Star Tribune
Transportation officials will take vessel collisions into consideration in designing new Blatnik Bridge
DULUTH – As transportation officials work on rebuilding a major bridge connecting this city and Superior, Wis., in upcoming years, mitigating the risk of a vessel ramming into the structure — like the catastrophic collision between a cargo ship and the Francis Scott Key Bridge — is at the forefront of plans.
The Blatnik Bridge, one of two main over-water arteries between the port cities, is scheduled for a rebuild that will begin in upcoming years. The four-lane, 1½-mile span was built in 1961, carries 33,000 vehicles per day over the St. Louis River and is a major route for commerce. The project was finalized when President Joe Biden announced a $1 billion federal grant — part of his $1 trillion infrastructure package — in January.
“Increasing safety on the Blatnik Bridge to further mitigate this specific risk will be a core component of Blatnik design work,” the Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a statement when asked about the likelihood of something similar happening here.
In Baltimore, a cargo ship lost power and ran into a bridge support, causing parts of the 1.6-mile structure to collapse into the Patapsco River early Tuesday. Shipping traffic at the Port of Baltimore immediately stalled — and could be delayed for months. Six construction workers on the bridge who haven’t yet been found are presumed dead in the collision.
The Blatnik Bridge and Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge are the only two bridges in Minnesota that cross navigable waters for ocean-going vessels.
The Duluth Seaway Port Authority works with MnDOT to ensure that marine shipping is taken into consideration in MnDOT designs. This sort of thing can happen anywhere large vessels could come in contact with similar structures, said Jayson Hron of the port authority. It’s not probable, though, he added.
“We’ve had 152 years of commercial shipping here, thankfully, without a tragic incident like this,” he said.
MnDOT said a comprehensive emergency plan is in place should a bridge get hit and require rescue operations. But plans are also in place to prevent a hit and to mitigate the risk of one to the structure. MnDOT said there are 54 bridges that cross navigable waters and that it is aware of two vessel collisions in the past 20 years. The Lexington Bridge in St. Paul had minor damage when it was hit by a barge about 15 years ago, and there were repairs to the concrete on the new Winona Bridge over the Mississippi River when, in 2018, a barge struck a part of it.
A catastrophe similar to Tuesday’s in Baltimore took place on Aug. 1, 2007, when the Interstate 35W bridge gave out during rush hour in Minneapolis.
Staff writer Eder Campuzano contributed to this article.
Mohamed Omar is the new board chair of Hennepin Healthcare System, the organization that runs HCMC, making him Minnesota’s first Somali American hospital board leader.
The health care system board permanently appointed Omar to the position Wednesday at their regular meeting. He had served as interim chair since Babette Apland stepped down in September.
Omar has been on the volunteer board for three years, working on the finance, investment, audit and compliance committees. He is the chief administrative officer at the Washburn Center for Children and previously was chief financial officer at the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
In a statement, Omar said he was excited to lead a hospital board in the state with the largest Somali American population in the U.S. He said he shared the health system’s dedication to providing “equitable, high-quality care.”
“My commitment is to deepen our community engagement, build more authentic connections between patients and team members, and build a confident future together,” Omar’s statement said.
CEO Jennifer DeCubellis and Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer, praised Omar’s selection to lead the board. They said more inclusive leadership with a commitment to ending health disparities are key to HCMC’s success.
Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando, who is also on health system board, said she was excited to work with Omar. She said county leaders are dedicated to good stewardship of the “state’s last public safety-net hospital.”
“As the first Hennepin County Board Chair of color, I know how impactful it is for our communities to see themselves represented in public leadership,” Fernando said.
DULUTH – The Superior National Forest has lifted its forestwide campfire ban, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective Friday.
Recent rain and humidity have improved conditions across the national forest’s 3 million acres, forest officials said in a news release.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has also lifted fire restrictions in Cook, Koochiching, Lake and northern St. Louis counties.
Fire danger is still a concern this time of year, said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
“As leaves fall and vegetation continues to dry out, it’s important for people to be cautious with anything that can cause a spark,” she said.
The national forest imposed its broad campfire ban nearly two weeks ago, after a third wildfire, named for Bogus Lake, was discovered on forest land. No significant fire activity has been reported in recent days for any of those three fires. A fourth fire inside the forest, the 8.5-acre Pfeiffer Lake Fire, started Oct. 17. It was contained within 24 hours, the Forest Service said.
Much of northeast Minnesota is still classified in the “severe drought” stage by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris was asked this week if she thought Donald Trump was a fascist, and she replied ‘’Yes, I do.’’ She subsequently called him the same thing herself, saying voters don’t want ‘’a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.’’
But what exactly is a fascist? And does the meaning of the word shift when viewed through a historical or political prism — especially so close to the end of a fraught presidential race?
An authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is often associated with the far right and characterized by a dictatorial leader who uses military forces to help suppress political and civil opposition.
History’s two most famous fascists were Nazi chief Adolf Hitler in Germany and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Known as Il Duce, or ”the duke,” Mussolini headed the National Fascist Party, which was symbolized by an eagle clutching a fasces — a bundle of rods with an axe among them.
At Mussolini’s urging, in October 1922, thousands of ”Blackshirts,” or ”squadristi,” made up an armed fascist militia that marched on Rome, vowing to seize power. Hitler’s Nazis similarly relied on a militia, known as the ”Brownshirts.” Both men eventually imposed single-party rule and encouraged violence in the streets. They used soldiers, but also fomented civilian unrest that pit loyalists against political opponents and larger swaths of everyday society.
Hitler and Mussolini censored the press and issued sophisticated propaganda. They played up racist fears and manipulated not just their active supporters but everyday citizens.
