Star Tribune
UHC CEO Brian Thompson is shot and killed in New York City
After clearing the jam, the shooter began to fire again, Kenny said, and then fled on foot.
Responding to reporter questions, Kenny said police don’t know if the shooter could have been a professional, nor could investigators say if there was a silencer on the weapon. From watching the video, he said, “it does seem that he’s proficient in the use of firearms as he was able to clear the malfunctions pretty quickly.”
After his initial flight from the scene, the suspect was later seen riding an e-bike, including when he was spotted in Central Park.
“The motive for this murder currently is unknown,” Kenny said. “Based on the evidence we have so far, it does appear that the victim was specifically targeted. But at this point, we do not know why.”
United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Thompson was CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer. It is a division of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group, which is the fourth-largest public company in America behind Walmart, Amazon and Apple.
His wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he had been receiving threats. “There had been some threats,” she said in a phone call with NBC News. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”
Star Tribune
Resort owners near Boundary Waters drop expansion after state sues
The proposed expansion would have increased the total number of dwelling units on the site from 13 to 62 and added 12 docks with space for 75 boats. The county’s shoreline protection rules, which were written with the DNR in the 1990s, allow the resort a maximum of 29 dwelling units and docks that could fit a maximum of 14 boats, the DNR argued.
Exceeding those numbers could threaten the stability of the shoreline and the aquatic environment of both White Iron and Farm lakes, according to the agency.
The lawsuit was the third time since last year that the DNR sued a local government for failing to enforce shoreline development rules. It sued the city of Fairmont in 2023 after council members tried to issue a permit for a restaurant to build a new dock and lake-front patio over the objections of the DNR. The city agreed to withdraw the permit a few months later.
In January, the agency sued the city of Minneapolis after it gave permission to a homeowner to build on a bluff of the Mississippi River. That case is still in court.
Star Tribune
Metro Transit hails ‘exciting change’ in new service
The extra and expanded service comes as Metro Transit has, at least for now, turned the corner on its struggle to find enough bus operators. After “struggling mightily” for the past three years, the agency now has nearly 1,300 drivers, a number Metro Transit has not seen since before the pandemic, said Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Brian Funk.
Funk attributed the uptick in hiring to better wages, up from $21 per hour a few years ago to almost $30 an hour now. New drivers also are getting two weeks of additional training time to get them ready to hit the streets, Funk said.
The agency has 60 drivers in training now, but the need is still there. In March, the agency will open the Gold Line, a rapid bus line running from Woodbury to Union Depot in downtown St. Paul, and will need 30 operators to deliver that service. The agency also plans to open the B Line running from Uptown to downtown St. Paul on Lake Street and Selby Avenue next summer. And the E-Line, a rapid bus route from Southdale in Edina to the University of Minnesota is supposed to open about a year from now.
“We will continue to hire,” Funk said.
The new and expanded service is part of Metro Transit’s Network Now strategy to expand service by 35% in the next three years by looking where current and future service should go to meet travel needs and grow ridership.
Star Tribune
Inmate dies in Stillwater prison
The Department of Corrections says it’s investigating what happened after an inmate was found dead inside the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater.
At 2:43 a.m. on Dec. 1, staff at the Stillwater prison found inmate David John Ojeda unresponsive, according to an emailed statement from Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) spokesman Aaron Swanum.
The prison staff performed life-saving measures while emergency medical responders were called to the facility. The responders determined Ojeda had passed away, Swanum said. No further details have been released about the circumstances or cause of death.
Ojeda, 43, was sentenced in February after being convicted of criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 16. He was serving a 25-year sentence.
In June, another inmate at Stillwater, Dalmario Smith, was found unresponsive and died. In that incident,