MN News

FIRE DEATHS-MINNETONKA        Minnetonka married couple killed in home blaze        (Information in the following story is from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com)        MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) – The children of a Minnetonka couple killed in a house fire have identified their parents as the two victims.        The Star Tribune has identified the slain couple’s names as 78-year-old Brian Humphrey and his wife, 76-year-old Sandra Humphrey. Authorities say the fire that started about 10:30 p.m. Friday appeared to be accidental.        A neighbor tells the newspaper that she spotted flames in the Humphreys’ front window and that they quickly engulfed the house. Lorraine Besonen says it took firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames.        The Humphreys’ children say their parents dedicated their lives to their community and faith. Sandra Humphrey was a retired clinical psychologist and children’s book author. Brian Humphrey was retired from a job at SuperAmerica and was active in charitable efforts to fight hunger.

HOMEOWNER-FATAL SHOOTINGS        Little Falls teenage shooting victims were cousins        LITTLE FALLS, Minn. (AP) – Two teenagers shot and killed in a home near Little Falls have been identified.        School officials say the victims were cousins, 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nicholas Brady. The shooter, 64-year-old Byron David Smith of Little Falls, is being held for second-degree murder and is likely to be charged Monday.        Kifer was a senior at Little Falls High School. Superintendent Stephen Jones said Sunday he was notified of her death by investigators. Brady was a student at Pillager High School. The Star Tribune identified him after interviewing his principal.        Morrison County deputies went to Smith’s house Friday on a suspicious activity call. They say he confessed to shooting the teenagers a day earlier after they broke into his house, but Sheriff Michel Wetzel says investigators believe he exceeded self-defense.

ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING-BOY        Wis. boy, 11, accidentally shoots brother, 9        SPRING VALLEY, Wis. (AP) – The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department says an 11-year-old boy accidentally fired a handgun and struck his 9-year-old brother in the leg at their home in Spring Valley, Wisconsin.        The incident happened Saturday afternoon.  The sheriff’s department says the 11-year-old was unloading the gun when he accidentally fired it. The 9-year-old was taken to a hospital in Menomonie before being airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.        The sheriff’s department is investigating the shooting but has not released the victim’s name. A Regions media representative says Sunday that the hospital cannot release his condition without being provided his name.

WIS-MINN RECIPROCITY        Wis., Minn. tuition reciprocity stokes rivalry        (Information in the following story is from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com)        MILWAUKEE (AP) – The longtime tuition reciprocity agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota is stoking a cross-border rivalry as the two states compete for a declining number of top college prospects.        The decades-old agreement allows students from either state to pay in-state tuition across the border. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the University of Minnesota’s main Twin Cities’ campus is the biggest recipient of Wisconsin residents.        That’s tough competition for University of Wisconsin campuses in places River Falls and Superior. Both try to offset the competition by attracting Minnesotans. Declining birthrates are expected to shrink the pool of prospective students in both states for the next few years.        Campus officials in both states say the reciprocity arrangement is popular with students and their families, and mutually beneficial to both states.

ENVIRONMENT FORUMS        Minn. Citizen Forums on environment begin Tuesday        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A series of Citizens Forums kicks off this week to give Minnesotans a chance to weigh in on their priorities and visions for the environment.        The first two forums are Tuesday in Rochester and Bloomington. Other forums are set for Wednesday in Duluth, Worthington on December 10th. St. Cloud on December 12th and Moorhead, Minnesota near Fargo, North Dakota on December 14.        The Environmental Quality Board is convening the forums to assess Minnesota’s progress toward clean air, water and energy. The board says it wants to engage citizens in constructive dialogue, identify environmental challenges, and define a vision for Minnesota’s environmental future.        State leaders will gather in March for a one-day summit where they will discuss the feedback received at the six forums, and begin planning a blueprint for Minnesota’s environmental and economic future.

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