minnesota

5 injured in house explosion in Cambridge, Minn.

CAMBRIDGE, Minn. (FOX 9) — Authorities are investigating a house explosion that left five people injured early Saturday morning in Cambridge, Minnesota. According to the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office, at 5:31 a.m., dispatch received numerous calls reporting a possible house explosion on the 33000 block of Hilary Circle NE in Cambridge Township. When they arrived, authorities found four people walking…

“I don’t have any idea why I was fired.” Fergus Falls surgeon issues statement after termination

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (KVRR) — A  Fergus Falls surgeon who recently had his practice discontinued by the Lake Region Medical Board after comments he made at a school board meeting has issued a statement saying he does not know why he was fired but that he is thankful for the community’s support. Dr. Jeff Horak, who was contracted to practice…

Fergus Falls School Board votes not to extend mask mandate

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (KVRR) – Starting Monday, students in preschool through sixth grades in Fergus Falls Public Schools will no longer be required to wear masks. The district will strongly recommend them. The mandate was scheduled to end on Sunday and the School Board voted 4-2 Thursday morning to not extend it. The district says updated information was presented on…

State adds new sites to rapid testing program

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) – Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday announced a further expansion of rapid testing availability at community sites across Minnesota. Beginning today (Oct. 20) the state will offer rapid tests at existing testing locations in Moorhead and St. Paul.  Tests will be offered in Duluth and Brooklyn Park beginning Friday. Sites in Crookston and Hutchinson will open…

Substitute teacher pleads guilty to sextortion charges

Mitchell OttingerST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) – Federal prosecutors say a Carver County man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a years-long sextortion scheme. Twenty-five-year-old Mitchell Ottinger, a former substitute teacher and paraprofessional, engaged in a scheme to obtain sexually explicit images and videos of minors and adults by using false online personas.  Ottinger threatened to distribute the images and…

As Minnesota offers scholarships for shots, study says vaccine lotteries don’t work

DENVER (KVRR) – According to a study led by the University of Colorado Denver, states that used lotteries to entice residents to get COVID-19 vaccines had little or no effect on vaccination rates. “Statistically speaking, our research points to a disappointing outcome” according to Dr. Andrew Friedson, associate professor of economics.  “There was no significant association found between a cash-drawing…

Walz launches reelection campaign in divided Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. – 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 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…

Enbridge Misses Deadline To Clean up Ruptured Aquifer Site in Minnesota

Willow River/Honor the EarthMINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Enbridge has failed to meet a deadline set by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for cleaning up a site where an aquifer ruptured during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline. The DNR had given the company until Friday to repair the damage to the artesian aquifer near Clearbrook. Regulators will require compensation…

Woman hospitalized after getting hit by beet truck in Crookston

CROOKSTON, Minn. (KVRR) — A 32-year-old woman was taken to the hospital Friday evening after getting hit by a beet truck at American Crystal in Crookston, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities say the driver, Mike Severson of Grand Forks, was trying to turn around and had backed into the piler. The woman, Barbara Velasquez of Perris, California,…