minnesota

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,…

Truck strikes, kills 7 horses near Wadena

WADENA, Minn. (FOX 9) — Authorities are investigating a crash that left seven horses dead Saturday morning near Wadena, Minnesota. According to the state patrol, at about 7 a.m., a cargo truck struck and killed seven horses that were on Highway 29 near Wadena. The driver was not injured. Authorities said the horses belonged to an Amish community. The crash…

Walz to deploy National Guard to help ease COVID-19 surge

ROBBINSDALE, Minn. – Gov. Tim Walz says he’ll use the Minnesota National Guard to help alleviate staffing shortages at hospitals and 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…