ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – State corrections officials say a second Minnesota prison inmate has died after testing positive for COVID-19. The Minnesota Department of Corrections says 71-year-old Leroy Wallace Bergstrom died at a hospital on Saturday. The department says Bergstrom tested positive for COVID-19 on June 10. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is pending. Bergstrom was…
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) – The FBI is investigating after a piece of rope resembling a noose was found in a Black firefighter’s locker in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. An FBI spokesman confirmed Saturday the bureau is investigating and said that the case is in its initial stages. Bloomington officials had asked the FBI to investigate. Officials say that the…
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against the Trump administration in its transfer of $2.5 billion from military construction projects to build sections of the U.S. border wall with Mexico, ruling it illegally sidestepped Congress, which gets to decide how to use the funds. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A biracial Wisconsin woman who says a group of white men set her on fire while she was driving wants her attackers to know they hurt her but hopes they will improve themselves. Althea Bernstein told ABC’s “Good Morning America” for a Friday segment that she hasn’t slept and doesn’t have an appetite. But she called the attack…
(courtesy: CNN) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved a radical proposal to change the city charter that would allow the police department to be dismantled, following mass public criticism of law enforcement over the killing of George Floyd. The 12-0 vote is just the first step in a process that faces significant bureaucratic obstacles to…
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic is ending pay cuts that the Minnesota-based health system imposed to deal with a patient downturn caused by the novel coronavirus. The Star Tribune reports Mayo plans to restore pay and return furloughed workers this summer. In April, Mayo announced plans to cut pay to more than 20,000 employees and seek furloughs when elective surgeries were halted…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota prison inmate has died after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, state corrections officials said Thursday. The Minnesota Department of Corrections said Adrian Raymaar Keys, 43, died Tuesday night at a hospital. Keys was an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault and tested positive for COVID-19 along with a number…
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Fox 9) – At least “a few” Minnesota Twins players have tested positive for Coronavirus within the last few days, Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said Thursday. Falvey held a nearly 60-minute Zoom session with reporters Thursday morning on several topics. He declined to specify how many players have had positive Covid-19 tests, declined to name any of the players,…
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP File) DETROIT (AP) — A judge has shut down an energy pipeline in Michigan’s Great Lakes, granting a request from the state. The move comes after the owner reported problems with a support piece deep below the surface of the Straits of Mackinac. The judge told Enbridge to close Line 5 as “immediately as possible”…
(AP) — Segway says it will end production of its namesake two-wheeled personal transporter, popular with tourists and police officers but perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes. The company, founded in 1999 by inventor Dean Kamen, will retire the Segway PT on July 15. The company said 21 employees will be laid off. In 2017, Segway got into the…
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Disney is postponing the mid-July reopening of its Southern California theme parks until it receives guidelines from the state, the company announced Wednesday. Disney had hoped to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim on July 17 after a four-month closure due to the coronavirus. But the state has indicated it won’t issue guidelines until…
(Emily Hamer/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s governor has activated the National Guard to protect state properties after a night of violence that included the toppling of two statues outside the state Capitol and an attack on a state senator. Protesters also threw a Molotov cocktail into a government building and attempted to break into the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute, alleging they deceived and defrauded Minnesotans about climate change. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in state court in Minnesota accuses the oil companies and trade group of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices. “We’re here suing these defendants — API, ExxonMobil,…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More Minnesota residents will lack access to sufficient food in the coming months in wake of a disrupted economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Food assistance needs will peak in September to 735,000 Minnesota residents who are “food insecure,” according to projections released Wednesday by Second Harvest Heartland and consulting firm McKinsey & Co. That number reflects 13%…
(credit: Fox 9/Storyful) MADISON (AP) – Crowds outside the Wisconsin State Capitol tore down two statues and attacked a state senator amid protests following the arrest of a Black man who was at a restaurant with a megaphone and a baseball bat. Video released by the Madison Police Department shows the man talking through the megaphone Tuesday while walking near the restaurant’s…
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball plans to unilaterally issue a 60-game schedule for its shortest season since 1878 after the players’ association rejected a negotiated deal of the same length, putting the sport on track for a combative and possibly unhappy return to the field amid the coronavirus pandemic. Six days after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and union…
DULUTH, Minn. – U.S. Steel says they plan to restart production lines at its Minntac mine as early as next month. United Steelworkers Local 1938 representatives confirmed on Tuesday that production lines 6 and 7 are expected to restart on July 27. Operations for the lines were originally planned to be stalled until August. Union reps also say maintenance workers…
MACKINAW CITY, Mich. (AP) — Fuel is flowing again in half of a twin pipeline in Michigan’s Great Lakes after an inspection last week found an anchor support had shifted, an energy company said Monday. Enbridge Inc. said operations resumed on Line 5′s west pipe Saturday, while the east pipe in the Straits of Mackinac remains shut down, spokesman Ryan…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Flexibility will be key in reopening classrooms in Wisconsin’s 421 public school districts amid the coronavirus pandemic, state officials said Monday in releasing guidance on the new school year. The Department of Public Instruction said school districts should be prepared to shift between in-person, physically-distanced, and virtual learning as they deal with changing aspects of COVID-19….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota legislative leaders traded barbs Saturday after a special session collapsed Saturday with no deal on revamping policing following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The Republican-controlled Senate adjourned just after 6 a.m. Saturday. GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka repeatedly had said that Friday was his deadline for adjournment. Gazelka blamed “behind the scenes arm-twisting”…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A second former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd is out of jail after posting bail. According to online records, 26-year-old J. Kueng, posted bail of $750,000 and was released from the Hennepin County Jail, with conditions, about 7:30 p.m. Friday. Kueng is charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter…
(Garret Ellison | MLive) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal regulators have fined Enbridge $6.7 million for allegedly failing to quickly fix pipeline safety issues. Enbridge said Thursday that the Alberta, Canada-based company has settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and agreed to pay the fines, levied in May. Regulators alleged that Enbridge violated a 2017 consent decree. Among other things,…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville’s mayor said Friday that one of three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor will be fired. Mayor Greg Fisher said interim Louisville police Chief Robert Schroeder has started termination proceedings for Officer Brett Hankison. Two other officers remain on administrative reassignment while the shooting is investigated. Fischer said officials could not…
(AP Photo/Paul Battaglia, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have removed a statue of former owner Calvin Griffith at Target Field, citing racist remarks he made in 1978. Griffith’s statue was one of several installed when the team opened its ballpark in 2010. Griffith moved the Washington Senators to Minnesota for the 1961 season, and the team was renamed…
(courtesy: UW System) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin System regents announced Friday they have selected former Gov. Tommy Thompson as the system’s interim president, another twist in what’s become a messy search to replace outgoing President Ray Cross. Regents President Andrew Petersen asked Thompson to jump into the position, according to a system statement. Thompson will take over…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health and education officials on Thursday asked school administrators to plan for three scenarios on reopening in the fall and promised a decision by the week of July 27 on which of the three will be used. K-12 schools will be restarted under the cloud of the coronavirus. The state Health and Education departments asked administrators…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — State health and education officials will announce plans Thursday for how Minnesota schools will conduct classes this fall after they were shut down this spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Deputy Commissioner Heather Mueller will join the Minnesota Department of Health officials at an afternoon briefing to discuss “the new fall planning guidance for…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to end legal protections for 650,000 young immigrants. For now, those immigrants retain their protection from deportation and their authorization to work in the United States. The outcome seems certain to elevate the issue in Trump’s campaign, given the anti-immigrant rhetoric of his first presidential run in…
WASHINGTON (AP) – About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a historically high number, even as the economy increasingly reopens and employers bring some people back to work. The latest figure from the Labor Department marks the 11th straight weekly decline in applications since they peaked at nearly 7 million in March as the coronavirus…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Students at Minnesota State colleges and universities will get a tuition freeze this fall with a 3 percent hike following in the spring, under a budget approved by system trustees Wednesday. The trustees approved the fall tuition freeze as a way to retain students and attract new ones. Administrators previously proposed a tuition increase of…
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in the back after the fleeing man pointed a stun gun in his direction is going to be charged with felony murder and 10 other crimes. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard made the announcement about Garrett Rolfe during a news conference Wednesday. Howard said Rolfe kicked Brooks while…
NEW YORK (AP) — Target Corp. says it’s permanently increasing starting hourly wages for its workers to $15 beginning July 5, several months ahead of schedule. In 2017, the Minneapolis-based company had set a goal to gradually increase hourly wages from $10 to $15 by the end of 2020. The last time Target permanently increased pay was in June 2019…
(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt, File) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — American Public Media Group announced Tuesday it has canceled musician Chris Thile’s “Live from Here” radio show, the successor to Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” The media organization said it was ending national production of Thile’s show while cutting 28 staffers at American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio. American…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on policing following weeks of national protests after the death of George Floyd. The order is aimed at encouraging best practices and tracking officers with excessive use of force complaints. In the Rose Garden, Trump stressed the need for higher standards and commiserated with mourning families, even as he…
(AP Photo/Toby Talbot,File) TORONTO (AP) — Canada and the US have agreed to extend their agreement to keep their border closed to non-essential travel to July 21 during the coronavirus pandemic. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday’s agreement extends the closure by another 30 days. The restrictions were announced on March 18 and were extended in April and May….
(AP) – Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid called dexamethasone reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients. Results were announced Tuesday and researchers said they would publish them soon. The study is a large, strict test that randomly assigned 2,104…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Monday announced the death of her father due to complications from COVID-19. In a statement, Omar said Nur Omar Mohamed died Monday. She gave no additional information. “No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him,” Omar said in her statement. “My family and I ask…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers blocked the University of Wisconsin System officials Monday from taking the first steps toward complying with new federal rules that bolster the rights of sexual misconduct defendants and narrow the range of cases colleges are required to investigate. Evers wrote in a letter to UW System President Ray Cross that he was rejecting…
(Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP) (AP) -The PGA Tour will keep the 3M Open in Minnesota on schedule, but the second-year event will be played without spectators on site. Tournament officials announced Monday that the state’s health guidelines currently in place for public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic will keep the galleries empty throughout the weekend of…
DULUTH, Minn. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz marked the 100th anniversary of a painful chapter in Duluth history by visiting a memorial to three black men lynched by a white mob. Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie were traveling circus workers accused of raping a white woman, though her doctor later found no evidence of an assault. Walz gestured…
(AP) – For the fourth time in its history, the Oscars are being postponed. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network said Monday that the 93rd Academy Awards will now be held April 25, 2021, eight weeks later than originally planned because of the pandemic’s effects on the movie industry. It’s true! Next year’s…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Monday revoked emergency authorization for malaria drugs for treating COVID-19 amid growing evidence they don’t work and could cause serious side effects. The Food and Drug Administration said the drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are unlikely to be effective in treating the coronavirus. Citing reports of heart complications, the FDA said the drugs’ unproven benefits…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a landmark civil rights law protects LGBT people from discrimination in employment, a resounding victory for LGBT rights from a conservative court. The court decided by a 6-3 vote that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 known as Title VII that bars job discrimination because of sex,…
MILWAUKEE (AP) — University of Wisconsin System officials are offering campuses guidelines for reopening this fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the system released the guidelines Sunday. They include putting classes of more than 50 students online, having a plan if COVID-19 cases spike, re-evaluating dorm and dining operations, using masks, and keeping students that share…
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Key Republican lawmakers in Minnesota say they’ll block most of an ambitious effort by Democrats to remake policing in the state where George Floyd died and they plan to approve only a limited set of police accountability measures. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says there’s only a limited amount of time to act during…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — University of Minnesota leaders have mapped out a plan to reopen classrooms, dormitories, and other common spaces this fall amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Board of Regents endorsed the plan Thursday and is expected to vote on it in July. The reopening plan includes some physical distancing, COVID-19 monitoring, testing, and isolation. The Star Tribune reports each of the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A search committee is set to meet Friday to discuss whether to recommend University of Wisconsin System regents hire Jim Johnsen as system president. UW officials have been searching for a new president since October when Ray Cross announced he would step down as soon as a successor could be found. Johnsen has served as president…
(AP) – The first experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. is on track to begin a huge study next month to prove if it really can fend off the coronavirus, while hard-hit Brazil is testing a different shot from China. Shots made by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health and by China’s Sinovac work in different ways. Moderna…
(AP) – Stocks are falling sharply on Wall Street as coronavirus cases increase again, deflating recent optimism that the economy could recover quickly as lockdowns ease. The Dow fell more than 1,500 points and the S&P 500 was on track for its worst day in nearly three months. Many market watchers have been saying that a scorching comeback in the…
(Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Protesters in Minnesota on Wednesday pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus outside the state Capitol amid continuing anger over the death of George Floyd. The protesters threw a rope around the 10-foot bronze statue Wednesday afternoon and pulled it off its stone pedestal. The protesters, including Dakota and Ojibwe…
