Minnesota – News Stories About Minnesota - Page 36

Mar 6, 2008 8:21 PM CST

'Actors' Beat Smoking Ban in Minn. Bars

Owners exploit loophole that lets thespians light up

(Newser) - Stage performers are the only exception to the new smoking ban in Minnesota bars, so patrons are turning temporarily thespian and lighting up. The only props required at some of the 30 bars working the loophole are cigarettes and ashtrays—though some get more creative. "They're playing themselves before...

Daughter to Thief: Please Return Mom's Ashes

Feb 28, 2008 4:50 AM CST

Daughter to Thief: Please Return Mom's Ashes

Minnesota burglar grabbed bag of ashes stashed in jewelry box

(Newser) - A Minnesota woman had planned to scatter her late mother's ashes on a vacation this summer—but they've been stolen by a burglar, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The distraught daughter says the thief can keep the jewelry and electronic equipment he stole but she desperately wants the ashes back. "...

Pumas Prowl Midwest

Feb 22, 2008 7:42 PM CST

Pumas Prowl Midwest

Big cats migrate east in search of prey

(Newser) - Pumas, normally prowlers of the Rocky Mountains, are slowly pushing east, ecologists say, which has led to a rash of sightings throughout the Midwest. Wisconsin just had its first confirmed puma sighting in over a century, and since 1990 the big cats have cropped up in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and...

4 Kids Killed in School Bus Crash

Feb 20, 2008 4:10 AM CST

4 Kids Killed in School Bus Crash

Many injured in horrific scene

(Newser) - Four young students heading home were killed yesterday when their school bus was broadsided by a van on a rural highway in southwestern Minnesota, the Minneapolis-St.Paul Star-Tribune reports. "Some of these kids were so little," said a motorist who helped evacuate children from the rooftop emergency hatch...

McCain VP
Talk Centers
on Minn. Gov

Feb 18, 2008 9:27 AM CST

McCain VP Talk Centers on Minn. Gov

'Conservative, rock-n-roll' Pawlenty has been staunch ally

(Newser) - Maybe John McCain “has not spent one second thinking about a running mate,” as one adviser insists, but when he does, many observers expect his attention to turn to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. “He’s a conservative, rock-n-roll Republican and is counterintuitive to the party stereotype,”...

Illness Linked to Pig Brains

Feb 4, 2008 9:41 AM CST

Illness Linked to Pig Brains

Slaughterhouse workers report burning, numbness, weakness in limbs

(Newser) - A dozen workers at a Minnesota slaughterhouse are showing symptoms of a new illness linked to inhaling bits of pig brains, the Washington Post reports. Symptoms include sensations of burning, numbness, and weakness in the arms and legs. All of the afflicted worked at or near the Austin packing house’...

Towns Battle for 'Icebox of US' Status—in Court

Jan 14, 2008 9:00 AM CST

Towns Battle for 'Icebox of US' Status—in Court

Cold war between Colorado, Minnesota towns heads to court

(Newser) - Who's the coldest one of all? A court will have to decide, because the battle is on between International Falls, Minn., and Fraser, Colo. Both claim the right to boast of being the "Icebox of the Nation," the Summit Daily News of Frisco, Colo., reports. Fraser sued International...

31 States Ring In New Laws
for New Year

Jan 2, 2008 3:15 AM CST

31 States Ring In New Laws for New Year

From minimum wage hikes to approval for kangaroo-hide shoes

(Newser) - Anyone planning to import shoes made of kangaroo hide into California can legally begin this year—but they'd better not try to sell any foreign-made US flags in Minnesota. Both states are among 31 that launched a host of new laws beginning New Year's Day, some of them rather unusual,...

Blizzard Death Toll Hits 22

UPDATED

Dec 24, 2007 3:38 PM CST

Blizzard Death Toll Hits 22

Snow and howling winds wreak havoc in nation's heartland

(Newser) - The death toll from a winter storm that pummeled the upper Midwest rose to 22 today, the AP reports. The worst of the storm is over for the region, but it left behind icy highways and downed power lines, especially in Wisconsin, Illinois, and upper Michigan. Remnants of the storm...

No (Funny) Bones About Franken's Run

Dec 5, 2007 5:56 PM CST

No (Funny) Bones About Franken's Run

Comedian says bid for Senate in Minn. is serious business

(Newser) - Comedian Al Franken's campaign for a Minnesota Senate seat is unconventional, the New York Times reports—and it's serious. Best known for his stint on Saturday Night Live and stingingly partisan attacks on the right, Franken is busy proving he can look senatorial. “Minnesotans know what’s a joke...

Trucks Pack on Illegal Pounds

Nov 15, 2007 1:17 PM CST

Trucks Pack on Illegal Pounds

Light penalties, costly gas make cheating attractive; roads and bridges take beating

(Newser) - More American truckers are carrying illegally heavy loads, looking to offset diminished manpower and skyrocketing fuel prices—and light fines encourage cheating, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With road damage at issue following August's Minnesota bridge collapse, 30% of trucks are reportedly overloaded—and each of the 8 million tractor-trailers...

Doggone It,
Will People Like
Sen. Franken?

Nov 5, 2007 8:53 PM CST

Doggone It, Will People Like Sen. Franken?

New York explores his blend of comedy, politics in Senate bid

(Newser) - Al Franken’s thus far successful run for US Senate has seen the comic playing a careful hand, getting serious on the trail but bringing along just enough humor to be himself. Politicians “need to be entertaining. But not too entertaining,” says New York’s Ariel Levy in...

Green Mountain State Is in the Pink

Nov 5, 2007 4:03 PM CST

Green Mountain State Is in the Pink

Preventive medicine helps Vt. wrest 'healthiest state' crown from Minn.

(Newser) - Vermont is the nation's healthiest state, beating out Minnesota, which has topped the list for the past 4 years. The ranking system takes into 20 factors, such as infant mortality, obesity, and even high school graduation rates, USA Today reports. Mississippi was ranked the country's unhealthiest state, one notch below...

In Minn. Senate Race, Joke May Be on the GOP

Sep 7, 2007 12:29 PM CDT

In Minn. Senate Race, Joke May Be on the GOP

Cracking up audiences, Franken mounts serious challenge to Coleman

(Newser) - The Minnesota GOP, facing an unexpectedly strong challenge from would-be Democratic nominee Al Franken, is turning some of his humor around on him. Immediately after the actor-author announced his US Senate candidacy, the GOP released a list of what it called “mean-spirited and divisive partisan” wisecracks, the Journal reports,...

Star Light,
Star Bright

Aug 26, 2007 7:07 AM CDT

Star Light, Star Bright

To have a real celestial experience, get away from urban hotspots

(Newser) - There's no better season than summer for sleeping outdoors under the stars. Get your fill of the Big Dipper at USA Today's ideal star-gazing spots:

Assateague Island National Seashore, Md./Va.
Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah
Big Bend National Park, Texas

Midwestern Floods Takes 4 Lives

Aug 19, 2007 4:16 PM CDT

Midwestern Floods Takes 4 Lives

National Guardsmen rescue trapped drivers, state of emergency declared

(Newser) - Floodwaters have taken at least 4 lives today and plowed through bridges and roads in the MidWest, the AP reports. Dozens of National Guardsmen are braving severe storms as helicopters are rescuing people trapped by the flooding. Governors have declared states of emergency in Minnesota and Wisconsin and urged people...

Baby's Body Found at Bridge

Aug 10, 2007 5:37 PM CDT

Baby's Body Found at Bridge

(Newser) - The body of a 2-year-old girl is among those recovered from the wreckage of the I35W bridge in Minneapolis; the toddler's mother has not yet been found, CNN reports. Remains located by divers in the Mississippi today bring the total number of casualties in the Aug. 1 collapse to at...

Two Bodies Pulled From Bridge Debris

Aug 9, 2007 6:30 PM CDT

Two Bodies Pulled From Bridge Debris

Confirmed death toll climbs to 7; at least 6 more remain missing

(Newser) - Authorities recovered two more bodies from the wreckage of the I-35W bridge today, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, bringing the official death toll to seven. One of the bodies has already been identified, and police anticipated retrieving a third as work continued for a seventh full day in and around...

Feds Spot Bridge Support Flaw

Aug 9, 2007 5:28 AM CDT

Feds Spot Bridge Support Flaw

Same metal plates are used by hundreds of other bridges

(Newser) - Federal experts investigating the Minneapolis bridge disaster have identified a structural flaw that may have led to the collapse, reports the New York Times. Investigators suspect that steel gusset plates used to connect the girders weren't strong enough to support the bridge right from the start. Federal authorities immediately warned...

Investigators Plan Bridge Reassembly

Aug 6, 2007 4:46 PM CDT

Investigators Plan Bridge Reassembly

Jigsaw parts to be examined; search for victims continues

(Newser) - NTSB investigators will rebuild the wreckage of the I-35W bridge downriver, the Star Tribune reports. Safety officials will examine the twisted rubble piece by piece in an attempt to figure out what caused last week's devastating collapse. Investigators also hope to recover bodies still trapped in the debris.