Star Tribune
Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig assaulted at D.C. apartment building
Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig defended herself by throwing hot coffee at a man who assaulted her Thursday morning in her Washington, D.C. apartment building, according to a police report.
The DFL representative suffered bruising but is “otherwise physically okay” following the attack, according to a statement from her chief of staff, Nick Coe.
“Rep. Craig called 9-1-1 and the assailant fled the scene of the assault,” Coe said in the statement. “Rep. Craig is grateful to the DC Metropolitan Police Department for their quick response.”
There is no evidence that the assault was politically motivated, Coe said. Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that he’s asked the House Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol Police to work with Craig, her wife Cheryl and their sons to ensure their safety “while in our nation’s capital and at home in Minnesota.”
“We will be there for Angie in any way that she needs in the aftermath of this very difficult situation,” Jeffries said.
Craig, who was elected to a third term last fall, lives in Prior Lake, Minn. and rents an apartment near Washington’s Union Station when she’s in D.C. doing congressional work. Craig was present to cast votes in the House on Thursday following the attack.
A Metropolitan Police Department report on the attack says that Craig saw an individual in the lobby of her apartment building “acting erratic as if he was under the influence on an unknown substance.”
Craig said “good morning” to the man as she entered the elevator to go to her apartment. He followed her into the elevator and “began to randomly do pushups,” according to the report, and then closed his hands into a fist and punched her chin before grabbing her by the neck.
The report says Craig tossed her hot coffee at him to defend herself and the man fled before officers arrived on the scene. The case remains under active investigation.
“I was shocked and horrified to hear that Representative Angie Craig was assaulted this morning. It is a relief to hear that the injuries sustained by Representative Craig are not dire, and I wish her a speedy recovery,” DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said in a statement Thursday. “I am grateful the D.C. police responded quickly to the situation and I hope the assailant will be swiftly brought to justice.”
DULUTH – The Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation departments will make upgrades to the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge in the summer of 2025, in preparation for the structure to become the premiere route between this city and Superior during reconstruction of the Blatnik Bridge.
Built in 1961, the Blatnik Bridge carries 33,000 vehicles per day along Interstate 535 and Hwy. 53. It will be entirely rebuilt, starting in 2027, with the help of $1 billion in federal funding announced earlier this year. MnDOT and WisDOT are splitting the remaining costs of the project, about $4 million each.
According to MnDOT, projects on the Bong Bridge will include spot painting, concrete surface repairs to the bridge abutments, concrete sealer on the deck, replacing rubber strip seal membranes on the main span’s joints and replacing light poles on the bridge and its points of entry. It’s expected to take two months, transportation officials said during a recent meeting at the Superior Public Library.
During this time there will be occasional lane closures, detours at the off-ramps, and for about three weeks the sidewalk path alongside the bridge will be closed.
The Bong Bridge, which crosses the St. Louis River, opened to traffic in 1985 and is the lesser-used of the two bridges. Officials said they want to keep maintenance to a minimum on the span during the Blatnik project, which is expected to take four years.
Red Wing will celebrate the grand opening of its first permanent set of pickleball courts next week with an “inaugural play” on the six courts at Colvill Park on the banks of the Mississippi, between a couple of marinas and next to the aquatic center.
Among the first to get to play on the new courts will be David Anderson, who brought pickleball to the local YMCA in 2008, before the nationwide pickleball craze took hold, and Denny Yecke, at 92 the oldest pickleball player in Red Wing.
The inaugural play begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday, with a rain date of the next day. Afterward will be food and celebration at the Colvill Park Courtyard building.
Tim Sletten, the city’s former police chief, discovered America’s fastest-growing sport a decade ago after he retired. With fellow members of the Red Wing Pickleball Group, he’d play indoors at the local YMCA or outdoors at a local school, on courts made for other sports. But they didn’t have a permanent place, so they approached the city about building one.
When a city feasibility study came up with a high cost, about $350,000, Sletten’s group got together to raise money.
The courts are even opening ahead of schedule, originally set for 2025.
REDWOOD FALLS, MINN. – A truck crashing into a school bus left nine with minor injuries Wednesday morning in rural Redwood County, a statement from the Redwood County Sheriff’s office said.
The bus driver, serving the Wabasso Public School District, failed to yield when entering the intersection of County Road 7 and 280th Street, the statement said.
Deputies received word of the crash around 8:15 a.m. and identified the bus driver as Edward Aslesen, 72, of Milroy.
The nine injured passengers on the bus were transported to local hospitals, the statement said.
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