NWA Exec Says Most Jobs Will Stay in Minnesota
05/13/2008
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland says the vast majority of Northwest's jobs in Minnesota would be preserved under a merger with Delta Air lines.

But Steenland is also warning that Northwest expects to reduce jobs and flights in the short-term in response to the rise in fuel costs. He made the comments yesterday at a St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce lunch.

Steenland emphasized that record oil prices will push fares even higher in the coming weeks and months. He says as fares go up, passenger demand will come down, and as demand comes down, the airline will have to shrink.

Steenland says high fuel costs pose the greatest threat to Northwest workers and consumers -- not the proposed merger.

MN Senate Says No to Real ID
05/13/2008
ST. PAUL (AP) -- By a veto-proof margin, the Minnesota Senate has approved a bill that would bar state driver's license authorities from implementing the federal Real ID regulations.

The proposed prohibition faces a tough road though. Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed an earlier attempt to require conditions be met for the state to change licenses to meet federal rules.

The Senate's vote was 50-16. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

Many states have resisted the Real ID mandate. Eventually, it will require that every citizen carry a U.S. government-approved card to board a plane or enter a federal facility.

Critics say it will be costly to implement and that too much of people's personal information will be added to a national database.

Supporters argue that a more secure identification card will help in homeland security and immigration control efforts.

Northwest Exec Will Leave
05/13/2008
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) -- Northwest Airlines Corp. says executive Neal Cohen is leaving.

Northwest is working to combine with Delta Air Lines Inc. by the end of this year. Cohen says in a statement that it's a good time to leave.

Cohen raised eyebrows when he returned to Northwest as chief financial officer in May 2005, which turned out to be four months before it filed for bankruptcy protection. Cohen had held the same position at U.S. Airways in 2002 before it entered bankruptcy.

Cohen became executive vice president for strategy and international operations, and CEO of Northwest's regional airlines.

Northwest spokeswoman Tammy Lee says Cohen's work will be taken over by other Northwest executives. The regional airlines will be run by Executive Vice President for Operations Andy Roberts.

DFL to Coleman: Divest $ From Lobbyist for Myanmar
05/13/2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Minnesota DFL is calling on Senator Norm Coleman to divest campaign donations made by employees of a firm that lobbied for Myanmar's junta.

The Coleman campaign quickly rejected the call, saying the contributions were legal and the company was engaged in legal activities.

At issue are donations from the political action committee and employees of the DCI Group. The lobbying firm's chief executive, Doug Goodyear, resigned Saturday as coordinator of the Republican National Convention -- after Newsweek reported that the company was paid $348,000 in 2002 and 2003 to represent Myanmar's junta.

The DFL is calling on Coleman to donate to charity the roughly $10,000 in donations made to his campaign and leadership PAC by DCI's PAC and employees, including Goodyear.

Corporate Money Given to Drive MN Zoo to Top 10
05/13/2008
APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (AP) -- Corporate givers are helping the Minnesota Zoo in its drive to become one of the top 10 zoos in the nation.

The zoo has received gifts and pledges totaling more than $2.7 million in the past year in support of its 2005 Strategic Plan.

The Cargill Foundation and the Medtronic Foundation both made pledges of $1 million each.

Cargill's gift will support a new Environmental Learning Center. Medtronic is helping fund an updated Medtronic Minnesota Trail, which features the state's animals and their environment.

Other major zoo contributors include Ecolab, Faegre & Benson LLP, KPMG LLP, the Toro Co., Piper Jaffray, and TCF Bank.

2007 Fire Deaths Reach Record Low
05/13/2008
ST. PAUL (AP) -- Minnesota fire deaths reached a record low in 2007.

State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl says Minnesota recorded 40 fire deaths last year. That breaks the previous low of 41 in 1987 and 2005.

Fire fatalities are dropping in Minnesota and across the country. Rosendahl credits code enforcement, public education, fire investigation, new technology and firefighter training as the reasons.

Rosendahl says improved technology allows investigators to pinpoint fire causes -- and that results in better detection and suppression methods.

So far, 13 people have died in fires in Minnesota this year, compared with 21 deaths at the same time last year.

Possibility of a Shorter School Week for Some
05/13/2008
CLARA CITY, Minn. (AP) -- The MACCRAY school district in west-central Minnesota is poised to go to a four-day school week next year to save money.

Superintendent Greg Schmidt says the move will save about $65,000 from the district's $7 million budget, mostly in transportation costs.

He says that if the state Education Department approves the move, MACCRAY will be the first district in the state to so reduce its week.

Schmidt says the plan would cut 23 days out of the year by eliminating school on the Mondays. The school day would expand by an hour Tuesday through Friday.

The School Board unanimously approved the plan, but Schmidt says the district still needs to cut another $200,000 by next year.

Rising fuel prices have spiked busing costs for rural districts. For example, Schmidt says MACCRAY has about 700 students spread over 350 square miles.

The district includes the towns of Maynard, Clara City and Raymond.

Man Dies in Hibbing Scrapyard Accident
05/13/2008
HIBBING, Minn. (AP) -- Authorities say a 62-year-old rural Nashwauk man died while working at a scrapyard in Hibbing.

Hibbing police say they received a report of a man trapped under a large piece of equipment Monday at Dom-Ex scrapyard. David Leland Johnson had been freed by the time paramedics arrived but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say Johnson was a Dom-Ex employee.

Dom-Ex LLC is part of H-E Parts International, which serves the mining and construction industries with replacement parts.

60-Year-Old Drowns in Own Pool
05/13/2008
ANDOVER, Minn. (AP) -- A 60-year-old man has drowned in a pool at his home in Andover.

The Anoka County medical examiner's office announced Lowell R. Larson's death on Monday.

The electrical engineer died Saturday evening. The medical examiner's office has ruled the incident an accident.

Family of St. Cloud Student Who Died Suing Bars
05/13/2008
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) -- The family of a St. Cloud State University student who was found dead in the Mississippi River is suing the bars where he drank.

Scot Radel's family has filed lawsuits against three downtown St. Cloud bars, saying the 21-year-old was served even though he was noticeably drunk.

The lawsuits say Radel's drunkennes contributed to his drowning death in 2006.

An autopsy showed Radel's blood-alcohol level was 0.215 percent. Authorities have said his death was an accident.

The bars named in the suit are RumRunners, D.B. Searle's and McRudy's Pub.

In court papers, lawyers representing the bars have denied illegally serving Radel.

Radel disappeared February 2, 2006. His body was found about a month later.

Out-of-state News

Dubuque Teen Injured in Cliff Fall Doing Well
05/13/2008
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) -- Officials say a Dubuque teenager is now in good condition after falling about 90 feet from a cliff.

Dubuque County Sheriff Ken Runde says 17-year-old Gregory Klauer and another teen were walking in the Mines of Spain, a state park near Dubuque, on Sunday when they went off the trail to the edge of the bluff.

Runde says the teens were pushing on a dead tree, and Klauer crawled over the edge and slipped. He fell and ended up next to a tree.

Klauer was taken to Mercy Hospital in Dubuque, where he is reported in good condition.

Runde says it was an accident and no charges will be filed.

Group Offers Translations of Iowa Voter Forms
05/13/2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A group concerned about a recent court ruling that Iowa was violating its official English-only law by offering foreign-language voter forms will provide translations of those forms.

The Iowa Council for International Understanding offers translation services and organizes forums on international issues. It is expected to begin posting the free voter information on a Web site on Tuesday at www.ICIU.org.

A judge ruled in March that the secretary of state was violating Iowa's English-language law by offering forms in Spanish, Laotian, Bosnian and Vietnamese. The non-English forms were removed from the state Web site, and officials decided not to appeal.
http://www.ICIU.org.

Pilot Error, Weather Blamed for Deadly 2007 Crash
05/13/2008
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) -- Federal officials say pilot error and weather were factors in a plane crash that killed four people near Council Bluffs last year.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot, Steve Revord, was attempting to land in February 2007 when he encountered icy conditions, turbulence and wind shear.

Revord and three passengers died in the crash.

The NTSB has also released reports on two other plane crashes in Iowa.

The agency says an experimental aircraft that crashed near Grinnell in February 2007 ran out of fuel. Two people died in that crash.

The NTSB has also released a report on a plane crash near Cresco in July 2006. The plane was on its way from Mississippi to Minnesota when it was diverted because of bad weather.

The NTSB says neither of the crew were familiar with the Cresco airport and that the runway was not long enough for the plane to land. The two pilots died in the crash. Two passengers were injured.

$25 Million for 50,000 Uninsured Kids
05/13/2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Gov. Chet Culver has signed into law a package that spends $25 million over the next three years to extend health coverage to 50,000 uninsured children.

Culver said Iowa may be the first state in the nation to insure all children.

The governor signed the bill Tuesday at a Des Moines health care clinic, where more than half the patients don't have health insurance.

Culver also signed a spending bill that supports health and human service programs.

Two Men Convicted in Crack Cocaine Ring
05/13/2008
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- A federal jury has convicted two men accused of operating a crack cocaine ring in Cedar Rapids.

The U.S. attorney's office says John Bolden, of Cedar Rapids, and Zechariah Benjamin, of Chicago, were convicted on Monday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Prosecutors say the pair got large amounts of crack cocaine from Chicago and distributed 1-2 ounces per day at times. A search of an apartment in Cedar Rapids last December turned up 38 grams of crack cocaine and over $6,000 in cash.

Bolden was convicted of five drug charges. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and an $11 million fine.

Benjamin, who has two prior felony convictions, was found guilty of 3 counts. He faces life in prison and a $12 million fine.

A sentencing date wasn't immediately set.

Postville Raid is Largest of its Type in U.S.
05/13/2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Federal officials say the raid at a kosher meatpacking plant in northeast Iowa is the largest of its type in U.S. history.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say 390 people have been arrested on immigration charges after a Monday raid at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville.

Officials say 314 men and 76 women were initially taken into custody by ICE agents. Of that number, 56 have been released on humanitarian grounds, typically because their arrest would leave a child with no custodian.

Those arrested are being held in county jails and at a fairgrounds.

Emerson Announces New Data Center
05/13/2008
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) -- Emerson Process Management has announced plans to build a $12 million data center in Marshalltown.

The center will back up information from Emerson operations across the world. It will install computers, servers and air conditioning towers into a remodeled building on the campus of Fisher's, a division of Emerson.

Construction is expected to begin this spring and be finished in early 2009.

An undetermined number of Emerson employees will be moved to the site to join current Fisher workers.

Fisher, which makes valves for a variety of applications, currently employs more than 1,100 people in Marshalltown. Emerson develops different measurement and analytical instruments, systems and software.

Down Will Go a Former Meatpacking Plant
05/13/2008
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Sioux City is moving ahead with plans to demolish a former meatpacking plant.

The council voted on Monday to authorize staff to negotiate with a company for a contract to design a plan to raze the abandoned KD Station building.

Community development director Patty Heagel says the Howard R. Green Company would prepare the specifications for asbestos removal and demolition, but the city would have to find another company to carry out the plan.

The cost of the demolition is estimated at more than $5 million.

The building was a packing plant, then a retail and entertainment center. It was vacated in 2004 after a fire in an outdoor electrical transformer.

There was another fire in 2006. A teenager pleaded guilty to second-degree arson and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for that fire.

Man Arrested After Standoff in Home
05/13/2008
NEVADA, Iowa (AP) -- A standoff with an armed man who barricaded himself inside his home near Huxley in Story County is over.

The sheriff's office says William Eichinger was arrested early Tuesday after four hours of negotiations.

Capt. Barry Thomas says Polk County authorities notified his office late Monday that a man, armed with a gun, was headed to Story County. Officials then determined Eichinger was barricaded inside his home, and he was armed with at least one gun.

Thomas says negotiators made contact, and Eichinger was arrested about 2:30 a.m.

Eichinger was taken back to Polk County, where he's charged with domestic assault and assault going armed with intent. He's being held in the county jail on no bond, pending a court appearance.