The U-S Department of Homeland Security has granted Minnesota an extension on implementation of REAL ID. This grace period begins today (OCT 11th) and extends through January 22nd, 2018. During the grace period, federal agencies will continue to accept driver’s licenses and identification cards issued by states with pending extensions. Governor Dayton’s office says “all Minnesotans should be assured that they can continue to board airplanes and access federal facilities, as Minnesota works to fully implement REAL ID and comply with federal requirements.”
Authorities have identified the worker who died in an accident at the Wheaton Dumont Co-op Elevator in Tenney. On the afternoon of October 5th, 21-year-old Dmytro Baybak was working on a construction platform, 150 feet off of the ground, when he fell. He died at the scene. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner says his death is considered an accident. Baybak, from the Ukraine, was in a work exchange program with Gateway Building Systems out of Fergus Falls.
A Faribault man is charged with theft by swindle in Rice County after lying about having terminal cancer and collecting thousands of dollars in donations. Through fundraisers and a GoFundMe web page, 37-year-old Jeremiah Smith collected over 20-thousand dollars and allegedly spent the money on video games and marijuana. Court records show Smith’s wife became suspicious when she couldn’t find medical records to back up her husband’s claims.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office has identified a robbery suspect wanted in Monday night’s incident at the Lakeland Store in Biwabik Township. 32-year-old Anthony Wagoner of Crookston allegedly entered the store wearing a facemask and holding a hatchet. He demanded money from the cashier and then left with an undetermined amount of cash. No one was injured. Wagoner should be considered armed and dangerous.
A 70-year-old man was airlifted to a St. Cloud hospital after an ATV-pickup crash in Douglas County. Tuesday afternoon, an ATV and pickup collided at an intersection northeast of Hoffman. The pickup’s driver, 76-year-old Larry Habben of Hoffman, was not injured. The ATV’s driver, 70-year-old Phillip Koehntop of Hoffman, suffered severe injuries. The crash remains under investigation.
Minneapolis police are investigating a shooting that left a 13-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the head. The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. Monday night in the city’s Phillips neighborhood. The boy is listed in critical condition. At last check, no arrests have been made.
Heavy smoke was seen over the Capitol City on Tuesday as a Civil War era mansion burned near the Cathedral of St. Paul. Two cats died but there were no other injuries in a fire that started in the home’s second floor and raged for hours. Dozens of firefighters were on the scene. The cause is under investigation.
The level of water in Lake Superior is near a record high. Heavy summer and fall rains have caused flooding in the basements of some homes on Park Point, between Duluth and Superior. Meanwhile, rivers are still rising throughout the lower half of the state with flood stages along the Crow River west of the Twin Cities, the Minnesota River at Montevideo and the Des Moines River near Windom.