Star Tribune
See flashing lights? Week-long campaign urges drivers to slow down and move over at crash scenes
With the arrival of winter, “we will be challenged,” Hanson said. “Give responders the room to do what they need to do.”
The Northstar commuter rail line’s inaugural run took place on Nov. 16, 2009, and since then riders have taken nearly 8 million trips on the train that runs between downtown Minneapolis and Big Lake.
On Wednesday Lesley Kandaras, Metro Transit general manager, and agency staff will celebrate the 15th anniversary by greeting riders from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Target Field Station.
“Over the last 15 years, Northstar has offered riders a reliable and convenient alternative to driving,” Kandaras said. “We thank everyone who’s ridden with us over the years and welcome people who’ve never ridden or haven’t ridden in a while to get on board and see what Northstar has to offer.”
The 41-mile line has had its ups and downs over the years, but ridership this year is on the upswing, said spokesman Drew Kerr. Through September, riders have taken 99,000 trips, which marks a 50% increase over the first nine months of 2023. Trains serving Twins and Vikings games also have returned after being cut during the COVID-19 pandemic due to low daily ridership and a funding spat with Anoka County.
Game-day service was restored and costs were covered with the help of a 0.75% metro-wide transportation sales tax, which kicked in on Oct. 1, 2023.
A Nevis, Minn., man serving as a head election judge is accused of allowing 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots on Election Day.
Timothy Scouton, 64, worked at a tiny precinct in a politically conservative Hubbard County township where Scouton allegedly directed poll staff, including his son, to not have the unregistered voters fill out the correct paperwork in order to legally vote, according to the charges filed Friday in Hubbard County District Court.
Scouton faces two felony counts: One accuses the election judge of accepting votes of unregistered voters, the other is neglect of duty. The charges carry maximum penalties of five years in prison and/or $10,000 fine.
Attempts to reach Scouton were unsuccessful and his son, who was also present as an election judge, declined to comment when contacted by a Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Saturday. “No comment do not attempt to contact me again, thank you…” his son Andrew Scouton said in a message.
Andrew Scouton “would have been responsible for registration applications since he was sitting where persons entering would speak with him first,” the charges against his father state.
Timothy Scouton was assigned a public defender Friday. Assistant Beltrami County Attorney Kenneth Christie declined to comment when reached by phone Monday morning.
“I have no response at this time,” Christie said. “That may change within the next week or so.”
A majority of Badoura Township, population 150, voted for Donald Trump in the presidential election. According to election results, 49 voted for Trump and 31 voted for Kamala Harris.
A teenager died in a single-vehicle crash late Sunday in Minnetonka, the State Patrol said.
The 17-year-old boy from Corcoran was the lone occupant of a 2024 Cadillac Lyriq that left the eastbound lanes of Hwy. 7 just after 10:45 p.m. and struck a light pole at the intersection of County Road 101, the patrol said.
The boy’s name has not been released and no other information was provided on the patrol’s report.
Police negotiation with a gunman at a home in Red Wing ended late Sunday with the suspect surrendering and the discovery of a woman dead inside the residence, officials said.
The standoff occurred near the intersection of West and Putnam avenues, where police responded shortly before 6 p.m. to a report of a suicidal man with a handgun.
After several hours of negotiation, the man came out of the home and was arrested, police said.
Officers went into the home and found a woman dead inside, according to police.
A 41-year-old man was booked into the Goodhue County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. He remains held without bail ahead of charges. The Star Tribune generally does not identify suspects before they are charged.
Police have not identified the woman, nor have they explained the circumstances of the woman’s death.
