>>Trump Wins Iowa Caucuses, Smith Rips Him for Roe v Wade Decision
(Des Moines, IA) — Donald Trump is the winner of the 2024 Iowa Caucuses with the support of 51 percent of Republican voters. U-S Senator Tina Smith stumped for President Biden in Iowa Monday and warned that the ex-president took away the reproductive rights of all women in the U-S. The Minnesota Democrat said, “Roe (v Wade) was overturned because Donald Trump and the judges he put on the United States Supreme Court did that. Just last week Donald Trump bragged about that saying and I quote I did it and I’m proud to have done it.” Ron DeSantis finished a distant second to Trump and Nikki Haley came in third in Iowa.
>>Governor Walz to Announce Bonding Bill, Infrastructure Proposal
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz this afternoon (2pm) unveils his infrastructure funding proposal for the 2024 legislative session that begins in just under a month. The governor could propose to pay for infrastructure projects either with traditional bonding, where the state borrows the money, or by using part of the budget surplus, or a combination of the two. The surplus is currently forecast at 2.4 billion dollars, but any of it that’s spent now might contribute to a budget deficit in 2026-27. Democrats need Republicans’ help to pass a bonding or borrowing bill. Some D-F-L lawmakers have been tossing around figures in the range of one-and-a-half billion dollars for an infrastructure package using bonding plus part of the projected surplus.
>>Jesse Ventura Documentary Premiers on TPT Tuesday Evening
(St. Paul, MN) — The documentary “Jesse Ventura Shocks the World,” marking 25 years since the former governor’s inauguration, airs tonight (Tues) at 8 p-m on Twin Cities P-B-S. Executive Producer Mary Lahammer says Ventura being “an unapologetic atheist” could be why he’s not in field of presidential candidates. Lahammer says the documentary presents evidence that, when Donald Trump first ran for president, he and his people “came to Minnesota to very specifically study the playbook of Ventura.”
>>Law Enforcement Line of Duty Deaths Drop 39 % in US, 1 in Minnesota in 2023
(Washington, DC) — Preliminary numbers show a 39 percent decrease in law enforcement line-of-duty deaths nationwide in 2023. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is reporting 136 federal, state, county, military, tribal and campus officers died on the job last year – compared to 224 in 2022. Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Owen was the lone Minnesota officer killed in the line of duty. Owen was shot by a domestic violence suspect last April on his 44th birthday. Gunfire was the leading cause of death for law enforcement officers in the U-S, but that number dropped from 63 two years ago to 47 in 2023.
>>Good Samaritan Helps Driver after Truck goes into Crow River
(Rogers, MN) — A good Samaritan helped pull a box truck driver from the water after the vehicle launched into the Crow River Monday afternoon near Rogers. The Minnesota State Patrol says the 46-year-old driver was northbound on Highway 101 when the truck went off the road, struck guard rails on both sides of the road and then plummeted into the river. Troopers say someone helped the driver out of the vehicle and he was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.
>>2 Winning Minnesota Millionaire Raffle Tickets Still Unclaimed
(Roseville, MN) — Two one-million-dollar Minnesota Lottery tickets from an end of the year drawing remain unclaimed. State lottery officials say the tickets were sold for the annual New Year’s Day Minnesota Millionaire Raffle. The winning tickets were sold at Coborn’s in Delano and Kwik Trip in Dundas. More than 800,000 Minnesota Millionaire Raffle tickets were sold in a record 22 days. The lottery also says there’s an unclaimed ticket from the New Year’s Day Gopher 5 drawing worth 222 thousand dollars. It was purchased at a convenience store in Silver Lake.
>>Delano Ice Palace to Open Earlier Thanks to Cold Temperatures
(Delano, MN) — Operators of Ice Palace in Delano say they’ll be opening a little earlier this year thanks to the recent cold temperatures. The Ice Palace in Delano Central Park was expected to open January 25th but now will be ready for visitors this Sunday, January 21st. The experience features over 90,000 square feet of events including fire dancers, ice princesses, and winter characters. This ice attraction and many others across the state was previously delayed this year due to the unseasonably warm December.
>>Wild Goalie Fleury Shuts Out Islanders, Earns 552nd Career Victory
(St. Paul, MN) — Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury now ranks second in N-H-L history with 552 career wins. Fleury made 21 saves in the Wild’s 5-0 shutout of the New York Islanders at the X Monday evening, giving him one more victory than Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy (wah). Martin Brodeur is the N-H-L’s all-time wins leader with 691. Joel (jewell) Eriksson-Ek scored a pair of goals last night as Minnesota snapped a four-game skid. The Wild play the Lightning Thursday in Tampa Bay.