SAN DIEGO (AP) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April for President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall. The agency said Friday on a website for federal contractors that a request for bids would be published on or around March 6. Companies would have to submit “concept papers” to design and build prototypes…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota House has passed a Real ID bill by a vote of 72-58 after years of concern about government overreach and data privacy surrounding the federal law. Lawmakers are staring down a January 2018 deadline to distribute federally-approved IDs before Minnesota residents are barred from boarding domestic flights and entering military bases with their…
DULUTH, Minn. – Renee Van Nett announces campaign for Duluth’s 4th district City Council seat. Van Nett founded the Cross Cultural Alliance of Duluth, which works to use cross-cultural collaboration to build a foundation of justice, education, and wellness for the community. She has also worked on various boards including the Duluth Citizen Review Board, Civil Service Board, The…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order taking aim at government regulations. The president says the order will direct each federal agency to establish a regulator reform task force. The task forces will then recommend which regulations they can simplify or eliminate. The president has long argued that excessive regulations are “killing jobs, driving companies…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Democratic U.S. Representative Tim Walz says he’s weighing a bid for Minnesota governor. The six-term congressman told Minnesota Public Radio News, Thursday that he plans to make a decision by April. Walz says representing southwestern Minnesota gives him critical experience to boost Democrats’ standing outside in rural Minnesota. Walz narrowly survived his own re-election in…
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Republican legislative leaders from Ohio and Wisconsin are joining forces as they prepare for massive changes in how the federal government under president Donald Trump deals with states. Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberg and Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Thursday in Ohio, that they hope to enlist others in asserting the role of states in…
MADISON (AP) – Governor Scott Walker has appointed a former lobbyist for the Wisconsin Bankers Association to head the state agency that regulates the banking industry. Walker announced Thursday that he was appointing Jay Risch to head the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Risch currently serves as deputy secretary of the department. He is replacing Lon Roberts whom Walker appointed…
ST. PAUL (AP) – The Minnesota House is ready to vote on a Real ID bill that has divided lawmakers over privacy concerns and federal power for several years. The Legislature has felt the pressure to pass an ID bill this session as stronger airport security standards loom that could bar Minnesota residents from domestic flights. The federal government has…
ST. PAUL (AP) – Governor Mark Dayton is urging Minnesota schools to continue allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. His Thursday pronouncement follows President Donald Trump administration’s decision this week to lift an Obama-era directive. It leaves the decision regarding bathrooms to individual states and school districts. Although the Obama guidance was not legally binding, transgender…
ST. PAUL (AP) – A Minnesota Senate panel has moved the state one step closer to legalizing Sunday liquor sales. The House overwhelmingly passed a bill earlier this week that would repeal the ban. It’s a historic turn in lawmakers’ long struggling to change the decades-old law. But the Senate has long been regarded as a tougher hurdle in advocates’…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Tuesday was the Wisconsin primary election, and for Superior, that meant narrowing down to two opponents for the race for mayor. In the running was Brent Fennessey, Kalee Hermanson, Jim Paine, and Mike Herrick. Polls closed at 8 p.m. and shortly after that the official results were in: Brent Fennessey . . . . . . . ….
We’ll have the results coming up in our 9 p.m. newscast. Categories: Community, Education, News, News – Latest News, Political
DULUTH, Minn. – U.S. Senator Al Franken toured the Duluth Denfeld High School’s technology department Tuesday, to see how students here are learning to fill tomorrow’s high tech jobs. The was part of the Senator’s “Advancing Career Pathways Tour” across Minnesota. America is facing a shortage of high-tech workers, something Sen. Franken wants to see addressed. “We have skills gaps…
ST. PAUL (AP) – In statehouses across the country, lawmakers with loved ones who fell victim to drugs are leading the fight against the nation’s deadly opioid-abuse crisis, drawing on tragic personal experience to attack the problem. In Minnesota, for example, state Senator Chris Eaton’s daughter died of a heroin overdose in 2007. Eaton has since spearheaded a law granting…
The Minnesota house voted to allow stores to sell liquor on Sundays. Lawmakers passed the bill 85 to 45. It’s the first step in reversing the prohibition-era law. The bill still needs to go to the Senate. The owner of Keyport Liquors in Superior said he doesn’t think that the extra day of sales will affect his business too much,…
ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House passed legislation, Monday, that would legalize the sale of liquor, beer, and wine on Sunday, the first time in state history that standalone legislation on the issue has been voted on or approved. The bill passed on a bipartisan 85-45 vote, and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Sunday liquor sales has been…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ Gov. Scott Walker wants Wisconsinites who like his budget to help him rally support. Walker’s campaign launched digital ads Monday encouraging citizens to write to their legislators in support of key elements of his budget proposal. Republican legislative leaders have been cautious about Walker’s proposed spending increases since he unveiled his budget earlier this month. Democrats…
PALM BEACH, Fla (AP) – President Donald Trump has tapped Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser. Trump announced the pick Monday at his Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago. He says McMaster is “a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience.” Trump says retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who had been his acting adviser, will now serve…
MADISON (AP) – Two Democratic state lawmakers have proposed subjecting powdered alcohol to the same regulations as liquid alcohol. Senator Tim Carpenter and Representative Debra Kloste said Monday they’ve introduced a bill to expand the state’s definition of alcohol to include powdered forms. The federal government in 2015 approved a powdered alcohol product all Palcohol. Since then, state s have…
NEW YORK (AP) – Russian officials say its ambassador to the United Nations has died suddenly in New York City. Vitaly Churkin was 64. Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladamire Safronkov, told The Associated Press that Churkin became ill in his office at Russia’s U.N. mission and was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he died Monday. His cause of death…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota could take the first step toward erasing the state’s ban on Sunday liquor sales. The House was expected to vote Monday on a bill that would allow liquor stores to open on Sundays. It’s a perennial issue at the Capitol that consumes plenty of attention but has never moved forward. House Speaker Kurt Daudt…
DALLAS (AP) Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” at the center of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, has died. She was 69. Journalist Joshua Prager, who is working on a book about McCorvey, says she died Saturday morning at an assisted living center in Katy, Texas. Although McCorvey was the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, she later…
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) New Hampshire Democrat Ray Buckley has dropped out of the race for Democratic National Committee chair and is throwing his support behind Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison. Buckley’s announcement comes a week before DNC members gather in Atlanta to choose a new chair. Ellison and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez are seen as the main contenders. Buckley announced…
DULUTH, Minn.-Lt. Gov. Tina Smith visited Duluth today highlighting Minnesota’s innovative economy. The event followed the recent launch of the Innovative Minnesota Campaign. It’s meant to celebrate emerging discoveries in technology throughout the state. “Innovation is embedded in our Minnesota identity,” she said. “Our state annually ranks among the top five in new patents and is home to many leading…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Scott Pruitt was approved on Friday by a vote of 52-46. Pruitt served six years as Oklahoma’s attorney general and was closely aligned with oil and gas companies in his home state, whose executives backed his political campaigns. He filed 14 lawsuits as…
(AP) – The Trump administration considered a proposal to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants, including millions living nowhere near the Mexico border, according to a draft memo obtained by The Associated Press. Staffers in the Department of Homeland Security said the proposal had been discussed as recently as last Friday. The 11-page document…
MADISON (AP) – Two Republican lawmakers have scrapped a bill to end daylight saving time in Wisconsin amid a backlash on social media and now want to make the sunshine-extending time change permanent year-round in the state. Representatives Samantha Kerkman and Michael Schraa introduced a bill last week that would have eliminated daylight saving time in Wisconsin. The change would…
MADISON (AP) – Democratic U.S. Representative Ron Kind says he is not ruling out a run for governor in 2018 against Republican Governor Scott Walker. The western Wisconsin congressman from La Crosse has frequently been mentioned as a possible candidate for governor, but he’s never run. But Kind tells Wisconsin Public Radio, on Thursday, that the state needs new leadership…
UPDATE: http://www.fox21online.com/2017/02/17/white-house-denies-national-guard-immigration-roundup-report/ (AP) – A draft memo obtained by The Associated Press outlines a Trump administration proposal under consideration to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up unauthorized immigrants. Millions of those who would be affected in 11 states live nowhere near the Mexico border. The 11-page document calls for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement as…
SUPERIOR, Wisc. – In less than a week, Superior residents will vote on which two candidates they’d like to see on the ballot for mayor. Tonight, the Superior Young Professionals hosted a meet and greet with the four mayoral candidates. Members had the opportunity to talk one–on–one with each candidate about issues that are important to them. “I think the…
MADISON (AP) – Governor Scott Walker has signed into law the first bill to pass the Legislature this session, a measure to help Wisconsin’s cheese industry. Walker on Thursday, signed the bill making it possible for tax incentives to be extended to help finance construction of a $30 million cheese packaging and distributing plant in the village of Oostburg near…
MADISON (AP) – The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s student government is demanding free tuition for black students. The Associated Students of Madison adopted a resolution Wednesday saying blacks were legally barred from education during slavery and that the flagship school remains out of reach for students of color. The resolution demands free access, tuition, and housing for all black people, including…
MADISON, Wis. (AP)-Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy says he won’t challenge Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2018, clearing the way for other Republicans who had been waiting for his decision to get in the race. Duffy announced Thursday that he decided against challenging Baldwin, who will be up for re-election for the first time next year. Duffy is in…
DULUTH, Minn. – Donald Trump has been president for almost a month now, and there has been a lot of analysis about how his presidency has gone so far. Political experts, like UMD Political Science Professor Cindy Rugeley, have followed the President’s first month closely. She points out that even though many of President Trump’s policies have been controversial, they…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Lt. Governor Tina Smith was joined by Minnesota workers and legislators at the State Capitol today, to rally and urge the Legislature to hold employees that commit wage theft accountable for their failure to pay for work already performed. Wage theft occurs when employers don’t pay workers what is owed to them for work performed. The…
MINNESOTA-The Coalition to Draft Democratic Congressman Rick Nolan for Minnesota governor was announced yesterday. The group distributed a letter signed by more than 100 political, business, and civic leaders. It’s expected in the coming weeks, that the organization will try to gather even more support for Nolan. The Congressman has not officially announced yet, whether he’s running for governor. …
MADISON (AP) – Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have signed contracts to pay attorneys representing them in a redistricting lawsuit a flat fee that could reach $275,000. Documents released Wednesday show that one contract calls for paying attorneys with the law firm Kirkland and Ellis up to that amount for the filing of five briefs in the case that…
ST. PAUL (AP) – Low commodity prices are causing financial pain on Minnesota farms, but bankruptcies are rare thanks in part to a state mediation program. Minnesota Public Radio reports the farmer-lender program requires lenders to offer struggling farmers the chance to renegotiate debt terms with the help of a mediator before repossessing any property. The program began during the…
MADISON (AP) – Governor Scott Walker says he supports eliminating Wisconsin’s all-but powerless state treasurer’s office if voters approve. Republicans who control the Legislature have slowly eliminated the treasurer’s duties over the years, shifting them to other agencies. The position’s only remaining responsibility is serving on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands. Eliminating the office would take an amendment…
DULUTH, Minn. – From housing to overtime for police officers, the Duluth City CouFrom housing to overtime for police officers…the duluth city council addressed some of the community’s most pressing needs. The council approved rezoning an area near Spirit Mountain. The move allows for a mixed use development of land on the lower side of Grand Avenue. The current plan…
This 2012 photo provided by The Xerces Society shows a rusty patched bumblebee in Minnesota. Federal officials said Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, that the rusty patched bumblebee has become the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be declared endangered after suffering a dramatic population decline over the past 20 years. (Sarina Jepsen/The Xerces Society via AP)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich….
MADISON (AP) – Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says he has no problem with refugees coming into the state as long as they are “safe.” Walker was asked Tuesday by reporters about the ongoing legal fight over President Donald Trump’s travel ban affecting seven predominately Muslim counties, which has been put on hold by a federal appeals court in California. Numerous…
MADISON (AP) – A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court has resolved a question over whether results of certain toxicology reports can be admitted at trial without having the author of the report testify in court. The court ruled 5-2 on Tuesday, that toxicology reports that are part of a routine autopsy to determine the cause of death can be admitted as…
FILE- In this Feb. 13, 2017, file photo, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in the east Room of the White House in Washington for a joint news conference with President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Flynn resigned as Trump’s national security adviser Monday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — The resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn…
DULUTH, Minn. – The city’s Earned Safe and Sick Time Task Force is ready for the next step towards its goal of a city ordinance requiring business to provide paid time off for employees. Eight public engagement meetings are scheduled between Feb. 17 and Apr. 19, so members can get feedback from the community. A little less than half of…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson says she is worried about will happen to small-town hospitals and clinics if President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions prevail. Foreign-born doctors have helped ease the shortage of physicians in rural Minnesota. Swanson says in Minnesota, one out of five doctors was born in another country, and many of them are serving…
MADISON (AP) – Republican lawmakers are looking to make the summer sun set earlier. Representatives Samantha Kerkman and Michael Schraa introduced a bill Friday, that would eliminate daylight saving time in Wisconsin. The move would mean state residents would no longer have to move their clocks ahead an hour in the spring. That would mean the sun would appear to…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court refused Thursday to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations. The panel of three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block a lower-court ruling that suspended the ban and allowed previously barred travelers to enter the U.S. An appeal to the U.S….
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A federal appeals court in San Francisco is set to issue its ruling in the legal fight over whether to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominately Muslim nations. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that it will release its decision before the end of the business day Thursday in California….
ST. PAUL, Minn.-A Minnesota state representative from Virginia introduced a proposed amendment today to legalize recreational marijuana Democrat Jason Metsa is hoping the amendment can reach a general election ballot in 2018. If passed, it would allow those older than 21 to buy or produce the drug. Metsa does include terms for how sales would be taxed. The measure still…
