Star Tribune
Flooding closes three rides at Valleyfair theme park, forces Stillwater to call off fireworks
Flood waters that have ravaged much of southern Minnesota have reached the metro, putting parts of Valleyfair in Shakopee under water and forcing Stillwater to call off July 4 fireworks.
Some streets and parks in St. Paul are closed as water on the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers continue to rise and are not expected to crest until the weekend.
Late Tuesday, a house that had teetered on the edge of the swollen Blue Earth River near the Rapidan Dam fell into the river, the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities said they continue to monitor impacts downstream.
On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar toured hard-hit areas of the state, including Waterville, where the National Guard has been deployed to help residents recover as the southern Minnesota town remained inundated with water.
Stillwater, often seen as one of the prime spots to view July 4 fireworks, has called off its pyrotechnics. The St. Croix River continues to rise and will make Lowell Park unusable. With MnDOT’s lift bridge already closed, people would have to sit in parking lots and there would be nowhere for thousands of visitors to park, said Mayor Ted Kozlowski.
“Super sad, but I think it’s the right call,” the mayor said in a Facebook post. “We will definitely make up for it and have a wonderful fireworks display this summer when we can all enjoy it to its fullest.”
Back in Shakopee, the amusement park has shut down three rides, and starting Wednesday is directing visitors to use remote parking lots due to “significant flooding” of the Minnesota River.
Closed until further notice are the Renegade and Excalibur roller coasters and Thunder Canyon, a white water rafting ride.
“We do not yet know how long it will take for the river to recede to normal levels as that depends on the weather,” park officials said in a statement.
The Minnesota River is not expected to crest until Saturday in the area and remain at major flood stage at least through July 2, the National Weather Service said.
The remainder of the park’s other 75 rides are open, park officials said.
Most guests will be directed to park at off-site lots until waters recede, including the nearby Canterbury Park overflow lot and Minnesota Valley Transit Authority’s Southbridge Crossings and Eagle Creek park and ride stations. Parking will be free at the off-site lots and MVTA shuttle guests to and from the park.
Valleyfair’s overflow parking lot will remain open, but only four-wheel drive vehicles with “adequate clearance” will be allowed to use it.
In St. Paul, city officials have already closed a 3-mile segment of Warner and Shepard roads as well as parts of 2nd and Sibley and Jackson streets downtown. The city is bracing for a crest of 21 feet Saturday morning. That is 4 feet above major flood stage and would mark the seventh highest crest on record.
Air raid warnings blared for hours as Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said.
Air defenses downed four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed.
Meanwhile, most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia’s Kursk border region, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters Tuesday. A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin.
Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Patel said. The cooperation faces challenges, including how to achieve military interoperability and overcoming the language barrier, he said.
Kyiv officials say that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk in a bid to dislodge the Ukrainians.
Russia has in recent months been assembling forces for a counteroffensive in Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank, though the timescale of the operation isn’t known.
Star Tribune
Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith asked a court Wednesday to pause prosecutors’ appeal seeking to revive the classified documents case against President-elect Donald Trump in light of the Republican’s presidential victory.
Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the classified documents and the federal 2020 election interference case in Washington before Trump takes office because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
The case accusing Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate had been seen as the most legally clear-cut of the four indictments against Trump, given the breadth of evidence that prosecutors say they had accumulated. That included the testimony of close aides and former lawyers, and because the conduct at issue occurred after Trump left the White House in 2021 and lost the powers of the presidency.
But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, ruling that Smith was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Smith had appealed her ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before Trump’s presidential win last week over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Prosecutors asked the 11th Circuit in a court filing Wednesday to pause the appeal to ”afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy.” Smith’s team said it would ”inform the Court of the result of its deliberations” no later than Dec. 2.
The judge overseeing the federal case in Washington accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election canceled all upcoming deadlines in the case last week after Smith’s team made a similar request.
Smith is expected to leave his post before Trump takes office, but special counsels are expected to produce reports on their work that historically are made public, and it remains unclear when such a document might be released.
First, they must live in St. Paul. Then, their incomes must be no more than 400% of current Federal Poverty Guidelines — about $120,000/year for a family of four — or their medical debt must be 5% or more of their annual income. Also, only debt owed to participating providers like hospitals will qualify for the program.
“Health is not only about buildings, hospitals, or clinics — health care is about meeting the needs of patients where they are and doing whatever we can to improve health outcomes and decrease cost,” Fairview Health Services President and CEO James Hereford said in a statement.
Undue Medical Debt CEO and President Allison Sesso also issued a statement, which read, in part: “Medical debt is a psychological burden, in addition to a financial one, that can cause patients to avoid necessary care.”
She added: “Simply having medical debt creates stress which undermines people’s health.”
Officials said national medical debt has reached about $220 billion and affects more than 100 million Americans. About 54% of insured adults carry medical debt, officials said, while 41% of people without insurance face even greater challenges, often delaying necessary care in order to pay for food and housing.
In Minnesota, the Medical Debt Fairness Act that recently went into effect bans medical debt from being reported to credit reporting agencies. It also ensures medical providers cannot withhold medical care despite unpaid debt. St. Paul and Undue Medical Debt officials said they hope to partner with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to explore ways to build on the Debt Fairness Act.
