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State boys basketball roundup: Defending champ Totino-Grace cruises into 3A semis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

Patrick Bath scored 23 points in just 17 minutes as Totino-Grace’s starters played roughly half the contest as the top seed and defending Class 3A champ opened its title defense with an 86-36 win over unseeded St. Francis at Williams Arena.Taison Chatman added 16 points. Totino-Grace (22-8) shot a blistering 72 percent from the field – going 30 for 37 from 2-point range – and grabbed the offensive rebound on six of its 14 misses. The Eagles out-rebounded St. Francis 35-16.St. Francis (17-13) was led by 16 points from Matthew Bothun.Totino-Grace will meet fifth-seeded Alexandria in the semifinals at 12 p.m. Thursday at Target Center after Alexandria topped fourth-seeded Mankato East 62-57.Second-seeded Orono survived a second-half rally to edge Hermantown 84-82. The Spartans led by 14 with seven minutes to play, but the Hawks scored 31 points over the final seven minutes.Peyton Menzen hit a pair of free-throws to pull Hermantown within three with 15 seconds to play, but Orono was abl...

Twins reliever Jhoan Duran sets sights on lofty goals for sophomore season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jhoan Duran’s first inning in the big leagues came with somewhat of a rude awakening.The first batter he faced, Mariners first baseman Ty France, smacked a 100.7 mph fastball to right for a single. The next, Jesse Winker, hit a liner to center on a splinker.“I said: ‘Oh. Damn. OK. I’m in the big leagues,’” Duran said.He then uncorked a wild pitch, advancing both runners.But it didn’t take long for the then-rookie to collect himself and recover. Duran struck out the next three batters and worked around a two-out walk in a scoreless second inning of work, prompting another thought.“I said, ‘OK. I’m here,’” Duran said.That he was, for good.Duran quickly became the Twins’ most important reliever and, armed with a fastball that averaged 100.8 mph, a splinker and a nasty curveball that opponents hit just .120 against, he spent the entire season flummoxing hitters.“Whenever I think about that great season, I’m working hard for that but I’m not waiting for that,” Duran sa...

1 dead in shooting at Howard Lake business, Wright County sheriff says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

One person is dead and another is in custody after a shooting Monday in Howard Lake, Minn., west of the Twin Cities.A statement from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to a report of a shooting just after noon Monday at 300 Dura Drive. That’s the address of a cabinet manufacturing facility.Deputies found 20-year-old Adrian Montano Medina, of Lester Prairie, suffering from a gunshot wound at the scene. Medina was pronounced dead there a short time later.Authorities did not release further details on the circumstances of the shooting, and did not say whether it happened inside or outside of the building.A caller at the scene provided information on a suspect vehicle. Authorities stopped the vehicle near Waverly and arrested 23-year-old Kevin Zelayo Asencio of Glencoe without incident. The sheriff’s office said deputies also recovered a firearm in the vehicle.Asencio remained in the Wright County Jail as of Tuesday morning. Charges are pending.Related Articles...

Minnesota Democrats’ budget plan would increase spending by $17.9 billion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

Minnesota Democrats plan to add $17.9 billion in new spending to the state’s next two-year budget, a 35 percent increase from the current $52 billion general fund spending plan, according to a budget framework released Tuesday.Much of the spending would be ongoing, but there also are at least $1.5 billion in one-time costs. High-profile items include $3 billion for tax cuts, $2.2 billion for public schools, $1 billion for housing and $1 billion for transportation projects.“This agreement moves us one step closer to ending childhood poverty,” Gov. Tim Walz said. “It invests in our families, it invests in workforce, it invests in infrastructure roads and bridges. This budget has it.”Minnesota Republicans were much less enthusiastic, calling the plans a “runaway train putting Minnesotan’s livelihoods at risk.”“Democrats’ massive spending increases are on new bureaucracies, includes tax increases on every worker and business, and rob...

House fire kills Pine River couple in north-central Minnesota

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

PINE RIVER, Minn. — By the time fire crews arrived at the scene of a Pine River house fire early Tuesday morning, the home and its two occupants were already gone, the fire chief said.“We were paged about 2:20 a.m.” to the home of Barbara and Charles Norman in the 3300 block of 40th Avenue Southwest, said Fire Chief Kraig King. “We arrived to pretty much a burned-down house already.”Over 20 firefighters, including some from neighboring departments, responded. Many were sent home at around 8 a.m., while others either stayed or returned later in the morning.During the course of their work at the scene in north-central Minnesota, crews located the bodies of the Normans inside the house. King and the rest of his crew finally left the scene around noon.The Normans’ daughter, Tammy Norman, and daughter-in-law, Carol Norman, kept friends and family informed on Facebook.“My parents entered heaven tonight as the result of a catastrophic house fire. I have ...

Medicare recipients to see prescription savings amid price hikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – Starting April 1, seniors on Medicare may see some savings on certain prescription medications thanks to a law congress passed in 2022.“If they try to increase the price beyond the rate of inflation, then we get to yank back those extra dollars,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera said.The secretary said the department will return that money to Medicare -- helping the 67 million people enrolled in the program. Becerra said, so far, 27 drugs are under review because their prices increased too much.While a rebate could take time, Medicare recipients will start saving on their co-insurance for those medications in April as much as $390 dollars per dose.“The drugs that are on this list are drugs that are administered by physicians, either in a doctor's office or in a hospital,” said Juliette Cubanski of the Kaiser Family Foundation.The administration says the list of drugs could expand and Cubanski says everyone could end up benefitti...

Biden awards Springsteen, Louis-Dreyfus and others with National Medals of Arts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

Chants of “Bruuuuuce!” were heard at the White House on Tuesday, as President Biden honored Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gladys Knight and nearly two dozen other artists and organizations with the government’s highest arts award.“The Boss is here!” Biden said before a packed audience in the East Room for the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal ceremony. The pair of medals mark the highest awards given to artists by the United States government.“Bruce, some people are just born to run, man,” Biden said, as the crowd chanted the “Thunder Road” singer’s name.It was a belated celebration of sorts for the group of performers, writers and musicians. The recipients at the White House on Tuesday were actually the 2021 winners, but an in-person event honoring them was delayed due to COVID-19.Biden also drew laughs as he greeted guests to the ceremony, welcoming his “friend,” President Selina Meyer, the fictional commander in chief Louis-Dreyfus played on HBO’s...

Colonie man's trial underscores misconceptions about sex trafficking

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (News10)-The trial of a Colonie man accused of trafficking women and underage girls for prostitution began this week. Jury selection started on Monday in the federal trial against Christopher Thomas who is accused of using a website to advertise women and teenage girls for commercial sex in the Capital Region, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! An area nurse who said she had been his girlfriend recently admitted to helping Thomas operate his prostitution ring and is now awaiting her July sentencing date in federal court in Albany. For those who help victims, the trial underscores many misconceptions about sex trafficking and who is most vulnerable.Jason McLaughlin is the Executive Director of WAIT House in Glens Falls. The organization provides stability to homeless youth. Some of the young people being helped by McLaughlin and his staff are also survivors of prostitution. New...

Missouri House votes to cut corporate, personal income taxes by $1 billion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

The Missouri House gave first-round approval to a $1 billion personal and corporate income tax cut Tuesday, as Republicans pushed the bill through despite Democratic warnings that vital services would be starved for funds.The bill would cut the top rate on personal income taxes, cut the corporate income tax rate in half and exempt Social Security payments from taxation. State Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, said the bill would promote economic growth, noting that future tax cuts included in the bill only take effect when triggered by revenue growth.“This is really just limiting the growth of government,” Deaton said. Democrats, however, said a tax cut — coming on top of a tax cut approved in September that has not been fully implemented — would put the state into a potentially precarious financial position. Despite recent pay raises and incentives, state employees are still the worst paid in the nation and teachers are near the bottom of the pay scale, said state Rep. Peter Merideth,...

Missouri Supreme Court upholds state law prohibiting local CAFO regulations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:30 GMT

A state law prohibiting counties from imposing regulations on industrial hog facilities does not violate the Missouri Constitution, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.The unanimous ruling upholds a Cole County Circuit Court judge’s decision to toss the case before trial. It says county ordinances attempting to set rules for industrial farms are invalid. At issue is Missouri’s policing of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, which are industrial facilities capable of raising thousands of hogs, cows or chickens at a time. Despite complaints from rural neighbors, the state’s policies toward the industrial farms have become friendlier in recent years. In 2019, the Missouri General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting county CAFO rules that are “inconsistent with or more stringent than” state law or regulation. Two years later, they tightened it even further. County ordinances now can’t be “inconsistent with, in addition to, different from, or more stringe...