ENBRIDGE-LINE 3

Enbridge fails to meet aquifer cleanup deadline in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Enbridge has failed to meet a deadline set by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for cleaning up a site where an aquifer ruptured during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline. The DNR had given the company until Friday to repair the damage to the artesian aquifer near Clearbrook. Regulators will require compensation for the additional time it takes to stop the groundwater flow. The Star Tribune reports that regulators are also investigating two other sites where the company may have caused additional groundwater damage. Enbridge spokeswoman Julie Kellner says the company is “fully cooperating” with the DNR. Line 3 starts in Alberta, Canada, and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. 

DYLAN TRIBUTES

New art tribute to Dylan on display outside Minnesota school

HIBBING, Minn. (AP) — A public art tribute to Bob Dylan has been unveiled in Hibbing with the hopes of inspiring a new generation of young artists. The display of the Iron Range town’s most famous resident is located outside Hibbing High School, where the 80-year-old Dylan was a 1959 graduate. On one side of the display, a brick wall features the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature that Dylan was awarded in 2016. The opposite side of the wall features a series of stainless steel panels that contain lyrics from more than 50 of his songs. The volunteer group Hibbing Dylan Project spent five years and raised about $100,000 to design and build the tribute.

ROTC BRIDGE BUILDERS

ROTC students in 2 states rebuild bridge used in skills test

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — ROTC students from three colleges along the Wisconsin and Minnesota border came together to rebuild a bridge that is part of a trail system used in an annual national competition. The Eagle Battalion included about a dozen students from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University in Wisconsin and Winona State University in Minnesota. Last week they replaced an old bridge on the Oak Trail, part of the Lower Hixon Trail System in the city of La Crosse. The La Crosse Tribune reports that students frequently use the trail system during the Northern Warfare Challenge, a yearly skill and endurance challenge involving ROTC programs from across the country.

BC-ND-CONSTRUCTION FATALITY

Minnesota woman killed in North Dakota construction accident

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A road construction worker was killed in the eastern North Dakota community of Cooperstown when she was struck by a dump truck. The Highway Patrol says the truck was backing up to pour asphalt on the roadway when it hit the 50-year-old woman from Odessa, Minnesota. She was pronounced dead at the scene about 5 p.m. Thursday. Her name wasn’t immediately released. The patrol is continuing to investigate.

BC-MN-WALZ-PHEASANT OPENER

Gov. Walz bags a bird during Minnesota’s pheasant opener

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz says he bagged a pheasant on Saturday during Minnesota’s 2021 pheasant hunting opener. Walz hunted on private land in Kandiyohi County. He was hosted by Kevin Ochsendorf and Brad Hanson, both longtime pheasant hunters in the Willmar area. Also joining the hunt were George “Corky” Berg, of the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners; Mateo Engan, from the Willmar High School Trap Team; and Nathan Rohne, of Kandiyohi County Pheasants Forever. Walz said their four-legged hunting partners, Rayna and Hook, helped him bag his rooster.

MURDER SUSPECT-SUICIDE

Man suspected in 2 murders kills himself near Cloquet

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man suspected of murdering two other men shot himself to death off a rural road west of Cloquet, after a state trooper stopped him for questioning. Authorities said the man confessed to the murders to a dispatcher while he was being pursued by the trooper early Saturday.  A state trooper spotted a vehicle driving away from the scene where two man were found dead. The driver refused to stop for the trooper, leading to a chase that ended when his vehicle skidded into a ditch just west of Cloquet. It was then that the suspect shot himself. 

CAPITOL BREACH-SELF-REPRESENTATION

Risky business: Some Capitol riot defendants forgo lawyers

At least five people charged in the riot at the U.S. Capitol have chosen to defend themselves in court. In doing so, they’re brushing aside federal judges’ repeated warnings about the risks of trying to navigate their high-stakes cases without a lawyer. Self-representation is a bedrock right guaranteed by the Constitution, but it’s also inspired the age-old adage that anyone who represents themselves has a fool for a client. The move by the defendants already has led to some curious legal maneuvers and awkward exchanges in court. A self-represented New York man wants to bill the government for working on his own case, but a judge rejected that idea.

WORKER KILLED

Worker killed at paper recycling facility in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A worker has died at a paper recycling facility in Minneapolis after suffering injuries involving heavy machinery. Simon Barrera Merino was injured about 1:40 a.m. Tuesday at Pioneer Industries International. Merino suffered head and chest injuries from a “workplace injury involving a forklift.” He was declared dead at the scene. Authorities have not offered specifics about how the injuries occurred.  

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