VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota universities mandate masks to curb COVID-19 spread

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Public colleges and universities in Minnesota will be requiring masks to be worn on campuses to help stop the spread of COVID-19 as the delta variant of the virus is surging. The University of Minnesota is requiring that all students, employees and visitors at its five campuses wear masks indoors starting Tuesday, regardless of their vaccination status. The Minnesota State public college system says mask mandates will be implemented at campuses that are located in counties with high transmission rates. Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said 44 counties now fall under the CDC's high transmission categories where vaccinated people are recommended to mask indoors.

MURDER-BURIED BODY

Woman accused of killing ex-husband, burying body in yard

A St. Paul woman is charged with murder for allegedly shooting her ex-husband in the back of his head and burying his body in the yard, then building a shed on top of him. Authorities say the body of 50-year-old Kou Yang was recovered on Saturday, about a month after he was last reported seen. Forty-year-old Karina Her is charged with second-degree intentional murder and is scheduled to make her first court appearance Tuesday. Court records do not list an attorney for Her. An autopsy showed Yang had been shot twice in the back of the head.

FATAL CRASH-ARREST

Toddler killed, 5 others hurt in crash, driver arrested

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota State Patrol says an arrest has been made following a Twin Cities crash that killed a toddler and injured five others. According to the patrol, an SUV hit a barrier on a bridge, flipped over some fencing and landed on Interstate 94 below in Brooklyn Center about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Authorities say alcohol was a factor in the crash, which didn’t involve any other vehicles. The 25-year-old Minneapolis man driving the SUV was arrested on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. The crash killed a 1-year-old boy and injured the driver and four other passengers, including three children.

FATAL FIRE-WADENA

Two people have died, one injured in Wadena house fire

WADENA, Minn. (AP) — Two people have died and one person has been injured in a house fire in central Minnesota. The fire broke out about 4 a.m. Sunday in Wadena. First responders found a juvenile outside the home with minor injuries. He was treated at Tri-County Healthcare and released a short time later. Firefighters found two adults inside the home. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Their identities have not been released. Autopsies will be done by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. Wadena is about 160 miles northwest of the Twin Cities in Otter Tail and Wadena counties.

CYBERSTALKING-SENTENCE

Iowa man gets 10 years in prison for cyberstalking woman

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man was sentenced to a decade in federal prison for cyberstalking a Minnesota woman with conduct the judge likened to a form of mental torture. U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams also ordered during a sentencing hearing Friday that 58-year-old Michael Shawn McGuire of Cresco, Iowa, pay a $15,000 fine and $17,500 in restitution to the woman. The U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release Monday that McGuire pleaded guilty in December to four counts of cyberstalking. The woman met McGuire on an online dating website in 2017 and the two dated for several months before she broke up with him. Prosecutors say he tormented her for two years.

TEENAGE BUDDHIST LAMA

For US teen Buddhist lama, it’s faith, school, football

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — In most ways, Jalue Dorje is a typical American teen — he grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis, loving football, Pokémon and rap music. Yet a few years from now, he’s expecting to say goodbye to his family and join a monastery in the foothills of the Himalayas. At a young age, Jalue was recognized by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders as a reincarnated lama. Now 14, he has spent much of his life training to become a monk, memorizing sacred scriptures and learning the teachings of Buddha. He plans to join the monastery after graduating from high school, but hopes to return to America to teach.

SHOOTING DEATH-CHARGE

Murder charge filed in shooting outside Elks Club

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis man has been charged in a fatal shooting outside the Elks Club in June. Deandre D. Turner was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with one count of second-degree murder with intent in the June 30 killing of Andrew T. McGinley. The Star Tribune reports Turner was charged via arrest warrant and was not in custody as of Friday afternoon. McGinley died of multiple gunshot wounds. The charges against Turner did not cite a motive, but they noted that McGinley and several others had gathered for a vigil for someone who had recently died.

WILDFIRES-SMOKE

Smoke triggers pollution alerts in US West, Midwest

DENVER (AP) — Air quality alerts were posted on Sunday for numerous areas of the U.S. West and Midwest as wildfire smoke continues to linger over much of the country. The alerts came across the northern U.S. Rockies, including portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Washington state and Idaho. Further to the east, smoke from fires burning in Canada was drifting for hundreds of miles and triggering pollution alerts in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Wildfires emit huge volumes of microscopic smoke particles that researchers say can be harmful if breathed in, leading to both immediate and long-term health impacts. Children, the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are particularly at risk.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021