(Update) Minnesota News Roundup: Head Start student left on bus

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CLOQUET, Minn. -- The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is investigating why a child was left on a Head Start bus for three hours Monday morning in temperatures hovering at zero degrees.

According to the tribe, the driver of the bus did not check to see if all students had left the bus after it stopped at the Head Start on tribal land near Cloquet. Tribal attorney Dennis Peterson said “we’re looking into it,” when asked about the boy, who apparently had fallen asleep in a seat. He said the student was sent to a hospital for observation and was released in good shape later in the day. There were no details on how the boy was eventually discovered.

Fond du Lac runs its own transportation system and drivers are trained to search their buses after dropping students off, Peterson said.

Tribal chairwoman Karen Diver said the employees involved have been placed on administrative leave while an investigation continues.

“Tribal administration is taking it very seriously but do not have all the facts yet,” she said.

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Former Senator Rudy Boschwitz and former Congressmen Tim Penny and Martin Sabo are launching the Minnesota campaign to fix the federal debt this afternoon. Penny accuses the White House and Congress of kicking the can down the road on the so-called "fiscal cliff." He says both sides need to agree that everything is on the table -- including new tax revenue and entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Penny argues the Pentagon's budget must also be in the mix as lawmakers fix the federal debt.

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The man once suspected in the killing of a Minnesota Police officer is in trouble again, accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend. 34-year-old Ryan Larson turned himself in at the Wright County Jail Sunday, and is charged with felony stalking and violating a restraining order, a misdemeanor Larson is out on bail, and says he's innocent. He also maintains his innocence in the shooting death of Cold Spring Police Officer Tom Decker. Larson spent four days in jail during the November investigation but was released without being charged.

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A St. Paul man will spend three years on probation, serve 500 hours of community service, and repay more than $350,000 for filing a false insurance claim. Federal prosecutors say Jason Sheedy insured several pieces of artwork with a specialty company, and then reported them as stolen. He later listed six of the pieces for sale on an on-line auction site. Federal investigators searched his house and found five of them. Sheedy will have to repay the $274,000 claim to AXA Art Insurance, and nearly $100,000 to Farmers Insurance -- after he filed a bogus home break-in claim as well.

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An apartment building fire in Rochester last night has left 20 people homeless, most of them children. Firefighters arrived at the building around 9 p.m. to find heavy smoke billowing from the second floor. Everyone was able to get out safely and there were no serious injuries, but five people were taken to the emergency room to be treated for smoke inhalation.

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An early morning fire in north Minneapolis has displaced two dozen people. Officials says it appears the blaze started on the first floor of a duplex and burned its way inside the walls up to the second floor. The Red Cross says 11 adults and 13 children were able to escape safely and are being housed at a nearby hotel. One firefighter suffered a minor knee injury and was treated at Hennepin County Medical Center.

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is sending out five-thousand letters to Minnesotans who may have had their motor-vehicle information accessed without authorization. A former DNR employee accessed driver and vehicle services records that contained information such as full name, date of birth, driver's license number, address, license status and photo. State officials says there is no proof the data was sold, disclosed to others or used for criminal purposes. The DNR is recommending however that those who receive a notification letter monitor their credit reports. All three main credit reporting agencies have been notified, as required by state law.

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Today (TUES) is the deadline for candidates to file for the February 12th special election in Minnesota House District 19-A. The seat is being vacated by DFL Representative Terry Morrow of Saint Peter. Four Democratic candidates have filed and the DFL endorsing convention is Saturday. A primary election is tentatively set for January 29th. Republicans have endorsed former state Representative Allen Quist while Tim Giesek is the Independence Party's candidate. District 19-A includes Nicollet County and portions of Blue Earth and Le Sueur Counties.

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A new University of Minnesota study concludes the way people respond to an economic downturn is formed long before they get their first paycheck. Associate professor of marketing Vladas Griskevicius says early childhood environment can program people for the rest of their lives. He says people who grew up feeling wealthy respond to economic hard times by wanting to save money and thinking about the future. But he says those who grew up feeling poor compared to others became more impulsive.

>>Career Criminal Gets 20 Years For Firearms Violation

(Minneapolis, MN) -- A northeastern Minnesota man convicted of being a career criminal in possession of a firearm has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Prosecutors say 34-year-old John Douglas of Aurora illegally possessed a 20-gauge shotgun on May 30th, 2011 and fired it into the air several times. Officers found a box of ammunition, freshly-fired shell casings and a sawed-off shotgun at the scene Due to previous felony convictions in Saint Louis County, Douglas was prohibited from possessing firearms at any time.

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