Must have been scary there for a while. The West Central Tribune’s Carolyn Lange reports: “Weather and road conditions were so bad in Renville County Thursday night that the Minnesota National Guard was activated to rescue motorists who were stranded in vehicles in subzero temperatures. … Renville County Sheriff Scott Hable said in a news release that U.S. Highway 71 north of Olivia was ‘completely impassable by conventional vehicles,’ and the National Guard Unit conducted two separate rescue missions during the night with special equipment called the SUSV Tracked Vehicle.”
Sexual harassment bill advances. The AP’s Steve Karnowski reports (via KSTP): “A Minnesota House committee has approved a bill to strengthen the state’s laws against sexual harassment. … The judiciary committee sent the bill to the floor on a 16-0 vote Thursday. … Democratic Rep. Kelly Moller, of Shoreview, and other witnesses told the panel the legislation is necessary because Minnesota courts have set the legal standard too high for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace to seek justice in the courts.”
Lots of interest in St. Paul’s city council election. The Pioneer Press’s Frederick Melo reports: “The off-year, ranked-choice election for city council is still nine months away. … But with 20 declared candidates for the seven council seats, there’s been an unusual amount of campaign activity on the ground.”
The khat’s out of the bag. KMSP’s Namoi Pescovitz reports: “The drug khat appears to be making a return to the Twin Cities. … The green, leafy East African plant is illegal and gets people high. Just last month, police found nearly 500 pounds of the drug in two metro storage lockers.”
In other news…
So… not good? “Deer disease seen as threat to humans: Experts compare CWD with resilient mad cow virus” [Fargo Forum]
Fool me once, Wells Fargo: “Where’s my paycheck? Wells Fargo customers say direct deposits not showing up after outage” [St. Cloud Times]
Or as we like to call it, Minneapolis West: “Sun Country eyes Portland for a new pilot base, its first beyond Twin Cities” [Star Tribune]
This is someone’s dream job: “Split Rock Lighthouse manager to retire” [Duluth News Tribune]
Scar could not be reached for comment: “Como Zoo ‘heartbroken’ as 17-year-old lion Mufasa is euthanized” [Bring Me The News]
