ELECTION 2022-MINNESOTA-GOVERNOR

Minn. GOP candidate suggests jail for Dem elections chief

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A leading Republican running for Minnesota governor has suggested that the state’s Democratic secretary of state should go to prison, though he provided no legal basis for why. Scott Jensen is a doctor and former state senator known for his skepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine and the state’s response to the pandemic. Jensen attacked Secretary of State Steve Simon at a recent district GOP convention over how he's run the state's election system. He said Simon should see if he looks good in “in stripes." Simon called it a “bizarre and irresponsible” attempt to use conspiracy theories to radicalize supporters. Courts have found that steps Simon took during the 2020 elections were legal.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE-MINNESOTA

667K Minnesota workers to get pandemic 'hero pay' bonuses

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Officials say 667,000 Minnesota workers who were on the front lines of the pandemic can expect to claim their $750 bonus checks in 10 to 12 weeks. Cabinet commissioners laid out some details Monday as Gov. Tim Walz held a ceremonial signing ceremony for a $2.7 billion bill passed Friday that grants the bonuses — and rolls back a tax increase that had been needed replenish the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund. The governor actually signed the bill Friday to beat a deadline. But he held Monday’s event to celebrate the biggest bipartisan success so far of the 2022 legislative session.

MURDER-SUICIDE

Officials: Deaths of 2 near Wadena is murder-suicide

WADENA, Minn. (AP) — Sheriff's officials say an investigation into the deaths of two people in Otter Tail County is a case of murder-suicide. Deputies responded to a residence in rural Wadena last Friday night where the bodies of two adults were found. In a statement Monday, authorities said a 25-year-old man fatally shot his 25-year-old wife and then took his own life. Autopsies were conducted by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Ramsey. The couple has not yet been identified.

SPRING FLOODING

Flooding affecting travel in parts of ND, Minnesota

CAVALIER, N.D. (AP) — Excessive rainfall has caused flooding in northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota where roads are closed and at least one small community is surrounded by water. In North Dakota, the city of Neche, with a population of about 380, has become an island with the Pembina River cresting at 21.7 feet, according to Pembina County Emergency Management spokeswoman Rebecca Flanders. It’s anticipated that the water level in Neche will be consistent for the next several days to a week. About 16 miles to the south, officials asked residents in some parts of Cavalier to evacuate their homes due to the rising water. The city's mayor says a few people left their homes for higher ground.

FIVE DEAD-MINNESOTA

Hundreds gather to remember Duluth family slain last month

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds came together in a Duluth auditorium to honor the lives of four family members who were killed in their home last month. The Marshall School auditorium was filled with friends, family and others who reflected on the joy Sean and Riana Barry and their daughters Shiway and Sadie brought to community members. Chaplain Tab Baumgartner urged attendees to focus more on how the family lived and to give thanks for them as they search for comfort. Authorities believe Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad, killed his aunt, uncle and their children, ages 9 and 12, before taking his own life on April 20.

POWER PLANT SALE

Ceremony marks completion of North Dakota power plant sale

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck company that sells wholesale electricity says it has purchased North Dakota’s largest coal-fired power plant from a Minnesota company that had intended to close the facility if no buyer could be found. Rainbow Energy Center announced last year it had reached an agreement to acquire the Coal Creek Station from Minnesota-based Great River Energy. The sale was finalized Monday. The acquisition also includes associated transmission lines that run from central North Dakota to Minnesota. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gov. Doug Burgum applauded the deal, saying it has saved hundreds of jobs at the plant and the lignite coal mine that supplies it.

CANADA-FLOODS

Flooding forces evacuation in parts of Manitoba after rains

WINNIPEG (AP) — Flooding has forced evacuations in some parts of Manitoba after heavy rains caused rivers to swell. The Manitoba government said some regions in the province’s south received four to six times the normal amount of precipitation in April, much of it in the form of snow that was melting at the same time as heavy rains on the weekend. The Peguis First Nation, about 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) north of Winnipeg, was placed under a mandatory evacuation order after ice jams on the Fisher River drove up water levels.

BIDEN-MONDALE MEMORIAL

Biden calls former VP Mondale 'giant' of political history

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Joe Biden has saluted his “friend of five decades” Walter Mondale, traveling to the University of Minnesota to remember the former vice president and Democratic Party elder whose memorial service was delayed for a year due to the pandemic. Mondale died in April 2021 at age 93. He is credited with transforming the office of the vice presidency — which Biden himself held for eight years under President Barack Obama — expanding its responsibilities and making himself a key adviser to President Jimmy Carter’s administration. Biden said Sunday that Mondale “was a giant in American political history.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2022