>>Pilot Unharmed in Ultralight Plane Crash in Hubbard County
(Park Rapids, MN) — A pilot is okay after crashing an ultralight plane north of Park Rapids in northern Minnesota. The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office says a one-seat plane was found in a field Sunday night with extensive damage. Deputies say the pilot – Dennis Sleen of Park Rapids – took off from the Park Rapids Airport and then began experiencing mechanical issues at 400-to-500-feet altitude. Sleen said he realized he wouldn’t be able to return to the airport and decided to make an emergency landing in a field. The F-A-A is investigating the incident.
>>Suspect Pleads Guilty to 5 Felonies in Deadly Park Tavern Crash in St. Louis Park
(Minneapolis, MN) — The man who killed two people and injured 12 in a drunken driving crash at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park is pleading guilty to five felony charges. Fifty-six-year-old Steven Bailey entered guilty pleas today (Wed) to two counts of third-degree murder and three counts of criminal vehicular operation. Surveillance video shows Bailey attempting to park his car last September before crashing into the patio, killing Park Tavern server Kristina Folkerts and Methodist hospital employee Gabe Harvey. Bailey will serve up to 30 years in prison in a plea deal with Hennepin County prosecutors. His trial was scheduled to begin on May 15th.
>>Minnesota Sees First Case of EHV-1
(St. Paul, MN) — The Minnesota Animal Board of Health reports this year’s first case of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), an infection that can lead to a debilitating neurological disease. Like a human virus, Senior Veterinarian Dr. Heather Damico (dah-mee-coh) says most horses are exposed to EHV-1 when young from comingling with other horses, and it doesn’t ever really disappear. She says most horses get the respiratory form and develop antibodies to it, but when the horse is under stress, it can reappear and affect the horse. It can do that in a respiratory form again, or if it goes to the nervous system, it could become this EHM. Damico says neurological symptoms can include lack of coordination, dribbling urine, lethargy, and loss of tail tone.
>>Budget Talks In Minnesota Legislature Are Slow Going
(St. Paul, MN) — Negotiations in state budget talks are moving at a snail’s pace despite Governor Tim Walz’s involvement. The Legislature has a May 19 deadline to develop a spending plan. DFL Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy says it’s been slow progress, and it’s a complex budget to settle this year. However, Democrats and Republicans agreed on legislation that created an Office of Inspector General to oversee state government program spending.
>>Rochester Public Schools Ask Government To Reconsider Grant Cancellation
(Rochester, MN) — Rochester Public Schools requests the federal government to reconsider the recent cancellation of a one-point-nine million dollar grant. Superintendent Doctor Kent Pekel announced at yesterday’s school board meeting. The school district has 30 days to file for reconsideration. Pekel says that without the funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the school-based Mental Health Scholars program is in jeopardy. The Department of Education told RPS the grant cancellation was due to concerns about merit, excellence, and fairness.
