MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ A leaked email has raised new questions about how state and federal regulators handled a major permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The e-mail asks Environmental Protection Agency officials not to file written comments on the water quality permit during Minnesota’s public comment period, which kept the federal regulators’ multiple criticisms out of…
BARNESVILLE, MN — A house northwest of Barnesville was heavily damaged in an early morning explosion. Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting says he doesn’t believe anyone was seriously hurt. Two people in the house at the time were taken to a Fargo hospital. Empting says someone lit a candle in the house and the blast was likely the result of…
ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources will not release draft permits for Enbridge Energy’s proposed Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota. They are waiting until a better environmental impact statement is approved, as ordered by the court. Earlier this month, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled the environmental impact statement for…
ROCHESTER, Minn. – It marks the end of a 30 year donation campaign for a Southern Minnesota man. It involves his generous spirit, aluminum and plenty of sugar. Jim Spinler of Medford stopped by Rochester’s Ronald McDonald House with a truck full of four million pop tabs. That means he’s enjoyed 375,000 gallons of pop over three decades. Jim…
FARGO, N.D. — Now’s your chance to indulge in an entire pizza and not feel guilty afterwards. Anytime you stop in to Blaze Pizza this Wednesday and mention “Bethany”, 20 percent of the proceeds will go to the retirement home. The money will help the living facility to provide nearly 400 people with things like heated blankets, Netflix and anything else…
MOORHEAD, MN — Police have determined that an animal that had been sighted in Moorhead for about a month is a dog-wolf cross. Capt. Deric Swenson says the hybrid, believed to be about a year-old, is not allowed in the city as a pet. “Church” was the name given to the animal by its owner, who isn’t able to care for…
Tim Walz and Peggy FlanaganST. PAUL, MN — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has announced that he will have surgery on his left knee on Thursday and transfer power to the Lieutenant Governor. Walz is being treated for a medial meniscus tear, an injury common for runners. He will transfer power to Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan while he is under general anesthetic….
BISMARCK, ND — A Leeds, North Dakota man is expected to plead guilty in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme that targeted North Dakota, Minnesota and Canadian farmers and businesses. 22-year-old Hunter Hanson is charged with wire fraud, money laundering and forfeiture. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Hanson has agreed to plead guilty to the charges and pay full restitution…
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) _ A defendant accused of killing a man during a robbery in St. Louis County has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Darrel Mayhew earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 70-year-old Larry Watczak at his Duluth home last January. Prosecutors say Mayhew struck Watczak in the head with a bottle, took his…
We all know kids who are stressed because they’re hungry can’t concentrate enough to learn well in school. But for some families, the stress of paying for school lunches lasts long after school’s out for summer. Districts that struggle under the burden of unpaid school lunch debt have now started to turn that debt over to collections agencies. That can…
