Afternoon Minnesota News Briefs: West Nile showing up around the state

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(St. Paul, MN) -- Cases of West Nile virus are popping up around Minnesota. The state Health Department reports seven people infected in seven different counties -- including St. Louis, Cass and Clay in northern Minnesota.

In the central part of the state, there's a case reported in Stearns County. To the south, cases have cropped up in Yellow Medicine, Lyon and Brown counties.

Several cases of West Nile have also shown up in horses in Minnesota and the Dakotas. West Nile is spread by certain mosquitoes and health officials warn we still have up to two months left in the season.

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A woman has pleaded guilty in Sibley County Court to abandoning her newborn daughter to die in the woods a decade ago. Twenty-nine-year-old Amy Romero pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree manslaughter and will get eight years in prison. Prosecutors say Romero was living near Henderson when she gave birth and left the baby girl in the woods in April of 2001. The infant's body was never found. The case against Romero started coming together after she allegedly told a co-worker that she "had done something really bad in her youth."

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In the ongoing lock-out of striking workers at American Crystal Sugar in Moorhead -- a "family meeting" has been scheduled at the end of next week. The union has invited company president Dave Berg, who has not responded yet. The union wants Berg to come to East Grand Forks, Minn. on August 18th to explain why he thinks they should accept management's contract. American Crystal Sugar workers have been off the job for more than a year now.

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Minnesota students will find some changes on their lunch trays when they head back to school in a few weeks. New federal guidelines for school cafeterias dictate more fruits and vegetables, smaller portions of meat and protein...and fewer calories. The lunch director for the St. Paul School District, Jean Ronnei says she's spent the summer pouring over recipes and looking for those that include meat alternatives, less sodium and no trans-fat. It's estimated that about one in four Minnesota children are now overweight or obese.

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