The Pioneer Press’ Josh Verges’ reports: “The St. Paul Federation of Teachers has called off its planned strike after reaching agreement on a new two-year contract early Monday morning. The school district and teachers union announced the deal at 2 a.m. Monday after seven consecutive days of mediation. The union had been planning to strike Tuesday. The union said they’ve reached tentative agreements for all three bargaining units, which had been negotiating as a group since authorizing a strike Jan. 31. The deals affect some 3,100 teachers, 400 educational assistants and 170 school and community service professionals.”þþSetting the stage for the big trial. Josephine Marcotty of the Strib says, “In a Minneapolis courtroom next week, nine jurors and battalions of attorneys will finally meet in a titanic legal clash between the state of Minnesota and the 3M Co. over a 100-square-mile plume of polluted groundwater in Washington County. The lawsuit turns on Minnesota’s assertion that 3M knowingly contaminated the drinking water of several east metro communities, causing up to $5 billion in potential damage to property values, wildlife and human health. But a victory for Attorney General Lori Swanson could push the stakes much higher … .”þþMore info on arrested St. Kate's student. Kristi BelCamino of the PiPress writes, “A student accused of starting several fires last month on St. Catherine University’s St. Paul campus tried to leave the country twice last year to join jihadist forces, according to court documents. Tnuza Jamal Hassan, 19, of Minneapolis was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court with one count each of arson, making false statements to the FBI and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis. In a memorandum filed Friday, the U.S. attorney’s office argued that Hassan be denied bail at a detention hearing and arraignment scheduled for Monday, saying she was a flight risk and posed a danger to the community … .”þþBad deals. In the Strib, Chao Xiong writes, “While no local or state agencies track homicides linked to drug transactions, longtime investigators say Minnesotans are more likely to die during a marijuana transaction than sales involving harder drugs. ‘The violence is there with other drugs, but we don’t see the homicides associated with other narcotics as we do with marijuana,’ said Anoka County Sheriff’s Lt. Wayne Heath, commander of the Anoka-Hennepin Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force. ‘No one knows why in marijuana it leads to that extra step.’”þþNo doubt because of a single rogue employee. Alexandra Olson of the AP reports: “Wells Fargo has made missteps in its efforts to make amends to customers who were forced to buy unneeded auto insurance. Bank spokeswoman Catherine Pulley said 38,000 customers received a letter they did not need and that contained no refund. She said the error was due to a coding mistake caught by the vendor responsible for the communications. ‘We will work with our vendor to ensure these customers receive the appropriate communication — including any refunds they're eligible for,’ Pulley said.” þþAre they Putin proof? In the St. Cloud Times, Nora Hertel reports: “New election equipment could be in Central Minnesota polling stations in time for this year's mid-term election. Electronic voter rosters could speed up voting. Minnesota slated $7 million this year to help counties and cities modernize their voting equipment. Stearns County will get $183,000, said Stephen Hammes, assistant to the county administrator. The federal government funded election equipment upgrades after the contentious 2000 presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore, said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. Those upgrades have nearly run their course.”þþWhatever we can do help. At OZY, Matt Foley alerts fans that, “Prevent Biometrics, a Twin Cities–based startup, is trying to use a high-tech mouthguard to measure the exact force and location of trauma suffered by a [football] player during contact. A patented system relays the real-time data to a tablet on the sideline, alerting coaches exactly when, and to what extent, an athlete sustains head trauma. If the impact surpasses a certain threshold, the player is pulled from competition. … And between the University of Minnesota Medical Center and the famed Mayo Clinic in nearby Rochester, Prevent Biometrics chief marketing officer David Sigel calls the Twin Cities “the nation’s leading center for research and cutting-edge solutions to the concussion epidemic.”þþNot your normal Onion headline, sadly. In the PiPress, Jamie Delage tells us, “The Wild Onion, something of a dining and drinking institution on St. Paul’s Grand Avenue for about two decades, will soon be no more. The bar and eatery is being bought by the restaurant group that runs the Red Cow bar and restaurant on nearby Selby Avenue. The Wild Onion, owned by Jay Salmen, announced the sale in social media posts on Saturday. … The space will reopen midsummer as a Red Rabbit bar and restaurant, according to a press release.”
Source: minnpost.com
