MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin education officials said Thursday that enrollment at public schools in the state has dropped 3% this year, adding more misery to funding problems created by the coronavirus. The numbers decline could further hurt districts already in a financial inch because of the extra costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as more laptops and internet…
ATLANTA (AP) – The Atlanta Falcons shut their facility Thursday following one new positive test for COVID-19. The team remains scheduled to play at Minnesota on Sunday. Defensive tackle Marlon Davidson was placed on the COVID-19/reserve list this week, and the addition of a second unidentified person caused the Falcons to act out of caution. All team activity will be…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House has finally passed a $1.37 billion public works construction borrowing package after months of gridlock. Twenty-five Republicans crossed over Wednesday night to give the Democrats the 60% supermajority the legislations needed to pass. The vote was 100-34. The bill now goes to the Republican-led Senate, which was scheduled to reconvene Thursday. The bonding…
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Joe Biden’s presidential campaign said Thursday that vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will suspend in-person events until Monday after two people associated with the campaign tested positive for coronavirus. The campaign said Biden had no exposure, though he and Harris spent several hours campaigning together in Arizona on Oct. 8. Harris was scheduled to travel Thursday…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee has set an Oct. 22 vote on recommending approval of Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination. Republicans are racing to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick and Democrats are acknowledging there is little they can do stop them. Her confirmation would lock the conservative majority on the court for years to come. Thursday’s session…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump says her 14-year-old son, Barron, had tested positive for the coronavirus but has since tested negative. The White House initially said he had tested negative after both of his parents tested positive earlier this month. The first lady said Wednesday that subsequent testing showed Barron had also come down with COVID-19, the disease caused by…
PEMBINA, N.D. (AP) — Enbridge Energy officials said Wednesday they have completed a small section of its Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement project in North Dakota, leaving only the Minnesota stretch that has been challenged by state officials and others. Line 3 starts in Alberta and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing northern Minnesota en route to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House reconvenes Wednesday for what could be its last chance to pass a $1.37 billion public works construction borrowing package, but it requires at least six Republican votes. The legislation, known as a bonding bill, requires a 60% supermajority to pass. And the Democratic-controlled House must approve it before the Republican-controlled Senate can…
(William Glasheen/The Post-Crescent via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an order from Gov. Tony Evers’ administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants, and other indoor places, a move that comes as the state breaks records for new coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations. The Tavern League of Wisconsin sued…
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is spreading out its traditional one-day Black Friday deals over three weekends in November in an effort to reduce crowds in its stores during a pandemic. The company’s plans announced Wednesday offers the first glimpse from a major retailer of what a reinvented Black Friday will look like during a pandemic. Others like Macy’s have…
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A late-stage study of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot. The company said in a statement Monday evening that illnesses, accidents, and other so-called adverse events “are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,”…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin has told Foxconn Technology Group that it won’t qualify for billions of dollars in state tax credits unless it strikes a new deal for a scaled-back factory complex. State officials have told Taiwan-based Foxconn since last year that it wouldn’t qualify for the tax credits without revisions to its 2017 contract given that the scope…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials have rolled back rules that prevented many families from visiting loved ones in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new guidelines put in place Monday allow indoor visitations at most senior homes that have not had new infections in the preceding two weeks and when the infection rate in…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A dispute over the future of the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine goes before the Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday. The state Department of Natural Resources and PolyMet are challenging a ruling by the Minnesota Court of Appeals that canceled three major permits for the project. The appeals court ruled in January that the state agency…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett says she will be able to put aside her Catholic beliefs when ruling if she’s confirmed as a justice on the nation’s highest court. Barrett told Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Tuesday she “can” set aside her Catholic beliefs and has “done that” since her confirmation as an…
(Gary Monreal/Monreal Photography LLC/Wauwatosa Police Department via AP) MILWAUKEE (AP) — The police chief of a Milwaukee suburb that has seen protests and unrest since an officer was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a Black teenager says he sees no reason why the officer should be fired. Wauwatosa police Chief Barry Weber said in a news…
WASHINGTON (AP) — At her confirmation hearing, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has declared that Americans deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets the Constitution and laws “as they are written.” That statement encapsulates her conservative approach that has Republicans excited about the prospect of her taking the place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day….
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing has begun as the Republican-led Senate is charging ahead to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with President Donald Trump’s pick before Election Day. Barring a dramatic development, Republicans appear to have the votes to confirm the 48-year-old conservative appellate judge to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court….
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House and Senate convene Monday for their fifth special session of 2020 and what’s likely their last chance to pass a public works construction package known as a bonding bill this year. A Senate committee met Monday morning to walk through a package that would borrow $1.36 billion in general…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge has upheld Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate in the face of a conservative challenge. St. Croix County Circuit Judge R. Michael Waterman ruled Monday that Evers did not overstep his authority by issuing multiple emergency orders on the coronavirus. Evers says the mask order was within his power and that he has followed…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has upheld a Minnesota state court agreement that allows counting of absentee ballots received up to seven days after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel ruled late Sunday night that the plaintiffs in the case don’t have standing and denied their motion for a…
WASHINGTON (AP) – On Saturday, President Donald Trump is planning to hold his first in-person event since testing positive for the coronavirus. Two weeks after the Rose Garden event that is now considered a “superspreader,” Trump is planning to convene another large crowd outside the White House for an event on “law and order.” That’s despite the ongoing White House…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge cited safety concerns Friday as he issued new conditions of release for an ex-Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd that would allow him to live in a neighboring state while he awaits trial. Derek Chauvin posted a $1 million bond on Wednesday and was allowed to walk free from the maximum…
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence plans to make a campaign stop Tuesday at a manufacturing company in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, the Trump campaign announced Thursday. Pence will speak at Weldall Manufacturing, which does large-scale fabrication work. Doors open at 10 a.m. Tuesday for the noon event. While President Donald Trump remains sidelined as he recovers from COVID-19,…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota is changing spring break plans at its five campuses because of the coronavirus. University leaders are moving the weeklong vacation from March to April for Twin Cities and Rochester students and spreading the days across the semester for those attending in Duluth, Morris, and Crookston, the Star Tribune reported. In addition, university officials…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal appeals court has blocked a decision to extend by six days the deadline for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin. Democrats will almost certainly appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled last month that any ballots that arrive in clerks’ offices by Nov. 9 will be counted as long as…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health officials on Thursday reported the second-highest number of daily COVID-19 hospital admissions, on the same day the state loosened regulations in bars and restaurants. Updated guidelines permit as many as 10 people seated together in restaurants and event spaces, up from four or six if they were members of a single household. Live music will…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Fifty-one people were arrested during protests after a former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd was released on bail. Derek Chauvin had been in a Minnesota prison for months as he awaits trial on charges of murder and other counts. He was released Wednesday after posting a $1 million bond. About 300 people…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas are forcing a scramble for hospital beds and rising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation’s most troubling hotspots. The three states now lead all others in new cases per capita, after months in which many residents and…
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general has charged seven people with plotting to target law enforcement and attack the state Capitol building. The announcement comes after six others were charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday…
(Michigan Office of the Governor via AP, File) DETROIT (AP) — Six people plotted to try to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday in federal court. According to CNN, Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta were charged in the Western District of…
TOFTE, Minn. (AP) — More than 2,000 acres of private land deep in the heart of the Superior National Forest will remain undeveloped. The nonprofit Nature Conservancy said it purchased the land this week from retired forestry professor Mike Freed. The land near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near Tofte in Cook County includes six wilderness lakes and 3…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week to a still-high 840,000, evidence that job cuts remain elevated seven months into the pandemic recession. The latest sign of a flagging recovery comes two days after President Donald Trump cut off talks over a new rescue aid package that economists say is urgently needed for…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he won’t participate in next week’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden if it’s virtual. Debate organizers announced Thursday that the debate would be virtual because of Trump’s diagnosis of COVID-19. The Commission on Presidential Debates made the announcement a week before Trump and Biden were scheduled to face off in Miami. It…
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic challenger, California Sen. Kamala Harris, are facing off in a debate that will highlight conflicting visions for a nation in crisis. The candidates will be separated by plexiglass barriers in an auditorium where any guest who refuses to wear a face mask will be removed, an extraordinary backdrop for…
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Patriotic flair and plexiglass dominate the stage for Wednesday’s vice presidential debate between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris. Each candidate will have a clear partition on the side of their desk that faces the other, and they will be spaced more than 12 feet apart. There’s no partition between the candidates and the…
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s governor has announced the opening of a field hospital at the state fairgrounds as a surge in COVID-19 cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals. According to the state Department of Health Services, only 16% of the state’s 11,452 hospital beds are available as of Tuesday afternoon. We hoped this day…
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence and his Democratic challenger, California Sen. Kamala Harris, are set to face off in a debate that’ll offer starkly different visions for a country confronting escalating crises. The debate Wednesday night in Salt Lake City is the most highly anticipated vice presidential debate in recent memory. It will unfold while President…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers will return to the Capitol on Monday for their fifth special session of the year, Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday as he declared his intention to extend the peacetime emergency that he declared at the start of the coronavirus pandemic by another 30 days. The governor is required to call lawmakers back each…
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is trying to salvage its favored proposals for coronavirus aid now that President Donald Trump has ended negotiation with Democrats. Trump has used a flurry of tweets to press for Congress to approve $1,200 stimulus checks and new aid for airlines and other businesses hard hit by the pandemic. It’s an…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Northern Minnesota has been the state’s COVID-19 hot spot in recent weeks, with more new cases per capita than elsewhere in the state. Though President Donald Trump has hosted rallies in the region recently, with few wearing masks or physical distancing, health officials said it’s been much smaller get-togethers and “pandemic fatigue” that seem to be driving the…
NEW YORK (AP)-Eddie Van Halen, the guitar virtuoso whose blinding speed, control and innovation propelled his band Van Halen into one of hard rock’s biggest groups, fueled the unmistakable grinding solo in Michael Jackson’s hit “Beat It” and elevated him to the status of rock god, has died. He was 65. Van Halen, who had battled cancer, died Tuesday. A…
MADISON, Wis. (AP)-Gov. Tony Evers’ administration has issued a new order limiting the size of public indoor gatherings to stem the spread of COVID-19. Wisconsin has become one of the worst hot spots for the disease over the last month as colleges and schools reopened and fatigue over wearing masks and social distancing has grown. The order issued Tuesday limits…
UPDATE: Earlier today, the Duluth Police Department announced the photojournalist involved in an attack at a Trump protest would not press charges in the case. Duluth police now say the victim expressed the desire to move forward with seeking charges. Authorities are forwarding the case to the City Attorney’s Office for review of misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct. ——————————————— DULUTH,…
MADISON, Wis. (AP)-A judge in northwestern Wisconsin has promised a quick decision on a challenge to Gov. Tony Evers’ mask mandate. Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has filed a lawsuit seeking to strike down the mandate. St. Croix County Circuit Judge R. Michael Waterman held a hearing Monday on the conservative law firm’s request to issue a temporary injunction…
WASHINGTON (AP)-President Donald Trump is back at the White House after staging a dramatic return from the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19. He immediately ignited a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not fear the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans. That was Monday…
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she has tested positive for COVID-19. This comes days after President Donald Trump tested positive for the cornorvirus. McEnany says in a statement that she tested positive Monday morning and is experiencing no symptoms at this time. She spoke briefly with reporters Sunday evening, but says that no members of…
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Donald Trump was hoping for a Monday discharge from the military hospital where he is being treated for COVID-19, a day after he briefly ventured out while contagious to salute cheering supporters by motorcade — an outing that disregarded precautions meant to contain the virus that has killed more than 209,000 Americans. White House officials…
MINNEAPOLIS-Three Minnesota congressmen who flew on Air Force One with President Donald Trump shortly before he tested positive for the coronavirus have tested negative. Other politicians who came close to Trump during his visit to Minnesota also moved quickly to get tested, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer, Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber flew with Trump…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Donald Trump will spend a “few days” at a military hospital after contracting COVID-19. Trump departed the White House by helicopter late Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a White House official said. The official said the visit was precautionary and that Trump would work from the hospital’s presidential suite,…
