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North St. Paul native Carolyn Wiger makes it to this season’s ‘Survivor’ finale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

Two east metro natives competed on the current season of “Survivor” and one of them, Carolyn Wiger, made it to the finale, which airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday on CBS.The daughter of former state Sen. Chuck Wiger, the 35-year-old Wiger was born in North St. Paul and now lives in Hugo, where she works in substance recovery.With her lanky figure, numerous tattoos and complete lack of a poker face, Wiger seemed more like light comic relief to both viewers and her fellow castaways for much of the season, which is the show’s 44th. She proved to be both highly skilled and comically inept at challenges, like when she got stuck in a twisted net and starting howling and moaning (the challenge starts about 3 minutes into the video below).But once the tribes merged, Wiger’s savvy began to become much more obvious. She formed an unlikely alliance with Carson Garrett, a 20-year-old engineering student who used a 3D printer to recreate practice puzzles from the show, and Yamil “Yam Yam” Aro...

MN GOP say nursing homes are left behind in DFL $1.3 billion human services budget

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

Democrats in the Minnesota Senate on Friday approved a massive spending bill for human services that Republicans say doesn’t provide enough money to help struggling nursing homes.The legislation includes $1.3 billion in new money, which is a 16 percent increase over current funding and one of the biggest spending boosts in the next budget. The new funds would go to help care for the state’s most vulnerable including seniors, the chronically ill and Minnesotans with disabilities with a priority on home and community based services.“This bill changes people’s lives. It creates the autonomy and independence for people with disabilities,” said Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, the primary sponsor of the bill. “It encourages choice of care services and really honors the diversity of those care needs.”The legislation was approved with a 35-32 vote and now heads to the House. It is part of the next state budget the Legislature is working to finalize...

Investigators: Man who killed 2 Wisconsin officers had history of domestic problems

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

MADISON, Wis. — The man who killed two police officers in a roadside shootout in northwestern Wisconsin last month was struggling with a divorce and didn’t like getting “pushed around” by police, state investigators said in a report released Friday.Glenn Douglas Perry, 50, of New Auburn, shot and killed Chetek police officer Emily Breidenbach and Cameron police officer Hunter Scheel during a traffic stop in Cameron on April 8. Perry was hit during an exchange of gunfire and later died of his wounds.The state Justice Department has been investigating the incident and released nearly 1,000 pages of documents detailing its findings.According to the report, Perry’s ex-wife told investigators that she thought Perry was schizophrenic, carried guns in his vehicle and slept with a gun under his pillow. She said he talked “to stuff that is not there” and threatened multiple people, including court officials involved in their divorce.An ex-girlfriend told investigators that ...

MN could see gas tax increase, 75-cent delivery fee

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

With just a few days left of the 2023 Legislative session, Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers are considering raising Minnesota’s gasoline tax and creating a new fee on deliveries to help fund transportation.Many of the bills forming the upcoming state budget have passed or have been signed into law, but House and Senate lawmakers continue to negotiate on the transportation bill. As they try to find sources of ongoing revenue for transportation, the delivery and gas taxes have emerged as potential new moneymakers for the state.A proposed new gas tax would tie the state per-gallon tax on gasoline to the rate of inflation, raising it beyond the current charge of 28.5 cents a gallon in the future. The proposal has not been finalized and exact figures are not yet available.Road maintenanceAsked about the tax at a Thursday Capitol news conference, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic emphasized the proposal’s role in paying for infrastructure upkeep.“First of all, I would call it a road m...

Saratoga Springs fire chief charged with misconduct, suspended without pay

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Saratoga Springs fire chief has been charged with misconduct and suspended without pay, according to the city's public safety commissioner. Fire Chief Joseph Dolan was placed on paid administrative leave in January. The union representing the city's firefighters called for his removal in April. They alleged some of Dolan's actions put firefighters and the community at risk. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The union cited an agreement to supply emergency services to the town of Greenfield. The union also said he chose to operate a fire truck without meeting minimum staffing recommendations.Assistant Chief Aaron Dyer has been serving as interim chief, and the president of the union has said he supports him.

New top prosecutor leaves high-powered law firm for public service

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Missouri Governor Mike Parson says he chose quality over politics in his pick for St. Louis Circuit Attorney.“Our focus was solely in figuring out who in their heart holds what is best for the city," he said.The governor and his pick, Gabe Gore, emphasized collaboration as the key.“Working together, I am confident that we can build a prosecutor’s office here that is one of the highest performing in the country," Gore said.Gore is a former federal prosecutor and is currently a partner at the law firm Dowd Bennet. He worked and raised his family in the city.“The same level of public safety that we enjoy, raising our family here, is what we seek for all St. Louisans," Gore said. Road rage fight sends 73-year-old man to hospital with life-threatening injuries “The step he took today, to leave a high-powered partnership at a law firm to come help the city that he loves, speaks volumes for his character," said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones.Chief Robert Tracy of the St. Loui...

Vista Ridge’s Brandon Hills breaks state record in long jump after coming back from gunshot wound, last year’s bitter defeat: “I’m blessed to be here in this moment.”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

LAKEWOOD — With a scar on his chest and the feeling he had nothing to lose, Brandon Hills zoomed down the runway at Jeffco Stadium toward history.The Vista Ridge senior broke the state record in the long jump with a mark of 24 feet, 8 inches on Friday afternoon. It marked Hills’ full-circle journey to re-staking his claim as Colorado’s top long jumper after coming back from a gunshot wound to his chest and then getting upset in the event’s finals a year ago.Brandon Hills of Vista Ridge high school jumps up in celebration after a winning 24-foot, 8-inch leap in the Class 5A boys long jump during the second day of the 2023 CHSAA state track and field championships at Jeffco Stadium on Friday May 19, 2023. Hills set the Colo. Prep and State Meet record with the jump. (Photo by Eric Lutzens/The Denver Post)“This is what I’ve worked for,” Hills said of the state record. “I knew I was capable of this but I never put the pen to paper. I would...

Valor Christian’s Dane Eike, Pomona’s Emma Stutzman claim first place in Class 5A 3,200-meter races

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

LAKEWOOD— Dane Eike needed a minute. The Valor Christian junior had fallen onto the wet grass in the center of the track at Jeffco Stadium, breathing heavily with his head aching and legs trembling.Eike had just used all the energy in his body to win the Class 5A boys 3,200-meter run at the CHSAA state track and field meet here Friday morning. After falling short of the title last year, Eike won with a time of 9 minutes 13.27 seconds, just enough to beat out Mountain Vista’s Benjamin Anderson (9:13. 48) and Tyler Downs (9:14.34), who finished second and third respectively.“I’ve been waiting for (this) win for so long,” Eike said. “When I dropped to the ground, I (said) ‘Thank God.’”Eike had to persevere through unpleasant conditions to claim gold. As rain trickled down he had to battle puddles of water scattered across the track. Earlier in the race, water splashed in Eike’s face after ninth-place finisher Christian Groendyk ran past him. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is craz...

California has some of the most expensive pizza in the nation, study finds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

Whether it’s a freshly baked pie, a slice, frozen or French bread, there is no denying the popularity of pizza in the United States.Americans consume about three billion pizzas each year – which works out to around nine pies per person.Aside from being versatile and delicious, one of the most appealing things about pizza is the price. You can typically feed a family of four with a 14-inch pie for under 20 bucks. That is, unless you live in California.Shocker, right?Betting.com looked at pizza prices across the nation and ranked seven California cities among the top 10 for the most-expensive pizza. California-based In-N-Out Burger poised for major expansion The website pulled data from GrubHub to find the average cost of a regular 14-inch cheese pizza with no toppings in 50 of the largest U.S. cities.It found Portland, Oregon, has the most expensive pizza at $21.67, before taxes (and again, with no toppings).San Jose, California was second at $21.59. San Francisco, Fresno, Los Ange...

New Report: 77% Decline in Youth Incarceration

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:10:24 GMT

The Sentencing Project’s latest report found a 77% decrease in youth held in juvenile justice facilities around the United States. The report numbers are based on one-day counts of how many youths are in the facilities. At the turn of the century, the number climbed as high as almost 109,000. Over the past two decades, it has declined to just over 25,000 in a one-day count taken in late October 2020. The number includes those awaiting their court date in detention facilities, youth prisons, residential treatment centers, group homes, or other placement facilities as a court-ordered consequence. “The sharp declines in youth arrests and incarceration demonstrate the possibilities for similar success for the adult population, as well. However, the persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the youth justice system highlight the need to address the sources of those disparities wherever they emerge,” The Sentencing Project noted when announcing the new report. One of the big takeaways w...