AP-US-WILDFIRES-MINNESOTA

Boundary Waters wilderness in Minnesota closed due to fire

FINLAND, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has closed a popular recreational wilderness area in northeastern Minnesota as the state’s largest active wildfire threatens the 1-million-acre property. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stopped issuing entry permits Saturday, but it was not known if campers already in the expansive wilderness area would be evacuated. The Boundary Waters in the Superior National Forest is one of the most visited federally designated wilderness areas. The Greenwood fire in the forest remained uncontrolled Saturday and had spread to about 14 square miles. About 250 firefighters were battling the blaze.

MINNESOTA STATE FAIR-PREVIEW

Minnesota State Fair returns after 1-year COVID-19 hiatus

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota State Fair is back after a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19 but it won’t be back to normal when the gates open on Thursday for the fair’s 12-day run through Labor Day. Fair officials are strongly urging fairgoers to mask up inside and outside, though they’ve stopped short of imposing any mask or vaccination mandates. It remains to be seen whether health concerns will put a dent in attendance, which typically exceeds 2 million. But national acts will still be playing at the Grandstand. Animals will fill the barns. And the smells of deep fryers and other food aromas will hang heavy over the fairgrounds.

GEORGE FLOYD-MINNEAPOLIS POLICE

Minneapolis mayor, Council spar on policing ballot wording

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey are sparring over the language on a ballot proposal to dismantle the city’s police department and remake it into an agency that focuses on public health and safety. The City Council had pushed wording of the ballot question favored by groups that are pushing to transform the city’s policing, the Star Tribune reported. A group of activists and several City Council members are asking voters in November to replace the police department with a “public safety department” that employs licensed peace officers “if necessary.” But Frey twice vetoed ballot language approved by the City Council.

AP-US-GRAY-WOLVES-PROTECTIONS

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by former President Donald Trump's decision to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But a top federal wildlife official on Friday told The Associated Press there is growing concern over aggressive hunting and trapping for the animals in the Great Lakes and northern Rocky Mountains. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Assistant Director for Ecological Services Gary Frazer suggested the agency could intervene if wolf populations suffer declines that could again threaten them with extinction. Idaho, Montana and Wisconsin have adopted new rules intended to drive down the predator's numbers. Gray wolves rebounded in parts of the U.S. over the past several decades from widespread extermination in the 1900s.

AP-US-WINNEBAGO-CORPORATE-MOVE

Winnebago moves headquarters from Iowa to Minnesota

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Recreational vehicle and boat manufacturer Winnebago Industries is moving its corporate headquarters from Iowa to Minnesota. The company has been based in Forest City, Iowa, since its founding in 1958. It said Thursday that the official shift to Eden Prairie, Minnesota will be effective Dec. 1. The company’s executive offices have been in Minnesota since 2016. That's when CEO Michael Happe became president and CEO of Winnebago. He's the former head of Eden Prairie-based lawnmower maker Toro Co. and did not move to Iowa. Winnebago Industries employs about 6,500 employees with 100 based out of its Eden Prairie office. The company says manufacturing locations will remain the same.

AP-US-ENBRIDGE-ENERGY-LINE-3

Minnesota asks federal court to block Line 3 tribal lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota has gone to federal court to block a lawsuit over Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline project from proceeding in tribal court. The novel case names Manoomin as the lead plaintiff. Manoomin is the Ojibwe word for wild rice. Wild rice is sacred in Ojibwe culture. The lawsuit in White Earth tribal court is the first “rights of nature” enforcement case brought in a U.S. tribal court. The Star Tribune reports the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources filed for an injunction in U.S. District Court on Thursday to quash the wild rice lawsuit, saying the tribal court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear the case.

AP-US-R-KELLY

Ex-tour manager testifies against R. Kelly about Aaliyah

NEW YORK (AP) — A former tour manager for R. Kelly has testified that he paid a $500 bribe to get the singer, Aaliyah, a fake ID so Kelly could secretly marry her in 1994 when she was 15 years old. The ID helped clear the way for the R&B legend to marry Aaliyah after he began a sexual relationship with her and believed she had become pregnant. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in 2001 when she was 22. The testimony Friday was part of Kelly’s sex-trafficking case. He is accused of abusing women, girls and boys during the course of his 30-year singing career. Kelly has denied any wrongdoing.

WILDFIRES-MINNESOTA

Minnesota wildfire jumps highway, triggers more evacuations

FINLAND, Minn. (AP) — Authorities fighting a northeastern Minnesota wildfire have ordered additional evacuations after the blaze jumped a highway. The U.S. Forest Service sent in ground crews and water-dropping aircraft Friday after the Greenwood Fire crossed over to the west side of Lake County Highway 2, just north of Stony Lake. Deputies were evacuating residents from the Stony Lake and Sand Lake areas near where Highway 2 intersects with Minnesota Highway 1. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were affected. The area is dotted with seasonal cabins and some year-round residences. Earlier in the week, authorities evacuated around 90 residents from the McDougal Lake area.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021