MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Charges have been filed against nine people so far as a result of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s work to test thousands of kits containing evidence collected from sexual assault victims. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul said in an interview Wednesday he expects that number to increase as more tests are completed and prosecutors review evidence….
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A conservative law firm is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to dramatically scale back the ability of governors to change the intent of lawmakers through partial budget vetoes. If successful, the move would reverse more than four decades of precedent. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit Wednesday…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Delta Air Lines pilot suspected of drinking before his flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has been arrested. A report by airport police says the pilot had an “alcoholic container” in his possession and was suspected of being impaired. He was scheduled to fly to San Diego, California Tuesday morning. The Star Tribune reports the pilot,…
(AP) – The U.S. Education Department is being urged to close a loophole that has allowed some wealthy families to get federal aid meant for low-income students. Federal authorities have been notified that some parents in Illinois were transferring guardianship of their children to friends or relatives to make it appear they came from poorer backgrounds, making them eligible for…
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities in Wisconsin say a man suspected of killing four people may have been imitating the abduction last year of teenager Jayme Closs. Sheriff Jim Kowalczyk said Tuesday that investigators may never know exactly what led to the Sunday attacks. He says Ritchie German Jr. killed three of his family members and later killed a…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A person with direct knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press the Minnesota Wild have fired general manager Paul Fenton after just one season. The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team had yet to make the formal announcement. The Athletic first reported the news. Fenton’s lone year on the…
DULUTH, Minn. –Two Duluth men were sentenced on Monday for trafficking a 15-year-old girl for sex. A jury found 44-year-old Amos Kiprop Koech guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor and sex trafficking of a minor on January 24. Koech’s alleged co-conspirator, 33-year-old Andre Mathis Jr., pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor on January 10….
SEATTLE (AP) – Capital One says a hacker broke into a database containing details likes home addresses and birth dates. The bank reported the breach is affecting 100 million people that tried to open credit cards. Investigators say 140,000 social security numbers have been compromised and 80,000 bank account numbers were also stolen. The company claims that based on their…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A leading conservative attorney says he has never heard anyone in the Legislature say there were plans to circumvent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to enact redistricting without his approval. The comment Tuesday from Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty leader Rick Esenberg comes a day after he was quoted in a story by the liberal online…
BRAYMER, Mo. (AP) – A judge has denied bond for a man charged with tampering with a rental vehicle used by two missing Wisconsin brothers. Garland “Joey” Nelson made his first court appearance via video Monday and was denied a request to be released on bond. Nelson is charged with tampering with a motor vehicle used by Nick and Justin…
(courtesy: Fox 9) UPDATE: MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A worker has been freed after being trapped for three hours in a trench that collapsed at a construction site in downtown Minneapolis. Deputy Minneapolis Fire Chief Todd White says the worker was talking, alert and in stable condition when he was lifted out in a stretcher-basket around 11 a.m. Monday. The man…
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities in northwestern Wisconsin say shootings at two homes have left five people dead, including the suspected shooter, and two others injured. Chippewa County sheriff’s officials say deputies responded to a 911 call about a shooting at a residence in Lake Hallie about 10:30 p.m. Sunday and found a man and woman dead. Two other…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – At least two possible tornadoes caused damage in northern Washington County and McLeod County as severe weather swept across Minnesota. The National Weather Service says one tornado was reported near Scandia and another was spotted east of Silver Lake Sunday. Both left a trail of downed trees and power lines as well as some structural damage. Heavy…
GILROY, Calif. (AP) — A 6-year-old boy described by his grandmother as always kind and happy was one of three people killed and at least 15 others injured when a gunman heard to be “really angry” opened fire during the closing moments of a popular weekend garlic festival in Northern California. Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee said the gunman was…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota corrections official who resigned recently is accused of leaking private internal data as well as lobbying for her husband’s nonprofit. Sarah Walker stepped down last week, just a few months after Gov. Tim Walz appointed her a deputy commissioner in the Department of Corrections. Walker this week said she was accused of improper…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators are approving T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion takeover of rival Sprint, despite fears of higher prices and job cuts. Friday’s approval by the Justice Department and five state attorneys general comes after Sprint and T-Mobile agreed to conditions that would set up satellite-TV provider Dish as a fourth wireless company, so the number of major U.S. providers…
DETROIT (AP) – Bernie Sanders has become the second Democratic presidential hopeful to call for shutting down an oil pipeline that crosses a channel linking two of the Great Lakes. The Vermont senator said in a tweet Thursday that Enbridge’s Line 5 should be decommissioned and new fossil fuel infrastructure banned. Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids from…
(Dave Schwarz/St. Cloud Times via AP) PAYNESVILLE, Minn. (AP) – Prosecutors say a Minnesota man set a fire that killed his 22-year-old daughter after the two argued about her plans to move out. Forty-six-year-old John Newport of Paynesville was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of Jamey Newport. His bail was set at $2 million. Jamey Newport called…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The man who kidnapped Jayme Closs and killed her parents in northern Wisconsin has been moved to a prison in New Mexico. Press-Gazette Media reports the New Mexico Corrections Department has confirmed Jake Patterson has been transferred to one of its prisons from Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun. Wisconsin corrections officials recommended Patterson be sent to…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department says it will carry out executions of federal death row inmates for the first time since 2003. The department says five inmates will be executed, starting in December. In 2014, President Barack Obama directed the department to conduct a review of capital punishment and issues surrounding lethal injection drugs. That review resulted in what…
(Garret Ellison | MLive) SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) – Enbridge Inc. says it’s willing to consider rerouting a major oil pipeline around the Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. Members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued Enbridge on Tuesday in hopes of forcing the Calgary, Alberta-based company to remove sections of its Line 5 pipeline that run…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Democratic state lawmakers want Gov. Tim Walz to suspend permits for PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel mine in northern Minnesota to make sure they “were not rigged.” In a letter to Walz Wednesday, 18 lawmakers led by Sen. John Marty asked the governor to suspend the permits and direct the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to cooperate with…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has erased any record of the man who kidnapped Jayme Closs and killing her parents from its inmate locator database. Twenty-two-year-old Jake Patterson was moved to an out-of-state facility on July 15. DOC officials declined to reveal where out of concern for his safety. The agency has declined to elaborate. The…
NEW YORK (AP) – UPS is responding to the growth in online shopping and pressures for speedy delivery by seeking to expand its drone deliveries and adding thousands of new spots where customers can pick up packages. The Atlanta-based package delivery giant says it is adding 12,000 new package pickup locations inside CVS, The Michaels Co. and Advance Auto Parts…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says the Russia probe created a “phony cloud” over his administration and says House committee hearings featuring testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller were “all nonsense.” He says Mueller’s performance was “obviously not very good” and is accusing him of not knowing about certain details of his investigation. Trump is calling…
(Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP, File) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Supreme Court will decide whether the state Department of Natural Resources has the authority to change the name of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis to its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska. The state Court of Appeals ruled in April that the agency overstepped its authority in January…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -Minnesota regulators have urged the state Supreme Court to deny challenges by opponents of Enbridge Energy’s proposed Line 3 oil pipeline replacement who say the project’s environmental review was flawed. The Public Utilities Commission told the Supreme Court Tuesday it believes the review was “adequate in all respects.” Enbridge wants to replace its existing Line 3…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The University of Wisconsin would be able to increase tuition no greater than the rate of inflation under a bill being proposed in the state Legislature by the chairman of the Assembly’s higher education committee. The proposal envisions a time without a tuition freeze that’s been in place for six years and will run for at…
(DNR) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wildlife officials from around the Midwest are converging in Wisconsin to discuss chronic wasting disease. The two-day conference is set to begin Wednesday at Madison’s Monona Terrace convention center. It’s slated to conclude Thursday afternoon. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is hosting the event. Officials from the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Wisconsin DNR,…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The former special counsel in the Trump-Russia probe, Robert Mueller, will finally face congressional interrogators on Wednesday, testifying in televised hearings. Democrats hope Mueller’s testimony will weaken President Donald Trump’s reelection prospects in ways that Mueller’s book-length report did not. Republicans are ready to defend Trump and turn their fire on Mueller and his team instead. The…
MADISON, Wis.-A Native American tribe in Wisconsin is suing Enbridge Inc. in hopes of forcing the Canadian company to remove a key pipeline that runs through their reservation. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filed the lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Madison. The Line 5 pipeline carries oil and natural gas liquids from Canada to eastern Michigan….
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is proposing to tighten automatic eligibility requirements for the food stamp program, a change that could affect about 3.1 million people. The Agriculture Department says the rule would close “a loophole” that enables people receiving only minimal benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to be eligible automatically for food stamps. Under…
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has confirmed Army veteran and former defense industry lobbyist Mark Esper as secretary of defense. Esper’s confirmation ends a stretch of seven months the Pentagon didn’t have a permanent leader. Esper won Senate confirmation on Tuesday by a vote of 90-8 and is to be sworn in by day’s end. The…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Legislature’s budget committee has approved spending more than $4 million to purchase more than 14,000 acres of forest land in northern Wisconsin under the state’s stewardship program. The land in Iron County would be preserved for public access and protected from development under the $4.3 million purchase approved by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A compliance officer in Minnesota’s Department of Human Services says she was retaliated against after reporting problems with contracts at the agency. Faye K. Bernstein says she was verbally reprimanded and not allowed to carry out her duties after she pointed out what she called “serious non-compliance issues” with some contracts approved by leaders in…
(photo: AP news) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota appeals court has upheld a decision to discharge a repeat child molester from the state’s sex offender program. The Minnesota Department of Human Services objected to the release of 46-year-old Jerry Gene Kerkhoff from the treatment program in which he has been enrolled for 20 years. Department officials argued Kerkoff still needs…
(photo: twitter) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources is asking wastewater treatment plants to test for polyfluoroalkyl pollution. The substances, also known as PFAS, are man-made chemicals that have been used for decades in products such as fire-fighting foam, non-stick cookware and fast-food wrappers. Research suggests PFAS can decrease female fertility, increase the risk of…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota’s top law enforcement officials are launching a working group and public hearings on police-involved shootings. Attorney General Keith Ellison and Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington say the group will begin work later this summer. The move comes as police departments and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension have often come under heavy criticism for…
WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans are pledging tough questioning of special counsel Robert Mueller when he testifies before Congress this week as Democrats plan to air evidence of wrongdoing by President Donald Trump in a potentially last-ditch bid to impeach him. Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on House Judiciary Committee, said the American public is growing weary of the…
(photo courtesy: Fox 11) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The University of Wisconsin System will pay a former student $325,000 to settle claims that a professor sexually harassed her. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the former student, identified as A.R. in court documents, sued in October alleging UW-Oshkosh failed to take action against former art professor Michael Beitz. A.R. alleged she…
ONAMIA, Minn. (AP) –Officials are investigating after an angler was found dead in his boat on the shore of Mille Lacs Lake. The Mille Lacs County sheriff’s office says 59-year-old Daniel Gable, of Hastings, was reported missing by his wife around 11 p.m. Friday. She told deputies he had gone fishing on the big lake in east-central Minnesota, but hadn’t…
ST. PAUL, Minn.-A top administrator has resigned from the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the latest incidence of turnover in Gov. Tim Walz’s administration. Sarah Walker resigned Friday as deputy commissioner of the department. Walker’s announcement follows resignations of two deputy commissioners in the Department of Human Services last week _ but they rescinded their departures this week after Human Services…
(WKOW-TV via AP) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Fires at two Madison Gas and Electric substations have knocked about power to more than 11,000 customers on what is promising to be a sweltering day of heat and humidity. An explosion and fire at the utility’s main power center sent a plume of thick, black smoke over Madison’s east side about 7:40…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota conservation officials say there’s a small, but noticeable increase in loon deaths and the likely cause is West Nile virus. The Department of Natural Resources says the virus was confirmed as the cause of death in two of three loons from northeastern Minnesota earlier this month. Minnesota Public Radio News says the agency is…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota lawmakers are considering reorganizing the state’s Department of Human Services following a series of leadership resignations. Commissioner Tony Lourey abruptly announced his resignation, followed by chief of staff Stacie Weeks. Two veteran deputy commissioners, Chuck Johnson and Claire Wilson, also resigned but rescinded their decision Wednesday. Minnesota Public Radio News reports some Republican lawmakers…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Republican leader of the Wisconsin state Senate is calling for a veto override after Gov. Tony Evers’ administration said Milwaukee’s street car could compete for $75 million in grant money. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald called for the veto override on Thursday. His call came shortly after Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson outlined how the new…
NEW YORK (AP) – A federal judge has denied bail for jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. The judge’s decision Thursday comes after prosecutors argued Epstein should remain behind bars in New York City because he has the means to flee and is a danger to the public. Prosecutors fear Epstein also might try to…
(photo: WI National Guard) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin National Guard is trying to determine how a drone crashed near Volk Field. The Guard issued a news release Thursday saying a RQ-7 Shadow drone lost its link to its operator at Volk Field on Wednesday afternoon about two miles northwest of the base during a training exercise. The drone…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – State officials are investigating CenturyLink after receiving hundreds of complaints that the utility failed to respond to requests to locate and mark underground cables. Minnesota Public Radio News cites a state Office of Administrative Hearings document which shows CenturyLink faces more than $780,000 in fines for alleged violations of a law intended to protect the…
CROOKSTON, Minn. (AP) – The Diocese of Crookston has reached a $5 million settlement with 15 people who were children when they were sexually abused by priests. As part of the settlement, the diocese agreed to make public the names and files of clergy who have been accused of abuse. That information will be released at a later date. Victims’…
