MADISON, Wis. (AP) — State regulators have extended a ban on utility disconnections during the coronavirus pandemic in Wisconsin. The Public Service Commission voted 2-1 Thursday to continue a moratorium on shutoffs until Oct. 1. That will temporarily prevent more than 93,000 customers from losing their utility service next month. A PSC survey of nearly 200 utilities shows about a…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden is set to make his case for his White House candidacy on the fourth and final night of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention. Biden will speak Thursday night from Wilmington, Delaware, as he accepts the Democratic nomination in his third bid for the presidency. He will be joined by some of his former rivals for…
MICHIGAN (AP) – The state of Michigan has agreed to pay $600 million to compensate Flint residents whose health was damaged by lead-tainted drinking water. That’s according to an attorney involved in settlement negotiations. The attorney confirmed details to The Associated Press on Wednesday but requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about it ahead of an official…
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Fifty-seven people have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Green Bay Correctional Institution, according to state officials. All of the prisoners who have tested positive are being isolated and anyone who was exposed is being quarantined, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections said. All inmates and staff at the prison are in the process of…
NEW YORK (AP) — Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was arrested Thursday on charges that he and three others ripped off donors to an online fundraising scheme “We Build The Wall.” The charges were contained in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Federal prosecutors alleged that Bannon and three others “orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands…
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Kamala Harris is poised to make history as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party’s presidential ticket. It’s a moment intended to galvanize Democratic voters heading into the fall campaign against President Donald Trump. The stakes on Wednesday night are high as Harris tries to unite the party behind its presidential…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Faculty at the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s largest college is threatening to put all their courses online if administrators don’t meet their demands to make better preparations to handle COVID-19 infections when classes resume this fall. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday that Swenson College of Science and Engineering department heads sent a letter to Chancellor Lendley Black…
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump’s postmaster general has no intention of restoring mail equipment or paying overtime hours he cut despite public outcry the changes are undermining service before Election Day. Pelosi says she told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in a phone call that his decision to temporarily pause any further mail service changes…
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democrats have formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee. Party officials and activists gave the ex-vice president their overwhelming support during his party’s all-virtual national convention Tuesday. The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who’d sought the presidency twice before. Biden is drawing on a collection of the Democratic Party’s most experienced…
JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence will visit Wisconsin Wednesday as the White House attempts to counter the headlines from the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. Pence is due to arrive at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport in Janesville, with Air Force II touching down about 11 a.m. He’s scheduled to make remarks at an event in Darien….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz’s administration says it will appeal the latest approvals by state utility regulators for Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace its old and corroding Line 3 crude oil pipeline across northern Minnesota. The state Commerce Department faced a deadline of Wednesday for filing a request to ask the Minnesota Court of Appeals to take another look…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Postmaster general says he is halting some operational changes until after the November election. Democrats contended that the changes threatened mail-in voting, and some states planned to file lawsuits. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday he would “suspend” his initiatives until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail.” The crisis…
Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home. Pizza sales have exploded during the pandemic. Domino’s last month reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits. On Monday, it said that it was hiring more…
LONG LAKE, Minn. (AP) — Three people are safe after jumping off a burning boat on Lake Minnetonka and swimming to shore. Long Lake Fire Chief James Van Eyll says the boat caught on fire around 8:20 p.m. Sunday in Smiths Bay. Van Eyll tells the Star Tribune the two women and a man on the runabout were preparing to…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Declaring it’s “crunch time” for the upcoming election, President Donald Trump zeroed in on Midwest battleground states on Monday with a tough, law and order message to counterprogram former Vice President Joe Biden’s show at the Democrats’ convention. Trump is in Minnesota and is headed later in the day to Wisconsin, the official host state for the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Trump was visiting Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday to launch a week of travel and political events aiming to blunt the customary polling “bounce” that a candidate gets during their convention week. The president trails in both public and private surveys less than three months before Election Day. On Tuesday, Trump will take on Biden over his immigration…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from changing its operations or level of service. Her decision comes amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic as states expand mail-in voting…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed that Friday’s storms spawned at least six tornadoes in Minnesota. Survey crews determined the strongest tornado was an EF1 in McLeod County packing winds estimated at up to 95 mph (153 kph). That tornado tracked for just over two miles (three kilometers) between Biscay and Glencoe and damaged trees and outbuildings….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The body that governs Wisconsin high school sports has approved a major overhaul to season structures heading into the new school year as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s board on Friday unanimously approved a host of changes, including freezing officials’ classifications, lifting sanctions for leaving a conference, allowing athletes to play for…
LUTSEN, Minn. – The Bald Eagle that attacked a woman along the North Shore Thursday afternoon has been safely captured. According to a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service, a wildlife biologist along with a biological science technician from the Superior National Forest captured the bird Friday to be transported to rehabilitation at Wildwoods in Duluth. “The bird flew towards…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday announced details of his visits on Monday to Minnesota and Wisconsin. The campaign says Trump will highlight “Joe Biden’s failures on jobs and the economy” during his two airport events. Trump will stop at North Star Aviation in Mankato, Minnesota, at 2 p.m. Monday, followed by Basler Flight Service in Oshkosh,…
(AP) – Churches in California and Minnesota are challenging state pandemic restrictions in court, contending that they are violations of religious liberty. They’re the latest in a series of lawsuits, many in California, arguing that houses of worship should be exempt from certain limits on public gatherings. Most have been rebuffed; some have succeeded. In Minnesota, a federal lawsuit challenges…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track a challenge to absentee ballot rules for the November general election that were liberalized due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump’s campaign, Minnesota Republican Party and other GOP groups are appealing a lower court ruling. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea informed the parties Wednesday that the high court…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank delivered a sobering message Wednesday about the state’s flagship campus as the fall semester looms, saying “we’re in a real financial crisis” due to the coronavirus pandemic. How bad the crisis will depend on several factors, Blank said in an online presentation at the Rotary Club of Madison. Those include…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz named Jim Schowalter as his new commissioner of management and budget Wednesday to replace Myron Frans, who left his administration for a senior post at the University of Minnesota. Schowalter is returning to an agency he led in Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. He also served as budget director under Gov. Tim Pawlenty….
(Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press via AP) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A massive blaze that destroyed a hotel project under construction in downtown St. Paul was arson, authorities said. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives announced that determination Tuesday, along with the St. Paul Fire Department, St. Paul Police Department and Minnesota state fire marshal’s division. Investigators concluded the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin are among the Wisconsin officeholders who will speak during next week’s Democratic National Convention, which will be based out of Milwaukee. The four-day event to formally nominate Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for president has been scaled back to a nearly all virtual event due to the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Long-term care facilities in Minnesota soon will be allowed to open up more to visitors during the coronavirus pandemic but will have to follow the state’s strict guidance. The Minnesota Department of Health on Monday outlined the new visitation guidelines, which take effect Aug. 29. The guidance includes several factors, such as the latest COVID-19…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted by a U.S. Secret Service agent out of the White House briefing room as he was beginning a coronavirus briefing Monday afternoon. He returned minutes later, saying there was a “shooting” outside the White House that was “under control.” “There was an actual shooting and somebody’s been taken…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters have requested more than 900,000 absentee ballots for Tuesday’s primary, more than seven times what they requested in the August primary in 2018, according to data state elections officials released Monday. The sheer volume of applications is another sign of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact as voters try to avoid infection at the polls. According…
STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) – One of the first Minnesota National Guard units to respond to unrest following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis is headed out on a new mission. The Stillwater-based 34th Military Police Company is deploying on a yearlong mission to provide security at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. A send-off ceremony Sunday at the Stillwater armory was scaled back…
LAKE PARK, Minn. (AP) — Thirty grieving members of a family in a small northwestern Minnesota town have contracted the coronavirus after attending a funeral for a loved one. The family of 78-year-old Francis Perreault gathered at the Catholic church in the Becker County community of Lake Park in mid-July to celebrate his life. Yet despite wearing masks and taking…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington talks on vital COVID-19 rescue money are teetering on the brink of collapse after a marathon meeting in the Capitol generated lots of recriminations but little progress on the top issues confronting negotiators. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says: “There’s a handful of very big issues that we are still very far apart” on. Mnuchin says there…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers divvied out about $32 million in federal aid Thursday to University of Wisconsin System schools to cover coronavirus tests and personal protective equipment when students return to campuses next month. The money will come from the coronavirus relief bill that Congress passed in May. UW-Madison will receive about $8 million. The other 12…
LAKE DELTON, Wis. (AP) — A popular Wisconsin Dells attraction will remain closed for the rest of the season after two employees tested positive for the coronavirus. Noah’s Ark Waterpark announced Wednesday that it has decided to keep the park closed for the rest of the 2020 season. Noah’s Ark says the health of its guests, employees, and the Wisconsin Dells community…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — St. Louis County in northeastern Minnesota this week has added new coronavirus cases faster than any other county in the state, according to health officials. Of the 475 cases in St. Louis County as of Wednesday, more than half were confirmed in July. The virus has been detected throughout the state’s geographically largest county, but about…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Nearly 1.2 million laid-off Americans applied for state unemployment benefits last week, evidence that the coronavirus keeps forcing companies to slash jobs just as a critical $600 weekly federal jobless payment has expired. The Labor Department’s report marked the 20th straight week that at least 1 million people have sought jobless aid. Before the pandemic hit hard…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections in recent weeks, is bracing to host hundreds of thousands of bikers for the 80th edition of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. More than 250,000 people are expected to attend the Aug. 7 to Aug. 16 rally in western South Dakota, which could make it the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A group of voters sued Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other officials on Tuesday to try to block a requirement that voters wear face masks at the polling place to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Members of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, backed by Republican lawmakers, argue that Walz’s mask mandate conflicts with a 1963 state law making…
(courtesy: WI Dept of Health Services via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers says he has no secret plans to ban in-person instruction for Wisconsin’s K-12 students this fall. Republican lawmakers are worried that Evers is planning to order schools to close their doors and offer online instruction only, as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. But the governor…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is again asking for federal help to rebuild from the unrest that followed George Floyd’s death. Walz said Monday he has requested a U.S. Small Business Administration disaster declaration that would free up low-interest loans to help property owners rebuild. “We remain committed to working with the impacted…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge on Monday extended changes in Minnesota’s absentee ballot rules to the November general election. Ramsey County Judge Sara Grewing approved the agreement allowing Minnesota voters to submit their mail-in or absentee ballots in the Nov. 3 general election without witness signatures, the Star Tribune reported. Election officials also will count ballots that arrive within seven…
(courtesy: WI Dept of Health Services via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is endorsing Joe Biden for president. The move announced Monday comes after Evers declined to endorse anyone in the primary and just two weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. Biden has promised to make the trip to Milwaukee…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota faces a potential $4.7 billion deficit in its next two-year budget due to economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Minnesota Management and Budget office said Friday that the pandemic has made economic conditions “extremely volatile” as a new planning estimate shows a continued deterioration of state finances. Minnesota has received more than $2…
CANTON, Mass. (AP) — Dunkin’ Brands Inc. expects to close up to 800 underperforming U.S. stores this year as it tries to shore up its portfolio in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The company had previously announced the closure of 450 stores within Speedway gas stations. But the company said Thursday it’s targeting an additional 350 stores, most of…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota state officials on Thursday unveiled a plan to reopen schools this fall that gives districts some flexibility to toggle between in-person and online learning, but reserves the right for the state to step in if the coronavirus gets out of control. Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged the importance of schools and the value of in-person learning but…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday issued a statewide mask mandate amid a spike in coronavirus cases, setting up a conflict with Republican legislative leaders who oppose such a requirement and successfully sued earlier to kill a “safer at home” order. The Democrat Evers declared a new public health emergency, after his initial one expired in…
ATLANTA (AP) — Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has died after battling the coronavirus. He was 74. A post on Cain’s Twitter account on Thursday announced the death. Cain had been ill with the virus for several weeks. It’s not clear when or where he was infected, but he was hospitalized less than two weeks after attending President Donald…
(courtesy: Fox 9) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz is set Thursday to announce guidance for school districts to reopen in the fall as the coronavirus has accelerated statewide in recent weeks. State health and education officials last month asked school districts to prepare for three scenarios: in-person learning for all students, distance learning as in the spring, or a…
(Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis Charter Commission on Wednesday rejected sending voters a referendum on eliminating a minimum staffing requirement in the city police department. The 15-member commission voted 8-6 against putting the proposal on the November ballot, with one member absent. The proposal was an alternative to a more aggressive change in the…
