>>MN Congressman Phillips to Announce Democratic President Candidacy
(Undated) — Indications are that 3rd District Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips will announce in New Hampshire on Friday that he’ll challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Biden is the presumptive nominee, but Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier says, “The majority of Democrats in national polls do not want Joe Biden to run for re-election, so there may be votes and money behind Dean Phillips.” Schier says Phillips also has the option of running as an independent, but that field is “already getting congested” and getting on state ballots is very difficult.
>>MN AG Ellison Announces ACI Worldwide Settlement of $10M, $119K to MN
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announces a settlement has been reached with ACI Worldwide, a payment processor, in connection to a 2021 testing error that led to the unauthorized withdrawal of $2.3 billion from the accounts of over 477,000 mortgage holders. As part of the settlement, ACI worldwide will pay $10 million to the states involved, with Minnesota receiving more than $119,000. This settlement continues to add to the nearly $1 million Ellison’s office has returned to Minnesota in data-breach settlement alone, within the last three weeks.
>>Man’s Body Found in Thief River Falls Residential Fire
(Thief River Falls, MN) — Firefighters found the body of a man while putting out a house fire in Thief River Falls Monday night. While no foul play is expected, the fire remains under investigation. The name of the man is being held pending family notice.
>>Arson Suspected In Elementary School Fire In Burnsville
(Burnsville, MN) — Investigators are looking into a suspected arson at an elementary school in Burnsville. Firefighters were called to Edward Neill Elementary School yesterday afternoon after smoke alarms went off in the building. Responders found a fire in one of the bathrooms that was put out by the school’s sprinkler system. The school was evacuated and there were no injuries.
>>Missing 7-Year-old Waseca Girl Located
(Waseca, MN) — A seven-year-old girl is back with her family in Waseca after the Minnesota B-C-A issued an endangered missing person alert. Waseca police were asking for help locating Madilynn Stencel who apparently ran away from home Monday evening. Officers say Madilynn was located safely this (Tues) morning. Authorities say hundreds of people helped search for her last night. The incident is still under investigation.
>>Significant Rain Improves MN Drought Conditions
(Undated) – Significant fall rains continue to improve the drought conditions across Minnesota. Pete Boulay (BOO’-lay) with the State Climatology Office says the mid-October rainfall helped replenish soil moisture. Boulay says, “We’re getting green which is a good thing. And we really put a serious dent in the drought. We stopped the slide and had a lot of improvement, too. But we need a few more events like this to really kick it out of here.” Boulay notes there are still some drought concerns in southeastern Minnesota. He says they’re watching the long-term effect on the lakes and trees.
>>MN Selected For U.S. Tech Hub Program
(St. Paul, MN) — The White House is looking to Minnesota to develop medical devices that incorporate cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence and data science. The Biden Administration announced Minnesota has been selected as one of 31 Tech Hubs that will share millions in grants to spur innovation in new technology. Minnesota’s Tech Hub will be led by the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Economic Development Partnership but is expected to include big names in the medical field like the Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, United Healthcare, and the University of Minnesota.
>>Delta Training Future Pilots In Mankato
(Mankato, MN) — Delta Airlines is working with the Minnesota State University Mankato to help train the next generation of airline pilots. The university is the only college in Minnesota to train future pilots as part of the Delta Propel program. The program has grown over five years to include other colleges in the U.S., but about a third of the 150 students in the program are currently in Mankato. Propel offers a career path for the prospective pilots, including a conditional job offer and mentorship once all requirements are complete. Delta estimates that it needs to hire about 200 pilots a month to help meet its future needs.
>>MN Millionaire Raffle Tickets Go on Sale
(Undated) – Two lucky players will win one million dollars in the Minnesota Millionaire Raffle on New Year’s Day and tickets go on sale today (Tues). Lottery director Adam Prock says last year’s million-dollar prizes were won in the suburbs of St. Louis Park and Oak Park Heights. Prock says, “Yeah but you know over the last five years they’ve been really spread out. We’ve had…the year before that our winners were in Glencoe and Two Harbors, and Crookston and Ely so we’re all over the place.” Prock says there are 800 thousand tickets this year, and they added five new 50-thousand-dollar prizes and one-hundred-fifty 250-dollar prizes.
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