>>Commission Expected to Select Final Design for New Minnesota State Flag
(St. Paul, MN) — A state commission is expected to select the final design tonight (Tues 9pm) for the new Minnesota flag. Vice chair Anita Gaul says they’ve received a ton of input since narrowing it down to six finalists last month. She says, “remember these are not set in stone. We still might modify or tweak them or maybe combine elements from different ones.” All six designs feature a version of the North Star and are blue and green. Gaul says the commission will adopt the final design and send it to the legislature by January 1st. More than 26 hundred designs were submitted for the new state flag and seal.
>>Phillips Says Hunter Biden’s Troubles Could Make President “Unelectable”
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(Manchester, NH) — Minnesota 3rd District Congressman Dean Phillips tells the news website “Semafor” that the Hunter Biden investigation perhaps makes President Biden “unelectable” in 2024. Phillips said he’d vote against Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, but added “when your own son and your own brother are clearly, at the very least unethical and at worst, doing illegal things…, of course the country pays attention to it.” Phillips says “somehow, it conflates him (President Biden) with the Trump family’s indiscretions.” Phillips is challenging Biden for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Minnesota D-F-L leaders say Biden will be the party’s candidate.
>>State Officials Urge Minnesotans to Apply for Heating Assistance
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz and state Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold are urging Minnesotans to apply for financial assistance if they’re having trouble heating their home as temperatures drop. Arnold says, “Every Minnesotan deserves to be safe and warm in their home. Sometimes they’re choosing between groceries and staying warm. That’s not a choice we want anyone to make.” Arnold says this year they’ve already assisted 59-thousand households at a statewide average of 570 dollars, prevented over seven thousand disconnections, made 12-hundred emergency fuel deliveries,and assisted with 13-hundred emergency furnace repairs. To apply, visit mn.gov/home.
>>Space Heater Blamed for Fire That Destroys House near Duluth
(Grand Lake Township, MN) — Authorities believe a space heater in a bathroom caused a fire Monday night that destroyed a home northwest of Duluth. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office says four fire departments and the Air National Guard battled the flames in Grand Lake Township. Deputies say the home is a total loss and a dog died in the fire. Foul play is not suspected.
>>Death of Anoka County Jail Inmate Under Investigation
(Anoka, MN) — Authorities are investigating the weekend death of an inmate in the Anoka County jail. A detention deputy found the man unresponsive man in his cell Saturday and staff and paramedics were unable to save him. The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation to avoid any potential conflict of interest. No further information is being released.
>>Court Appearance for Man Charged in Murder of Beloved Loring Park man
(Minneapolis, MN) — A first court appearance today (Tues) for a mentally ill man accused of brutally murdering a well-known and much-loved man in Minneapolis’s Loring Park neighborhood. Police early Friday afternoon found 66-year-old Robert Skafte behind the counter at Oak Grove Grocery with a golf club through his torso. After a six-hour standoff at an apartment building across the street, they arrested 44-year-old Justin Schulz. The charges don’t give a motive but say Schulz had assaulted other apartment residents on previous occasions, and court records indicate he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and self-reported P-T-S-D. Skafte was an acclaimed ballet dancer who’d been a cashier at the grocery store for decades.
>>Ramsey County Launches Free Naloxone Distribution Pilot Project
(St. Paul, MN) — Ramsey County Public Health will be offering residents free naloxone (nuh-LOX’-own) to help reverse opioid overdoses. The pilot project will give Narcan kits including two doses of nasal spray, breathing barriers and gloves, directions for use, and a list of community resources, directly to residents on a limited basis while supplies last. Residents can order one kit per address online. Kits will be mailed directly to homes.
>>Nicki Minaj Coming to Target Center in 2024
(Minneapolis, MN) — Rap queen Nicki Minaj is coming to Minnesota next spring for her “Pink Friday 2 World Tour.” Minaj will be hitting up Target Center April 27th, 2024 on her largest tour to date. The tour announcement follows her highly anticipated and most recent album “Pink Friday 2” which dropped Friday on her 41st birthday. Presale tickets begin today (TUES) at 9 am for Citi card members. General ticket sales began Friday at 9 am on Minaj’s website.
