MN News

SAND MINING-HEARING        Minn. lawmakers to take up silica sand mining boom        MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Critics of silica sand mining will tell lawmakers to hit the pause button when the Minnesota Legislature holds its first-ever hearing on the subject Tuesday.        Activists have chartered two buses from southeastern Minnesota for a joint hearing before the Senate and House environment committees. They’re hoping to convince legislators that sand mining needs broader regulation than it now gets in Minnesota or neighboring Wisconsin, where the “sand rush” has been under way in earnest for several years.        They’re seeking a moratorium on new mines, processing plants and transportation facilities so that Minnesota can study the environmental and other impacts of mining silica sand, which is used by oil and gas drillers for hydraulic fracturing nationwide.        Industry representatives say they’ll be there too, to tell lawmakers they can work responsibly with communities.

EMERGENCY LANDING-RED WING        None hurt in rough landing at Red Wing airport        BAY CITY, Wis. (AP) – Federal and local authorities are investigating a rough landing at the Red Wing Regional Airport.        The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department says the landing gear failed just after 9:30 p.m. Friday as the pilot tried to land the single-engine plane at the airport, which is in western Wisconsin, just across the Mississippi River from Red Wing, Minnesota.        The department says in a news release that the plane skidded down the runway before coming to a stop in the middle of the runway.        The pilot was identified as 30-year-old Steven Hiltner of Rosemount, Minnesota while the passenger was Corey Stever of St. Paul, Minnesota. Both men escaped injury.        The Federal Aviation Administration and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.

SNOWMOBILE ACCIDENTS-PINE COUNTY        Search for missing snowmobiler suspended        PINE CITY, Minn. (AP) – Authorities have suspended the search for a snowmobiler they believe broke through the ice and was swept down a remote part of the St. Croix River.        Pine County authorities got a 911 call just after 6:30 p.m. Saturday that a snowmobiler had broken through the ice on the river on the Minnesota-Wisconsin state line. Two other snowmobilers told authorities they were riding on the frozen river in the dark when the victim hit a large patch of open water. He was thrown from his machine and went under.        The search resumed Sunday morning, but Chief Deputy Steven Blackwell tells WCCO Radio it had to be suspended about 12:30 p.m. due to dangerous conditions that included turbulent waters and rough terrain.        The victim’s name has not been released.

JAIL SUICIDE        Authorities investigate Hibbing jail suicide        HIBBING, Minn. (AP) – Authorities are investigating the suicide of an inmate at the St. Louis County jail in Hibbing, Minnesota.        A news release from the sheriff’s office says 30-year-old Shane Ervin Fischer of Duluth was booked around 2:15 a.m. Sunday on suspicion of drunken driving, fleeing in a motor vehicle and assault for attempting to disarm a state trooper.         He was found unresponsive around 7 a.m. Sunday. It says the preliminary investigation indicates he attempted suicide minutes after staff did a required, routine check on his well-being.        Emergency personnel could not revive him. The sheriff’s office says Fischer died of apparent asphyxiation, and that no foul play is suspected.        The incident happened at the county’s lockup in the Hibbing Courthouse, which is a temporary facility that holds up to nine people for up to 72 hours.

TODDLER SLAPPED        Man charged with slapping toddler now out of a job        MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A man charged with slapping a toddler on a Minneapolis-to-Atlanta flight has been fired, his former employer said Sunday.        Joe Hundley of Hayden, Idaho is no longer an employee of AGC Aerospace and Defense, Composites Group, Daniel Keeney of DPK Public Relations confirmed Sunday night.        Al Haase, president and CEO of AGC, released a statement Sunday that didn’t refer to the 60-year-old Hundley by name but called reports of an executive’s behavior “offensive and disturbing” and said he “is no longer employed with the company.”        Hundley was charged with assault last week after he was accused of slapping a 2-year-old boy and called him a racial slur during the February 8th flight. His attorney says he will plead not guilty.

MICHIGAN UP-SLED DOG RACE        Minnesotan wins Michigan sled dog race        MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) – Ryan Anderson has won the U.P. 200 sled dog race in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for the fourth consecutive time.        Anderson and his dogs from Ray, Minnesota crossed the finish line Sunday, followed by Keith Aili, Ryan Redington and Troy Groeneveld. The results are posted online by the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association.        The 240-mile race started Friday in Marquette.        Earlier Sunday, one dog was killed and two were injured in Alger County when they were struck by a pickup truck on M-28. State police say the pickup driver was slowing down and had the right of way.

WAUSAU PAPER        Rhinelander may be next WI city to lose paper mill        (Information in the following story is from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj)        RHINELANDER, Wis. (AP) – Rhinelander could be the next Wisconsin community to lose its paper mill.        The sprawling Wausau Paper plant on Boom Lake has provided thousands of workers with solid wages over the years and is a centerpiece of Rhinelander’s industrial base.        But there’s concern that the northern Wisconsin city of 7,800 could go the way of Port Edwards, Kimberly, Neenah, Ashland and most recently, in 2012, Brokaw.        All of those Wisconsin communities have lost their paper mills as the industry contracts under market pressures that include cheaper products from China.        Mosinee-based Wausau Paper announced last month that it is putting its mills up for sale in Rhinelander, Mosinee and Brainerd, Minnesota.        So far, the Wisconsin State Journal reports there have been no takers.

FATAL CRASH-NDSU        Family, friends remember 4 NDSU students killed        (Information in the following story is from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com)        FARGO, N.D. (AP) – One year after four students at North Dakota State University died in a traffic crash family and friends say they are still trying to move on from the tragedy.        The four freshmen were from far-flung suburbs of Minneapolis and were heading back to school after President’s Day weekend last Feb. 20 when they were killed in a three-vehicle crash near Alexandra. Killed were 18-year-olds Lauren Peterson of Prior Lake, Megan Sample of Rogers and Danielle Renninger of Excelsior; and 19-year-old Jordann Playle of Elk River.        The parents of the four girls tell The Forum that they are still trying to understand why the tragedy happened.        The NDSU student government plans to mark the anniversary by planting four trees on campus.

OBIT-KEN CLARK        Ken Clark, among top Nebraska career rushers, dies        OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Ken Clark, one of the top all-time rushers at Nebraska who went on to play for the Indianapolis Colts, has died. He was 46.        His cousin, Stephanie Clark of Omaha, confirmed Clark’s death. She said he died of a heart attack in Minneapolis on Saturday.        Clark was a two-time All-Big Eight running back for the Cornhuskers, rushing for more than 1,000 yards both his junior and senior seasons.        His career highlight came in 1988, when he ran for 256 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders and Oklahoma State. His three-year rushing total of 3,037 yards ranks seventh on Nebraska’s career chart.        Clark appeared in 34 games with the Colts from 1990 to 1992.

STATE POEM-AUTHOR        From across an ocean, poet pines for Minn. honor        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The island dweller who penned a poem decades ago that could find its way into Minnesota law hasn’t been shy about promoting “Minnesota Blue.”        Cordell Keith Haugen says he’s watching intently from Hawaii to see if Minnesota lawmakers honor his work by declaring it the official state poem. A bill introduced in the Legislature would bestow the honor. Some lawmakers question both the quality of the work and the need for a state poem.        Haugen told The Associated Press by email that he didn’t press for the bill and was unaware until contacted by a reporter that one had been introduced.        But Haugen says friends from his native Minnesota have promoted it on his behalf. Haugen says he has sent the poem to state officials over the years.

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