemic levels in most states and cities, shows the limits on the tens of billions of dollars in federal assistance and the impact of lax protections in some places. Data collected by…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health care systems say surgery delays are growing as coronavirus patients crowd hospitals. Doctors say hospitals have deferred procedures to free up beds, leaving some patients in prolonged pain. Patient demand over the past month has been the highest in the 21 months of the pandemic, according to health care providers. “I’m not sure the public…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin has pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin’s plea Wednesday means he will not face a federal trial in January, though he could end up spending more years behind bars. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted this spring of state murder and manslaughter charges…
(AP) – The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has topped 800,000. That is according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University. The once-unimaginable milestone was hit Tuesday. It’s seen as doubly tragic, given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after the vaccine became available practically for the asking last spring. The death toll is about equal…
(Oakland County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File) ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) – A judge has granted a Michigan prosecutor more time to collect and share additional evidence against the parents of a boy charged with killing four students at Oxford High School. It’s partly because prosecutor Karen McDonald wants to give the Michigan community “time to heal” during the holiday…
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The City of Milwaukee has submitted its bid to host the Republican National Convention in 2024. The application, which includes more than 200 pages, highlights the city’s access to Lake Michigan, entertainment venues, festivals, the culinary scene, the Milwaukee Bucks’ championship, the Wisconsin Center expansion, Fiserv Forum, and more. Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith said it also…
JOHANNESBURG (AP) – An analysis of data from South Africa shows the omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus, and the Pfizer vaccine seems to offer less defense against infection from it but still good protection against hospitalization. While the findings are preliminary and have not been peer-reviewed, they line up with other…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots. The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an exemption….
(AP) – First lady Jill Biden is planning to meet with families of victims and others who were at a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee where six people were killed and dozens were injured after an SUV plowed through the crowd. The White House said Biden will begin her day Wednesday by attending a Forbes 50 Over 50 and Know…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating George Floyd’s civil rights. A federal docket entry on Monday shows that a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for Chauvin to change his current not-guilty plea in the case. The court system also sent out instructions for the media…
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s governor said that at least 64 people were killed in the state during a devastating cluster of tornadoes. At least 14 people are dead in four other states: Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Monday that it could take days more to tally a final death toll…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The trial of a Minnesota police officer charged with the shooting death of Daunte Wright has opened its second week of testimony with an assistant medical examiner explaining his autopsy. The 20-year-old Black motorist was slain on April 11 after police pulled him over in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center for having expired license plate tags…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Officials from Minnesota’s natural resources and pollution control agencies detail the ways climate change is diminishing Minnesota winters, with 10 to 14 fewer days of lake ice over the past 50 years. It’s a change they say hurts local economies, the environment, and the Minnesota way of life. Warmer lake waters are leading to more toxic algal…
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Crews with Wisconsin manufacturing company Komatsu are working to clean up an oil spill on the Menomonee River in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said in a statement that Komatsu, a company based in Japan, spilled 400 gallons of oil into a storm sewer drain at its facility in Milwaukee last week, the Milwaukee Journal…
