MN News

DOUBLE FATAL-BARNESVILLE        2 killed, 1 hurt in I-94 crash in western Minn.        MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) – Two people have died and a third was injured in a four-vehicle crash in bad weather on Interstate 94 in western Minnesota.        The State Patrol says visibility was at or near zero when it happened about 11:30 a.m. Monday in the westbound lanes near Barnesville, about 22 miles southeast of Moorhead. Sgt. Jesse Grabow says the poor visibility likely was a factor.        The Patrol closed the westbound lanes and diverted traffic so investigators could reconstruct the crash and move the vehicles.        Names of the dead have not been released.        A blizzard warning covers parts of the eastern Dakotas and of western Minnesota. Blowing snow and icy roads have created hazardous driving conditions and led to dozens of accidents. No travel is advised in parts of northwestern Minnesota.

MINNESOTA-TAX BILL        Minn. Legislature sends Dayton tax deductions bill        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Legislature has sent Gov. Mark Dayton a bill that will allow about 250,000 Minnesota taxpayers to claim new federal tax deductions on their state releases as well.        The House gave the legislation final approval Monday. Some Republicans objected to several changes made by the Senate from an earlier House bill.        Among those eligible for deductions are teachers who can claim education expenses, homeowners who take itemized deductions for their mortgage insurance premiums, and college students or parents using higher education tuition deductions.        Dayton has said he would sign the bill.

KLINE-BUDGET CUTS        GOP Rep. Kline: automatic cuts likely to occur        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Minnesota Rep. John Kline, a member of GOP leadership in Washington, says automatic federal budget cuts neither side wants have a “better than even” chance of kicking in.        Unless Congress and the White House strike a deal, a set of previously approved across-the-board spending cuts is due to take hold beginning in March. The Republican-led House and Democratic President Barack Obama are at odds over what should be done to avoid the cuts without allowing the deficit to balloon.        During a Monday visit to Minnesota’s Capitol, Kline said Republicans are insisting the so-called sequestration be replaced by prioritized spending cuts of equal or greater amount.        States with a heavy defense industry presence are expected to feel the biggest pinch from the automatic cuts. But Minnesota could still face a blow.

LEGISLATURE-GUNS        Senate chairman: gun focus on background checks        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee chairman says his focus in gun control legislation will be on expanded background checks, not banning assault weapons.        Sen. Ron Latz’s committee meets later this week to review gun control bills. The St. Louis Park Democrat says he’ll emphasize universal background checks which he says would “keep guns out of the hands of people that shouldn’t have them.”        Some House Democrats have introduced a bill to ban assault weapons in the state. But Latz says that issue is better handled at the federal level.        Gun control supporters rallied at the state Capitol on Monday afternoon. Recent House hearings drew large crowds of people opposed to new gun control measures, although Latz says he believes strengthening background checks has wide public support.

SAUK RAPIDS MAYOR CHARGED        Sauk Rapids mayor arrested on suspicion of DWI        (Information from: St. Cloud Times, http://www.sctimes.com)        SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) – The new mayor of the central Minnesota city of Sauk Rapids is facing a drunken driving charge.        Police Chief Perry Beise tells the St. Cloud Times (http://on.sctimes.com/Yjb1rr ) that Mayor Brad Gunderson was arrested on Sunday afternoon after crashing the vehicle he was driving and failing a preliminary breath test. Nobody was injured in the crash.        The chief says the mayor was taken home and dropped off in the care of a sober person and was not booked into jail.        Gunderson has not yet been charged. Authorities are waiting on lab test results.        The 48-year-old Gunderson is in the first months of his first term as mayor. He declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Monday night.

ST PAUL OFFICER DIES        St. Paul cop died of heart attack complications        ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – St. Paul police say a 30-year-old officer who twice received the department’s Life Saving Award died of complications a heart attack.        Officer Josh Lynaugh died early Saturday after he suffered the heart attack more than a week earlier during a foot pursuit.        According to a police statement, Lynaugh and his partner saw a male acting suspiciously, possibly hiding, but when they turned their squad around he ran away.        The five-year veteran along with a police dog and its handler found the teen, who was issued a juvenile citation for fleeing on foot and for violating curfew.        Police say Lynaugh became ill after the teen was discovered and paramedics were called and he was taken to a hospital.        He had earned 16 commendations and letters of recognition.

MERCURY EMISSIONS        MPCA lauds utilities for cutting mercury emissions        MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The state’s pollution control agency is praising utility companies for cutting their mercury emissions in half over the last decade.        The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency celebrated the reductions Monday at Xcel Energy Corp.’s riverside plant in Minneapolis, one of several plants that has drastically cut emissions.        Agency commissioner John Linc Stine says the state is about three years ahead in its plan to cut mercury emissions at coal-fired electrical plants by 90 percent.        The Legislature set that goal with the Mercury Emissions Reduction Act of 2006.        Mercury is a toxic pollutant released from utility plants, taconite production and consumer products like older thermostats and cars. It accumulates in fish and is most harmful to children and pregnant women.        Ninety percent of the mercury in Minnesota comes from outside the state.

FACEBOOK COMMENTS-EXPULSION        Man sues Brainerd college over Facebook comments        (Information in the following story is from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com )        BRAINERD, Minn. (AP) – A man has filed a federal lawsuit against officials at Brainerd’s Central Lakes College after he says he was expelled for a Facebook post.        Craig Keefe, of Gull Lake, is suing to be reinstated to his nursing program as well as damages.        Keefe’s attorney, Jordan Kushner, tells the St. Paul Pioneer Press (http://bit.ly/YrLJJL) school officials never gave the 37-year-old a specific explanation for his expulsion in December and violated the college’s rules by denying him an appeal.        The suit claims school officials complained to Keefe over two Facebook posts. One allegedly used a derogatory term and the other was “a comment about there not being enough whiskey for anger management.”        Michael Dougherty, a vice chancellor at the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, says he can’t comment on pending litigation.

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