Minnesota State News Briefs: Eau Claire woman hurt in I-94 crash

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FREEPORT, Minn. -- A crash just east of Freeport closed Interstate 94 for several hours early this morning.

A semi traveling eastbound rear-ended a car going slow, or that may have been stopped, in the right lane. The driver of the vehicle a 33-year-old woman from Eau Claire, Wisconsin is in critical condition. Her name has not been released. The driver of the semi was a 31-year-old Wyoming, Minnesota man. He was not hurt. The Interstate reopened just before 6:00 a.m. State Patrol officials say the roadways in the area were icy.

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A Minnesota House committee that will eventually draft the state budget took a detailed look today at Governor Dayton's $38-billion-dollar, two-year spending proposal. James Schowalter of the Office of Management and Budget describes the spending plan as a "Statement of priorities." He says trying to balance the $1.1 billion deficit is the mathematical challenge we have, while the budget is also a statement of the things the governor stands for. In the broadest sense, the most notable parts of the Dayton plan are its tax changes, especially the expanded scope of the state sales tax while at the same time lowering the tax rate.

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An early morning bar fight in St. Cloud had police using pepper spray to disburse an unruly crowd. A St. Cloud police officer tried to separate two men fighting outside of McRudy's Bar at around 2:15 Sunday morning, when he was grabbed by one of the suspects, 22-year-old Glen Matthews. A crowd of around 50 people gathered at the scene and began pulling at the officer's jacket, interfering with the arrest. The pepper spray was deployed as other officers arrived to assist with crowd control. Matthews has been charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. The other man involved in the fight, 22-year-old Jeffrey Bias II, was also charged with disorderly conduct.

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A Shakopee convenience store clerk has been charged with selling beer to an obviously drunk person after customer Thomas Lawrie was found dead in a snow bank last month, still clutching the six-pack in his hands. Police say a teenage relative of the clerk is also facing charges after filming a stumbling Lawrie, who is seen on surveillance video dropping his money and falling down at the counter. That video also shows Lawrie was too intoxicated to open the beer cooler, so the teen carried the six-pack to the counter for him. Neither the teen nor the clerk, Ghaleb Awawada, is being charged in the man's death, but for illegally selling booze to someone clearly drunk.

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Police say a Plymouth man was injured when he accidentally shot himself inside a Rainbow Foods store Sunday afternoon. Officers aren't sure how the gun went off but say it happened in the bathroom of the grocery store, and there is no indication it is anything more than an accident. The man shot himself in the leg, and does have a conceal and carry permit. Nobody else was injured.

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Bitter cold and low supplies forced Lonnie Dupre of Grand Marais to end his third solo attempt to climb Alaska's Mount McKinley. No one has ever made it to the 20,320-foot summit alone in the winter. Fifty-one-year-old Dupre reached high camp at 17-thousand-200 feet Friday with a temperature of 40-below zero and 40 mile-per-hour winds. He planned to rest Saturday and climb to the peak Sunday, but the snow and cold kept him inside a cave. Dupre said these storms can last a long time and a climber should never be caught with less than three days of food and eight days of fuel at any point. He started making his way down the mountain yesterday. Dupre was also filming a documentary on climate change during his expedition.

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An 11-year-old Prior Lake boy and his father were among the spectators in danger when a runaway snowmobile crashed into a crowd at the X Games in Colorado Sunday night. The boy was near a fence when the snowmobile crashed through it. His father threw him out of the way as the snowmobile came closer. The boy was evaluated by medical staff at the scene and received only minor injuries. The snowmobiler was attempting a backflip when the machine got away from him.

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A northwest Minnesotan became the first competitor to win six straight gold medals at the Winter X Games Sunday in Aspen, Colorado. Twenty-eight-year-old Tucker Hibbert from Goodridge won the 15-man snocross final - and ran away with the event. Hibbert's winning time was 11 seconds faster than the runner-up. He also won gold medals in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. There was no snocross competition last year. In 2000, Hibbert became the youngest gold medalist in the Winter X Games when he won as a 15-year-old amateur. Snowboarder Shawn White tied Hibbert's record Sunday night by winning gold in the superpipe for the sixth year in a row.

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The weekend event that had police in St. Cloud concerned and planning stepped up patrols didn't take place after all. The hip-hop show billed as “St. Cloud: The Takeover” would have bussed people 18 and over in from the Twin Cities, but the owner of RumRunners Bar Jamie Dickmann says he decided to cancel the event because of public safety concerns. He says he was taken off-guard by the way the event took off through social media and says they originally expected only about 30 people. St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson warned his department would take a zero-tolerance approach to crime this weekend.

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A 20-year-old Eveleth man is hospitalized after being allegedly stabbed by his older brother. The 23-year-old man was arrested on tentative charges of first-degree assault. On Friday, Eveleth Police received a report from a male caller saying he had just stabbed his brother. He also reportedly made threats about also having a gun. After a 30 minute standoff, the suspect surrendered to police. A knife was recovered from the scene but no gun. Officials say it's unclear what started the altercation between the two siblings.

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Police say a Plymouth man was injured when he accidentally shot himself inside a Rainbow Foods store Sunday afternoon. Officers aren't sure how the gun went off but say it happened in the bathroom of the grocery, and there is no indication it is anything more than an accident. The man shot himself in the leg, and does have a conceal and carry permit. Nobody else was injured.

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A series of hearings at the state Capitol will focus on how the recession has impacted college education in Minnesota. DFL State Representative Gene Pelowski of Winona says lawmakers need a clear picture of the impact of historic cuts, tuition increases and increased student debt. The presentations took place today and after the hearing the committee heard budget requests from University leaders.

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A mix of rain, sleet and snow left roads across Minnesota dangerous and messy, and it may not improve much today or tomorrow morning. There were nearly 400 crashes statewide from noon to 9 p.m., and Minnesota State Patrol says 48 people were hurt, but none critically, and there were no death. There were also nearly 300 slide-offs, three of them involving jackknifed semis. A foggy morning commute is expected, on roads that are slush-covered. Another round of snow is expected tonight, tomorrow morning and again early Wednesday.

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A Minnesota State trooper was injured in a crash on the exit ramp from westbound Interstate 494 to northbound Interstate 35W in Richfield Saturday night, and State Patrol says the driver who hit his squad car was drunk. Two squad cars were at the scene of an unrelated crash, with their emergency lights on and lit flares in the roadway, and that's when patrol says a drunk driver sideswiped the first squad car and then rear-ended the second. Trooper Allen Thill was treated and released. The trooper in the other squad was not hurt. Officials say the driver failed a preliminary alcohol test and was arrested, and a passenger in his car suffered minor injuries.

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An 85-year-old Minneapolis man died in an apartment fire in a building where he once was caretaker. Neighbors identify the victim as Donald Morgan, and police say his body was found in his second floor apartment soon after the fire was out. The fire appears to have started in Morgan's apartment, but investigators are still working to determine what caused it.

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An Oakland woman has been charged with four counts of mistreatment of animals, after one horse died and two other horses were found emaciated on her farm near Austin. Prosecutors also say that 59-year-old Theresa Halsey kept the animals on the less-than one acre property even though Freeborn County ordinance says there must be 2.5 acres per horse. Human Society investigators found algea in the water tank, filthy stalls, and a shelter too low for the adult animals to stand completely upright.

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering aquatic invasive species (AIS) training for lake service providers. The DNR's April Rust says the providers are required by law to attend AIS training and acquire a permit before being hired to place or remove the equipment from any state waters. 19 courses will be available this year, with most of the sessions taking place in February and March.

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The 2012 Duluth-Superior shipping season has come to an end. Adele Yorde with the Duluth Seaway Port Authority says it was a good shipping season--not a great one. She says iron ore totals have steadily been going up and coal tonnage has stabilized. However, Yorde says is was a disappointing year for outbound grain. She expects the Duluth-Superior shipping season to start back up around mid-March, with the first salties coming in from the Atlantic in April.

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More than 200 dental offices in the state are providing free care to children under 18 this Thursday and Friday(2/1&2). The dentists are volunteering their services during the 11th annual "Give Kids a Smile" event. Dr.Perpich says dentists will be doing free teeth cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings and some extractions. Parents can make appointments for their child by calling the United Way at 211 or by going online to mndental.org.

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