(photo: DATCP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers has promoted the deputy agriculture secretary after the Wisconsin Senate fired the head of the agency earlier this week. Evers’ spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff on Thursday said that Randy Romanski will take over as interim secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Romanski has worked for a variety of…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Assembly is expected to pass a bill opposed by anti-abortion groups that would broaden birth control access. The bill up for vote Thursday would allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptive patches and birth control pills to anyone 18 or older. Under current law, only doctors can prescribe them. Anti-abortion groups oppose the measure, arguing…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Assembly plans to attempt the first veto overrides in 11 years, targeting three partial budget vetoes by Gov. Tony Evers. The Republican-controlled Assembly plans to vote on the veto overrides on Thursday. Republicans don’t have enough votes to pass them without Democratic support. Democratic Minority Leader Gordon Hintz says no Democrats will support the…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Public records show that the Minnesota Department of Human Services violated state law more than 200 times over the past year as it awarded $52 million in contracts and grant commitments without proper documentation. The records obtained by the Star Tribune show that employees sometimes allowed vendors and grantees to perform work without finalized contracts, while in…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Senate has voted to fire the state agriculture secretary, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Evers watched the vote Tuesday from the floor of the Senate, a highly unusual appearance by the governor during legislative debate. The move to oust Brad Pfaff is the latest skirmish in a series of battles between…
BLOOMIINGTON, Minn. (AP) – Bloomington police say one girl stabbed another during a fight at Jefferson High School. Police Chief Jeff Potts says the stabbing happened around noon Tuesday in the front hallway of the suburban Minneapolis school. Potts says the two girls are students at Jefferson. He says one girl suffered “multiple” stab wounds and was taken to a…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Krispy Kreme has reached an agreement with a Minnesota college student who drove to Iowa every weekend to buy hundreds of doughnuts to resell them in the Twin Cities area. The company said in a statement Monday that Jayson Gonzalez of Champlin can now work with Krispy Kreme as an independent operator. The deal also…
EDINA, Minn. (AP) – Police in a Minneapolis suburb have arrested a suspect after a swastika and other offensive graffiti was found at an elementary school. In an e-mail to Edina School District families, Superintendent John Schultz wrote that “when an act of hatred occurs anywhere in Edina, it affects our entire community.” Police say the arrest occurred Monday after…
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) – A new forecast says Great Lakes levels are likely to remain unusually high and may set additional records. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Detroit on Monday released its outlook for the next six months. Hydrologist Keith Kompoltowicz says a wet October interrupted the usual fall drop-off of water levels. Storms over Lakes…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin wildlife officials say hunters killed slightly fewer bears in 2019 than last year. The Department of Natural Resources said Monday that preliminary data shows hunters took 3,648 bears. That’s down slightly from 3,680 in 2018. Kills increased by 36% across the southern two-thirds of the state over 2018. Harvest in the north-central region was up…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee police have made an arrest after a man was attacked and burned with acid in what officials say is a hate crime. Mahud Villalaz suffered second-degree burns to his face after he was confronted by a man he says accused him of being in the country illegally. Villalaz, a U.S. citizen and Latino, says the man…
STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota State Patrol says a man standing next to his SUV on the shoulder of Interstate 94 was struck and killed east of the Twin Cities. Authorities say 65-year-old Randy Kopesky, a Lakeland City Council member and former mayor, was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday near the St. Croix rest area in Washington County….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Sen. Bernie Sanders attempted to recapture the political energy at a Minneapolis rally that led to his runaway victory in the Minnesota DFL presidential caucus four years ago. He appeared Sunday at the University of Minnesota with Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has endorsed the 78-year-old Vermont senator and who broke from the rest of the state’s Democratic…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrat Beto O’Rourke has announced he’s dropping his 2020 presidential bid. O’Rourke tweeted Friday that his campaign “has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively.” He writes, “In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.” O’Rourke had been struggling to…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The head of the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents has named a search committee to find candidates to replace retiring system President Ray Cross. Regent President Andrew Petersen said Friday that board Vice President Michael Grebe will chair the committee. Other members include Petersen, regents Mike Jones, Edmund Manydeeds and Torrey Tiedeman, UW-Madison Chancellor…
SAWYER COUNTY, Wis. – The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office is warning citizens of a current phone scam. The Sheriff’s Office says they have received multiple complaints from citizens saying they have received calls from individuals claiming to be from local utility companies. According to authorities, the scammers have attempted to get victims to provide them with their banking information and…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A new report says expanded online sales tax collection will result in $77.4 million in lost income tax revenue for the state. A 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision expanded states’ authority to require online sellers to collect and remit sales and use taxes on products delivered to Wisconsin. State law requires the additional revenue to cover…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Nine remaining lawsuits filed by former students who say they were abused by employees of the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis decades ago have reached settlements. Attorney Jeff Anderson plans to announce the settlements at a news conference Friday. Minnesota Public Radio News reports the theater company faced lawsuits by 16 former students who say they were…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota has reported its first flu death of the season. The Minnesota Department of Health says it was an adult who died. So far no children have died of influenza in Minnesota this season. Health officials say flu activity was sporadic in Minnesota during the week that ended Saturday. Preliminary reports show 19 people in…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – President Donald Trump isn’t the only Republican candidate running in the presidential primary, but he’ll be the only choice on the ballot in Minnesota. The Republican Party of Minnesota has informed the state Secretary of State that Trump will be the only name listed on the 2020 Republican primary ballot. The Star Tribune reports three other Republican…
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON (AP) – A sharply divided House has approved the rules for its impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Thursday’s near party-line 232-196 roll call was the chamber’s first formal vote on a process that’s likely to take months, possibly stretching into the early weeks of the 2020 election year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a vote…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota regulators say the Keystone pipeline leaked more than 383,000 gallons of oil in the northeastern part of the state. Calgary-based TC Energy says in a statement that the pipeline leak affected about 22,500 square feet of land near Edinburg, in Walsh County. The company says the spill has been contained and its cause is…
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A federal jury in Iowa has convicted a registered sex offender from Minnesota on child sex trafficking charges. Station KIMT reports that Terrance Nordwall also was found guilty Wednesday in Cedar Rapids of traveling for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct. Prosecutors say Nordwall, of Faribault, Minnesota, tried to solicit and entice two…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly targeted, misleading messages. Facebook has taken fire since it disclosed earlier in October that it will not fact-check ads by politicians or their campaigns, which could allow them to lie freely. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told…
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – An early morning fire that engulfed a home in the Michigan capital has killed three children, left a fourth in critical condition and injured three more people. Firefighters responded to the blaze in north Lansing at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities say relatives told firefighters that three children were trapped inside. First responders rescued the children…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The man who kidnapped Jayme Closs and killed her parents got into a fight in a New Mexico prison with an inmate who asked about the case. Wisconsin prison officials quietly transferred Jake Patterson to New Mexico in July. Press-Gazette Media reports that New Mexico Corrections Department records show two inmates at an unnamed prison approached…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Democratic lawmakers and others are pushing for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana in Wisconsin. But the measure they unveiled Wednesday is going nowhere in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Barnes and others say decriminalizing the possession of less than 28 grams of pot would decrease racial disparities and inequities in the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin has the widest achievement gap between black and white students of any state based on results of a test known as the nation’s report card. The National Assessment of Educational Progress test results released Wednesday show no significant change from statewide results a decade ago. However, declining scores for the lowest performing students resulted in…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota hangs on to its top spot for student scores on the ACT college entrance exam in states where nearly all high school seniors take the test. According to test results released Wednesday, Minnesota students had a composite score of 21.4 out of a possible 36. It’s about the same as last year’s state average when students…
WADENA, Minn. (AP) – Authorities have caught up with the inmate who escaped in central Minnesota while he was being taken to court. Police say 34-year-old Ryan Petro was apprehended in Wadena Tuesday afternoon. He had been on the run for more than 24 hours, prompting additional police patrols around the Wadena-Deer Creek Public School District. Petro was handcuffed and…
WADENA, Minn. (AP) – Extra police officers are patrolling a central Minnesota school district after a jail inmate escaped as he was being taken to court. The Wadena-Deer Creek Public School District says all doors to the schools have been locked or manned, but classes are continuing as usual. Thirty-four-year-old Ryan Petro is still on the run Tuesday. Petro was…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota’s legislative auditor says “significant dysfunction” at the Department of Human Services resulted in $29 million in overpayments to two tribes for opioid treatment programs. The auditor’s office said in a report Tuesday the agency lacked authority to make the payments, no one at the department takes responsibility for the decision, and no one can…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says there was a strong response to the first statewide season for young deer hunters. The DNR says more than 5,700 youth hunters bagged a deer during the season which ran from Oct. 17 to Oct. 20. That’s an increase of 77 percent from last year’s youth hunt which…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Some Wisconsinites are getting their first taste of wintry weather with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. The National Weather Service says Neenah has about 4 inches of snow early Tuesday with about 3 1/2 inches in Green Bay and 3 inches near Madison. A winter weather advisory for portions of western, central and northeastern…
BEIRUT-Syrian Kurdish forces say they are beefing up security in prisons and detention facilities where tens of thousands of Islamic State militants and their supporters are held, including foreigners, after the killing of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. An official with the Kurdish-led internal security agency said on Monday the forces were “on high alert” in anticipation of possible riots…
MADISON, Wis.-Former House Speaker Paul Ryan has launched a new nonprofit organization he says will be focused on fighting poverty, increasing economic opportunities and advancing evidence-based public policies. Ryan announced the launch of the American Idea Foundation on Monday. He moved more than $7 million from his congressional account into the nonprofit when he announced its formation earlier this year….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross is retiring. The 71-year-old Cross said Friday he plans to retire once a new president is selected. Cross has served as UW’s president since February 2014. He previously served three years as chancellor of UW Colleges and UW-Extension and has spent more than four decades in higher education, previously…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A University of Minnesota law professor accused of stealing millions of dollars from his father-in-law’s company has pleaded guilty in an agreement with prosecutors. Edward Adams entered the plea Thursday to a misdemeanor charge related to federal income taxes. Prosecutors agreed to drop the more serious charges and recommend probation with no time behind bars….
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Officials say a bridge project in Minnesota will get a do-over after an American Indian burial site was disturbed. Minnesota Department of Transportation officials spoke at a community meeting Wednesday night about the state road project on the western edge of Duluth. They said the project is being restarted next year. The Star Tribune reports an…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and other Native American leaders will protest outside of U.S. Bank Stadium ahead of Thursday night’s Minnesota Vikings game to urge the visiting Washington team to retire the Redskins team name and mascot. She’ll be joined by state Reps. Mary Kunesh-Podein and Jamie Becker-Finn, who are also Native Americans, U.S. Rep. Betty…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Court of Appeals is maintaining its suspension of two key permits for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. A three-judge panel said in an order Thursday that a stay the court imposed last month on the project’s permit to mine and its dam safety permit should remain in place until it rules on…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – The former owner of a Duluth dental practice in Duluth has pleaded guilty to tax fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Gary Hedin failed to file required tax returns and pay employment taxes for the tax years 2012 through 2017 and owes nearly $160,000 in unpaid taxes to the IRS. The 41-year-old Hedin owned Downtown Dental…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – State officials say more than 5,000 citations have been issued to drivers in Minnesota since a hands-free law took affect in August. The new law makes it illegal to use a cellphone while driving. Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Hanson tells Minnesota Public Radio News law enforcement officers don’t have to determine what drivers…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Court of Appeals is deciding whether to grant requests by opponents of the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine to cancel two of its most important permits and order further proceedings. Ann Cohen, representing several environmental groups, told a three-judge panel Wednesday that PolyMet’s permit to mine and its dam safety permit lack enforceable terms…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources board has approved new regulations that change how the department measures bacterial contamination in water bodies. Currently the DNR measures the amount of fecal coliform in water bodies to determine the level of contamination. The new regulations require the department to measure the amount of e. coli in the water…
(AP PHOTO) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says Turkey has informed the U.S. it will make “permanent” a five-day cease-fire in Syria. In response, he says he’s directing the lifting of economic sanctions on Turkey. Claiming success at the U.S.-brokered effort, Trump said Wednesday, “this was an outcome created by us.” The cease-fire required Kurdish forces formerly allied with…
(Bethany Baker/The Billings Gazette via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence is making a pair of stops in the presidential battleground state of Wisconsin to tout a pending trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. The Pence stops Wednesday in Marinette and Pleasant Prairie come after he traveled to Pennsylvania, another battleground state, on Monday. Pence was scheduled…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Wednesday on challenges by environmentalists and the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa to the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine. The groups want to overturn decisions by the Department of Natural Resources to grant the project a permit to mine, and a dam safety permit, and its…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Test results from the first year of a study indicate that ruffed grouse in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan can survive the West Nile virus. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday reported that samples from grouse shot by hunters last year found antibodies consistent with West Nile in about 13% of the birds sampled…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The National Guard is investigating allegations that Wisconsin commanders are trying to force a sergeant out of the service after he complained about sexual misconduct in his unit. Wisconsin Air National Guard Master Sgt. Jay Ellis’ complaint last year has triggered two federal investigations. Both probes are ongoing. Ellis has since alleged Guard officials have blocked…
