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A former Alexandria, Minn., resident died in a bicycle crash in the Twin Cities Wednesday morning. Dennis Dumm, 31, was riding in the bike lane near the intersection of Park Avenue and 14th Street East in Minneapolis when the accident happened at about 7:40 a.m. Authorities said Dumm and a semitrailer were both headed north.
Tilly, a pot bellied pig, may be facing eviction in Akeley. Owner Tania Sorvisto arrived at the council meeting this week with daughters Heather, 5, and Danielle, 7, White to request the ordinance prohibiting Vietnamese pot bellied pigs in the city be revisited. The pig, she said, is litter box trained and considered a house pet. Benjamin Taylor, who accompanied Sorvisto, said the pigs are considered to be one of the most intelligent of house pets. But a city ordinance states "farm animals" - specifically including pot bellied pigs - must be kept within an agricultural district of the city
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota lawmakers agree the whopping budget deficit they faced this legislative session was no surprise, but point fingers across the political aisle when assigning blame for lack of a budget deal. The Legislature ended its 2009 session Monday night without a tidy conclusion to its main order of business - solving a $4.6 billion deficit in the next two-year state budget. Democrats who control the Legislature sent budget bills to Gov.
ST. PAUL - Minnesota legislators rushed through bills funding a bulk of the state budget Wednesday, but without fully paying. The Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty have not agreed on how to fund part of the budget, leaving tax and spending questions in the 2009 legislative session's final five days. Senators and representatives worked into Wednesday night approving funding for education, agriculture, veterans, public works and other state programs, often with little or no debate.
ST. PAUL - Minnesota lawmakers propose to keep public school funding stable for the next two years and give public colleges and universities a small state spending cut. The Democrat-controlled Legislature on Wednesday passed a $13.7 billion spending plan for early childhood programs and K-12 schools that protects schools from spending reductions planned for many other budget state budget areas. Also, lawmakers approved a $3 billion measure funding state colleges and universities that trims state spending by 2 percent. But both bills are in doubt.
On paper, Hinckley is more popular than the Twin Ports. More Northern Lights Express passengers would use a station built near Grand Casino in Hinckley than both a Superior depot and Duluth terminal, if annual ridership figures from a feasibility study for the proposed rail line play out as projected. About 1.3 million riders are forecast to travel annually on one of eight daily runs along a portion of the 150-mile corridor from Minneapolis to Duluth.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota voters could cast ballots in person during the weeks leading up to Election Day under a bill senators supported Friday. Minnesota would join states that offer early in-person voting. Voters could cast ballots at designed polling places during a two-week window before Election Day. The election bill, which senators preliminarily approved, also moves the state primary election from early September to the first Tuesday in June.
ST. PAUL - Legislators on an education funding committee took the weekend off. A spat among Minnesota lawmakers negotiating a health-care spending bill interrupted talks Saturday. Lawmakers working on a deal to fund agriculture and veterans' programs were in a holding pattern, and other spending bills remained unresolved, a little more than a week before the Legislature must adjourn. And reaction to Gov.
ST. PAUL - State health officials are tweaking their H1N1 swine influenza guidelines as Minnesota settles in for an unpredictable flu fight that could last months. Doctors and clinicians have sent more than 400 samples from patients with flu symptoms to the Health Department for H1N1 swine flu testing.
ST. PAUL - Minnesota counties with lots of state-owned land may like an environment spending plan that protects state payments they receive. Counties cannot impose a property tax levy on state land, so the state makes cash payments, which are maintained under a compromise plan developed by a House-Senate conference committee that both legislative chambers passed Monday night. To help balance the state budget, Gov.