Minnnesota State News Briefs: Whooping cough cases across state are dropping

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Cases of whooping cough are dropping across Minnesota but the season remains active.

State health officials report more than 35-hundred-50 cases of pertussis in 2012. A county-by-county breakdown shows the highest number of whooping cough cases in the metro, with Hennepin County reporting nearly 900 cases this year. Anoka, Dakota, Ramsey, Washington and Wright counties have also had more than 200 cases each so far.

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Foundry workers are on strike in Winona – but they refuse to say why. About 150 members of the Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics, and Allied Workers’ International Union walked off the job at midnight Wednesday night at the Badger Foundry. The union rejected a company contract offer, and neither side would give any details. Union international representative Jerry Cotton told the Winona Daily News quote, “We will work it out between the company. We have a good relationship with them, but we have bumps in the road, and we will work it out from there.” Several of the picketers carry signs which simply read “On Strike, Unfair.” Badger Foundry manager Jeff Schaetz said the company’s offer quote, “would have allowed our employees to continue to receive excellent pay and benefits.” He also said no further talks were scheduled. Six years ago, about 130 Badger Foundry employees in Winona went on strike over health care benefits.

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More than 100 U.S. mayors, including four from Minnesota, have sent a letter to Congress urging a bi-partisan balanced federal budget deal be in place before automatic cuts go into effect January 1st. Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede says he and the mayors are concerned that federal and state budgets will be balanced on the backs of cities. He says discretionary funding for cities such as Rochester has already been cut. Brede says the mayors understand the need for cuts in order to balance the federal budget, but they want cuts prioritized and the consequences understood.

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The grave of a Minnesota soldier killed in the Civil War will be re-dedicated this weekend. Private Edmund Sampare of St. Paul died in the Battle of Antietam in September of 1862. Tomorrow, his grave at Calvary Cemetary in St. Paul will be re-dedicated to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Re-enactors will take part in unveiling a new commemorative stone marker in memory of Sampare. This is the third and final Civil War Battle Remembrance Event to be held in Minnesota this year.

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Today is the autumnal equinox. National Weather Service meteorologist Jacob Beitlich says that's when you have equal hours of daylight and nighttime darkness as we transition into the cool season. Beitlich says the odds are it will be a little bit warmer and drier than normal this winter Beitlich adds that doesn't necessarily mean we won't see periods of intense cold this winter.

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A large recall by General Motors affects about 426,000 vehicles across the country. The automaker says transmission gear shift cables may not match the gear on the shifter -- and that could lead to vehicles rolling away when drivers thought the car was in park. 2007 through 2010 Chevrolet Malibus, and two models no longer made, the Saturn Aura and Pontiac G-6, are being recalled.

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Two Twin Cities area grocery chains are recalling some chicken products due to the risk of listeria contamination. No illnesses have been reported but Lunds and Byerly's stores have pulled their store brand marinated chicken breasts, kabobs and meal kits as a precaution. Products purchased since September 14th can be returned to the store for a full refund.

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Minnesota's aquatic invasive species rules are a bit more lenient at the end of the boating season. The DNR's Jay Rendall says you do not have to remove invasive species from docks and boat lifts that are pulled up on shore for the winter. The invasive species on equipment stored along shore will die over the winter. But Rendall adds that you do have to clean off a dock or boat lift that is being transported to another location.

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Minnesota's two U.S. senators have announced government funding to help train workers to take on high-wage, highly-skilled manufacturing jobs. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-Plymouth) and Al Franken (DFL-Minneapolis) say the $13-million will go to four Minnesota schools: Central Lakes College in Brainerd, St. Cloud Technical and Community College, Bemidji State University and Pine Technical College. The Regional Advanced Manufacturing Re-Training Program is designed to help fill job openings for workers who have industry-recognized qualifications.

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Organizers are making final preparations today for Saturday's big veterans job fair in Detroit Lakes. Regional Chamber President Carrie Johnston says northern Minnesota will be well-represented by companies from Thief River Falls, Moorhead, Fergus Falls and elsewhere. The job fair runs from 9 a. m.to 3 p.m. tomorrow in Detroit Lakes at the M-State campus.

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Don't look now -- or maybe you should -- but Minnesota's fall color season is rapidly moving by. Here this final day of summer, the DNR reports trees approaching their peak around the Twin Cities metro and in the lower Arrowhead. Most of the rest of the state, including the North Shore, is between 25- and 50-percent of peak color.

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Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson was in Minnesota for a rally this afternoon at Macalester College in Saint Paul. Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, advocates total withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East. He also supports legalizing same-sex marriage, decriminalizing marijuana and an immediate end to federal deficit spending.

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There's been a let-up in pump prices around the state in recent days. Minnesota-Gas-Prices-dot-Com reports regular unleaded at an average of $3.88 a gallon this morning -- nearly eight-cents lower than a week ago this time. The price of oil has dropped back but gasoline futures rose overnight because of concerns over supply. That could push prices at the pump higher again in the coming days.

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A collision between a van and a dump truck has left a Bemidji man dead. The State Patrol reports the van driven by 38-year-old Theodore Bruers rear-ended the truck west of Cass Lake. Bruers died at the scene. The dump truck driver had minor injuries.

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A 16-year-old girl has died after a crash in northeastern Minnesota earlier this week. According to the State Patrol, Hannah Wilson of Virginia was driving her compact car across Highway-53 in Eveleth when it was broadsided by a large SUV. The other driver received minor injuries. Wilson was flown to a Duluth hospital but died from her injuries on Thursday.

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More wind is on the way to Minnesota. Forecasters say the winds will whip up by afternoon as a cold front moves into northwestern counties. Expect gusts up to 45-miles-an-hour. The cool-down will really be felt as we head into Saturday and below-freezing temperatures could arrive early Sunday across the entire state.

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State health department officials say they "strongly disagree" with a Minneapolis jury that found a Stearns County farmer who distributed raw milk not guilty of violating food safety laws. Alvin Schlangen's attorney argued his client was operating a private food club, not a business, and no one got sick from the raw milk. But the state Health Department says the jury's "narrow ruling does not wipe away the fact that many children and adults have gotten dangerously sick from consuming raw milk." State law allows unpasteurized milk to be sold directly to consumers only on the farm where it's produced. Schlangen is an organic egg farmer and doesn't produce the milk himself. He picks the products up from an Amish farm and delivers them to members of a private club called Freedom Farms Co-op who lease the cows.

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How to keep ships dumping ballast water from bringing invasive species into the Great Lakes -- that's the topic as researchers from around the world gather in Duluth-Superior. Lieutenant Governor Yvonne Prettner Solon says they're working on a way to safely treat ballast water that won't interfere with shipping. Prettner Solon says officials want uniform standards for ballast water treatment in the Great Lakes so shipping companies don't have to deal with different regulations in different states.

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If you won't be in your home community on election day, you can vote absentee instead -- either by mail or in person. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says voters can go into their county courthouse and sometimes their city hall -- and do their absentee voting in person. Or you can contact your county elections office for an absentee ballot application. Overseas voters and military members that apply for an absentee ballot can receive it by email. Ritchie says they then print it out, fill it in, and mail it back.

Tags: news, minnesota