Star Tribune
Why has I-35 near Faribault turned into a death trap?
In one moment, a semitrailer truck, a pickup truck and a car were simultaneously heading north on Interstate 35 near Faribault, Minn. In a split second, the three vehicles collided. Two people died in the wreck.
The crash on Aug. 25 near milepost 53 was the third multi-vehicle wreck in the past few weeks in the area where drivers approach a work zone. But why?
“All the crashes are open investigations, so we are still determining the crash factors,” said Sgt. Troy Christianson of the Minnesota State Patrol.
Others have taken to social media to offer reasons why they think the busy southern Minnesota freeway has suddenly turned into a death trap. They blame narrow lanes and drivers who don’t heed warnings and are speeding and distracted as they are approaching a construction zone where travel lanes are reduced from two to one.
The recent incidents have some who live in the area trying to stay off I-35.
“I’ve started taking alternate routes to avoid that area,” Faribault resident Gail Hurla Kreger wrote on Facebook
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is resurfacing the freeway between Rice County Road 48 and Hwy. 21. The agency warns drivers they will experience significant slowdowns or long backups during popular travel periods.
Drivers are first alerted to construction 10 miles before arriving at the merge point. Then starting six miles from the merge point and every mile after, MnDOT has signs with detectors that flash when traffic is slowed or stopped ahead.
In the final mile there are a series of signs about the work zone with instructions for drivers to use both lanes and zipper merge at a designated point. But traffic tends to line up in the right lane and back up, said MnDOT spokesman Mike Dougherty.
The recent violent wrecks that have left three dead and several others injured are of deep concern to MnDOT, Dougherty said.
“Anytime there is a crash, we are analyzing what occurred and if there’s something we can do additionally or if there is something that can be adjusted in the work zone,” he said. “That is why we are always interested in the findings of the crash investigation to see what State Patrol has determined.”
Dougherty said the incidents are a good reminder of how dangerous work zones can be. He said drivers need to slow down, give driving their full attention, avoid unnecessary lane changes and keep a safe cushion of space for a following distance.
He also suggested adjusting travel schedules, if possible, to avoid peak traffic periods of Fridays and Sundays on summer weekends when many people are vacationing or heading to large events such as the State Fair.
The I-35 construction project is expected to last through early November.
I-94 closure
Eastbound Interstate 94 will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Sept. 11 between Interstate 394 and Interstate 694 as crews paint the the Plymouth Avenue bridge. Westbound will be closed Sept. 15-18.
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.
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