>>Walz Bonding Plan Provides Funding for State Patrol Headquarters
(St. Paul, MN) — Governor Tim Walz in his nearly one-billion-dollar infrastructure proposal is requesting lawmakers approve 22 million dollars to acquire land and design a new headquarters for the Minnesota State Patrol. The chief of the State Patrol, Colonel Matt Langer says, “we currently in our metropolitan area work out of six different office spaces, but it’s about as fragmented and disjointed as you can get. And perhaps 30 or 40 years ago, that worked just fine.” Legislators will consider the request during the upcoming legislative session which begins in just under a month.
>>Minnesota Airmen Culminate Training with Cold-Water Immersion Event
(Little Falls, MN) — The Minnesota National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing is hosting airmen from across the U-S for a Cold Weather Operations Course at the Camp Ripley near Little Falls. It’s a two-week event teaching the modern techniques of military operations in extreme cold weather. The group will conclude the training exercises with a cold-water immersion event, allowing the airmen to feel firsthand what the shock of extremely cold water has on the body. This comes at a time when Minnesota is seeing some of the coldest temperatures and windchills of the season.
>>U of M Leading Study of Possible CWD Spillover to Animals and Humans
(Minneapolis, MN) — The state is funding a multi-country project led by the University of Minnesota to prepare for a possible chronic wasting disease spillover from deer to farm animals or humans. Program co-director Cory Anderson says while there are no known cases of C-W-D spillover at this time something similar did occur with another neurodegenerative disorder. He notes that mad cow disease emerged in the United Kingdom and there was a spillover to humans. Anderson says the similarity they are seeing with C-W-D is ongoing transmission in deer, elk, and moose, which highly increases exposure to humans eating animals that weren’t tested or were tested and came back positive.
>>State Fair CEO Alexander Cheers No Increase in Gate Admission
(Falcon Heights, MN) — Minnesota State Fair officials say not raising gate admission prices in 2024 was a top budget priority for the board of managers. C-E-O Renee Alexander says, “we realize that expenses are going up for families and we wanted to maintain the incredible value that we are. So it was important for us to keep those ticket prices the same as they were this past year.” Alexander says they should have some Grandstand concert series announcements soon. State Fair gate admission is 18 dollars for adults and 16 for kids and seniors.
>>Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Chutich Retiring in Late July
(St. Paul, MN) — The state’s first openly gay Minnesota Supreme Court justice is retiring this summer. Associate Justice Margaret Chutich (CHEW’-ditch) announced Tuesday that her last day on the high court will be July 31st. Sixty-five-year-old Chutich from Anoka was appointed by former Governor Mark Dayton in 2016. Her announcement comes less than a week after Justice G. Barry Anderson revealed that he will retire in May. Anderson is the last Supreme Court justice appointed by a Republican governor.
>>Ex-Rochester Doctor Arraigned on 1st Degree Murder Count in Wife’s Poisoning
(Rochester, MN) — A former Mayo Clinic doctor accused of killing his wife will remain jailed on two million dollars bail. Thirty-year-old Connor Bowman was arraigned Tuesday on a first-degree murder count and second-degree murder charge in the alleged poisoning of 32-year-old Betty Bowman last August. Olmsted County prosecutors asked the judge to raise Bowman’s bail to five million dollars but that request was denied. Investigators say Bowman gave Betty a lethal dose of medication used to treat gout.
>>Charges Filed in Stabbing at Bar in Northwestern Minnesota
(Crookston, MN) — A woman from Winger in northwestern Minnesota is charged with attempted murder and assault for stabbing a man outside a bar in McIntosh early Sunday morning. The Polk County Attorney’s Office says 19-year-old Jayden Ray was arrested after deputies were called to Little Bobby’s Bar and Grill where they found a number of people with injuries. One man suffered multiple, non-threatening stab and puncture wounds and was taken to Essentia Health in Fargo.
>>Federal Rule Calls for Ending Humorous Electronic Highway Signs
(St. Paul, MN) — Funny messages and pop culture references on electronic highway and freeway signs will be going away in 2026. A rule change in the new manual released by the U-S Highway Administration says signs “should not be used to display a traffics safety message if doing so could adversely affect respect for the sign.” This includes messages with obscure or secondary meanings such as pop culture references, or anything humorous. But MnDOT states it is “aware of the new federal guidelines, but don’t anticipate any changes to way they share creative highway safety messages with the public that helps improve safety on Minnesota roadways.”
>>US Pond Hockey Championships Set to Begin Thursday
(Minneapolis, MN) — Officials remain optimistic that the U-S. Pond Hockey Championships in Minneapolis will begin on time. The event at Lake Nokomis is set to kick off tomorrow(Thurs). Organizers plan to map the entire lake to make sure that the ice is thick enough to support players safely. Last year’s tournament drew three-thousand players, and organizers say they will put safety first during the ten-day event.
