WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the Biden administration is investing $1.5 billion from the coronavirus aid package to address the health care worker shortage in underserved communities. The funding being announced Monday will go to the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery programs. They’re all federal programs that offer…
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON (AP) – A sharply divided House has approved the Democrats’ sweeping social and environment bill, a big victory for President Joe Biden. Republicans solidly opposed the measure, but Democrats prevailed after the party’s progressives and moderates ended months of disputes over its size and scope. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where moderates like…
ST, PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution team that won the conviction of ex-officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, announced Monday he will seek a second term. Ellison assembled a team of attorneys in private practice and from his office that persuaded jurors earlier this year to convict Chauvin…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has surrendered to federal authorities to face contempt charges after defying a subpoena from a House committee investigating January’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Bannon was taken into custody Monday morning. He’s expected to appear in court later in the afternoon. The 67-year-old was indicted on Friday on two counts of criminal…
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the release of White House records sought by a U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, granting – for now – a request from former President Donald Trump. The administrative injunction issued Thursday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit effectively bars until the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – House investigators have issued subpoenas to 10 more former officials who worked for Donald Trump at the end of his presidency. They are part of a committee’s effort to find out more about what the president was doing and saying as his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a bid to overturn his…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal appeals court has temporarily halted the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday granted an emergency stay of the requirement by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that those workers be vaccinated by Jan. 4, or face mask requirements and…
DULUTH, Minn. – Two new at-large Duluth city council members have been elected to their positions earlier this week. We caught up with Terese Tomanek, who was previously appointed to fill the position of councilor Barb Russ last year, and newly elected Azrin Awal, Duluth’s first Asian American to sit on the council. For Tomanek, she looks forward to continuing…
DULUTH, Minn. – The city of Duluth will soon be requiring its employees to get vaccinated or get weekly COVID tests. A city spokesperson said the new requirement will start in December. This comes after President Joe Biden made an executive order in September telling employers with 100 or more people to require workers to get vaccinated or get weekly…
DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth was one of many areas that held a general election Tuesday, this one to elect several city council and school board positions. We see new names like Azrin Awal, Terese Tomanek, and Mike Mayou, while Renee van Nett returns for another 4 years. The voter turnout was only around 22%, which is 6% less than the…
(AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minneapolis voters have reelected Mayor Jacob Frey after a bitter race that focused on calls for changes to policing and racial justice. More than a dozen candidates ran to be mayor, including many who took issue with the way the Democratic incumbent has handled changes to the police department since one of its…
Below is the up to date results of the key races in Tuesday’s Minnesota General Election Council Member at Large – Elect 2 Azrin Awal -6,882 votes (30.75%) Joe Macor -6,131 votes (27.39%) Terese Tomanek -7,959 votes (35.56%) Timothy L. Meyer – 1,302 votes (5.82%) Council Member District 2 Dave Zbaracki -636 votes (24.80%) Mike Mayou -1,911 votes (74.53%)…
DULUTH, Minn. – A power outage in Gary-New Duluth Tuesday evening didn’t stop votes from being counted there. When the Rec Center voting location went dark, Councilor Derek Medved said neighbors brought in generators, coffee and candles to keep the voting going. The Duluth Fire Department showed up with big bright lights, too. The power eventually came back on, and…
DULUTH, Minn. — With 30% of voter turnout staff with the city say this is a similar election to 2017 with the slate of positions on the ballot. The Duluth city administrator says, more people are getting out to vote in-person. This after last year saw a boost in early and absentee ballot votes. These hyperlocal elections are what can…
DULUTH, Minn. — Polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday night. Precinct judges say, earlier today there was a steady stream of voters. They say, there is usually bursts of people in the morning, around lunchtime, and right before polls close. Officials say the turnout is expected to be on par with years past. Precinct judges want to emphasize how important…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Voters in Minneapolis are deciding whether to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety. The election comes more than a year after George Floyd’s death launched a movement to defund or abolish police across the country. Mayor Jacob Frey is also in a tough fight for a second term. He faces a…
DULUTH, Minn. — The general election gets underway on Tuesday in Duluth. Beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and running until 8 p.m. at night the polls will be open. The municipal primary held back in August had just over 12% voter turnout. It was an increase from the previous primary in an off-year. City staff want to encourage people…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19, she announced over the weekend. Flanagan says she received the positive test after caring for her 8-year-old daughter Siobhan, who tested positive on Oct. 22. The lieutenant governor received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine last spring. Flanagan said she and her husband, Tom, had…
DULUTH, Minn.- Duluth’s General Election is just a few days away, and some local DFL endorsed candidates and supporters held a rally before going door to door Sunday, urging people to head to the polls. Candidates for City Council as well as Mayor Emily Larson and State Representative Liz Olson joined campaign volunteers at Enger Tower for a rally and…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is traveling to Capitol Hill to pitch House Democrats on a dramatically scaled back domestic policy package. It’s now $1.75 trillion and without a paid family leave program and other priorities. But it’s still a sweeping proposal with new health care, free-prekindergarten, and climate change programs. Later, the president will make remarks at the…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly is poised to give final approval to a package of anti-abortion bills that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is all but certain to veto. Final approval on Wednesday of the bills designed the reduce the number of abortions in the state comes after the state Senate, also controlled by Republicans, passed the measures…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is not immediately blocking the Texas law that bans most abortions, but has agreed to hear arguments in the case on Nov. 1. The justices said Friday they will decide whether the federal government has the right to sue over the law. The court’s action leaves in place for the time being a law…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. budget deficit totaled $2.77 trillion for 2021, the second-highest on record but an improvement from the all-time high of $3.13 trillion in 2020. The deficits in both years reflected trillions of dollars in government spending to counteract the devastating effects of a global pandemic. The Biden administration said Friday that the 2021 deficit, for the…
DULUTH, Minn. – Visit Duluth — the city’s top marketing arm since 1935 — has agreed to a much smaller role with the city so it isn’t dissolved altogether. This comes after the city council recently approved a 2022 tourism marketing contract with Bellmont Partners out of the Twin Cities worth $1.8 million. The company came out on top after…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has launched his campaign for a second term in an increasingly divided state, saying he made the tough calls necessary to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and revive the economy. The former high school football coach made the announcement in a YouTube video posted Tuesday that shows him standing on a football…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to block the Texas law banning most abortions, while the fight over the measure’s constitutionality plays out in the courts. The law has been in effect since September, aside from a district court-ordered pause that lasted just 48 hours. It bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, usually around…
WASHIINGTON (AP) – Colin Powell, former Joint Chiefs chairman and secretary of state, has died from COVID-19 complications, his family said Monday. In an announcement on social media, the family said Powell had been fully vaccinated. Powell was the first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and secretary of state. But his reputation also…
ROBBINSDALE, Minn. (AP) – Gov. Tim Walz says he’ll use the Minnesota National Guard to help alleviate staffing shortages at care facilities that are struggling with the surge in COVID-19 cases. The governor announced plans Friday at North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale for alleviating bottlenecks caused by staffing shortages that prevent hospitals from moving recovering patients to transitional and…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden plans to highlight his plan to lower the cost of child care for most American families as he makes the case for his stalled social spending bill during a visit to Connecticut. Biden will visit a child development center in Hartford on Friday to promote his proposal to make such carefree for lower-income families….
(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has issued a formal apology for Wisconsin’s role in Native American boarding schools, joining with leaders from the state’s tribes at an Indigenous Peoples Day event. Evers signed an executive order on Monday that also formally supported the previously announced U.S. Department of Interior investigation…
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) – A parent has sued a southeastern Wisconsin school district after her son contracted COVID-19 from a classmate. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Shannon Jensen filed the lawsuit in federal court against the Waukesha School District and school board on Oct. 5. According to the lawsuit, the board in May removed a student mask requirement and…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas abortion clinics are canceling appointments they had booked during a 48-hour reprieve from the nation’s most restrictive abortion law. The White House on Saturday had no immediate comment after a federal appeals court reinstated the Texas law known as Senate Bill 8. The law bans abortions in Texas once cardiac activity is detected, usually around…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says an agreement has been reached with Republicans to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December. That temporarily averts a debt crisis. Schumer made the announcement as he opened the Senate on Thursday. He said he hoped the Senate could vote later in the day. Republican leader Mitch McConnell…
DULUTH, Minn. – FOX 21 learned Monday that all six employee unions with the city of Duluth have rejected the administration’s new healthcare proposal for 2022. This comes after a rally outside City Hall late last week where union members said they have a strong health fund and want to keep it that way. The proposed changes to employee health…
DULUTH, Minn.- A Women’s March in Duluth Saturday joined hundreds across the country taking to the streets in support of reproductive rights, which they say are under attack with recent abortion legislation. The march started outside the St. Louis county courthouse and marched to the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial on First Street. The group in Duluth marched down First Street…
DULUTH, Minn.- The 30-year-old male suspect who kept Duluth Police in a standoff for hours in an apartment building on Central Avenue was finally taken into custody after committing multiple crimes, according to authorities. Police say at 8:30 p.m. the man eventually surrendered and was apprehended. He was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries and then the St….
WASHINGTON (AP) – With only hours to spare, Congress passed legislation that would avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The votes will help avert one crisis, but efforts to stave off a second crisis seem likely to continue for the…
DULUTH, Minn. – After more than a year of delays, the city of Duluth is about to start its plastic bag fee. The 5-cent fee will take effect Oct. 15 for places like grocery stores and retailers. The fee per bag will be added on to the total bill at an establishment. The fee will not be required for the…
DULUTH, Minn. – There was a moment in history Wednesday as longtime St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin passed the torch to the county’s next leader in prosecution and justice – Kim Maki. Dozens of people showed up outside the courthouse to watch the handover in power. Rubin has been the county attorney since 2010 with more than 42 years…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday lauded another new abortion law that tightens limits on abortion-inducing medications, creating an additional layer of restrictions after a near-total ban on abortion in the state began this month. The new restrictions, which take effect in December, shrinks the window when doctors and clinics in Texas can give abortion-inducing medication…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly plans to vote next week on a Republican bill that would prohibit public schools from teaching students and training employees about concepts such as systemic racism and implicit bias. A Republican-controlled Assembly committee on Wednesday approved the bill on a party-line vote. It is slated to be taken up by the full Assembly…
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden plans to meet with Democrats from the House and Senate as Congress works to bridge party divisions over his big $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda. The afternoon meeting Wednesday comes ahead of crucial voting deadlines. The House is to vote soon on the first part of Biden’s plan – a…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – Former longtime Duluth city attorney Gunnar Johnson is now going to work in that same role with the city of Hermantown. The city council voted unanimously Monday night to hire Johnson, who will start in January. He is replacing Steve Overom who held the city attorney position for 42 years. Overom is scaling back duties with the…
CHISHOLM, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota state lawmaker’s wife is accused of hitting him with a broom handle and threatening him with a knife at their home on the Iron Range over the weekend. Charlotte A. Tomassoni, 69, was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and booked into the St. Louis County Jail after the incident early Sunday evening. Her husband,…
WASHINGTON (AP) – With Washington still on edge after the Jan. 6 insurrection, law enforcement bore down in large numbers on the Capitol over concerns that a rally in support of the jailed rioters would turn violent. It didn’t. The crowd Saturday was sparse, incidents few. The fence around the Capitol was put back up, the city police force was…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minnesota judge has rejected a request by concerned parents to force a statewide mask mandate in all schools. Judge Thomas Gilligan said the court was “gravely concerned” about COVID-19 risks for children, but that the court lacks the legal authority to order Gov. Tim Walz to issue the directive that the parents sought. Minnesota Public…
(courtesy: Fox 9) ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota House Democrats have voted to expel Rep. John Thompson from their caucus following allegations of domestic violence and questions about his residency. House leaders Tuesday night issued a statement saying that “Thompson’s actions, credible reports of abuse and misconduct, and his failure to take responsibility remain unacceptable for a member of…
DULUTH, Minn.- Duluth Mayor Emily Larson brought her proposed general fund budget of $97.1 million for next year before council Monday evening. “I have always believed that budgets are moral documents. Every single Duluthian needs to know that, in some way that is meaningful to them, we are in their corner,” Mayor Larson said. “There is no more important way…
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file) MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is asking a federal court to allow him to intervene in a lawsuit filed by fellow Democrats that seeks to have federal courts draw new boundary lines if the governor and Republican-controlled Legislature can’t reach an agreement. The court has already allowed the Legislature to intervene. Republicans…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth Fire Department is responding to reports of a pedestrian who was hit by a DTA bus outside of Dick’s Sporting Goods at the Miller Hill Mall. According to a tweet on the Duluth Fire Department account just before 10:00 a.m., the pedestrian is currently stuck under the bus. Fire crews are working to lift the…
