Bring Me the News staff report, “A home with over 200 pet rats in the small town of Trommald has been declared a public health nuisance. After county workers were denied access to the home, the Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners last week authorized a cleanup to abate the conditions causing an order of animal excrement and urine to emanate from the home.”

A KSTP-TV story says, “Wells Fargo is planning to leave some of its Twin Cities metro locations in an effort to consolidate its corporate office workspaces. A company spokesperson, Staci Schiller, confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Wells Fargo plans to leave its home mortgage campus in south Minneapolis and its office space in St. Louis Park as employees start moving to one of three locations.”

This from Stribber Jeremy Olson, “IVF cycles increased in Minnesota in 2020 despite the pandemic disruptions and clinic closures, according to new outcomes data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. The following year, Minnesota’s five IVF clinics performed a record 7,566 cycles, a 36% increase in five years.”

And related … this from KSTP’s Renee Cooper, “5 EYEWITNESS NEWS took a tour of the 1916 Northstar East Tower Monday, the City of Minneapolis’s $92 million pilot project to bring people back to the city center, in part by converting vacant commercial buildings into housing. The 13-story building was erected in 1916, and by the 1960s, Dan Collison — director of business development and public affairs for Sherman Associates, the company heading up the conversion project — said it became the first mixed office and retail space in all of downtown.”

At KMSP-TV Tom Lyden reports, “Samuel Brinton, the former Department of Energy official, has entered adult diversion stemming from their theft of luggage last September from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. As part of the adult diversion program, Brinton must have a mental health evaluation, must write a letter of apology to the victim, return any stolen property, and complete three days of community service. Brinton appeared today remotely Monday in a Hennepin County court hearing from their home in Washington, D.C.”

Says MPR’s Dan Kraker, “University of Minnesota Regent Ken Powell announced Monday he is stepping down as chair of the university’s governing board ‘to support continuity of leadership’ of the 12-member board, which is tasked with replacing outgoing President Joan Gabel. Janie Mayeron, who had been serving as Board of Regents vice chair, immediately steps into the chair position. She has already called a special meeting for Thursday to take next steps in the process to select an interim president. Powell is the former CEO of General Mills who was elected as an at-large board member in 2017. He will continue to serve on the board through the remainder of his term.”

For BringMeTheNews Tommy Wiita says, “David’s Bridal, one of the largest wedding retail chains in the United States, could close all five of its Minnesota locations after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In a WARN notice to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, the company’s five Minnesota stores – in Richfield, Maple Grove, Oakdale, Rochester and Duluth — will permanently close or go through mass layoffs starting in mid-April and concluding in mid-August. The stores will remain open for business during the period, and while the company says any layoffs will be permanent, the letter states that at this time it’s ‘uncertain whether [David’s Bridal] will be ceasing operations entirely or the closure will be limited to certain locations’.”

At Axios Nick Halter says, “The Wild and the Wolves are back in the playoffs, which is pretty common for Minnesota sports teams these days. Yes, but: Advancing in the playoffs has been a different story. … More than half of the local teams’ postseason success came from the Lynx, which won four WNBA titles between 2011 and 2017.

For WisconsinWatch Erin Gretzinger reports, “According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress report card, 67.4% of fourth grade students in Wisconsin failed to test at proficient or above in reading. Similarly, about 67.6% of eighth grade students were not proficient or above in reading. The 2022 reading levels were the lowest recorded since 1998, although there were inconsistencies with data reporting standards in the early 2000s. Wisconsin also performed poorly in racial education gaps, having the widest disparity in scores between Black and white students in the nation.”