MN News

MLK DAY-MINNESOTA        Thousands attend MLK Day breakfast in Minneapolis        (Information in the following story is from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mpr.org)        MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund says the nation needs to do a better job of protecting, teaching and nurturing children.        Marian Wright Edelman spoke Monday at an annual breakfast honoring Martin Luther King, Junior.        Minnesota Public Radio News reports about 2,000 people attended the event at the Minneapolis Convention Center.        Edelman says it’s important to invest now, so every child has a chance to contribute to this changing world. She says about 16 million children are in poverty in the U.S., and problems linked to child poverty cost more than $500 billion per year.        In St. Paul, an annual march was shortened to about two blocks. Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington says the change wasn’t due to the cold, but marchers were still relieved.

EXTREME COLD-MINNESOTA        Arctic cold settles in across Minnesota        MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Some schools in Minnesota plan to close or open late as the coldest air of the winter settles in.        The Duluth News Tribune reports all public, private and charter schools in Duluth will be closed Tuesday because of the extreme cold and wind-chills.        Other Minnesota school districts planning to open two hours late on Tuesday include Chokio-Alberta, Bertha-Hewitt and Dawson-Boyd.        Spirit Mountain ski area in Duluth closed early Monday because of the cold.        The National Weather Service says Monday’s high temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport only reached 2 below zero.  That breaks a 4-year-old record of continuous high temperatures at or above zero at the airport.        Forecasters said lows Monday night would range from 20 to 30 below in northern Minnesota to 10 to 20 below in the south.

WINTER CARNIVAL-SLED DOG RACES        St. Paul Winter Carnival Sled Dog Races postponed        (Information in the following story is from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com)        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A lack of snow has forced postponement of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Sled Dog Races.        The races on Bald Eagle Lake were scheduled for January 26th. But race organizers say the event has been pushed back to the weekend of February 2nd through the 3rd.        Sally O’Sullivan Bair of the North Star Sled Dog Club says there is currently not enough snow cover to hold the races.        Organizers hope the region gets enough snow to hold the races. A final decision on the races will be made January 27th.        The sled dog races were absent from the annual Winter Carnival since the early 1990s, then were rescheduled and canceled in 2012.

MISSING SNOWMOBILERS SAFE        2 Minn. snowmobilers get lost, are found safe        (Information in the following story is from: The Daily Tribune, http://www.hibbingmn.com/placed/)        VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK, Minn. (AP) – Two snowmobilers who went missing in northern Minnesota have been found safe after they spent a frigid night in an unheated boathouse.        The two Hibbing men were snowmobiling in Voyageurs National Park. They were expected to return home late Saturday. When they didn’t show up, a rescue squad began searching for them Sunday about 3:30 a.m.        As officers were checking local resorts and hotels, the men made their way back to the Ash River Trail at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.        They told authorities they got lost after getting disoriented in the blowing, drifting snow. They took refuge in the park’s boathouse.        One man had sustained a minor back injury. Neither man required hospitalization.        Their names haven’t been released.

HYPOTHERMIA DEATH-MINNESOTA        Autopsy: Minn. man, 61, died of hypothermia        (Information in the following story is from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com)        MAHNOMEN, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say a 61-year-old man who was found in a Mahnomen (muh-NOH’-min) storage building this weekend died from exposure to the cold.        An autopsy lists the preliminary cause of Gary Goodwin’s death as hypothermia with complications from possible drug use. Results of a toxicology test are pending.        The Mahnomen County sheriff’s office got a 911 call Saturday morning from someone who found Goodwin lying unresponsive in the storage building.        Goodwin, who was from Mahnomen, was pronounced dead at Mahnomen Health Center.        The Forum newspaper reports there were no signs of foul play.

FATAL FIRE-EAGAN        Man who died in townhouse fire was Eagan man, 30        (Information in the following story is from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com)        EAGAN, Minn. (AP) – A man who died when flames swept through his Eagan townhouse has been identified as 30-year-old Roger Yarusso.        Yarusso’s two roommates tried to save him but the flames forced them back.        The fire happened early Sunday morning. The roommates escaped by jumping out windows. One broke his foot and the other fell face-first onto wooden steps, breaking his nose and ribs.        Thirty-two-year-old Thor Yarusso says he and friends had celebrated his brother’s 33rd birthday in the townhouse the previous night. Thor Yarusso says Roger was the “best brother you could ever have,” and was so happy about his three kids.        The Hennepin County medical examiner will perform an autopsy on Roger Yarusso’s body.

IDLING CAR STOLEN        Thief steals Minn. car while owner lets it warm up        (Information in the following story is from: St. Cloud Times, http://www.sctimes.com)        GREY EAGLE, Minn. (AP) – Authorities in Todd County say a thief stole a car while the owner was letting it warm up.        The vehicle was found about 20 minutes later. It had been involved in a single-vehicle rollover, and the driver wasn’t around.        Deputies say the vehicle’s owner told police he started his car Saturday afternoon and was letting it get warm. He says someone stole the car while it was idling.        A short time later the sheriff’s office received a call reporting a one-vehicle rollover accident. The caller said there was no one at the scene of the crash. Deputies say the car was the stolen vehicle.        The sheriff’s office is looking for suspects.

MINNESOTA BUDGET-TAX CHALLENGE        Dayton bid for Minn. tax overhaul is no easy sell        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota’s tax code brims with contradictions, carve-outs and just plain confusion.        At least that’s how governor after governor has viewed it as he’s tried to convince the Legislature and the public that the system is ripe for a remake. Gov. Mark Dayton makes his pitch for a top-to-bottom overhaul Tuesday. If the past is any guide, Dayton will find a political minefield awaits him.        He’s trying to address a $1.1 billion projected deficit. And he wants to bring about what he considers to be equity and stability in the system.        He intends to seek a new income tax tier affecting the richest Minnesotans. Administration officials also have been carefully studying ways to reshape the state’s sales tax, corporate tax, property tax and tobacco tax.

OBAMA-ELY NOTE        Obama writes note for time capsule in Ely        (Information in the following story is from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com)        ELY, Minn. (AP) – A handwritten note from President Barack Obama will be buried in a time capsule in Ely, not to surface for 50 years.        The president’s two-page letter on White House stationery will be encased in a wall at Vermillion Community College.        Gary Snyder of Ely says that he asked the president to contribute to the time capsule last March. After losing hope, he received the letter in September.        Part of the note reads: “Fifty years from now, I hope we have managed the balance between our energy needs and our need to preserve the planet so that the wilderness surrounding Ely remains as spectacular as you describe.”        The letter brought national attention to the small northern Minnesota town Monday, as Obama was inaugurated to his second term.

VIKINGS STADIUM-CONSTRUCTION        3 firms bid to build Vikings stadium        MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Three construction firms are bidding to build the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, including one Minnesota company.        Mortenson Construction of Minneapolis, Hunt Construction of Arizona and Skanska of New York are angling to build the $975 million stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Bidding ended Monday.        The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority will interview the three companies later this week. Chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen says the authority will weigh price, experience building sports venues and local participation.        Each of the three companies has built NFL stadiums. Mortenson was the general contractor for Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, Target Center and the Xcel Energy Center.        The authority and the Vikings plan to pick and announce their construction firm in the first week of February. They hope to have the stadium ready for the 2016 NFL season.

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