>>Saturday forecast: very hot and humid, heat wave returns early next week
(Chanhassen, MN) — Get ready for a hot and humid start to the weekend across nearly all of Minnesota, with a slight break Sunday and Monday but high heat returning by Tuesday. Meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein (HAH-zen-stine) at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen says tomorrow (Sat) will probably be the worst because “we’re gonna have the highest dewpoints. We’ll have a little bit of a cold front that’ll then move through and drop some of those dewpoints for Sunday and Monday, but then Tuesday looks like it it could be another pretty hazardous day as well.” Hasenstein says expect temps in the 90s and higher dewpoints “more or less everywhere” tomorrow (Sat), except around Lake Superior. And he says this heat wave will likely persist a little longer than recent blasts.
>>Extra DWI enforcement now through September 4th
(Undated) — Starting today (FRI) the Minnesota Department of Safety (DPS) is sending extra law enforcement across the state, enforcing a D-W-I campaign to end the summer on a safe note. Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike Hanson says there’s always an uptick in impaired drivers and incidents this time of year. He says Minnesotans love their summer, it’s coming to an end and we tend to cram a lot of activity into it — but unfortunately that sometimes involves folks who make a bad decision to get behind the wheel when they shouldn’t. Hanson says the extra enforcement campaign will run until September 4th. Law enforcement will also be advertising to support The Zero Deaths (TZD) traffic safety program.
>>Minneapolis Gang Member Charged with Federal Crimes After Posting on Facebook
(Minneapolis, MN) — An alleged Minneapolis gang member is charged with federal crimes after posting a video to Facebook showing him carjacking and assaulting a rival at gunpoint. Law enforcement says they were tipped off Tuesday morning when 22-year-old Leneal Frazier Jr., who police say is a member of the Highs gang, posted a 6-minute video to Facebook, showing Frazier pointing a gun at a man’s bleeding head. Police later searched Frazier’s residence and found a loaded handgun missing a serial number (ghost gun), an extended magazine for extra ammo, as well as the victim’s keys and ID. Frazier’s first court appearance is yet to be set.
>>Olmsted County Woman Scammed Out of Nearly $17K
(Rochester, MN) — A 66-year-old Olmsted County woman lost nearly $17,000 in a scam. The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office says the woman received a message on her iPad which claimed to be Microsoft, saying her computer was compromised and they needed to log into her device. The scammer logged in, then called her, saying it was still compromised. The scammer connected the woman with who she thought was a representative from her bank, who guided her to then withdraw $16,900 and send it to the scammer, via Bitcoin.
>>Mpls mayor appoints veteran political troubleshooter to head Community Safety office until permanent commissioner found
(Minneapolis, MN) — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (FRY) has named a veteran political troubleshooter, Lee Sheehy (SHEE-hee), to bridge the gap as officials search for a permanent successor to outgoing Community Safety Commissioner Cedric Alexander. Sheehy says his role is “to set up the next commissioner for success.” Sheehy was an investigator for the U-S Senate Watergate Committee in the early 1970s, worked for former Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey and former Mayor R-T Rybak, and was appointed to positions by former governors Jesse Ventura and Mark Dayton.
>>Red Lake Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Arson
(Minneapolis, MN) — A Red Lake woman will spend the next 5 years in prison for her role in an arson conspiracy on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Prosecutors say 35-year-old Dalene Fajardo, along with 40-year-old Corey Stately and 33-year-old Lori Sayers, conspired and knowingly agreed to commit arson to maliciously destroy personal and real property. The trio threw Molotov cocktails out of a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe, partially burning a residence and destroying a vehicle. Farjado pleaded guilty March 7th this year to one count of aiding and abetting arson.
**MEDIA REFERENCE — 2ND LINE**
>>Recount breaks tie in primary election for Lake County commissioner
(Two Harbors, MN) — No blind-draw was needed to set the field for a special election for commissioner in northeast Minnesota’s Lake County — after an extra vote tabulated during this morning’s (Fri) recount broke a tie between two candidates who took second place in the primary. Joe Baltich (BALL-titch) jokes in the Star Tribune that he wanted a cage match, but now with 100 votes to challenger Colby Abazs (uh-BOZZ) 99, he advances to the special election against the front-runner in the primary, Jack Nelson. But Abazs says he’s considering a write-in campaign. The special election is to fill the District 1 vacancy on the Lake County Board after Commissioner Pete Walsh died in January.
>>Emerald ash borer confirmed for first time in McLeod County
(Hutchinson, MN) — The state Agriculture Department has confirmed emerald ash borer for the first time in south-central Minnesota’s McLeod (mih-CLOUD) County, making it the 42nd in the state where the tree-killing pest has been found. McLeod County is now under an emergency quarantine, which limits movement of firewood and other ash material out of the area. The first ash borer infestation in the county was discovered several miles east of Hutchinson.
>>Benson School District asking Native America tribes for permission to keep Braves team name
(Benson, MN) — The Benson School District in west-central Minnesota is asking Native American tribes if they can keep the Braves name for the district’s sports teams. Superintendent Dennis Laumeyer says there are a handful of other school districts that have team names that may be offensive to Native Americans and they were notified that, unless they get an exemption from the state’s tribes, they will have to change their team name by September 2025. Laumeyer says Benson has been calling themselves the Braves for more than 70 years, and when they asked the few Native American families in the district their thoughts, they said they wanted to keep the name.
>>Mayo Clinic showing strong 2nd quarter financial results
(Rochester, MN) — In a new, unaudited report from the Electronic Municipal Market, Mayo Clinic shows strong financial results for the second quarter of this year. The required financial regulatory filing shows Mayo’s income nearly doubled from a year ago to $300 million in April, May, and June. Mayo’s overall revenues increased by 11% year-over-year to $4.47 billion and expenses rose about 7.5% to $4.17 billion. The report also notes Mayo’s revenues from investments rebounded dramatically. After a billion-dollar loss on its own investments in the second quarter of last year, they now report a $211 million gain during the same period this year.