(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…
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — The Mall of America was back in business on Wednesday, nearly three months after the Minnesota tourist attraction shut down because of the coronavirus. About 150 of the 500 stores in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington reopened their doors to a new shopping experience that included signs encouraging social distancing, reduced seating, touchless hand sanitizer stations,…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin campgrounds closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic reopen starting Wednesday, but it won’t be business as usual. Campers will have to make reservations ahead of time, won’t be able to purchase firewood on-site and all buildings, observation towers, playgrounds, concessions, and rentals will be closed. But bathrooms will be open as will the…
GENEVA — A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up “misunderstandings” about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronavirus. Maria Van Kerkhove, the U.N. health agency’s technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete…
HOUSTON (AP) — The black man whose death has inspired a worldwide reckoning over racial injustice will be buried in Houston on Tuesday. His body will be carried home in a horse-drawn carriage and will be laid to rest next to his mother. George Floyd was 46 when he was killed on May 25 as a white Minneapolis officer pressed…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd’s death was the breaking point for some Minneapolis civic leaders, who now say the only way to fix the city’s embattled police department is to take it apart. But it’s not clear how they would do that, and groups that have spent years shining a light on police brutality aren’t even sure it’s the answer….
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand appears to have completely eradicated the coronavirus — at least for now — after health officials said Monday the last known infected person had recovered. The announcement was greeted with joy around the country and means the nation of 5 million people will be among the first to welcome throngs of fans back…
UPDATE: (Fox 9) – The judge set Chauvin’s bail at $1.25 million with no conditions and $1 million with conditions that include no police or law enforcement work, no firearms, and no contact with Floyd’s family. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge on Monday set $1 million bail for an ex-Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd’s death….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd’s death is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday. Derek Chauvin, 44, is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s May 25 death. Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died after the white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes…
Minneapolis was among several cities that had policies on the books requiring police officers to intervene to stop colleagues from using unreasonable force, but that didn’t save George Floyd and law enforcement experts say such rules will always run up against entrenched police culture and the fear of being ostracized and branded a “rat.” Power dynamics may have been magnified…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The percentage of positive COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continues to decline, based on the latest figures reported Friday by the state Department of Health Services. Only 3% of all test results were positive on Friday, continuing a downward trend over the past two weeks. In total, more than 20,200 people have contracted the virus in Wisconsin…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Negotiators for the city of Minneapolis have agreed with the state to ban the use of chokeholds by police and to require police to report and intervene anytime they see unauthorized use of force by another officer. The moves are part of a stipulation between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which launched a…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources officials plan to re-open state campgrounds next week. The department has kept campgrounds closed since March to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The DNR announced Thursday that state campgrounds will re-open June 10 as infection rates trend downward. Park offices will remain closed, however, and campers can expect to…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, and 2.5 million jobs were added – a surprisingly positive reading in the midst of a recession that has paralyzed the economy and depressed the job market in the wake of the viral pandemic. The May job gain suggests that businesses have quickly been recalling workers as states…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge set bail at $750,000 apiece Thursday for three fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting in the killing of George Floyd, as a memorial service took place just blocks away. Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng made their first appearances in Hennepin County District Court as friends, relatives and celebrities gathered to memorialize…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Organizers of a Minneapolis memorial for George Floyd placed floral arrangements around a golden casket as mourners prepared to pay their respects. Memorial services to honor Floyd are taking place in three cities over six days. The first is Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis. The organizers want to acknowledge the meaning Floyd had in life to his large…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors on Wednesday expanded their case against the police who were at the scene of George Floyd’s death, charging three of the officers with aiding and abetting murder and upgrading the charges against the officer who pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck to second-degree murder. The most serious charge was filed against Derek Chauvin, whose caught-on-video treatment…
DULUTH, Minn. – U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar says Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is increasing charges against Derek Chauvin. According to a recent tweet from Sen. Klobuchar, Ellison is increasing charges against Derek Chauvin to second-degree murder and will also be charging the other three officers involved in the killing of George Floyd. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is increasing…
(courtesy: Fox 9) ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday blocked a chain of central Minnesota bars and restaurants from offering sit-down dining in violation of Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency order during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Stearns County judge issued a temporary injunction sought by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison against the owner of the “Shady’s” chain….
(Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The case against a man who drove his semitrailer into a crowd of protesters on a closed Minneapolis freeway has been delayed pending further investigation, prosecutors said Tuesday. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement Tuesday that the case against the man has been deferred and that he’ll be released…
(Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The state of Minnesota filed a human rights complaint Tuesday against the Minneapolis Police Department in the death of George Floyd by an ex-Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, even after he stopped moving. Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced…
WASHINGTON (AP) — American cities erupted in violence and destruction in a seventh straight night of unrest, with several police officers shot or run over, amid boasts and threats from President Donald Trump to send in troops to “dominate the streets.” In New York, nonviolent protests Monday night were punctuated by people smashing shop windows near Rockefeller Center and breaching…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Embracing the language of confrontation and war, President Donald Trump on Monday declared himself the “president of law and order” and signaled he would stake his reelection on convincing voters his forceful approach, including deploying U.S. troops to U.S. cities, was warranted in a time of national tumult and racial unrest. Trump made his Rose Garden declaration…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An autopsy commissioned for George Floyd’s family found that he died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression when a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes and ignored his cries of distress, the family’s attorneys said Monday. The autopsy by a doctor who also examined Eric Garner’s body found the…
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted Michigan’s nearly 10-week coronavirus stay-at-home order Monday, letting restaurants reopen to dine-in customers next week and immediately easing limits on outdoor gatherings while keeping social-distancing rules intact. The governor moved regions comprising 93% of the state’s population to phase 4 — “improving” — two weeks after she announced that northern Michigan could…
