SCUBA DIVER DIES

Scuba diver pronounced dead after being pulled from lake

ORONO, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a scuba diver was found dead in a suburban Minneapolis lake. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says a rescue team was sent to Maxwell Bay on the north end of the Lake Minnetonka near Orono to look for the missing diver at noon Friday. With the help of sonar equipment, a diver who had been with the man before he disappeared found him about 30 feet from his last known location. Paramedics on shore attempted life-saving measures before the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office is investigating.

AP-US-CLINIC-SHOOTING-MINNESOTA

Man convicted of murder in Minnesota clinic attack

BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) — A jury has found a man guilty of murder and other counts in a shooting attack on a Minnesota medical clinic last year that killed one staff member and wounded four others. KARE-TV reports that jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon, following testimony by the defendant, Gregory Ulrich, and short closing arguments. Ulrich is charged with murder, attempted murder and other counts in the shooting in Buffalo, northwest of Minneapolis. Prosecutors began closing arguments by naming each person who was shot, calling them “innocent, defenseless victims who were front-line workers in the medical field.” Ulrich’s attorney tried to dispel the notion that the attack was premeditated. Investigators have said Ulrich was addicted to opioids and angry his supply had been cut off.

BIDEN-ETHANOL

EPA raises amount of ethanol that must be blended with gas

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Biden administration has set new requirements that increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply. The Environmental Protection Agency says it will set the 2022 levels for corn-based ethanol blended into gasoline at 15 billion gallons. But even as the new rules increase future ethanol requirements, the EPA is retroactively reducing levels for 2020 by 2.5 billion gallons and by 1.2 billion gallons for 2021. That reflects the lower amount of ethanol produced and decreased sales of gasoline during a period when the virus led to a drop in driving.

CRUMBLING RAMP

Roseville officials condemn parking ramp after wall falls

ROSEVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Roseville officials have condemned a mall parking ramp after a huge chunk of concrete wall fell from an upper level onto a road in front of a store. Minnesota Public Radio reports the chunk fell from the Rosedale Center mall on Wednesday afternoon. It landed in front of a Macy's store. The chunk was about two car lengths long. No one was hurt. City Manager Patrick Trudgeon says city inspectors have banned parking in or below the ramp until a structural engineer can determine the ramp's integrity.

YARD WASTE-NO DRIVERS

Garbage company suspends yard pickups in 7 Minnesota cities

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A garbage company has stopped picking up yard waste in at least seven metropolitan cities due a lack of drivers. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Waste Management confirmed Thursday that it had suspended yard waste service in Robbinsdale, Stillwater, Columbia Heights, Little Canada, St. Anthony, St. Paul and Vadnais Heights due to a staffing shortage. Company spokeswoman Julie Ketchum said high demand for people with commercial driver's licenses has created the shortage. She said the yard waste pickup suspensions could last weeks and could expand to other cities going forward. Robbinsdale Alderman Pat Backen says the company's customers deserve better.

CONSERVATIVE LUNCH-CANCELED

Golf club pays $5K after canceling conservative luncheon

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — A Rochester golf club has paid a conservative think tank $5,300 to settle a lawsuit alleging the club improperly canceled the group's luncheon this spring. The Center of the American Experiment said Friday that the Rochester Golf and Country Club paid the group earlier this week. The think tank had scheduled a luncheon on public safety at the club on March 15 but the club abruptly canceled it, leaving almost 50 attendees standing in the parking lot. The think tank filed a lawsuit accusing the club of breach of contract, alleging members demanded the club cancel the gathering. The event was ultimately rescheduled for April 26. The think tank said more than 200 people attended. A message left for the club's general manager wasn't immediately returned.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-VACCINE MANDATE

Judge invalidates St. Paul employee vaccine mandate

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A judge has invalidated a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for St. Paul's unionized city employees. The Pioneer Press reports that Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro found that the city improperly imposed the mandate without negotiating with the employee unions. The judge called the mandate an unfair labor practice. Castro wrote that city officials did what they thought was right in the face of the pandemic but the mandate is intrusive and requires employees to “forfeit their bodily autonomy in the name of maintaining their livelihood.” The unions sued over the mandate last year.City spokesman Kamal Baker says city officials are reviewing the decision and considering the best way to keep employees safe.

NORTHERN FLOODING

Flooding threatens influential environmentalist's property

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Flooding in northern Minnesota is threatening a a group of historic buildings, including a renowned environmentalist's retreat. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that flooding is threatening many properties in the Rainy River Basin. Rainy Lake just outside of International Falls is expected to rise another foot in the next few days and break a 1950 record. Resort, cabin and business owners across the region have been filling sandbags for days. One of the properties is environmentalist Ernest Oberholtzer's retreat on Mallard Island. Oberholtzer lived on Mallard Island until 1957 and lobbied against a series of proposed dams in the northern watershed in the 1920s, an effort that helped establish the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022