Working off the just-released National Climate Assessment, MPR and the AP say, “Midwesterners can expect a longer growing season, should climate change continue along its current path. But the benefits of more crops with higher yields will be tempered by the extreme weather events that have already begun to shake Midwestern weather expectations. ‘In the long term, the combined stresses associated with climate change are expected to decrease agricultural productivity,’ the report says.” Not that you’ll hear a peep about this from any TV weather guy/gal.
Pretty much the kind of people no one wants in town … . Mara Gottfried’s PiPress story on the Mexican cartel torturers says, “A Mexican drug cartel had a ‘stash house’ in St. Paul, and when drugs and money were stolen from it last month, several people thought to be involved were kidnapped and tortured, according to charges filed in Ramsey County District Court. A federal grand jury has indicted four men in the case. … The kidnapping victims were released, but the little finger belonging to one of the men was nearly severed by his captors… .”
Over in the Strib, Paul McEnroe writes, “Federal authorities who cracked the case say they are not surprised by the no-tolerance approach of the Sinaloa cartel, which has built a multimillion-dollar Midwest drug trade with brutal efficiency. What made this mission startling, they say, is that rather than using its own muscle, the cartel hired members of one of the most feared transnational gangs in the United States and Latin America — the MS-13 organization.” Is TSA watching for these characters?
Exercising his Second Amendment rights … . Nicole Norfleet and Paul Walsh of the Strib report, “A 57-year-old New Brighton man is in jail Tuesday on suspicion of fatally shooting a neighbor and wounding the victim’s girlfriend in a long-running dispute over what another neighbor said was the alleged gunman’s anger over the feeding of deer. … The accused gunman has been involved in at least two lawsuits with neighbors, the most recent filed a year ago against him by the woman now in the hospital, according to court records.”
Similarly, an MPR item says, “ … from the Benson School system’s Facebook Page: ‘This morning, the Benson School system, in conjunction with the Benson Police Department and the Swift County Sheriff’s Department, received a report at 8:05 a.m. of a firearm on the premises of Northside Elementary School in the city of Benson, MN. The firearm was brought to school by a kindergarten student. Other students became aware of the firearm and immediately notified a teacher.’”
Housing inspectors anyone? Tim Harlow and Walsh file a piece saying, “At least part of a retail building in south Minneapolis where a third-floor addition was being built collapsed Tuesday morning, according to police. Part of Karmel Square, a mall that houses about 150 Somali businesses at 2910 Pillsbury Avenue, gave way around 8:45 a.m. There were no immediate reports of injuries, said police spokesman Scott Seroka.”
The Strib can take credit for this bill … . Brandon Stahl writes, “The Minnesota House approved reforms on Monday night that would allow the Minnesota Board of Nursing to take tougher action against problem nurses, one week after the Senate passed a similar bill. Nurses who fail out of a state drug and mental health monitoring program could be automatically suspended, while nurses convicted of a felony sex crime would have their licenses revoked unless they could prove their practice was not a threat to the public.”
On Target’s talent search for a new CEO, Walter Loeb in Forbes writes, “[I]t is a necessity to find a strong visionary to position a company like Target for a future where internet sales will continue to grow and affect the operating cost of the core store units. … The need for training a new cadre of retail executives is becoming more evident every day. It is fascinating to contemplate the diminishment of several large retailers due to a lack of skilled, industry developed, talent.”
A trio of Bloomberg reporters say, “Potential candidates for the top job include HSN Inc. CEO Mindy Grossman, Bon-Ton Stores Inc. chief Brendan Hoffman, Gap Inc. head Glenn Murphy and Victoria’s Secret CEO Sharen Turney. … ‘They really need to restore some confidence, and I don’t think anyone is going to have any confidence in someone from inside, even though that’s their culture to promote from within,’ said Kathy Gersch, executive vice president at Kotter International, a leadership and strategy firm.” That speaks well of the current team, doesn’t it?
