Star Tribune
Final supermoon of 2024 will be in the sky tonight
Skygazers in Minnesota and around the U.S. will enjoy one more chance to see a supermoon before the end of the year.
The supermoon, also known as the Beaver Moon, will appear fullest on Friday, November 15, at 3:29 p.m CST., NASA said. That’s before sunset in Minnesota, but the moon will appear full for about three days around this time, until a few hours before sunrise on Sunday morning.
The stunning moon occurs when it is as close to Earth in its lunar orbit as it ever gets, while also being full. Supermoons only happen three or four times per year, and always appear consecutively.
The name Beaver Moon comes from the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, which began publishing Native American names for full moons in the 1930s. NASA said Mid-fall during the November full moon was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze to ensure a supply of warm winter furs, NASA said. Another theory is the name comes from the busy pre-winter period for beavers, according to the space agency.
November’s full moon is the last of four consecutive supermoons, slightly closer to Earth and brighter than the first of the four supermoons in mid-August.
The next supermoon won’t be until October 2025.
Star Tribune
Fired for drunken driving, Minnesota DNR waterfowl specialist cites hallucinations and wants his job back
Steve Cordts has been a respected DNR duck and goose manager for the last 20 years.
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Star Tribune
WI cop quits after allegedly re-enacting George Floyd’s murder while sub at Woodbury HS
A one-time substitute teacher who was banned from a Minnesota school district after being accused last month of re-enacting George Floyd’s murder in class has now lost his job as a police officer in western Wisconsin, the city’s mayor said Monday.
Prescott Mayor Robert Daugherty told the Star Tribune that the City Council on Monday reached a separation agreement with Steven Dwight Williams, 48, and accepted his resignation effective Friday in lieu of his termination.
Students reported to Principal Sarah Sorenson-Wagner that Williams, teaching on Oct. 14 for the first time at Woodbury High School, wanted them to know about his life as a police officer. According to the district, he put a student on the ground as part of a re-enactment of Minneapolis police actions that led to the murder of Floyd in May 2020.
Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes, contributing to Floyd’s death. Chauvin and three other Minneapolis officers were convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with Floyd’s death.
In addition, Williams mimicked holding a gun and pointing it at students, stated police brutality is not real, told sexist jokes and engaged in “inappropriate and racially harmful behavior” during English classes for sophomores and seniors, according to a letter Sorenson-Wagner sent to parents.
The statement added that Williams had been in law enforcement for many years in his native Wisconsin and Montana and had been on Prescott force for about two years. He was immediately put on administrative leave from the Prescott force in the wake of the allegations.
In March of this year, Williams was granted a three-year, short-term substitute teacher’s license for all grades, according to state records. Following Williams’ alleged conduct at Woodbury High School, a report was filed with the Minnesota Department of Education. As of Friday, public records show no disciplinary findings by the department against him.
Staff Writer Tim Harlow contributed to this report.
Questions about Friederichs’ residency first surfaced in August when an anonymous complaint was made to the Rochester City Clerk’s Office, which administers city elections. Friederichs was later interviewed by the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office; however, the County Attorney’s Office declined to take up the case citing “insufficient evidence.”
The Minnesota Star Tribune has requested a copy of the report from the interview. The Rochester Police Department, which administers county law enforcement records, has not responded to the request.
In their petition, the plaintiffs said, “the review of [Friederichs’] residency by Olmsted County officials … was superficial, cursory, delayed, and failed to consider the statutory factors meaningfully.”
Friederichs has 21 days to respond to the petition before being sworn in to the council at the start of next year.
“My goal is to work hard to ensure the city keeps going in the right direction and listen to the people in the ward,” Friederichs said.
