Star Tribune
How deicing much salt to use in Minnesota this winter
Grace Barcelow, center, a conservation specialist for Hennepin County, and Rachel Dunlap, Minnesota GreenCorps member, talk with Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church’s John Daniels about how to effectively use less salt to clear sidewalks. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
About 67 bodies of water in Minnesota already have dangerous levels of chloride and 75 more are nearing the danger zone, according to the MPCA. Salt also infiltrates groundwater, the source of most drinking water in the state.
This winter the West Metro Water Alliance is focusing on faith-based organizations, which are some of the biggest users of salt to melt ice in parking lots and on sidewalks so parishioners can make it to services.
John Daniels, a volunteer at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, signed up for a consultation to learn more about how to use less salt and better protect the environment. His church has a snow removal contractor, but Daniels helps make sure the sidewalks are clear on busy days.
“It makes a lot of sense to me,” Daniels said of the information Barcelow and Rachel Dunlap, a MPCA GreenCorps member shared with him on a recent frigid morning. “We want to use best practices, whenever we can.”
Some key takeaways from the consultation included how little salt is needed to melt ice — roughly one granule per 3 square inches, or about a coffee cup for 10 sidewalk squares.
Officials on Wednesday identified the two women who died in a fiery crash when their vehicle collided with another at north Minneapolis intersection.
Esther Jean Fulks, 53, and Rose Elaine Reece, 57, both of Minneapolis, died soon after the wreck late Monday morning at the intersection of N. 26th and Emerson avenues, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Fulks died at the scene, while Reece was declared dead at North Memorial Health Hospital.
Two people in the other vehicle were hospitalized with critical injuries, while a 17-year-old boy waiting at a bus shelter to be picked up for school was hit and taken HCMC with noncritical injuries, police said. Their identities have yet to be released.
Fulks was “a mother of four and very loved in her community!” daughter D’Nia Fulks posted on an online fundraising page started on behalf of the family.
Esther Fulks (With permission from GoFundMe)
A northbound vehicle on Emerson struck the women’s vehicle as it headed east on 26th, police said. The impact sent the eastbound vehicle into the bus shelter, where it caught fire.
Police said they believe excessive speed played a role in the crash, but they have yet to say which driver was suspected of speeding.
Star Tribune
Supreme Court will hear arguments over the law that could ban TikTok in the US if it’s not sold
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear arguments next month over the constitutionality of the federal law that could ban TikTok in the United States if its Chinese parent company doesn’t sell it.
The justices will hear arguments Jan. 10 about whether the law impermissibly restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The law, enacted in April, set a Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok to be sold or else face a ban in the United States. The popular social media platform has more than 170 million users in the U.S.
It’s unclear how quickly the high court might issue a decision.
Social media accounts showed him with counterfeit checks, large amounts of cash, according to court documents.
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