MINNEAPOLIS – The drought in Minnesota continues to get worse, exposing rocks, riverbeds, and islands in the St. Croix and Minnesota river drying up entire channels in the mighty Mississippi. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has imposed water restrictions for much of the state. Utilities are to limit water use to no more than 25% above January levels. The…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota pollution control and natural resources officials have released a $700 million plan to improve the drinking water for 14 Twin Cities communities whose groundwater was contaminated due to decades-long chemical disposal by 3M Co. The long-term plan aims to build or improve six water treatment plants and treat 33 municipal wells. It will also connect nearly…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration will require that nursing home staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden will announce the move Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways to use mandates to encourage vaccine holdouts to get shots….
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country star Garth Brooks is canceling his remaining stadium tour dates in five cities due to rising COVID-19 cases. Brooks had said weeks ago that he would be reassessing the tour in light of the surge in cases. Tickets will be refunded for shows scheduled in Cincinnati; Charlotte, North Carolina; Baltimore; Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Nashville, Tennessee….
(AP) – Federal officials are extending into January a requirement that people on airline flights and public transportation wear face masks, a rule intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Transportation Security Administration’s current order was scheduled to expire on Sept. 13. An agency spokesman said Tuesday that the mandate will be extended until Jan. 18. The TSA briefed…
(Alex Korman/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A wildfire in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota has grown to 5 square miles as hot, dry, and windy conditions persist. Crews have been fighting the fire from the air and on the ground since it was spotted Sunday afternoon near Greenwood Lake. The fire covered a little over 3…
NEW YORK – U.S. health officials are recommending all Americans get COVID-19 booster shots. The plan, as outlined by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top health authorities, calls for booster doses eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The booster doses could begin the week of…
JEFFERSON, Wis. (AP) – Sheriff’s officials say multiple people have died in a crash on Interstate 94 in Jefferson County. Jefferson County Sheriff Paul Milbrath says that about 4 a.m. Wednesday a vehicle pulling a trailer veered out of control and slammed into a guardrail on I-94 westbound. A second vehicle and then a semi crashed into the cargo trailer…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Authorities are fighting a northeastern Minnesota wildfire from the air and on the ground following the evacuation of about 75 residences in the Superior National Forest. The fire was first spotted Sunday near Greenwood Lake. It has expanded to about 3.1 square miles. The Minnesota National Guard is assisting in the firefighting efforts; warm weather and gusty…
(Garret Ellison | MLive) MINNEAPOLIS – A former U.S. Navy diver who helped efforts to search for bodies in the treacherous waters of the Mississippi River after the I-35W bridge collapse in 2007 has returned his awards to protest the Line 3 oil pipeline. The Star Tribune reports that John Miller, a native of Monticello who now lives in Hawaii,…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot. The goal is to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A former Wisconsin high school teacher accused of secretly videotaping undressed students during field trips in Wisconsin and Minnesota pleaded guilty in federal court Monday, under a plea deal with prosecutors. Thirty-nine-year-old David M. Kruchten faces six to 20 years in prison, after pleading guilty to two federal charges. Sentencing has been set for Oct. 22….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A rapidly growing wildfire in northeastern Minnesota has expanded to at least 1,500 acres and prompted some evacuations. The fire was spotted around 3 p.m. Sunday near Greenwood Lake, about 15 miles southwest of Isabella, in the Superior National Forest. Officials say the cause has not been determined. Authorities ordered cabin and property owners in the area…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is returning to the White House Monday to address the nation on the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. This, as the planned withdrawal of American forces, turned deadly at Kabul’s airport Monday as thousands tried to flee Afghanistan a day after the Taliban’s takeover of the country. The White House says Biden will travel back…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota has extended its $100 reward program for people who get their COVID-19 vaccinations by another week. Any Minnesotan age 12 or older who gets their first shot through Sunday can claim a $100 Visa gift card at mn.gov/covid19/100. Gov. Tim Walz announced the extension Sunday night, calling the incentive program a success. According to…
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country. Heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the capital, and several entered Kabul’s abandoned presidential palace. Suhail Shaheen, a…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A new policy change says Minneapolis police will no longer stop motorists for minor traffic violations, such as expired tabs or an air freshener hanging from a rearview mirror. Police Chief Medaria Arrandondo in an internal memo says the move comes after examining how officers can better utilize time and resources. Critics have long argued that the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health regulators have authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in people with weakened immune systems to better protect them from the virus. The announcement Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who take immune-suppressing medicines because of organ transplants, cancer, or other disorders. The decision does…
(courtesy: Fox 9) MINNEAPOLIS – A Republican political operative has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Minnesota and now faces five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, a count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, and another count of attempted sex trafficking, along with three counts of obstruction. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges Anton Lazzaro…
BELIZE CITY (AP) — Twenty-seven people aboard a Carnival cruise tested positive for COVID-19 just before the ship made a stop in Belize City this week, according to the Belize Tourism Board. The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which is carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the board said…
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Several reports say Britney Spears’ father has agreed to step down from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years. Outlets including celebrity website TMZ and CNN reported that James Spears filed legal documents saying that while there are no grounds for his removal, he will step down. The decision comes after…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – UW Health will participate in a study of the effects of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in young children. The Wisconsin State Journal reports UW Health’s American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison will be one of about 100 sites involved in the study. The project aims to enroll about 12,000 children under age 12. The Madison hospital hopes…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota has reached the milestone of vaccinating 70% of its population age 16 and older with at least one dose against GOVID-19. Gov. Tim Walz credits a recent rise in vaccination rates amid concerns over the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus and the state’s $100 rewards for people who get their first shot…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal Department of Health and Human Services is requiring employees who provide care for patients to get their COVID-19 shots. Thursday’s order from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will affect more than 25,000 clinicians, researchers, contractors, trainees, and volunteers with the National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps….
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell for a third…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)-A judge has ordered that the jury in the trial of a former suburban Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of Daunte Wright will remain anonymous. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, who is white, fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist, in April. She’s scheduled to stand trial in November on a manslaughter charge. Judge Regina Chu…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wildlife officials in Wisconsin are set to consider adopting a 130-animal limit for this fall’s wolf hunt. The Department of Natural Resources’ vote Wednesday in Milwaukee figures to be contentious after conservationists complained hunters killed far too many wolves during a rushed spring season in February. The Trump administration removed wolves from the endangered species list…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota has seen at least 5,599 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 and at least 57 deaths among fully vaccinated people, health officials reported Tuesday. The Minnesota Department of Health said it will begin reporting breakthrough case figures weekly as cases of the highly infectious delta variant surge across the state and country. But the department cautioned…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota regulators now say there have been more releases of drilling fluid along the Line 3 oil pipeline construction route than previously reported. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, there were 28 releases at 12 river crossing locations by Aug. 5. In one of those cases, about 80 gallons of fluid…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A gun owners’ group is suing the Minnesota State Fair and Ramsey County, demanding that permit holders be allowed to carry handguns on the fairgrounds during the Great Minnesota Get-Together. The lawsuit by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus argues that the State Fair’s ban on weapons violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear…
NEW YORK (AP) – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has resigned over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations in a fall from grace a year after he was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during the darkest days of COVID-19. The third-term Democratic governor is increasingly isolated as state Assembly members move toward impeachment and allies…
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed bills passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature that would have imposed new restrictions on absentee ballots in the key battleground state. The Democratic governor had been widely expected to turn back the bills, which his party had derided as voter suppression. Republicans argued…
WASHINGTON (AP) -The Pentagon will require members of the U.S. military to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press. That deadline could be pushed up if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in his memo that he will seek the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP)-Gov. Tony Evers is handing Wisconsin hotels $70 million in federal coronavirus aid. The governor announced the move Monday. He says grants of up to $2 million went out Friday to 888 lodging businesses around the state to help offset losses resulting from the pandemic. The money is part of $140 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars…
VICTORIA, Minn. (AP)-A relative has identified three people killed in the fiery crash of a small plane in southeastern Minnesota as a surgeon from Omaha, Nebraska, and two of his family members from Wyoming. Jo Mertes, of Mantador, North Dakota, told the Star Tribune Sunday that her nephew, 42-year-old Jacob Mertes and his 37-year-old wife, Sara Mertes, of Libby, Montana,…
Canada is lifting its prohibition on Americans crossing the border to shop, vacation or visit, but the United States is keeping similar restrictions in place for Canadians. The reopening Monday is part of a bumpy return to normalcy from COVID-19 travel bans. The border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020 to try to slow the spread of…
TOKYO (AP) — It began with a virus and a yearlong pause. It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything. The Tokyo Olympics, christened with “2020” but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for…
(AP) – The Biden administration has announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that was scheduled to expire next month. The Education Department says this will be the final extension. Borrowers will not have to make payments on federal student loans during the moratorium, interest rates will be set at 0% and…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Target says it will not require its downtown Minneapolis headquarters employees to return to the office for the rest of the year, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Target has about 8,500 workers at its headquarters offices, making it the largest downtown employer. In an update sent to employees Friday, Target said it is still planning…
(AP) – United Airlines will require U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by late October, and maybe sooner. United announced the decision Friday. The airline joins a growing number of big corporations that will require vaccinations. This is happening as a mutant variation of COVID-19 drives a surge in new infections. United CEO Scott Kirby says he knows some…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) OGEMA, Minn. (AP) – Opponents of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline that’s being replaced across northern Minnesota are taking a novel legal approach to try to halt construction – they are suing on behalf of wild rice. Wild rice is the lead plaintiff in a complaint filed Wednesday in White Earth Nation Tribal Court. The…
(AP) – Apple is planning to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused by governments looking to surveil their citizens. The tool Apple calls “neuralMatch” will detect known images of child sexual abuse without decrypting people’s messages. If it finds…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A growing number of professors and staff at the University of Minnesota are calling on the school to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations this fall. Many faculty members say they are anxious about returning to the classroom as COVID-19 cases are surging due to the delta variant of the virus. More than 500 people have signed a letter supporting…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Hiring surged in July as American employers added 943,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% as the U.S. economy continues to bounce back with surprising vigor from last year’s coronavirus shutdown. The July numbers exceeded economists’ forecast for more than 860,000 new jobs. Hotels and restaurants, reopening and doing brisk business, added 327,000 jobs last month….
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)-Gov. Tim Walz and a top state lawmakers say they will support an emergency financial relief package for farmers in Minnesota, where most of the state is in a severe or extreme drought. Walz says he would support an aid package in a special session next month. The governor got an earful at Farmfest in Redwood County…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ administration has ordered state workers to wear masks when they’re working indoors, as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. The Department of Administration issued the mandate on July 30. It goes into effect on Thursday. Under the order, all state employees, contractors, and interns must wear masks in all indoor spaces in state…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Gov. Tim Walz and top state lawmakers say they will support an emergency financial relief package for farmers in Minnesota, where most of the state is in a severe or extreme drought. Walz says he would support an aid package in a special session next month. The governor got an earful at Farmfest in Redwood County…
WEST ALLIS, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin State Fair has returned after the coronavirus pandemic canceled last year’s event for the first time in 75 years. The fair runs Thursday through Aug. 15 at the 200-acre State Fair Park in West Allis. COVID-19 means some changes for this year’s fair, including cashless admission and parking. Only credit and debit cards…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin wildlife officials are proposing limiting the number of wolves hunters can kill this fall to 130 animals. The state Department of Natural Resources’ recommendation comes after a judge forced the department to launch a season in February. Hunters killed 218 wolves in just four days, blowing past their quota of 119 animals. The next wolf…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Supreme Court has found that a state law requiring individuals to have a permit to carry a handgun in public is constitutional and does not violate the Second Amendment. The ruling comes in the case of a man who was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit in 2018. Nathan Hatch argued that the…
