Minnesota News Briefs: Over five persons have been on Minnesota ice this winter

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It's been a tragic winter on the ice across Minnesota, according to the Department of Natural Resources. So far, five people have died after falling through the ice, with a sixth person missing and presumed drowned.

DNR boat and water safety specialist Kara Owens says this winter is on track to be the deadliest on the ice in Minnesota in six years. She says it's crucial that people do not led their guard down because ice is never 100-percent safe. Owens says for more information on ice safety go to the DNR’s website at www.mndnr.gov.

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One man is hospitalized and another is in custody after a stabbing in Duluth. Police say the victim walked into the Duluth Detoxification Center Monday night with a stab wound to his chest. He was taken to St.Luke's Hospital and is now in stable condition. Officers followed a blood trail in the snow to a home where the 43-year-old suspect was arrested. Investigators also found a sword they believed was used in the stabbing. The suspect remains in the St.Louis County jail pending first-degree assault charges.

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Governor Dayton's budget remains under the microscope at the Capitol, with more discussion today about his education spending plan. Scott Croonquist of the Metro Association of School Districts is concerned about near-term funding for schools. He says many of the increases the governor is proposing take effect in the second year of the biennium, so that first year is looking a little tough for school districts. Another area of concern -- the governor has proposed a change in funding for districts; instead of basing school taxes on the number of students living in the district, Dayton wants the funding to be based on the number of students that attend school there, regardless of where they live.

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Minnesota law says no university can offer online courses in the state unless they've been authorized to do so. But that has stood in the way of the online platform Coursera, which partners with institutions that include Ivy League schools and well-known specialty institutions to offer dozens of courses at no cost. Senator Terri Bonoff supports a bill introduced in the Minnesota Senate that would change that. She says it's very inspiring to think about our community college students having access to the best professors in the world and how that could change their interests. In a meeting with the Coursera founder, the state agreed not to enforce the disputed law in the case of the free, online educational forum. The proposed bill would grant exemption to schools offering free training or instructional programs.

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The local "Dream For All" campaign kicked off with a prayer vigil outside the Waite Park office of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. The Minnesota-based Assembly of Civil Rights wants to discuss immigration reform with the Minnesota Republican. Founder Pablo Tapia says Bachmann is one of the members of Congress with some leverage and they believe she has the power to speak to a more humane, comprehensive system of immigration. So far, Bachmann has refused to meet with members of the Assembly of Civil Rights. Her staff did not respond to requests for comment on today's vigil.

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A bill introduced at the State Capitol is intended to help local governments cover overtime costs associated with employing active duty military. Minnesota State Senate President Sandy Pappas says the bill is in response to an unintended consequence of the Minnesota Veteran’s Preference Act, which gives members of the military preference in hiring for government jobs. While the law is a good one, the St. Paul Democrat says it's straining the budgets of many Minnesota communities. The bill would require the state to reimburse local governments for the cost of replacement workers for fire, police, and paramedic personnel on authorized leave for military service. In 2011, those costs for the St. Paul Fire Department alone were nearly half-million dollars.

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Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill yesterday extending Minnesota's medical assistance program, which will help an additional 35-thousand low-income adults gain access to proper medical care. Dayton says it will also help those who are insured, bringing their costs down by reducing the number of uninsured Minnesotans. Senate Republican Leader David Hann, though, calls it "another example of Governor Dayton's reckless government spending."

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As the debate continues in Washington on what to do with Social Security, the chorus of voices saying "Stay away from the chained Consumer Price Index" is growing louder. That's one way that's been proposed to cut costs, but AARP Minnesota executive director Michele Kimball says that would mean reduced benefits, even for those already on the program.

Nearly 660,000 Minnesota seniors receive Social Security, and it's estimated that they would lose nearly $1.9 billion in the next decade if the chained CPI method is adopted.

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Police in Sibley County are stepping up patrols in childcare neighborhoods after a string of suspicious calls. A man pretending to work for Pampers has called several daycare providers in the area asking about their children. Police say the caller wanted to know the ages of the kids and how many were still in diapers. They're investigating at least seven cases in the last week, as well as reports of a driver snapping pictures outside local daycare centers.

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The St.Paul police officer who died after suffering a heart attack will be laid to rest this week. Thirty-year-old Officer Josh Lynaugh fell ill after chasing a teen on foot February 8th and died in the hospital last Saturday. The visitation is planned for 3 p.m. Thursday at Mueller Parkway Chapel, and the funeral Mass is Friday morning at 10 at the Cathedral of St.Paul. Lynaugh twice won the St.Paul Police Department's "Life Saving Award" and received 16 commendations during his five years of service.

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The U.S. Olympic Committee is polling major cities, including Minneapolis, to see which of them are interested in hosting the 2024 Summer Games. Letters went out to the 25 largest cities in the country as well as ten others that previously expressed interest. Atlanta was the last U.S. city to host the Summer Games in 1996, while Salt Lake City held the 2002 Winter Games.

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A winter storm headed for southern Minnesota could bring more than a half-foot of snow or more, especially along and south of Interstate 94. The National Weather Service says snow is expected to begin over southern Minnesota by late afternoon Thursday, and reach central Minnesota by Thursday night. That snowfall is expected to continue throughout much of Friday, with amounts over six inches possible by Friday afternoon. The greatest accumulations appear to be most likely along Interstate 90 in south-central and southwestern Minnesota. A winter storm watch is in effect from late Thursday afternoon through Friday.

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A grand jury has indicted a St.Paul man on first-degree murder in the shooting death and dismemberment of his wife. Thirty-four-year-old Steven Johnson was initially charged with second-degree murder for killing 32-year-old Manya Johnson January 6th and hiding her body in a White Bear Lake garage. The criminal complaint says Johnson admitted to shooting Manya in the head and then using a saw to dismember her body in the shower. Prosecutors allege that he killed his wife after she told him she was leaving him. Johnson remains jailed on two-million dollars bond.

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Prosecutors say a man from Elkton in southern Minnesota was drunk and driving 120 miles an hour when his car went airborne on a county road south of Austin, hitting two utility poles and a tree and killing two of his friends. 44-year-old Jason Frederickson has been charged with six counts of criminal vehicular homicide in the deaths nearly one year ago of 32-year-old Jake Moe and 32-year-old Luke Unverzagt, both from Austin. Frederickson's blood alcohol level was point-one-two-six percent about 40 minutes after the crash.

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Today marks the one-year anniversary of a somber day on Minnesota highways. State Traffic Safety Director Donna Berger says February 20th, 2012 was the deadliest day of the year with eight people losing their lives on Minnesota roads -- including four college students traveling back to North Dakota State University on I-94. Lauren Peterson of Prior Lake, Jordan Playle of Elk River, Megan Sample of Rogers and Danielle Renninger of Excelsior were killed in that wreck. May 30th and November 6th tied for the second deadliest day with six fatalities. There were 384 traffic deaths in 2012.

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The Idaho man charged with slapping a Minneapolis toddler on a flight to Atlanta made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday. 60-year-old Joe Hundley surrendered to federal agents and then went before a federal judge in Atlanta via video from an Idaho federal courthouse. He was released on 10-thousand dollars bond, and as a condition can't drink alcohol, possess a gun, and was forced to surrender his passport. Hundley has been charged with simple assault after he was accused of slapping the 19-month-old boy during a Feb. 8 Delta Air Lines flight. The former president of Unitech Composites and Structures was fired last weekend because of the in-flight incident, which witnesses say also included a racial slur. The boy's mother and father are white, but their son Jonah, whom they adopted, is black.

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>aulers of goods are speaking out against Governor Dayton's proposed budget plan. Minnesota Trucking Association President John Hausladen says the governor's across-the-board sales tax plan would negatively impact not only the trucking industry, but producers and consumers as well. Hausladen warns haulers will have to charge the five-and-a-half-percent tax every time a product is moved -- and the customer will feel it in their pocket book. He says truckers are planning to gather in St. Paul on March 14th when the organization holds its annual "Truck to the Capitol." Hausladen expects legislators will get an earful.

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A federal lawsuit accuses police in Minnesota of violating a woman's constitutional rights after a traffic stop last year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jesus Sierra of Gaylord, after officers with the Gaylord police Department and the Sibley County sheriff’s office arrested the driver of a car she was a passenger in, and also took Sierra into custody and questioned her. ACLU lawyers claim the officers assumed Sierra was in the U.S. illegally, and that she was released only after officers took her to her home to look at her immigration documents. The lawsuit targets both departments.

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Radon gas has been found in a Minnesota county courthouse. Dodge County administrator Jim Elmquist says the levels found were high enough that the problem must be addressed. Three different tests show levels of the radioactive gas at between 2.1 and 11.7 picocuries, and the Environmental Protection Agency suggests some sort of mitigation be done at levels above four. The county has brought in a contractor to determine the best way to address the radon, which can cause lung cancer. The building that has been used as a courthouse since 1865 is the oldest working courthouse in Minnesota.

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