>>Commission to Adopt Final State Flag Design Tuesday
(St. Paul, MN) — The State Emblems Redesign Commission is meeting one more time today (Tues 9-11am) to adopt the official design for the new Minnesota flag. Vice chair Anita Gaul says, “we have to submit these designs to the state legislature by January 1. And unless there is a vote to not accept them – they become the state seal and the state flag.” The commission is expected to modify the final flag design which has a Navy blue shape of Minnesota with a white star, and green, white and blue stripes. The state seal design was adopted at last Tuesday’s meeting.
>>Walz Orders Flags at Half-Staff to Honor Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz is ordering all Minnesota flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset tonight (Tuesday) to honor the life of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Governor Walz states, “Justice O’Connor was a tireless advocate for judicial independence and the Rule of Law throughout the United States and the world.” Walz also encourages homes, businesses, and organizations to lower their flags to honor the late justice.
>>Lieutenant Governor Flanagan to Tout Investments in Affordable Housing
(Duluth, MN) — Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan is in northeastern Minnesota today (Tues 11am) to tout a 70-million-dollar investment in affordable housing. The Walz administration says the funding will be used to preserve and build 460 housing units in the area. Minnesota Housing announced the state was investing a total of 350 million dollars to construct and preserve more than 47-hundred units statewide. Officials selected 13 rental properties in the Twin Cities and 15 in Greater Minnesota for new construction and renovations.
>>Son of North Dakota Senator Charged in High-Speed Chase Death of Deputy
(Mandan, MN) — A judge has continued cash bail at a half-million dollars for the son of North Dakota U-S Senator Kevin Cramer, who’s charged in the death of a sheriff’s deputy during a high-speed police chase. Prosecutors say 42-year-old Ian Cramer fled law enforcement for about 75 miles between Bismarck and Beulah, North Dakota, ending when he crashed into a patrol vehicle, killing 53-year-old Deputy Paul Martin who was behind the squad after deploying a tire-deflation device. Ian Cramer was driving an S-U-V that investigators say he stole from his mother. Police found cocaine, meth and marijuana in the vehicle. Senator Cramer, in a statement the night Deputy Martin died, said his son has struggled with mental health issues.
>>Man on ATV Breaks Through Ice North of Duluth
(Gnesen Township, MN) — The Saint Louis County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents to be extremely cautious on ice due to the relatively warm weather. That after a man from Saginaw broke through the ice Monday morning while riding his A-T-V on Boulder Lake Reservoir north of Duluth. The man was able to get out of the water on his own. The Gnesen Fire Department and county Rescue Squad recovered the A-T-V.
>>Army Corps of Engineers Urges Caution on Lake & River Ice
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesotans are urged to use extreme caution on frozen lakes and rivers. The Army Corps Engineers’ Sam Mathiowetz (MATH’-oh-witz) says it’s a little early to be on the ice based on the warm weather we’ve been having. He says there should be at least four inches of clear ice for walking. Most lakes and rivers have minimal ice right now and poor conditions.
>>Woman Stabbed in Marshall Dies in Hospital
(Marshall, MN) — A woman critically injured in a stabbing incident in Marshall Sunday is dead. The Minnesota B-C-A confirmed she died at a hospital in South Dakota on Sunday night. Officers say they found the woman being ‘actively stabbed’ by a man early Sunday. After a Taser deployment by an officer, the suspect was fatally shot during the confrontation. Police believe the attack was targeted.
>>Man Sentenced for St. Louis County Kidnapping, Rape
(St. Louis County, MN) — The sentence is more than 22 years in prison for a St. Louis County man convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman in May 2021. Court records say Dennis Hannuksela, who was on parole for a 1987 conviction of first-degree murder, took the victim to a logging road in St. Louis County where he bound her with zip ties and raped her. Hannuksela received a maximum sentence of 3.8 years for the kidnapping charge and a maximum of 19 years for the rape charge, to be served concurrently.
>>Fentanyl Dealer Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charges
(St. Paul, MN) — A Minneapolis man is facing federal prison time after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Prosecutors say law enforcement searched the home of 42-year-old Andre Garner last January and seized nearly 800 grams of fentanyl from his van. Officers also recovered more than a thousand grams of cocaine, two guns and 94 hundred dollars in cash. Gardner admitted that the drugs, money, and van belonged to him. His sentencing hearing hasn’t been scheduled.
