Minnesota News

Spring Art Gala: Prom 1997

Reclaim your youth, if not your eyebrows.

It’s been the top ticket in town for spring celebrations for a quarter-century now in the metro’s art scene. And this year, the Spring Art Gala is back in style. 90’s style. Break out the halter tops and slip dresses, pluck your eyebrows to a fine line and get ready to party at Spring Art Gala Prom: 1997. Organizers are…

Minneapolis teachers OK contract, classes resume Tuesday

MINNEAPOLIS – Minneapolis teachers have approved a new contract to end a strike that has kept students out of their classrooms for nearly three weeks. The school district’s 28,700 students are set to return Tuesday. The union, which represents about 4,500 teachers and support professionals, voted to approve the new contract Sunday after its negotiators reached a tentative agreement with…

Bird flu confirmed in Minnesota

MINNESOTA (KVRR) – Avian flu has been confirmed in two poultry flocks in Minnesota. The state Board of Animal Health says the they are in Meeker and Mower counties. Samples were tested Friday and confirmed by USDA. The Board of Animal Health says it’s the first confirmed cases in the state this year. Minnesota officials have quarantined the properties and…

Minnesotan Tyler Jacob freed after being detained in Russia

(FOX 9) – A Minnesotan man that was taken by Russian soldiers as he tried to flee Ukraine for safety has been released. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar issued a statement Friday announcing the release of Tyler Jacob, who has left Russian custody and is now safely with his wife and daughter. Jacob’s mother, Tina Hauser told FOX 9 that her firstborn son moved to…

$5,000 reward offered for information on rural Climax fire

POLK COUNTY, Minn. (KVRR) – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office needs your help in its investigation of a suspicious fire in rural Climax. It happened around 3:00 Thursday morning at a home on the 32000 block of 320th Street Southwest. Authorities say the flames caused $100,000 in damage. The Sheriff’s Office has not said what makes the fire suspicious. There…

Prosecutors drop appeal in Sjodin killing but will still seek death penalty

FARGO (KVRR) – Federal prosecutors have suddenly dropped their appeal of a judge’s ruling in September that overturned the death sentence for Alfonso Rodriguez, the man convicted in the 2003 kidnapping and death of Dru Sjodin. On March 3, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed documents stating that prosecutors intended to ask a federal appeals court to overturn Judge Ralph Erickson’s…

Minnesota House votes unanimously to divest from Russia

Minnesota State CapitolST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House has voted unanimously to divest the state’s pension funds from Russia, joining states across the U.S. in protesting Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Minnesota’s public employee pensions funds had an estimated $53 million worth of investments in Russia before its invasion of Ukraine. Rep. Sydney Jordan, whose northeast Minneapolis district is home…

Lawmakers push to redesign Minnesota state flag and seal

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota lawmakers are reconsidering an effort to redesign the state’s flag and seal, which proponents say are indistinct compared with other U.S. states and feature imagery that is offensive to Native Americans. The legislation, a joint effort by Democratic Reps. Mike Freiberg, of Golden Valley, and Peter Fischer, of Maplewood, would establish a 14-member redesign commission…

White House releases report on Native American voting rights

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Local, state and federal officials must do more to ensure Native Americans facing persistent, longstanding and deep-rooted barriers to voting have equal access to ballots, a White House report released Thursday said. Native Americans and Alaska Natives vote at lower rates than the national average but have been a key constituency in tight races and states with…

Minnesota man among three Muslim Americans suing over religious questioning

LOS ANGELES – Three Muslim Americans have filed a lawsuit alleging that U.S. border officers questioned them about their religious beliefs in violation of their constitutional rights when they returned from international travel. The three men from Minnesota, Texas and Arizona sued Department of Homeland Security officials in federal court in Los Angeles. The suit was filed in California because…