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Latest Minnesota news, sports, business and entertainment at 9:20 p.m. CDT

Original Publication Date October 18, 2021 - 4:51 AM

NEW BISHOP-CROOKSTON DIOCESE

New Crookston bishop says sexual abuse victims are priority

CROOKSTON, Minn. (AP) — The new bishop of the Crookston diocese says he has learned important lessons about how the Roman Catholic church should respond to abuse by priests. Bishop Andrew Cozzens is replacing Bishop Michael Hoeppner, who resigned earlier this year at the request of Pope Francis after an investigation into whether he covered up sexual abuse in the Crookston diocese. Cozzens started his previous job as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis just days before a sexual abuse investigation there became public. He says he's seen how difficult it can be to change the culture of the church in order to deal with the sexual abuse crisis. He says abuse victims should be the church's priority.

AIR GUARD-NEW COMMANDER

1st woman to lead state Air National Guard assumes duties

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The first woman to lead the Minnesota Air National Guard has officially assumed her duties. Command Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Erikson is the most senior enlisted member of the Minnesota Air Guard. She’s in charge of about 2,000 airmen located at two separate wings and the command headquarters. Erikson has 32 years of service in the Air Force and has held six different duty positions. She began her career as a jet engine mechanic on the C-141 cargo aircraft. At one point she was in charge of the 148th Medical Group that deployed to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota offers kids gift cards and scholarships for shots

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota will offer $200 gift cards and a shot at five $100,000 scholarships as incentives for students ages 12-17 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Tim Walz announced the incentives Monday. Young people who start and complete their vaccine series over the next six weeks will be eligible for the Visa gift cards. But all Minnesotans ages 12-17 who’ve completed their vaccine series anytime by mid-December are eligible for the scholarships, which will be good at any public or private nonprofit school in the state. The five drawings will be conducted weekly starting Nov. 15. Registration opens Nov. 9.

TRAFFIC DEATHS-MINNESOTA

Minnesota nears 400 traffic deaths this year, outpacing 2020

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota public safety officials say nearly 400 people have died in traffic crashes on Minnesota roads this year, putting the state on pace to see the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2007. Officials say there have been 384 traffic fatalities in 2021. That's a 23% increase over this time last year. At the current pace, Minnesota could see about 475 traffic fatalities this year — that's the most the state has recorded since 2007, when 510 people died on Minnesota roads. Speed has been the largest contributing factor in this year's fatalities.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICER TRIAL

Derek Chauvin hires lawyer to represent him on appeal

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Derek Chauvin has hired an attorney to represent him as he appeals his murder conviction in the death of George Floyd. Attorney William Mohrman filed a document with the court on Friday saying he would represent Chauvin on his appeal. This comes after the Minnesota Supreme Court denied Chauvin's request to use a public defender in the appeal process, saying a review of his debts and assets shows he's ineligible. Mohrman is a partner with Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson, a law firm that has been involved in cases challenging the 2020 presidential election results and COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care workers.

CONSTRUCTION FATALITY

Officials release name of woman killed in construction zone

COOPERSTOWN, N.D. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of the road construction worker who was struck by a dump truck and killed while on a work site in the eastern North Dakota community of Cooperstown. The Highway Patrol said 50-year-old Melissa McMahon of Odessa, Minnesota, died in the Friday evening incident. The Highway Patrol says the truck was backing up to pour asphalt on the roadway when McMahon was hit. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The Highway Patrol is investigating.

ENBRIDGE-LINE 3

Enbridge fails to meet aquifer cleanup deadline in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (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 for the additional time it takes to stop the groundwater flow. The Star Tribune reports that regulators are also investigating two other sites where the company may have caused additional groundwater damage. Enbridge spokeswoman Julie Kellner says the company is “fully cooperating” with the DNR. Line 3 starts in Alberta, Canada, and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.

DYLAN TRIBUTES

New art tribute to Dylan on display outside Minnesota school

HIBBING, Minn. (AP) — A public art tribute to Bob Dylan has been unveiled in Hibbing with the hopes of inspiring a new generation of young artists. The display of the Iron Range town’s most famous resident is located outside Hibbing High School, where the 80-year-old Dylan was a 1959 graduate. On one side of the display, a brick wall features the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature that Dylan was awarded in 2016. The opposite side of the wall features a series of stainless steel panels that contain lyrics from more than 50 of his songs. The volunteer group Hibbing Dylan Project spent five years and raised about $100,000 to design and build the tribute.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021
The Associated Press

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