Walleye fishing on Mille Lacs to close Monday night

That’s a wrap, folks. Pat Pheifer of the Strib reports, “There was anger, sadness and a bit of resignation Sunday when the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it was shutting down walleye fishing on Lake Mille Lacs midseason for the first time in history. The cutoff is 10 p.m. Monday. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr called it ‘a dark day for anglers in Minnesota.’”

A tough time to be a dentist. The AP says, “A Wisconsin dentist is dealing with angry phone calls because he has the same last name as the Minnesota dentist accused of killing a protected lion in Zimbabwe. Mathew Palmer of Janesville says he has received about 30 calls since Tuesday night, when officials in Zimbabwe identified a Minnesota dentist — Walter Palmer — as the American hunter who killed the lion. Mathew Palmer told the Janesville Gazette that he’s received calls from as far away as Florida.”

So no longer, “Nothing to see here, folks”? Also from the AP: “Law enforcement agencies are tallying the state’s backlog of untested rape kits in hopes of erasing it — or at least better understanding what led to it. The effort started Saturday as part of a new law passed by the Legislature this year that requires each law enforcement agency to report its number of untested rape kits, which gathered by hospitals to preserve evidence of an alleged sexual assault, along with an explanation for why each kit wasn’t processed. The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will report the statewide tally to lawmakers in December.”

Apparently performance reviews were futile. Stribber Alejandra Matos says, “Five Minnesota school districts have paid more than $2 million in salary, benefits and other payments to rid themselves of ineffective employees over the past two years, a Star Tribune analysis shows. The payouts are emblematic of a system in which the potential for costly litigation often forces districts to seek alternatives to dealing with employees whose behavior is unsatisfactory but does not rise to the level of abrupt ­firing for incompetence or significant misconduct. … In one instance, a social worker was paid to leave after nearly 10 years of allegations that he had skipped ­parent meetings, put a child in an inappropriate hold and offended administrators with sexually explicit language.”

Beloved not-quite-hometown airline Delta is always looking for new ways to improve its service to you, assuming you are a shareholder. In their latest move John Ewoldt of the Strib explains, “The latest effort by the nation’s airlines to lower the value of frequent flier miles is this: More will be needed to get on a flight that’s popular. The change was announced quietly last month by Delta Air Lines, the dominant carrier at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and a trendsetter in the refashioning of frequent flier programs. It will take effect next June. The move comes after Delta and other airlines earlier this year made a major change on the other side of the frequent flier equation by making it harder for casual travelers to collect miles.”

Not that you’re any better off driving. Says Beatrice Dupuy in the Strib, “Construction on eastbound Interstate 394 heading into Minneapolis will slow commuters through mid-August starting Monday. Drivers heading east on I-394 between Hwy. 100 and Interstate 94 should expect ‘significant traffic delays,’ according to the ­Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), as motorists are diverted to the two high-occupancy lanes. Metro Transit said the closure would affect 15 bus lines, and that delays are likely.”

Our elaborate medicinal marijuana bureaucracy is getting “mixed” grades after month No. 1. Kyle Potter of the AP tells us, “With the high costs and the hoops [Scott Rapp’s] family had to jump through just to get signed up, mother Shelly Rapp said they’re eyeing a move back to California, where the medicine was cheaper and worked better. The story of Minnesota’s first month of medical marijuana is one of triumphs, disappointments and everything in between — a trial-and-error process that manufacturers expected and many patients hoped to avoid. For some in both camps, it’s breaking the bank.”

Creeping soccer-ism. The Pioneer Press’ Frederick Melo says, “When veteran Minneapolis soccer referee Raul Sanchez offered a course in refereeing, 32 Latino soccer fans showed up. He wasn’t surprised. By his count, there are at least 15 Latino soccer leagues in the Twin Cities, and they average 30 teams apiece. And they’re growing. Would a professional soccer stadium somehow benefit the Latino community?”

What Would Hillary Clinton Do? Melo again reports, “Public watchdogs are raising questions about the transparency of a new St. Paul policy that deletes most city employee emails after six months.  In addition to the six-month policy, St. Paul employees have been notified that emails they move to ‘junk’ or ‘trash’ folders will disappear in two weeks. ‘Don’t save messages that are no longer useful,’ a new employee training manual states. ‘Delete as soon as their purpose is served. … Keep what you need to do your work.’”

Walker Watch. The Governor of “It’s Working”-land still isn’t sure it’s okay for him to say the President is Christian. Writes Igor Bobic at The Huffington Post, “Even after the president’s eulogy following a racially motivated shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, where one attendee called him ‘minister-in-chief,’ Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) still isn’t sure if Barack Obama is Christian. ‘I don’t know. I presume he is,’ he said before a Saturday gathering of wealthy donors hosted by the Koch brothers.” The guess is polling of likely primary voters tells him he’s better off believing Obama is the reincarnation of Mullah Omar.