The public will have a bit more time to weigh in as the Minnesota Department of Transportation considers potential improvements to seven and a half miles of Interstate 94 through Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The public comment period for two environmental review documents related to MnDOT’s “Rethinking I-94” project has been extended to March 23. The comment period for the scoping document and draft scoping decision document, as well as the environmental worksheet, opened Jan. 6 and was originally scheduled to run for 60 days.

Working with consultants, MnDOT has narrowed potential interstate improvements to three options between Minnesota 55/Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis and Marion Street in St. Paul. The three options include maintaining the interstate in its current configuration after pavement and bridge improvements, with consistent bus shoulders for better public transit access; removing a travel lane in each direction; or converting one travel lane in each direction into a managed lane during morning and afternoon rush hours.

More information is online at tinyurl.com/Rethinking9426.

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By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman on probation for stowing away on an international flight has been arrested again after sneaking onto a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Milan, Italy, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter.

Svetlana Dali, convicted in 2024 for flying to Paris without a passport or ticket, was taken into custody Thursday at Milan’s Malpensa Airport, said the official, who was not authorized to disclose information publicly about the case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

FBI spokesperson Emily Molinari said the agency’s Newark office was “aware of the alleged stowaway,” but didn’t immediately disclose additional information. The FBI is working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark Liberty International Airport, and the Transportation Security Administration “on this open investigation,” Molinari said.

United Airlines, which operated the flight, said it is “investigating this incident and working with the appropriate authorities.”

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Michael K. Schneider, Dali’s federal defender who was also handling her appeal of the prior charges, declined to comment Thursday. He also declined to comment on whether Dali had a mental health evaluation as the terms of her supervised release required.

“I can’t comment on what she’s done since her release. My office is handling the appeal, which is still pending,” Schneider said.

Dali had been convicted in May 2025 on a stowaway charge for slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York sneaking onto a flight from New York to Paris.

Surveillance video showed Dali, a Russian citizen with U.S. residency, slip in with a group of ticketed passengers to walk by Delta Air Lines staff unnoticed. In court, Dali said she walked onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass. On the plane, prosecutors say she hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn’t discovered until the plane was nearing Paris.

After being flown back to New York, she told an FBI agent she had to the leave the U.S. because she believed people who were poisoning her, according to court documents.

Before this latest incident, Dali was still on one year supervised release after being sentenced to time served last July. Among the standard conditions of probation listed is that she can’t knowingly leave the federal judicial district where she was authorized to reside without first getting permission from the court or the probation officer. She was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and participate in treatment if deemed necessary.

Prosecutors have said Dali evaded security measures at two other airports before the JFK incident, and they believe she may have stowed away on another flight.

Two days before she sneaked on the Paris flight, she was able to get through TSA checkpoints at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, by hiding among other passengers. Authorities said she unsuccessfully tried to get on a plane and then left the airport.

In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport, prosecutors said. Dali was escorted out of the airport after the agents couldn’t confirm her story that she had just arrived on an Air France flight, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said federal agents did not make any findings that Dali had illegally traveled as a stowaway to Miami, but her statements to law enforcement after her arrest in Paris appeared to indicate that she had flown into Miami illegally.

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak and Philip Marcelo in New York contributed to this report.

Imagine running 3.1 miles without ever touching the ground floor. St. Paul’s first-ever “Skyway 5K” on Saturday dares runners to traverse downtown St. Paul mostly from the second floor skyway system, moving between some of the city’s oldest commercial buildings without leaving them.

So far, at least 700 participants have signed up for the challenge, including St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker and Council Member Saura Jost.

“The tag line is ‘Run where no one has run before (Literally. They don’t let people do this.),’” said Noecker on Wednesday, addressing the council. “This is all being planned by folks who just love downtown and want to bring vibrancy to the skyways.”

Unlike a traditional 5K, the climate-controlled race — which will be chip-timed with staggered heats throughout the morning — features stairs, sharp turns and changes in flooring. It’s still compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as those who need to use an elevator will have access to one, and walkers and children in strollers are welcome.

As with any physical competition, there’s at least a modicum of danger along the course. How will runners share the road when there isn’t one? How many racers will suffer bruised knees on walls and skyway windows? If you abort the course or need a breather, where do you pull off?

“I’m very interested to see what it’s going to be like,” said Jost, a seasoned 10-mile and half-marathoner who plans to stick to her 7-year-old son’s running pace. “It’s going to be warmer running inside.”

It’s little secret that St. Paul’s downtown skyway system has taken its share of hits, even before the pandemic and remote work sent customers and then skyway vendors packing, and some long sections remain off-limits to the general public or have since closed entirely. The route map, for instance, avoids the shuttered Alliance Bank Center.

Still, downtown’s tilt toward residential living continues to draw skyway walkers, including a group of seniors who meet at U.S. Bank Center every Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. to explore the skyways together for camaraderie and exercise. A skyway run elevates the same concept to another level.

The Skyway 5K aims to “highlight the beauty and uniqueness of the St. Paul skyway system while giving runners an unforgettable experience to run through one of the things that makes Minnesota so ‘one of a kind,’” reads the marketing materials, which include offers of event t-shirts. Every runner will receive a branded winter beanie.

Sponsors and fundraising partners include Anderson Race Management, Summit Brewing Co., the District 17 CapitolRiver Council and the St. Paul Union Depot.

The event starts and ends at the Union Depot transit hub in Lowertown, with the first heat around 8 a.m. Admission is $39 to $52. More information is online at skyway5k.com.

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By MAE ANDERSON, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Delivery company FedEx said in a statement on Thursday that it will return any tariff refund it might get to shippers and customers who paid them.

The statement came after FedEx filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade to request a refund on what it paid for tariffs set by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA tariffs are illegal.

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More than 1,000 companies have filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in efforts to recoup costs from the illegal tariffs, including large U.S. corporations like Costco and Revlon.

“If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges,” FedEx said in a statement on Thursday. “When that will happen and the exact process for requesting and issuing refunds will depend in part on future guidance from the government and the court.”

The Supreme Court ruling did not address implementation of any system by which the companies and individuals who paid those tariffs could be refunded.

Setting up a system for refunds will likely be a lengthy process. On Tuesday, the libertarian-leaning Liberty Justice Center, which represented some of the original plaintiffs that were part of the Supreme Court decision, said it, along with co-counsel Neal Katyal, filed coordinated motions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as well as the U.S. Court of International trade, to help set in motion a process for refunds. A response from the government is due Friday.

“We are committed to transparency and will communicate clearly as additional direction becomes available from the U.S. government and the court,” FedEx’s statement said.