MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers has picked an attorney for an organic farming cooperative to serve as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s new leader. Evers said Thursday that he has appointed Melissa Hughes to replace Mark Hogan as WEDC secretary. Hogan was appointed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker but stayed on the job after GOP lawmakers blocked…
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) – Students and staff at Fond du Lac High School are a bit on edge as the search continues for a missing python. The 3-foot long snake escaped from its cage at the high school sometime over the Labor Day weekend. Principal Matt Steinbarth says there’s some evidence the snake entered the ventilation system at…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is opening an office in Duluth in an effort to bring more federal resources to investigate drug crimes in northeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The new office was announced Wednesday by city leaders and Richard Salter, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s Omaha division, which oversees DEA operations in…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s state-run health insurance exchange has announced a seven-week enrollment period for 2020 coverage. MNsure said Wednesday that Minnesotans will have from Nov. 1, 2019, to Dec. 23, 2019, to shop for 2020 health coverage. Minnesota’s enrollment period is eight days longer than the federal open enrollment period that runs from Nov. 1 to Dec….
(courtesy: Fox 9) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A 5-year-old boy has returned home nearly five months after he was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota. The boy’s family said Tuesday on a gofundme.com site that their son has completed inpatient treatment and has returned home. KSTP-TV reports the boy, identified only as Landen, will continue…
INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say a Minnesota woman has been killed by a black bear on an island in Canadian waters. Ontario Provincial Police say 62-year-old Catherine Sweatt-Mueller, of Maple Plain, was staying with her parents in a remote cabin on Red Pine Island in Rainy Lake when she was killed. The Star Tribune reports that police Constable…
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota State Fair has wrapped up another year with another attendance record. Fair officials say the 2019 edition of the Great Minnesota Get-Together finished Monday with a 12-day total attendance of more than 2.1 million, thanks to a record Labor Day turnout of 184,740. That beats the previous overall attendance record of more than…
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Health officials say nearly 50,000 children in Wisconsin have vaccination waivers as the school year gets underway, leaving them vulnerable to measles at a time when the number of cases has grown exponentially across the country. The Journal Sentinel says figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 1,215 cases of measles this year across…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – A former Duluth police officer who was fired after he dragged a handcuffed man through a city skyway system is a step closer to getting his job back. Adam Huot was fired after the May 2017 incident. Video shows the man’s head hit a steel door frame as he was being dragged. The Minnesota Court of…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minneapolis park officials say contaminated water led to a record number of beach closures in this summer. Half of the city’s 12 beaches were not safe to swim in at various times during the summer. That’s the most since Minneapolis started a water sampling program in 2003, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Park officials say heavy rainfall was…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – St. Paul police say it was a chaotic close to the Minnesota State Fair as a pedestrian was struck by a car and three men were wounded by gunfire. Authorities say an altercation broke out about 10:20 p.m. Monday outside a fair gate and a woman was hit by a vehicle. She’s in critical condition…
ODESSA, Texas (AP) — At least five people were dead after a gunman who hijacked a postal service vehicle in West Texas shot more than 20 people, authorities said Saturday. The gunman was killed and three law enforcement officers were among the injured. The shooting began with a traffic stop where gunfire was exchanged with police, setting off a chaotic…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota House Democrats are hitting the road for a series of town halls on how the state should go about legalizing recreational marijuana. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler says his chamber will pass a legalization bill in the 2020 session, so it’s vitally important that Minnesotans weigh in. The first three of 15 community conversations…
(courtesy: Eden Prairie PD) EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) – Police in a Twin Cities suburb say they’re working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether a cougar is roaming the city. Authorities tweeted a photo Thursday night of what appears to be a cougar taken by a resident in Eden Prairie this week near Purgatory Creek. It’s…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – State officials say traffic deaths in Minnesota increased 6% last year. The Department of Public Safety says 381 people died in crashes in 2018 with speed being the main factor in about a third of the fatalities. The agency’s Office of Traffic Safety says failing to wear seat belts resulted in 96 deaths, while 84…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Preliminary numbers show the freshmen class at the University of Minnesota could be the largest in decades. Vice Provost and Dean Robert McMaster says the 6,200 freshman students this year eclipses the 2017 class as the largest in 50 years. Although, the official enrollment number won’t be published until later this fall. McMaster tells KARE-TV the university…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Student math test scores continue to decline in Minnesota. During the most recent school year, the number of Minnesota students considered proficient in math dropped for the fourth consecutive year. Only 53.9 percent of students met or exceeded state standards for math proficiency in 2019. In 2016, nearly 60 percent of Minnesota students met or…
(photo: Twitter/GallatinNF) BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – An emergency crew has recovered the body of climber who died on Montana’s highest peak. The Billings Gazette reports a helicopter retrieved a man’s body from the south side of Granite Peak Tuesday. Authorities have not yet identified the 65-year-old victim from Minnesota. Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler says the man fell Saturday…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Justice Department has won its first conviction using results from testing thousands of unanalyzed sexual assault kits. The department announced Thursday that a Waupaca County jury convicted Leroy Whittenberger of three counts of second-degree sexual assault on Wednesday. According to a criminal complaint filed in April 2018, Whittenberger assaulted a teenage girl in New…
BEAVER DAM, Wis. (AP)Â Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says he’s awaiting a recommendation from his legal team about when to call a special election for the congressional district being vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Sean Duffy. Evers said Thursday that he doesn’t know if he’ll have the special election correspond with the state’s presidential primary in April, when there’s…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Two Republican legislators are working on a bill that would eliminate Wisconsin’s waiting period before divorcees can get married again. Under current state law, divorcees can’t get married to anyone in Wisconsin during the first six months after their divorce becomes final. Rep. Cindi Duchow and Sen. Alberta Darling’s bill would eliminate the waiting period. They…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Nearly a dozen lawsuits with potentially millions of dollars at stake are in limbo thanks to a dispute between Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and Republicans who passed a lame-duck law giving themselves the final say over settlements. Kaul and Republican committee members can’t agree on how to discuss the cases. Kaul wants the committee to…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The number of Wisconsin students who are fully immunized declined slightly in the last school year. New data from state health officials show 91.9 % of students met immunization requirements, a decrease of 0.4% from the previous school year. Wisconsin Public Radio News reports that for diseases like measles, the immunization rate needs to be closer…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers says Wisconsin has received a federal disaster declaration for 17 counties and two tribes that sustained damage during severe storms in July. Evers made the request to President Donald Trump’s administration last week. The governor also had requested Marinette County be included, but Evers’ office says the Federal Emergency Management Agency is still…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota wildlife officials are taking steps to curb a fatal brain disease among the state’s wild deer. The Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday announced 2019 deer season regulations aimed at limiting the spread of chronic wasting disease. The agency plans to expand hunting opportunities and bag limits in areas where the disease has been…
ASHLAND, Wis. – A 43-year-old woman suffered suspected serious injuries Monday afternoon after being struck by a vehicle at a construction site. According to the Ashland Police Department, Vickie Williams, of Odanah, was working as a construction zone flagger at a construction site on Highway 112 when a driver passed a line of stopped cars and struck Williams with his…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers wants to set a minimum age for purchasing vaping products and raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and nicotine. The group led by Republican state Sen. Howard Marklein has introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of vaping products to anyone under 21. The bill also would move…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Human Services says it must repay the federal government an estimated $48 million that it paid to ineligible chemical dependency treatment providers. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ordered the state in May to cease the payments to as many as 100 inpatient providers classified as “institutions for mental diseases.”…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, who represents northern Wisconsin in Congress, is resigning next month. Duffy posted on his Facebook page Monday that he is resigning on Sept. 23 to spend more time with his family. Duffy says that he recently learned that his ninth child due in October has a heart condition and “will need…
PILLAGER, Minn. (AP) – Authorities in northern Minnesota say a freight train struck and killed a man over the weekend. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was notified Saturday morning that the train hit a person who was walking on the tracks west of Pillager. Deputies and first responders arrived and found a 36-year-old man dead at the scene. The train…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A top leader at Minnesota’s largest state agency has resigned for a second time, just weeks after she rescinded her original resignation. Deputy Commissioner Claire Wilson’s last day at the Department of Human Services will be Friday. As first reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Acting Commissioner Pam Wheelock made the announcement in an email to…
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) – A shipping lock that enables cargo vessels to move between Lake Huron and Lake Superior has closed temporarily for repairs. Beverly McCready of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, was closed around 8 a.m. EDT Monday and is expected to reopen at 6:30 p.m. She…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he’s ordered state agencies to be prepared to legalize recreational marijuana next year if the Legislature approves a bill. But Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says he’ll block the bill in the Republican-controlled chamber. Walz tells Minnesota Public Radio News that he’s relying on supporters to continue pushing for legalization….
CHICAGO (AP) – Health officials say the number of severe breathing illnesses reported in people who vape has grown to nearly 200 in 22 states. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new figures Friday and confirmed that an adult in Illinois is being counted as the first death in the investigation. An Illinois official said…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A man who pushed for Minnesota’s hands-free driving law says he wants to take his fight to Wisconsin. Thomas Goetz lost his pregnant daughter to an alleged distracted driver in February 2016 near Stillwater. Goetz spent the next three years lobbying Minnesota lawmakers to make it illegal for drivers to use a cellphone or other…
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says products coming from China that were slated to be hit with a 10% tariff on Sept. 1 will now face a 15% tariff. Trump also says goods and products currently being taxed at 25% will be taxed at 30% starting Oct. 1. Trump’s comments come after China said it…
(courtesy: Fox 9) LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Authorities in Minnesota have charged the son of former NFL lineman Barry Bennett in Bennett’s death. Barry Bennett and his wife, Carol, were found dead in their home in Long Prairie, a small town about two hours northwest of Minneapolis, on Wednesday. Their 22-year-old son Dylan has been sought since then. Both…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A federal appeals court has reinstated a lawsuit filed by two Minnesota filmmakers who want the right to refuse to film same-sex weddings. Carl and Angel Larsen, who run Telescope Media Group in St. Cloud, sued the state in 2016, saying Minnesota’s public accommodation law would result in steep fines and jail time if they offered services…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Billionaire David Koch has died at age 79. Koch was a major donor to conservative causes and educational groups. His older brother, Charles Koch, said on Friday, “It is with a heavy heart that I now must inform you of David’s death.” The Kochs were best known for a vast political network they built that became popularly…
(courtesy: Fox 9) LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) – Authorities in Minnesota are investigating the deaths of a former NFL lineman and his wife under what they call suspicious circumstances. The bodies of Barry Bennett, 63, and his wife Carol were found Wednesday after a friend went to their home in Long Prairie for a welfare check. Todd County Sheriff Todd…
(courtesy: USDA Forest Service) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A rare bee not seen in Wisconsin in more than a century has turned up in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. U.S. Forest Service scientists found the bee in July while surveying pollinators as part of an inventory of native bees in the Great Lakes region. It’s known commonly as a cuckoo bee,…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – The ever-present danger of rip currents in Lake Superior has some people in Duluth calling for more to be done to improve public safety. Retired police officer Dennis Hoelscher tells Minnesota Public Radio News that lifeguard services need to be improved. Lifeguards don’t work on “red flag” days that have high risk of rip currents. Hoelscher…
LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) – Authorities are searching for a man in what they are calling the suspicious deaths of two people in Todd County. Sheriff Todd Och says his office received a call about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday from someone reporting a death at a residence in rural Long Prairie, about two hours northwest of Minneapolis. Deputies found two deceased…
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) – An Eau Claire man is charged with threatening to shoot up his workplace. A criminal complaint filed in Eau Claire County Circuit Court says 31-year-old Kevin Pinkham told a co-worker at Menards Distribution Center on August 15 that he planned to “shoot up the place.” The complaint says Pinkham admitted to texting his girlfriend that…
Courtney Roznowski GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – A staff member at a Green Bay high school is accused of sexually assaulting a male student. Thirty-one-year-old Courtney Roznowski, a paraprofessional at Southwest High School, appeared in court Wednesday on sexual assault charges. A police report says Roznowski and the 16-year-old boy denied having a sexual relationship when confronted earlier this week….
UPDATE: ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The University of St. Thomas has issued an all-clear after receiving a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of a building on its St. Paul, Minnesota, campus. In a series of alerts posted to its website and social media pages, the university said Tuesday the threat was for the John Roach Center, a classroom…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Tony Evers is seeking a federal disaster declaration for 18 counties and two tribes that suffered damage during severe storms in July. Evers said on Monday that he made the request to President Donald Trump’s administration after state and federal agencies verified more than $19.5 million in damage from thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding from the…
(credit: Eagan Police) EAGAN, Minn. (AP) – Police say two people were seriously injured when a sport utility vehicle crashed into an Eagan Starbucks. According to Eagan police, a 29-year-old West St. Paul man and a 30-year-old Eagan woman were sitting in an outdoor patio area when the SUV crashed into the coffee shop Monday night. They were both taken…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A court defeat in a case over the way Minnesota taxed trust accounts in other states could end up costing about $130 million this budget cycle. The Minnesota Department of Revenue estimated it will have to repay about $67 million, plus interest, in rebates over the next two years for overtaxing some trust accounts. It…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin school bus companies are struggling to find enough drivers before the start of the school year next month. Most of the school buses used the state are privately contracted. Steve Roekle, who owns the Manitowoc-based Brandt Buses, told Wisconsin Public Radio that there’s a high bar to becoming a school bus driver. The job requires…
