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Minnesota firefighters deployed to fight blaze in Manitoba

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

A crew of 17 woodland firefighters from Minnesota was deployed to Manitoba, Canada, after the province asked the state for help in fighting historic blazes ripping through the area.Gov. Tim Walz said the deployment was through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ partnership with the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact.“Thank you to the Minnesota wildland firefighters who answered the call to help our neighbors in the north,” said Walz. “We have a strong partnership and will continue to do everything we can to share resources and contain the Canadian wildfires.”The partnership that the DNR has with Canada and neighboring states ensures that all parties can “quickly and efficiently share resources to respond to wildfires throughout the region,” DNR officials said.“Canada is experiencing a historic fire season this year and I’m proud that our DNR wildland firefighters are ready to protect life and property in Minnesota and beyond, whenever the call comes in,” D...

Glencore moves to take full control of PolyMet, Minnesota copper-nickel mining project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

Swiss commodities giant Glencore moved Monday to take full ownership of PolyMet Mining, a company that’s developing a copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota with one of Canada’s largest miners, Teck Resources.Glencore already owns 82% of PolyMet Mining and has long been the project’s main financial backer. It offered Monday to pay around $71 million to raise that stake to 100%, which would take St. Paul-headquartered PolyMet private. Glencore’s proposal represents around a 167% premium over PolyMet’s closing stock price on Friday, and shares surged on the news in Monday’s trading.PolyMet Mining said in a statement that it “welcomes the engagement with Glencore” and that its directors are reviewing the proposal but have made no decisions yet.The proposed mining project, a 50-50 joint venture with Teck, was renamed NewRange Copper Nickel in February but is still widely known as PolyMet. It seeks to be Minnesota’s first copper...

Organizations offering direct help to food insecure 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Many people are struggling to buy groceries amid inflation and there are organizations looking to address the issue. The Produce Pick-Up Project is offering food assistance Monday through Thursday starting at 10:00 a.m.Families in need of help with groceries can go to the Albany Victory Gardens, on Clinton Avenue near Quail Street, at 456 1st St, Albany, NY 12206. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! 13.5 million households in America are food-insecure, according to the USDA.The President of the Albany Victory Gardens, which is part of Eden’s Rose Foundation, Mitchell Kyes says people are grateful for the help.“I feel good because when people see me, even the days we’re not open, they still come to say ‘thank you’ and that makes me cry,” Kyes said. Food pantries serving more families as inflation continues to rise Executive Administrator at Eden’s Rose Foundation Tori Pistili says no one, including undo...

Valley Park suspends city services; residents kept in the dark

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

VALLEY PARK, Mo. – There was a lot of confusion in Valley Park on Monday as the city suspended its services city wide. Residents were frustrated with the mayor and the board of aldermen. People tried to go inside city hall throughout the day, only to find locked doors and an empty parking lot.“There are no city workers in city hall. It is dark. The doors are locked. There is no one at home," said Anita Albright, Valley Park resident.Albright and her neighbor, Terry Spradley, said a big concern in Valley Park was the lack of information.“It’s rather shocking that this is how we’re informed. And it’s rather shocking, I’m sure, to have city workers show up to work and told to go back home,” Albright said. “Yeah, they were told to leave the building. These are guys that have families.” Ameren customers still without power in Missouri and Illinois after weekend storms Trash service is one of the many things on pause.“A few people said theirs had been picked up. So, that won’t be done u...

Legitimacy of “customer” in Supreme Court’s Colorado gay rights case raises ethical, legal flags

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

A Christian graphic artist in Colorado who the Supreme Court said can refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples pointed during her lawsuit to a request from a man named “Stewart” and his husband-to-be. The twist? Stewart says it never happened.The revelation has raised questions about how Lorie Smith’s case was allowed to proceed all the way to the nation’s highest court with such an apparent misrepresentation and whether the state of Colorado, which lost the case, has any legal recourse.It has served as another distraction at the end of a highly polarizing term for a Supreme Court marked by ethical questions and contentious rulings along ideological lines that rejected affirmative action in higher education and President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts.Here’s a look at the legal questions surrounding the mysterious would-be customer, “Stewart:”What role did the claim play in this case?About a month after the conservative legal grou...

Single-engine plane belly lands at Centennial Airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

South Metro Fire Rescue responded to Centennial Airport after a single-engine plane belly-landed there Monday afternoon.At approximately 1:50 p.m., a Rockwell Commander 112 landed gear up — also known as “belly landing” — on runway 17R, airport officials stated.Two passengers and a pilot were onboard and safely exited the plane without injuries, according to a tweet from South Metro.The pilot extinguished a small fire before firefighters arrived, officials said.Two runways, 17R and the nearby 35L, remain closed.Update: A Rockwell Commander 112 landed gear up on runway 17R. Two people were onboard and safely exited the aircraft without injuries. A small fire occurred and was extinguished prior to firefighters arriving. pic.twitter.com/H1HsDyxX6x— South Metro Fire Rescue (@SouthMetroPIO) July 3, 2023Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Colorado woman hit by train after police locked her in vehicle parked on tracks pleads no contest to misdem...

Nuggets’ Peyton Watson a focal point of Summer League squad: “I’m still making a name for myself in this league”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

Peyton Watson’s got next.As the Nuggets marched to their first championship, Watson’s contributions were more of the intangible variety.Nuggets coach Michael Malone stuck to his primary eight-man rotation in the playoffs, and it worked. But having lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency, there’s a pathway — and maybe an expectation — that Watson’s time is coming.The Nuggets opened training camp on Monday afternoon at Ball Arena ahead of their jaunt to Las Vegas for Summer League later this week. Jamal Murray was also in the gym, honing his shooting, meeting the young guys, and talking through plays with the team’s rookies. Perhaps Murray was trying to speed up their learning curve since if the Nuggets are going to repeat, they’re going to need significant developmental steps from guys like Watson. Murray stepped in and ran full-court with the guys in attendance.Watson, the second-year forward from UCLA, said he was making it a point to use his experience to help guide D...

Maternal deaths in the U.S. more than doubled over two decades. Black mothers died at the highest rate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled in two decades in unequal proportions. Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates. American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers saw the biggest increases in deaths. And there was high maternal mortality in the Midwest, some northern Mountain states and the Southeast. The new study is a state-by-state analysis of maternal deaths from 1999 to 2019 across five racial ethnic groups.Maternal deaths across the U.S. more than doubled over the course of two decades, and the tragedy unfolded unequally.Black mothers died at the nation’s highest rates, while the largest increases in deaths were found in American Indian and Native Alaskan mothers. And some states — and racial or ethnic groups within them – fared worse than others.The findings were laid out in a new study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers looke...

What will Biden’s new plan mean for borrowers set to begin paying back their student loans?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

NEW YORK — Following the Supreme Court’s decision to effectively kill Biden’s earlier student debt forgiveness proposal, the White House is trying again to ease the burden on those carrying student loans using a different legal approach. Biden’s original plan would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. Of those, 20 million would have had their remaining student debt erased completely.With repayments set to begin in October, many borrowers are wondering if they still have to pay. Here’s what to know about where the new Biden plan stands.Under the proposed approach, the White House is now planning to use the Higher Education Act of 1965 — a sweeping federal law that governs the student loan program — to bring about relief for student borrowers. Biden said the authority of the act will provide “the best path that remains to provide as many borrowers as possible with debt relief.”The law includes a provision giving the education secretar...

From human ashes to cellphones, what’s going on with concert fans lately?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:48:00 GMT

NEW YORK — From flinging bras to tossing flowers, concertgoers have long been a bit extra in showing adoration for their beloved artists — but a recent spate of artists being hit by weightier projectiles raises concerns about extreme fan culture and security.Country singer Kelsea Ballerini was the latest artist to be struck by a flying object, Wednesday evening at a Boise concert. In the moment caught on video, Ballerini is playing her guitar onstage when a bracelet hits her face and she takes a step back. Ballerini, clearly caught off guard, takes a moment before a brief intermission is called.“Hi, i’m fine,” she later said on Instagram. “Someone threw a bracelet, it hit me in the eye and it more so just scared me than hurt me.” Ashley Highfill, 30, was at the Idaho Botanical Garden show and said Ballerini seemed visibly upset. Highfill, who often attends concerts with her friends, said it’s become a normal occurrence to see fans throwing items onstage at concerts. “Stuff lik...