For the Pioneer Press, Maraya King reports, “Water Gremlin was served Tuesday with 95 lawsuits accusing the company of causing cancer, chronic illness and death for some White Bear Township residents. The company, which manufactures fishing products and battery terminals, was fined $7 million in 2019 for a 17-year history of releasing into the air a hazardous chemical known as trichloroethylene, or TCE. … Water Gremlin said it first learned of the complaints Tuesday morning and is reviewing each of the claims.”
In The Hill Brooke Migdon writes, “A Minnesota House committee voted Wednesday to bar state health care providers from attempting to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity through ‘conversion therapy,’ a discredited practice that major medical associations have condemned as dangerous and ineffective. The measure approved Wednesday by the Minnesota House Human Services Policy Committee seeks to prevent licensed mental health care professionals in the state from engaging in conversion therapy with clients who are younger than 18 or are adults considered vulnerable under Minnesota law.”
This last night from Paul Huttner at MPR News, “Here are some key forecast points on our inbound storm system:
- A winter storm warning covers most of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
- A winter weather advisory includes the Twin Cities area.
- Snow begins across southern Minnesota Wednesday evening.
- Snow likely moves into the greater Twin Cities around the midnight hour.
- The heaviest snowfall rates will occur between midnight Wednesday to about 8 a.m. Thursday.
- Thursday morning’s rush hour will be challenging.”
And KSTP-TV adds, “The City of St. Paul has canceled north-south residential plowing operations for Thursday and Friday due to the forecasted snowstorm, according to a press release Wednesday night.”
This also from KSTP. Joe Mazan says, “The Minnesota Trucking Association has named its 2022 Minnesota Driver of the Year. Scott Swenson won the award at MTA’s annual Driver of the Year Banquet Tuesday night. Swenson works for Dart Transport in Eagan and has been driving for 46 years. Over the decades Swenson has earned an impressive driving record. ‘I’ve got over four million miles accident free and I’m almost to five. I’m working my way to five million,’ Swenson said. ‘I can’t see sitting there staring at a computer talking to people. I’d rather be out running down the road. It’s just in my blood.’”
At KARE-TV Eva Andersen reports area plastic surgeons are divided over the latest trend known as buccal fat pad surgery: “The procedure removes a portion of cheek fat through an incision in the mouth. … Dr. Matthew Camp, CEO of Echelon Surgical Specialists in Edina and Minnetonka, said he has a ‘philosophical problem’ with the surgery. Even though he, too, has received a surge in requests for the surgery, he won’t perform it. ‘That fat pad is there for a reason: it adds volume to the face,’ Dr. Camp said. ‘Part of the appearance of a youthful, healthy face, is roundness of the cheek. And if you chisel the fat out, you get this sort of gaunt, chiseled appearance that looks somewhat haggard.'”
Says Nicole Norfleet in the Strib, “Kowalski’s Markets will move into the former Herberger’s space at Southdale Center in Edina, further transforming the shopping mall into a mixed-use destination. Talk about the grocer being incorporated into the mall space has been around for years. On Wednesday, mall owner Simon Property Group confirmed that the Kowalski’s is expected to open next year in the empty department store at the southeast portion of Southdale. The grocery store will occupy more than 34,000 square feet on the ground level of the Herberger’s, which closed in 2018.”
At MPR News Robyn Katona says, “One voyager crossed the waves of ‘Lake Chipotle’ in Minneapolis on a mere inflatable paddle board Tuesday evening. There were many dangers this new lake created: dark waters Nessy could hide in, high risk of wet socks and soggy burritos. Christina Neel, who said she works in rural city planning and lives in the Twin Cities, said she decided to paddleboard in the infamous puddle to make a point.”
