(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Monday allowed nearly all nonessential retail stores to reopen as long as they serve no more than five customers at a time, partially lifting the restriction that has kept them closed for weeks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The latest order, which took effect immediately,…
NEW YORK (AP) — Comedian Jerry Stiller has died at 92. His son Ben Stiller said the actor died of natural causes in a tweet posted early Monday. I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Stiller, passed away from natural causes. He was a great dad and grandfather, and the most dedicated husband to Anne for about 62 years….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Nearly 60% of school districts in Wisconsin have asked the state Department of Public Instruction to waive its requirement on a set number of instructional hours due to the coronavirus. The department has received waiver requests from 248 of the state’s 421 school districts. COVID-19 canceled in-person classes beginning March 18 for the remainder of the…
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — When the Kalispel Tribe of Indians closed its casino as the coronavirus took hold in Washington state, it essentially shut down its economy. That difficult choice has played out nationwide as some 500 Native American casinos have voluntarily closed during the pandemic, often taking away tribes’ main source of income in an effort to protect people’s…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House has approved legislation that raises the age for residents to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21. Lawmakers voted 89-41 Saturday in favor of the measure known as Tobacco 21. It became federal law last December, but promoters of the state bill say it is needed for compliance and enforcement. Democratic Rep. Heath…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — More than 70 people who tested positive for the coronavirus since an April 24 rally at the Wisconsin state Capitol indicated they had attended a large gathering, but the state Department of Health Services cant’ say if they were at the rally because it is not tracking specific events. Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Goodsitt said Friday that…
MADISON, WI (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Corrections says it’s released nearly 1,600 inmates since March to help reduce the possibility of spreading the coronavirus. Corrections spokeswoman Anna Neal says most of the inmates released since March 2 had been detained because they violated terms of their probation, parole or extended supervision. The State Journal reports the inmates were…
(Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP, Pool) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz outlined a “battle plan” Thursday to keep Minnesota long-term care residents and workers safe against COVID-19, which so far has claimed the lives of more than 400 residents of nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in the state. Walz told reporters that the state is “prepared to go very…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The company that operates the largest coal-fired power plant in North Dakota announced Thursday it will close the factory and replace most of its energy with new wind farms in Minnesota. Maple Grove, Minnesota-based Great River Energy said its Coal Creek Station near Underwood in west-central North Dakota will be shuttered in the second half of…
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Trump administration shelved a document created by the nation’s top disease investigators with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the still-raging coronavirus outbreak. The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans in more rural parts of Wisconsin joined with business owners to push for a regional reopening plan Thursday to give the economy a boost, as the Department of Workforce Development warned that the state fund that pays unemployment claims could run out of money in five months. Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he worried…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross directed campuses Thursday to quickly identify signature programs to retain and brace for layoffs as the coronavirus pandemic deepens the system’s financial losses. Cross said he wants campuses to evaluate their programs by January with an eye toward the cost, whether they are duplicated at another campus and student…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesotans should fish close to home to help curb the coronavirus pandemic when the walleye season opens this weekend, avoiding overnight stays and driving no further than they can go on one tank of gas, Department of Natural Resources officials said Wednesday. A surge in fishing license sales indicates that many Minnesotans are getting antsy under the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their…
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Eagan’s mayor is finally talking about his decision to drink and drive. At the end of a virtual City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Mike Maguire said he had pleaded guilty to driving while impaired earlier in the day and was “accepting, without objection, the consequences” of his mistake. Maguire said he had been drinking while watching…
MADISON, Wis.-The University of Wisconsin System regents are set to vote this week on whether to scrap requirements that students submit ACT or SAT scores as part of their admission applications. The regents are set to meet Thursday to consider lifting the requirement at all institutions except UW-Madison for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years. System officials wrote in a…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Conservative justices who control the Wisconsin Supreme Court raised doubts Tuesday about whether Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order is legal, asserting that the Legislature never intended to give the executive branch so much power. Justice Rebecca Bradley suggested during oral arguments over the order that state Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm’s decision to…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) —Sixteen and 17-year-olds in Wisconsin would not have to take a road test in order to receive their driver’s license under a new pilot program announced by the state Department of Transportation on Tuesday. Also, drivers age 64 and under will be given the option to renew their driver’s license online. The changes take effect Monday and…
MINNEAPOLIS-The financial cost of the coronavirus outbreak in Minnesota is front and center Tuesday as state budget officials update the impact the pandemic has had recently on state revenue projections. Gov. Tim Walz meanwhile, was expected to ease the financial burden on health care providers by allowing them to resume elective surgeries and procedures. A temporary ban on those procedures…
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A woman, her adult son and husband have been charged in the fatal shooting of a security guard who refused to let her daughter enter a Family Dollar in Michigan because she wasn’t wearing a face mask to protect against transmission of the coronavirus. Calvin Munerlyn was shot Friday at the store just north of downtown…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The number of Minnesotans hospitalized in intensive care with COVID-19 has jumped for three straight days to the highest levels yet, health officials said Monday. The Minnesota Department of Health reported 166 patients in intensive care units as of Monday, up 11 from a one-day high of 155 set Sunday and a high of 135 set Saturday….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers was scheduled to meet late Monday afternoon with both Republican and Democratic legislative leaders to discuss the next steps in Wisconsin’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting comes the day before the Wisconsin Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case brought by the Republican legislative leaders seeking to block Evers’…
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an immediate ban Friday on the sale and use of assault-style weapons in Canada, two weeks after a gunman killed 22 people in Nova Scotia. “Canadians need more than thoughts and prayers,” he said, rejecting the reaction of many politicians after mass shootings. Trudeau cited numerous mass shootings in the country, including…
(Gilead Sciences via AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Friday allowed emergency use of an experimental drug that appears to help some coronavirus patients recover faster. It is the first drug shown to help fight COVID-19, which has killed more than 230,000 people worldwide. The FDA said in a statement that Gilead Science’s intravenous drug would be specifically indicated…
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — An event that draws hundreds of thousands of people from all around the globe is the latest event to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in and convention say the uncertainty of COVID-19 has forced them to cancel the July 20-26 event. Approximately 642,000 people attended the convention…
MOOSE LAKE, Minn. (AP) — A judge has ordered the Minnesota Department of Corrections to show that it is protecting inmates at the Moose Lake prison from COVID-19. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a lawsuit in April alleging the Corrections Department and the Moose Lake prison have failed to implement sufficient measures to slow or stop the spread of the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A suburban Minneapolis nursing home said 47 residents have died from complications of COVID-19, the most at any long-term care facility in Minnesota. St. Therese of New Hope also said Wednesday that 130 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, while 65 staff members have shown symptoms or been exposed. A veterans home in Massachusetts where 70…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to climb in Minnesota, but the state is making progress toward more testing, new figures Thursday from the Minnesota Department of Health show. The department reported 24 new deaths to raise Minnesota’s death toll to 343. A new one-day high of 492 confirmed cases pushed the state’s total to 5,136. And…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Department of Health reported another big jump in coronavirus cases Wednesday as the state ramps up its testing capacity. The agency said 463 more Minnesotans have tested positive — a new one-day high — to raise the state’s total to 4,644. That total includes 138 new cases in Nobles County of southwestern Minnesota, where the…
(AP) – Canadian National Railway has paid $1.25 million to settle damage caused by a 2016 wildfire that burned national forest land in northeastern Minnesota, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The wildfire, known as the Skibo Fire, burned nearly 1,000 acres east of Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County, including nearly 400 acres of national forest land. The federal government alleged…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank at a 4.8% annual rate last quarter as the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the country and began triggering a recession that will end the longest expansion on record. The Commerce Department estimated Wednesday that the gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, posted a quarterly drop for the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — More than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during Wisconsin’s election earlier this month have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. The state Department of Health Services reported the latest figures on Tuesday, three weeks after the April 7 presidential primary and spring election that drew widespread concern because of voters waiting…
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence chose not to wear a face mask while touring the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. It’s an apparent violation of the world-renowned medical center’s policy requiring them. Video feeds show he didn’t wear a mask when he met with a Mayo employee who has recovered from COVID-19. He was also maskless when he…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday meant to stave off a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on American supermarket shelves because of the coronavirus. The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as a critical infrastructure to keep production plants open. The order comes after industry leaders warned that consumers…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence has an appointment today at Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic to learn about a new coronavirus testing “moonshot” that has the famed clinic partnering with the state and its flagship university to quickly boost the state’s capacity to 20,000 tests a day. It’s an approach that leverages a health care infrastructure not all states can…
WAYZATA, Minn. (AP) — A Minneapolis-area senior living facility that was evacuated earlier this month after an outbreak of COVID-19 announced Monday it won’t reopen. The nonprofit organization Transforming Age said it has made “the difficult decision” not to reopen Meridian Manor in Wayzata “as a result of multiple negative impacts of COVID-19.” Nearly 50 residents were moved from Meridian Manor on…
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The number of people testing positive for the coronavirus in Wisconsin has reached over 6,000. Wisconsin health officials reported Monday the number of people in the state testing positive for COVID-19 has grown to 6,081, up 170 from the day before. The number of deaths officially attributed to the coronavirus in Wisconsin grew Monday to 281, an…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Dog groomers, upholsterers, lawnmower repair shops, and other nonessential businesses that can offer contact-less services will be allowed to reopen in Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday. Outdoor recreational rental businesses, such as boats, golf carts, and kayaks, can also reopen, along with self-service or automatic car washes. Evers called it as a “turn of the dial”…
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has signed a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid package into law, the latest federal government effort to stimulate a reeling economy and overwhelmed hospitals. The legislation is the fourth coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress. All told, Congress has delivered at least $2.4 trillion for business relief, testing and treatment, and direct payments to individuals…
(courtesy: wisconsin.gov) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats in the Wisconsin state Senate chose Janet Bewley as their new leader Friday as they gear up to try to recapture control of the chamber in November. Bewley replaces Jennifer Shilling, who announced earlier this month that she won’t seek re-election this fall. Shilling said Tuesday she would step down as minority leader,…
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Another prominent health care provider is furloughing 2,600 employees as the coronavirus cuts into revenue. HealthPartners, the second-largest nonprofit group in the state, operates seven hospitals, dozens of clinics, and a health insurance business. COVID-19 has eliminated elective surgeries and created some financial challenges for health care groups. Earlier this month Minnesota’s largest nonprofit group, the Mayo…
ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) – Vice President Mike Pence will visit Mayo Clinic’s facilities in Rochester next week, marking his second trip to Minnesota in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Pence’s trip is scheduled for Tuesday. He’ll tour Mayo Clinic’s research and treatment facilities and talk with workers, according to a White House statement sent Wednesday evening. Pence’s most recent trip…
(Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP, Pool) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday ordered Minnesota schools to stay closed through the rest of the academic year amid the COVID-19 crisis. Walz, who is a former teacher, calls it “a heartbreaking decision.” The Democratic governor says he feels sorry for all the students who will miss out on graduations, tournaments,…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday ordered Minnesota schools to stay closed through the rest of the academic year amid the COVID-19 crisis. Walz, who is a former teacher, calls it “a heartbreaking decision.” The Democratic governor says he feels sorry for all the students who will miss out on graduations, tournaments and end of year celebrations. But…
(Scott Takushi/Pioneer Press via AP, Pool) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce that he’s ordering Minnesota schools to stay closed through the rest of the year amid the COVID-19 crisis. The Democratic governor closed public and charter schools just over a month ago and directed them to switch to distance learning, a move that affected nearly…
WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors. About…
NEW HOPE, Minn. (AP) — One of Minnesota’s deadliest outbreaks of the coronavirus in a single setting is at a senior care campus in New Hope where 12 residents have died of complications of the virus. Records reviewed by the Star Tribune show the deaths since April 6 involve residents at St. Therese of New Hope who was between 82 and…
MADISON, Wis. – Nineteen people in Wisconsin have tested positive for the coronavirus after having voted in-person in the April 7 election or after having worked at the polls, the state Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday. Also, five Wisconsin National Guard members who helped staff polls on election day have reported symptoms of COVID-19 but the one…
NEW YORK (AP) – Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the finding Wednesday. The agencies say the cats had mild respiratory illnesses, are expected to recover, and…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — COVID-19 has killed 19 more Minnesotans, marking the largest one-day death toll since the pandemic reached the state, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Wednesday. The 19 new deaths raised the state’s total to 179. The department also reported 154 new confirmed cases, a big one-day jump that raised the state’s total to 2,721. Health officials have…
