>>Motorcycle Crash Sends Two to the Hospital
(Grey Eagle Township, MN) — Two people were taken to the hospital after a motorcycle crash on Saturday. The Minnesota State Patrol says at about 1:30 in the afternoon, a motorcycle driven by 44-year-old Michael Zimmerman of Alexandria was going east on Highway 28 when he lost control of the bike and crashed. Zimmerman and his passenger, 42-year-old Mandy Hanneman of Fergus Falls, were both taken to Long Prairie Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The State Patrol says alcohol was a factor in the crash.
>>Driver Refresher Course Incentives
(St. Paul, MN) — Drivers aged 55 and older who have never taken a driver course and receive a discount on their car insurance may now have an incentive to sign up. A new law, effective July 1st, reduces the class length for first-time participants from eight hours to four. This change aligns the length of the initial course with the refresher courses that drivers must take every three years to maintain their state-mandated 10% discount on auto insurance premiums.
>>Eucharistic Procession
(St. Paul, MN) — Thousands from Minnesota’s Catholic community are expected this Memorial Day afternoon (Mon 1-4pm) for what the Archdiocese says is an unprecedented four-and-a-half-mile Eucharistic (you-cuh-RISS-tick) procession up Summit Avenue from the Mississippi River to the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Father Tom Margevicius (mar-GAV-ih-chess) says the Eucharist (Holy Communion in Protestant faiths) is “the source and summit of the entire Christian life.” The procession actually began last Sunday at Lake Itasca — the source of the Mississippi River — and has now reached the Twin Cities, where many more of the faithful will join it for a short time. Father Margevicius (mar-GAV-ih-chess) says it will wind through the 12-county area for six days, then go into Wisconsin on its way to Indiana by July, when three other simultaneous processions will arrive from California, Texas, and Connecticut.
>>Monarch Population Down
(Minneapolis, MN) — This winter, the monarch butterfly population in Mexico was the smallest monitored in the past decade due to widespread U.S. drought, of which Minnesota experienced no shortage. University of Minnesota (UMN) Professor Emilie Snell-Rood worries that if such conditions continue, the monarch population will decline due to a lack of milkweed and pollinator plants. Snell-Rood says another factor is when the plants grow compared to when the monarchs come to town, but she assures us that reports from local residents show the two are coming in tandem.
>>I 35 Construction Congestion
(Undated) — If you’re coming back from up north on I-35 or headed up mid-week, be ready for likely congestion on I-35 in both directions in Carlton County just south of Black Bear Casino and around Hinckley — with traffic single lane and head-to-head in both directions for road work. MN-DOT’s Margie Nelson says crews will probably *not* be out today (Monday). Nelson urges drivers to allow extra time, put down distractions, and pay attention to what’s happening around them.
