>>Lightning Strike Injures Woman in St. Paul Home Wednesday Night
(St. Paul, MN) — A woman in St. Paul is injured after a lightning strike during severe storms Wednesday night. The St. Paul Fire Department says lighting struck a tree, sending shards of wood into the home that hit the woman. Firefighters say she was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries. Lightning is also blamed for starting a house fire last night in Cottage Grove.
>>Carlton County Sheriff’s Office Providing Police Services in Moose Lake
(Moose Lake, MN) — The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office is now providing police services in the city of Moose Lake. The City Council voted in February to eliminate the Moose Lake Police Department. Carlton County sheriff’s deputies will be covering Moose Lake beginning today (8/1). Lieutenant Doug Rotta says Moose Lake residents shouldn’t expect any difference in law enforcement services.
>>Volleyball Coach Faces Federal Child-porn and Child Sex-abuse Charges
(St. Paul, MN) — A volleyball coach from Minnetonka faces federal charges for allegedly producing and receiving child sex-abuse material, and coercing and enticing minors to engage in sexually-explicit conduct. Prosecutors say 32-year-old Dorian Barrs for over nearly ten years beginning in 2014 used Snapchat, texts and other social media to have sexually-focused conversations with girls. And they say as a volleyball coach, Barrs coerced and persuaded girls to engage in sexual activity with him, and produce and send him sexually-explicit material. Investigators say some of the victims were as young as 13. Law enforcement officials say they’re still working to identify many of the victims, and urge anyone who believes their child might have been victimized by Barrs to contact the F-B-I.
>>The Aliveness Project to Help DHS with Rainbow Health Closure Gap
(Minneapolis, MN) — The Minnesota Department of Human Services is enlisting the help of The Aliveness Project to fill the gap left by the sudden closure of Rainbow Health in Minneapolis. Rainbow Health provided care to L-G-B-T-Q-plus and H-I-V patients. D-H-S spokesperson Natasha Merz says they’re currently reaching out to patients with the most critical and immediate needs to re-establish services. Merz says the contract will last through June 2025. It’s unknown if The Aliveness Project will take on any Rainbow Health employees who were let go without notice.
>>Goat Processing Facility in Willmar Receives $1 Million USDA Grant
(Willmar, MN) — A company in Willmar is getting a U-S-D-A grant of just over a million dollars to open a goat and lamb processing facility. Michelle Marotzke of Kandiyohi County Economic Development says, “Happy Halal is a goat processing facility that will be built in Willmar out in industrial park just north of Fed-Ex.” Greg and Becky Wierschke are the owners of Clean Chickens, a mobile facility which goes to farms and processes chickens on-site. A company spokesperson expects construction on the plant to begin in September.
>>U-S-A Women’s Basketball Battles Belgium in Paris
(Paris, FR) — Coach Cheryl Reeve, Napheesa Collier and the U-S women’s Olympic basketball team plays Belgium this afternoon (Thurs 2pm) in Paris. The Americans beat Japan 102-76 in the opening game Monday. Minnesota Lynx forward Collier had four points and two rebounds in the U-S victory. Team U-S-A is in Group C with Belgium, Germany and Japan.
>>Minnesota Women’s BMX Racer Set to Go in Paris
(Paris,FR) — St. Cloud native Alise Post Willoughby will be competing in the Paris Olympics today (Thurs) in B-M-X racing. This is the fourth time Willoughby has taken part in the Olympics and she is going for her first gold medal. She won a silver medal in Rio in 2016, but crashes in the semifinals ended her hopes in London in 2012 and in Tokyo three years ago. The 33-year old Willoughby is the oldest racer in the B-M-X field, which has quarterfinals today, then semifinals and finals tomorrow. Today’s competition begins at 1:20 pm Minnesota time.
