Minnesota News Briefs: Two rescues made on Lake Superior

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DULUTH - It's a reminder how dangerous Lake Superior can be for swimmers. The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office reports two emergency rescues were made by local bystanders and authorities in Duluth on Monday.

One woman was taken to the hospital after the incidents in which four swimmers, and one would-be rescuer, were pulled out of the lake.

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There are warnings galore across Minnesota this morning from the National Weather Service. A excessive heat warning stretches over most of central and southern Minnesota -- and it isn't expected to end until late Thursday. Heavy rains overnight have caused flash flooding in Aitkin, Carlton, Cass and Crow Wing counties. Meanwhile, the city of Bemidji was under curfew until 6 a.m. following severe storms which knocked out phones and caused widespread damage. There were also power outages reported in areas like Grand Rapids. Winds in northern Minnesota were clocked at up to 80-miles-an-hour overnight.

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Family members of Thai Vang have been told the bad news from Anoka County. After hours of searching, the 21-year old's body was found in Centerville Lake late Monday. Vang was last seen trying to swim through the dense weeds of the lake after his canoe capsized early Sunday. The man he was fishing with was able to escape the lake.

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Recent flooding in Aitkin County has officials warning of potential contamination in area lakes. Flood Information Officer Lynn Mizner is asking that residents and visitors stay away from the floodwaters, to protect themselves -- particularly children -- from e-coli contamination from sewer systems that are flooded. Mizner says the water will be tested as soon as levels drop. In the meantime, she asks that residents with flooded septic systems unplug the pumps and not use the systems until cleared to do so.

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Minnesotans get a detailed look at the extent of flood damage in Jay Cooke State Park when the DNR and MNDoT hold a media tour this morning. Officials will outline damage to the popular swinging bridge over the St. Louis River, plus extensive damage to still-closed Highway-210, the main route through the park. The Willard Munger State Trail was also badly damaged and remains closed between Carlton and Duluth.

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June 2012 will be remembered for major flooding in parts of northeastern and southeastern Minnesota. But statewide rainfall for the month was about four-inches, or two-tenths of an inch below normal. Climatologist Pete Boulay says some areas missed out on all the rain. He says the southwest was a little over two-and-a-half inches below normal, and up in the northwest about an inch-and-a-quarter below normal. Temperatures in June were above normal for the 13th-straight month.

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Funeral services are this morning (11:30am) in north Minneapolis for five-year-old Nizzel George of Brooklyn Park. He was hit in the back last Tuesday by a stray bullet fired from outside his grandmother's home. Two juveniles were charged Monday in Nizzel's death. Seventeen-year-old Stephon Shannon of Minneapolis is accused of aiding and abetting first-degree murder and a 15-year-old suspect also faces charges. The criminal complaint says Shannon told a witness he fired at the house because he was shot at on the porch of a nearby home the night before -- and believed someone in the home where the boy was staying was responsible.

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The cost of gas keeps dropping. Folks filling up in Minnesota are seeing prices averaging around $3.36 a gallon for regular unleaded, the lowest point since early February. Minnesota-Gas-Prices.com reports diesel fuel remains in the high-three-dollar range.

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Law enforcement officials are hoping to buck a recent increase in traffic deaths around the Fourth of July. State Traffic Safety Director Donna Berger says this is a deadly week on Minnesota roads. The last three years there were 21 deaths -- 14 of those alcohol-related -- in the 78-hour period around the Fourth of July. Berger says drivers to need to buckle up, drive at safe speeds, and plan ahead for a sober ride home from holiday parties. There were more than 15-hundred DWI arrests during the Fourth of July travel period from 2009 through 2011.

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The search continues today for a missing Forest Lake man who may have drowned in Forest Lake Number One Monday afternoon. Washington County Sheriff's officials say they found a dog swimming and an unoccupied pontoon boat drifting. The Department of Natural Resources says, so far this year, 24 people have drowned, compared to 13 at this time last year.

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Police in St.Paul are investigating an officer-involved shooting early this morning that left a man wounded. Sergeant Paul Paulos says officers responding to a domestic call shot the suspect around 4 a.m. The adult male is serious but stable condition at Regions Hospital. The alleged domestic assault victim was not injured.

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There have been 24 drownings in Minnesota so far this year, compared with 13 this time last year. The DNR's Tim Smalley says there have been reports that the drownings may have involved thick weeds, but says in his 30-plus years he's never seen an official drowning report involving weeds. Smalley says sometimes a body will be found wrapped in weeds -- but as for weeds pulling a person under, "that only happens in bad movies." Smalley says while the spike in drownings is alarming, it's likely because of a warmer-than-normal spring and summer.

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Members of a national right-to-die group have been booked and released in Dakota County -- where they face criminal charges in the death of an Apple Valley woman. Three members of the Georgia-based nonprofit Final Exit appeared in court Monday on a total of 17 criminal counts, including assisting a suicide and interfering with a death scene. A judge released them without bail but says they shouldn't leave the country. Doreen Dunn died on May 30th of 2007. Prosecutors say two Final Exit volunteers were with her that day. Supporters say the group's members don't physically assist with suicides or provide means to carry it out.

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Several months after offering harsh criticism about opponent Mitt Romney's run for president, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Stillwater) has softened that stance. Bachmann says she has "absolute trust and faith in the decisions that Mitt Romney will make as president." And Bachmann's name is getting some play in vice-presidential banter. Appearing on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," Bachmann was asked if she was being considered as Romney's running mate. She responded, "that's something for the campaign to answer on. That's not for me to make that decision and that announcement." Former Governor Tim Pawlenty's name is also being tossed around.

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Here are the winning numbers from the Minnesota State Lottery for Monday, July 2nd, 2012. The Daily Three: 3-9-7. Northstar Cash: 5-9-15-24-25. Gopher Five: 15-20-22-31-35.

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