Beaver Pride is reimagined as all-encompassing; Duluth homeless camp is cleared; school bus driver pleads guilty to drunk driving
>>State Supreme Court upholds law restoring voting rights to released felons
(St. Paul, Minnesota) — The Minnesota Supreme Court upholds a year-old law that restores voting rights to convicted felons after their release from prison. The Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Minnesota Voters Alliance against the 2023 law. The courts declared that Allianz had no right to sue because taxpayers’ money had been used to implement the law. The timing of the ruling is crucial because early voting has already begun and this year’s primary election is next week. An estimated 57,000 felons in Minnesota recently became eligible to vote. (24/7 news source)
>>The Beaver Pride Fund is being redesigned
(Bemidji) “The team behind the teams” is recalibrating its focus for the 2024-25 season and beyond. According to a press release
Beaver Pride, which traditionally includes financial support of Bemidji State Athletics, is redefining itself and now focuses entirely on its commitment to the Beavers.
As part of the transition, the annual fund has been renamed from Beaver Pride to the BSU Athletics Fund. The accounts will only change names and donations previously made to the Beaver Pride Fund will now automatically go to the BSU Athletics Fund. Events begin the last week of August.
For more information on all alumni and foundation events, visit www.bsualumni.org/events. (Bemidji Now)
>>Person dies in traffic accident in Kanabec County
(Kanabec County, Minnesota) — The State Patrol is investigating a fatal accident. On Tuesday, police were called to a rural area along Highway 23 in Kanabec County. Investigators believe that a 16-year-old in a pickup truck tried to overtake a semi-trailer and collided head-on with another vehicle. Kim Kolesar, 59, of Brook Park died in the accident. The teenager who was driving the pickup truck was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover. (24/7 news source)
>>Homeless camp near Duluth City Hall cleared
(Duluth, Minnesota) — Two people face charges of obstructing public life after Duluth authorities began clearing a homeless camp near City Hall yesterday. Duluth police and other first responders arrived at the camp around 6 a.m. yesterday and began forcing campers to leave the area. City workers then began removing tents, trash and other items from the site. The city had warned campers about the impending cleanup and given them a week to leave the area. The area will be cordoned off while workers restore the area damaged by the campground. (24/7 News Source)
>>Unusual departure of judge leads to unusual primary election
(Duluth) – The surprise announcement that Judge Dale Harris will retire at the end of his term has paved the way for an unusually competitive primary with five men vying for the longtime northern Minnesota judge’s seat.
As the Star Tribune reports, the long list of candidates includes lawyers who are all familiar with each other’s work. All said they believed the other four candidates were qualified for the job, making the primary particularly rare.
Two of them will move on from Tuesday’s primary to the general election for the sixth district, which includes St. Louis, Carlton, Cook and Lake counties. (Star Tribune)
>>Chisago County bus driver pleads guilty to drunk driving
(Rush City, Minnesota) — A Minnesota school bus driver who was arrested last year following an accident has pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. Kara Ffrench of Harris entered her guilty plea yesterday in Chicago County. French was arrested in February after she drove a bus full of children into a field in Rush City and later denied drinking. A breath test revealed her blood alcohol level was .199, well over the state legal limit. No injuries were reported following the accident. She will be sentenced in November. (24/7 News Source)
>>Investigation of fish kill in Duluth focuses on release of water from reservoir
(Duluth, Minnesota) — The investigation into the deaths of over a thousand fish in a Duluth stream appears to be focusing on water discharge from a nearby reservoir. The fish kill in Tischer Creek was reported on August 2nd. A report filed the same day by a city employee appears to indicate that the release of thousands of gallons of water from a reservoir that flows into the creek may have caused the fish kills. The city said it is cooperating with the state investigation, adding that the water discharged into the creek is clean and safe for humans and animals to drink. (24/7 News Source)
>>Man who bought Harris Walz domain name in 2020 receives $15,000
(New York, NY) — A man who bought the name of a political website in 2020 in the hopes of making a profit just made money on his investment. Domain name speculator Jeremy Green Eche ((eh-CHAY)) bought the domain name Harris-Walz-dot-com four years ago for eight dollars and 99 cents after Kamala Harris was chosen as President Joe Biden’s vice presidential candidate. Eche announced yesterday that he had accepted $15,000 for the Harris-Walz domain name. This is not the first time that Eche has made a big profit from a political domain name. He bought Clinton-Kaine-dot-com in 2011 and sold it in 2016 for $15,000. (24/7 news source)
