Minnesota News Network

Three National Guard soldiers killed in helicopter crash near St. Cloud (AUDIO)

All three National Guard soldiers on a maintenance test flight were killed Thursday afternoon when their helicopter crashed into a farm field about 16 miles southwest of Saint Cloud. Governor Tim Walz fought back tears as he announced the deaths tonight at a news conference near the crash site. “As governor and as a citizen of this great state and as a veteran of the Minnesota Army National Guard, my heart breaks for the families, the friends and the fellow soldiers, ” the governor said. “The coming days will be dark and difficult. The state of Minnesota stands ready to assist the families of our fallen heroes.”

Brigadier General Sandy Best, Deputy Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard said, “On behalf of our adjutant general, Major General Jon Jensen, our Minnesota National Guard family is devastated by the death of these soldiers, and our priority right now is ensuring that our families are taken care of.”

Officials say investigators are en route from the Army Safety Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The helicopter reportedly called in a “mayday” about nine minutes after taking off from the Minnesota National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility at Saint Cloud Airport. The wreckage was located near dusk, south of Cold Spring in a field near a tree line. Authorities say there are no homes in the area.

Senator Amy Klobuchar says the three soldiers’ service to the state and nation will never be forgotten. State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says Minnesotans are united in grief and Thursday’s accident reminds us of the dangerous job we ask National Guard members to do on a daily basis. Majority Leader Ryan Winkler says the Minnesota House of Representatives “sends its deepest condolences to the families of the National Guard service members who passed away in this tragic accident.”

Here is raw audio of the press conference from earlier this evening:

Wreckage of missing National Guard helicopter located near Kimball

The wreckage of a missing National Guard helicopter has been located in Stearns County, in a farm field near Kimball. There’s no official word about the three crewmembers who were on board, but air ambulances were reportedly called off. Master Sergeant Blair Huesdens says just after 2 p-m this afternoon, “The Minnesota National Guard lost contact with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while it was conducting a
maintenance test flight that originated from St. Cloud.” The helicopter reportedly called in a “mayday” about nine minutes after takeoff.

A spokesman says Governor Tim Walz is in communication with the Minnesota National Guard and will be at the Capitol to monitor the developing situation.

Rescue crews searching for missing National Guard helicopter with 3 on board near St. Cloud

Rescue personnel are searching for a missing National Guard helicopter in Stearns County. Officials say at around 2:05 pm this afternoon, the Minnesota National Guard lost contact with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while it was conducting a maintenance test flight that originated from St. Cloud. The National Guard and local emergency services are currently trying to determine the location and status of the aircraft. The helicopter had three Minnesota National Guard personnel on board. In a statement, the Guard says “our first priority is the safety and well-being of our Guardsmen and our thoughts are with our soldiers and their families at this time.”

$1.3B budget surplus re-ignites GOP/DFL debate over tax cuts, more spending

Another state budget surplus — this time 1.3 billion dollars — has re-ignited the longstanding dispute between Republicans and Democrats over tax cuts versus more spending. Governor Tim Walz argues, even though Minnesotans did the right thing and overwhelmingly voted to raise their property taxes for schools, “I’ve made the case that that becomes harder to do, especially for Greater Minnesota schools.” Walz says the state needs to kick in more for public schools.

But Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka says now that the surplus has topped off the state’s “rainy day” budget reserve, “it’s time to give the rest back.” Gazelka says the legislature should completely eliminate the state income tax on Social Security benefits and give Minnesotans a “tax holiday” on vehicle tab fees — only fair after all the problems they struggled through with MN-LARS.

Minnesota House Republicans say part of the state’s 1.3-billion-dollar surplus should be used to repeal the state’s tax on medical providers — what they call the “sick tax.” Governor Tim Walz says to Republicans, “that’s not happening” because rural hospitals would close, with catastrophic impact on families. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt responds the governor “campaigned on lowering health care costs. He gets here. He directly raises health care costs on Minnesotans…. I think he’s a better guy than that.”

But Paul Gazelka the Republican leader of the Minnesota Senate, says he doubts whether either the medical provider tax or Democrats’ push for a gas tax increase will be revisited in the 2020 session.

Minnesota has another state budget surplus: $1.3B in latest economic forecast

Minnesota has another state budget surplus — 1.3 billion dollars, according to the latest economic forecast just released. The surplus has bounced back: The last forecast in February showed it at just over one billion dollars, a third less than the previous number one year ago — but now the surplus has returned to that well-over-one-billion dollar range. Democrats will likely use that as an argument for a larger-than-usual bonding bill for state public works projects — while Republicans have been urging fiscal caution. There’s speculation that lawmakers could use part of the money to reimburse the federal government for 29-million-dollars in overpayments that the state made to Native American tribes. The tribes have said they can’t repay it.

New budget forecast due out today

Minnesota lawmakers find out this morning (9:15am, details at 11:15am) whether the state has another budget surplus or is back in deficit territory. Governor Tim Walz said earlier he thinks this latest economic forecast will show the state with a budget surplus. “Watching… nationally too, I saw that they ticked-up growth I believe to 2.1 percent for the last quarter. Every indication is… that Minnesota’s performing as it should,” Walz says.

The governor says a surplus would let the state put a little more into the “rainy day” budget reserve. Walz argues that would allow Minnesota to “go into a bonding bill in a secure position.” Democrats are pushing for a larger-than-usual amount of borrowing for state public works projects, citing favorable interest rates. Senate Republicans have resisted that, urging more fiscal caution.

Advocates applaud state’s lawsuit against e-cig manufacturer, say work needed in other areas

Anti-smoking advocates say the state’s lawsuit against e-cigarette maker JUUL is an important part of the fight against the youth nicotine epidemic. But Laura Smith with the group Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation says state *lawmakers* must also take “sweeping and swift action to stand up for our kids” including “raising the tobacco age to 21, prohibiting all flavored tobacco products, and making sure we’re making the smart investments in youth tobacco prevention so that we can reverse this epidemic but also prevent future epidemics from happening.”

Smith notes Minnesota House Democrats’ bill would also ban on-line sales of tobacco products.

State of Minnesota suing major e-cigarette manufacturer JUUL

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing JUUL Labs, a major manufacturer of e-cigarettes. Ellison’s announcement brought applause this morning at the State Capitol. The suit alleges JUUL marketed as safe, products with more addictive doses of nicotine than conventional cigarettes, did not verify customers’ ages as required by state law, and deliberately ignored that underage Minnesotans were purchasing its products.

Governor Tim Walz says, “My message to JUUL as they’re listening today is, you can hire your attorneys, you will have your day in court, but we will bring the righteous justice of the State of Minnesota down on JUUL.”

JUUL says its customer base is the world’s one billion adult smokers and “we do not intend to attract underage users.” The company says it recently stopped accepting U-S orders for mint JUULpods, suspended all broadcast, print and digital advertising in the U-S, and is expanding its commitment to develop new technology to reduce youth use.

Union labor agreement signed for proposed Enbridge Line 3 pipeline upgrade

By

A project labor agreement signed today specifies that entirely union workers will build the proposed upgrade to Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline through northern Minnesota. Leaders of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 have lobbied for the project for a number of years and say union labor means the project will not only be […]

Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge still stuck, de-icing operations under way

By

Crews began de-icing operations late this morning on Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge, which is stuck in the “down” position because of ice build-up from last weekend’s massive storm. Jayson Hron with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority says they’re hopeful the lift bridge will be back in operation tomorrow — or even tonight if everything goes […]

Human Services head advises lawmakers not to split troubled agency into separate departments

By

Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead says Governor Tim Walz will have an announcement later this week about restructuring in that troubled state agency. But on Monday Harpstead advised lawmakers not to break the department into several separate agencies. She says, “When you split departments and people over time — not in a planful way, but […]

Duluth/Superior continues digging out after major storm

By

The dig-out continues in Duluth after a major storm dumped nearly two feet of snow on the Twin Ports over Thanksgiving weekend. The city’s Kate Van Daele says plows cleared main streets Monday and started on residential streets. She says, “Duluth has the largest grader fleet in the state of Minnesota, and so we are […]

Thanksgiving weekend shootings in Mpls spark renewed calls for gun background checks, red flag law

By

Five shooting deaths in Minneapolis over the Thanksgiving weekend have anti-gun-violence advocates renewing calls at the State Capitol for universal background checks on gun sales plus a “red flag” law. The Reverend Nancy Nord Bence with Protect Minnesota says, “Senate leadership is blocking votes on bills that could be saving lives, bills that passed in […]

Minneapolis man charged in murder of his child’s mother

By

A court appearance today for a Minneapolis man charged with second-degree intentional murder in the Thankgiving night shooting death of his child’s mother. Officers arrested 41-year-old Randall Watkins at the front door of a north Minneapolis residence. Inside they found 27-year-old Raven Gant on the floor with a gunshot wound as her two-year-old daughter stood […]

Human Services commissioner gives lawmakers progress report 90 days after taking helm

By

Commissioner Jodi Harpstead gave lawmakers a progress report 90 days after taking the helm at the troubled state Human Services Department — and Willmar Republican Dave Baker asked, “Has anybody yet been reassigned or disciplined for the mistake that obviously was made?” Harpstead said, “What has changed is the Operation Stopgap, so that people have […]

Walz administration wants more low-emission and electric vehicles in MN

By

More low-emission and electric vehicles in Minnesota — that’s one objective of an advisory council on climate change that Governor Tim Walz is setting up. Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Laura Bishop says beginning with 2023 models, manufacturers would be required to offer a certain percentage of low-emission or electric vehicles in Minnesota. And what about […]

Vikings in Monday Night Football in Seattle

By

When Russell Wilson made the decision to transfer to Wisconsin for his final college season, he became connected with Kirk Cousins. It started that season when Wilson’s Badgers and Cousins’ Michigan State squad played a pair of memorable games, including a Big Ten championship game won by Wilson. It continued that offseason as the pair […]

Wild win a shootout of Dallas

By

WILD 3, STARS 2 (shootout) Mikko Koivu scored the shootout winner in his 1,000th career game and reached 700th career points with a second-period assist in Minnesota’s win over Dallas. Koivu, playing his 15th season with the Wild, beat Ben Bishop with his trademark move, a backhand over the goalie’s left shoulder. Then Alex Stalock, […]