Minnesota News Briefs: Lawsuit filed against DNR after data breach
Minnesota News-- A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of seventeen people whose private information was apparently illegally accessed by former Department of Natural Resources employee John Hunt.
ST. PAUL -- A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of seventeen people whose private information was apparently illegally accessed by former Department of Natural Resources employee John Hunt.
Attorney Scott Kelley says the seventeen people include Twin Cities local celebrities and television personalities and DNR employees. Most of the affected had their information accessed several times; one woman had her information accessed a dozen times. Kelly says Hunt may have been also using the DVS records as part of online dating through Match.com.
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The Minnesota state House of Representatives has passed bipartisan legislation to extend the sunset date of the Farmer-Lender Mediation Act by four years. The bill's author DFL Representative Jeanne Poppe of Austin says the act allows the lenders to initiate mediation in the case of a farmer who has missed some payments and it opens the lines of communication to help resolve any disputes and issues The Farmer-Lender Mediation Act requires a bank to offer mediation to a farmer before seizing any agricultural property such as land, livestock, or crops. To qualify for mediation, the farmer’s debt must exceed $5,000.
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Norway's Chief of Defense Harald Sunde will be in Minnesota to recognize and honor the 40th anniversary of the United States/Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange program. While he is at Camp Ripley, General Sunde will help dedicate a monument given from the Norwegian Home Guard to the Minnesota Nation Guard. He'll aslo also view troops in training, and participate in a "Come Together" meal.
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Mary Jo Copeland, founder of Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis, will receive the nation's second-highest civilian honor today at the White House. President Obama will present Copeland with the Presidential Citizens Medal, established in 1969 to recognize Americans who have performed exemplary deeds of service. Sharing and Caring Hands helps thousands of people each month and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers. Copeland, who receives no salary, has served as the center's director since it opening in 1985, and still greets every client and conducts intake interviews.
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A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate Thursday aims to address the financial problems of the U.S. Postal Service and modernize the system. Senator Al Franken (DFL-Minneapolis) says people all over Minnesota depend on six-day service to get their paychecks and pay bills. He says this legislation would preserve Saturday delivery, keep open many of the processing centers that are slated to close and allow post offices to do new things like notarize documents and issue hunting and fishing licenses. The measure also repeals a 2006 law that forces the post office to pre-fund 75 years of future health care benefits for retirees.
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If this year's snowmelt is not followed by steady spring rains, it's looking like another active wildfire season in Minnesota. The DNR's Olin Phillips says even though we've had better snow than last year, we are still going to have some very dry fuel and soil conditions that will really kick off fire season pretty aggressively. Phillips says this year is also likely to see more fire in non-traditional fire areas, including cropland of western and southwestern Minnesota. The DNR fought fire on 60-thousand acres last year, double the annual average.
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A bill introduced at the State Capitol seeking to hike the minimum wage in Minnesota has the support of several organizations, from employment experts to religious groups around the state. The proposal would raise the bottom wage to $9.50 an hour, and Kris Jacobs of the JOBS NOW Coalition says the increase is long overdue. She says the minimum wage would have been $10.58 an hour had it kept pace with inflation and nearly a half-million jobs in Minnesota pay less than 10 dollars an hour. She says this increase would pump about $300-million a year into the state economy.
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Influenza continues to loosen it's grip on Minnesota, but several people still lost their lives to the illness last week. Nine more Minnesotans died of flu-related causes in the second week of February, and the Minnesota Department of Health says 136 deaths have been confirmed in the state in the current flu season. It's been one of the most severe outbreaks in years, with more than 600 hospitalized with the flu since the start of the new year. Last week that number was down to 72. The number of flu outbreaks was up slightly, with cluster cases in three nursing homes and 22 schools. Minnesota health officials say the state's flu outbreak peaked in about mid-January.
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A Minneapolis high school was placed on lockdown yesterday after a cafeteria food fight turned into an all-out brawl involving hundreds of students. Minneapolis Police were called when two school security officers were unable to get the crowd under control, and South High School was placed on a code yellow lockdown. Police tried to break up the crowd of 200-to-300 students, and when that didn't work they resorted to spraying mace in the air above the crowd. Officials say one staff member and three students were taken to the hospital. No weapons were involved, and investigators say any injuries were minor. Students were dismissed at the usual time, but all afternoon activities except for sports were canceled.
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A 15-year-old New Prague High School sophomore has been arrested after a bomb threat evacuated the school yesterday. School staff called police after a note was found in the bathroom that said there was a bomb in the building. Officers and school staff conducted a thorough search, and nothing was found. Students were brought back after about an hour-and-a-half. Investigators were able to collect information and evidence connected to the threatening note, and arrest the student on charges of terroristic threats and disorderly conduct.
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