Wild coach Yeo goes ‘nuts’ at team practice

Pretty much a meltdown by Wild coach Mike Yeo. Says Mike Russo (mostly) for the Strib, in a series of Tweets from a practice session.

“Yeo has stopped practicing and laying into the team #mnwild.”

“Yeo is going nuts in practice. Just slammed his stick in the middle of a scrum; screaming his head off. #mnwild.”

” Vanek on Yeo: I think it was good and maybe needed. There’s only so much you can say before you snap #mnwild.”

Uh oh, Southwest LRT. Tom Scheck at MPR reports, “The planned Southwest light rail line from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie has run into a major hurdles at the state Capitol, with Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislators backing away from the project. Dayton said Tuesday that he is not willing to back the state share of the $1.6 billion project until a lawsuit over its route and a move by the Minneapolis Park Board to consider digging a deeper tunnel for the train are settled. Citing ongoing disagreements over running the line through Minneapolis’s upscale Kenwood neighborhood, Dayton said he’s also not going to ask the federal government for funding for the project this year or next year.”

Today’s best fraud report. From Nicole Norfleet and James Walsh of the Strib say, “The former principal of Woodbury’s East Ridge High School allegedly used school district funds to purchase iPads, gift cards, a personal membership to Sam’s Club and other items, according to complaints filed with his employer, documents released Tuesday show. Aaron Harper, principal at the school since it opened in 2009, resigned abruptly last Nov. 6 following an investigation into complaints made to the South Washington County School District.” “Sam’s Club”? What the … ? Where’s the boat? The trips to Vegas? The Rolexes and the membership to Christian Mingle?

An almost Nye’s-like closing. Says Paul Walsh in the Strib, “A swift and unanticipated end has come to Pracna, the restaurant and bar that opened in the late 19th century along historic St. Anthony Main, fell victim to Prohibition and was revived in the 1970s. ‘Pracna on Main is closed,’ reads the printed note on plain white paper taped to the front door of the business that billed itself as ‘the oldest restaurant on the oldest street in Minneapolis.’ Its website and social media stream have also disappeared.” You know there’ll an Irish pub “concept” in there by St. Patty’s Day.

Not one, but more like a hundred for the road. Rachel Chazin at KMSP-TV reports, “A Minnesota woman recorded a .45 blood alcohol concentration level after passing out drunk in a Minnesota State Trooper’s driveway.  The woman’s BAC was five times the legal limit, and the highest recorded in the state during an enhanced DWI enforcement campaign from Nov. 26 to Dec. 31. … The State Trooper declined to comment, but it has been confirmed that she was off-duty when the woman was found in her driveway.”

This was in the news yesterday, but I think I’ll drop it in here. The AP says, “A new national health report has determined Minnesota is among the states with the most fatal binge drinking cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Tuesday ranking Minnesota eighth for deaths caused by alcohol poisoning.

In the wake of UMD cutting ties with its five-time national championship winning women’s hockey coach, Jake New at InsideHigherEd.com writes, “That’s not to say gender inequity in college coaching is a new phenomenon. In the last four decades, the percentage of women’s teams being coached by women has fallen from 90 percent to 40. The massive drop in the percentage of women coaches happened while the number of female college athletes soared 500 percent, thanks to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Sixty percent of women’s teams are now coached by men. About 3 percent of men’s teams are coached by women.” If you scratch at something like the UMD story you usually find someone doesn’t like someone else so much.

A serious crime wave in Fillmore county. Elizabeth Baier of MPR reports, “Prosecutors have filed a civil complaint against an Amish couple for allegedly building a home without a permit. Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson will seek Wednesday to dismiss criminal charges against Ammon and Sarah Swartzentruber and instead proceed with a civil case against the couple. Attorney Fred Suhler represented the Swartzentrubers in the criminal case. A civil proceeding makes more sense, he said. The Swartzentrubers say a December 2013 county regulation that requires homeowners to install a septic system is considered to be a modern-day convenience that goes against Amish beliefs and lifestyle.”

Paul Huttner: Cockeyed optimist. At MPR the weather guy says, “One thing we know about cold waves: They tend to fade with time. It’s just a question of how soon, and how mild after? All indications are next week should be much warmer. The Global Forecast System runs crank out highs in the 30s by late next week into the weekend of January 17-18. From wind chills of -35 to air temps of +35, it should feel about 70 degrees warmer in Minnesota late next week.”

Paul Douglas says, “Very Slow Recovery. No rapid thaw this time around, although guidance suggests 20s, even low 30s by the end of next week as winds aloft begin to blow from the Pacific. The next (and final) subzero surge for now whips up an inch or so of powder tomorrow (roads may be rough again with black ice), followed by double digit negative numbers Friday morning before teens return this weekend. Kind of sad when a high of 13 represents a warm front.” Yeah, this is serious riff-raff deterrence.