Body found in Mississippi River ID’d as woman reported missing from Minneapolis

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A woman whose body was found in the Mississippi River after it was spotted in St. Paul has been identified as a 26-year-old who had been reported missing, police said Monday.

Foul play is not suspected in the death of Nina Nelson of Brooklyn Park, according to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office. The office is working to determine her cause and manner of death.

Nelson was last seen June 9 in Minneapolis, according to information posted on Minnesota United, which shares info about missing people.

On June 28, after a woman’s body was spotted in the flood-swollen, fast-moving Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, authorities recovered her about seven miles away near the Wakota Bridge between South St. Paul and Newport, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office water patrol said at the time. She was identified as Nelson.

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The plane is ready, the fundraisers are booked: Trump’s VP search comes down to its final days

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By JILL COLVIN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The future Republican vice presidential candidate’s plane is currently parked in an undisclosed hangar, an empty spot on its fuselage where a decal featuring his or her name will soon be placed.

Fundraisers have been planned.

All that’s left: an announcement from former President Donald Trump unveiling his pick.

Senior advisers and longtime allies insist they still don’t know whom the presumptive GOP nominee will choose to join him on the ticket — with many believing the choice is still in flux.

The decision will come at an unprecedented time of upheaval in the presidential race. President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party continue to grapple with his dismal debate performance and the intensifying calls for the 81-year-old president to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.

The Democrats’ crisis has given Trump little incentive to change the subject with a VP announcement that would be sure to draw a flurry of attention and focus.

But Trump will have plenty of opportunities this week to ratchet up the speculation about a process that his team has kept extraordinarily close to the vest.

“It could happen anytime this week,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said in an appearance on Fox News.

Opportunities to announce

Trump has two rallies planned. The first is scheduled for Tuesday evening at his golf club in Doral, Florida, near Miami. The primetime scheduling and location would seem to provide an ideal opportunity to unveil his pick if it is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a Miami native who is one of his top contenders.

Rubio will be in attendance at the event, according to an adviser familiar with the senator’s plans, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity about the selection process.

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On Saturday Trump will travel to the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania for an afternoon rally at the Butler Farm Show. The venue, outside of Pittsburgh, is not far from the border of Ohio, which is home to Sen. JD Vance, another potential pick.

Also said to be on Trump’s short list is North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who has grown close to the former president since he dropped his own bid for the nomination before voting began.

Trump doesn’t need a rally to unveil his pick. He could simply announce the news on his Truth Social platform at any moment between now and the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee on July 15. Or he could wait until the convention opens to make a grand, on-stage curtain reveal reminiscent of his days as the host of the “The Apprentice” reality TV show.

Trump has repeatedly said he intends to unveil his pick just before or during the convention. But he has been coy about his choice.

Late last month, before the debate, Trump told NBC News at a campaign stop in Philadelphia that he’d already made a decision.

“In my mind, yeah,” he said.

But less than a week later, he told a local Virginia television station that his decision was still in flux.

“Well I have people in mind. I have so many good people. We have such a deep bench,” he said. “But we’ll be making a decision sometime early convention or before convention.”

The front-runners say they don’t know yet

“As President Trump has said himself, the top criteria in selecting a Vice President is a strong leader who could make a great President,” Trump adviser Brian Hughes said in a statement he has issued repeatedly. “But anyone telling you they know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying unless that person is named Donald J. Trump.”

That includes the front-runners for the job.

On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Rubio said he remained in the dark.

“Look, I’ve heard nothing, I know nothing, and you probably know more than I do about it,” he said. “Donald Trump has a decision to make. He’ll make it when he needs to make it. He’ll make a good decision. I know for certain that I will be out there over the next three or four months, working on behalf of his campaign in some capacity.”

He also dismissed questions about whether he has discussed changing his residence from Florida if he’s chosen as “presumptuous.” The Constitution bars the president and vice president from hailing from the same state.

“We’ll confront those issues when they come,” he said. “But we’re not there yet. But we will be soon, one way or the other.”

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Vance, too, said he has not received news one way or the other: “I have not gotten the call.”

“But most importantly,” he went on, ”we’re just trying to work to elect Donald Trump. Whoever his vice president is — he’s got a lot of good people he could choose from — it’s the policies that worked and the leadership style that worked for the American people. I think we have to bring that back to the White House, and I’m fighting to try to do that.”

A top ally is still pushing for Tim Scott

On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump ally, continued to push for his fellow South Carolinian, Sen. Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate.

“I don’t think he’s decided,” he said, again making his case for Scott, who he said would be a particularly smart choice if Biden were to be replaced at the top of the ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve in the office.

If Harris is picked, Graham said, “This is a dramatically different race than it is right now today. I hope people are thinking about that on our side.”

Biden has insisted he won’t drop out and said only “ the Lord Almighty ” could get him to change his mind.

Graham commended Trump’s other choices at the same time. He called Burgum “solid as a rock” and said Vance “could be a good wingman,” but questioned whether the Republican firebrand — who was once a vocal Trump critic but is now one of his fiercest defenders in the Senate — could bring in new states.

Rubio, he noted, has the issue of his residency to contend with, but called him a “very articulate conservative” who could help Trump “enormously.” Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also speaks Spanish.

“If I were President Trump, I would make sure I pick somebody that could add value in 2024. Expand the map,” Graham said.

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

St. Croix River drowning victim identified

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Authorities have released the name of the 26-year-old Minneapolis man who drowned last week at Afton State Park.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says Jeremy Paulson drowned in the St. Croix River near the park’s campsite beach area.

Witnesses called 911 at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday to report a possible drowning. They said Paulson had been swimming 20 to 30 feet offshore in about 12 feet of water when they lost sight of him.

The Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Department located Paulson about 10:40 a.m. in about 18 feet of water, officials said. He was transported by ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he was pronounced dead.

Paulson had arrived at Afton State Park that morning to go swimming, Chief Deputy Doug Anshutz said.

He started struggling, and a friend went out to try and help, Anshutz said. The friend “could only get halfway out to him before he had to turn back,” he said.

The St. Croix River at Stillwater was above minor flood stage – 687.4 feet – on Wednesday morning, and authorities urged people to use caution.

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Five prospects to watch at this week’s Wild development camp

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After bolstering their prospect pool at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, then adding to their roster in free agency, the Wild will host their annual development camp this week at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, starting on Tuesday. It will be the last thing the Wild do before heading on summer vacation.

Not only is this an opportunity for prospects to learn valuable skills on the ice, it’s also an opportunity to build relationships off the ice.

More than 30 prospects are expected to make the pilgrimage to St. Paul. The journeys range from some on the verge of making the NHL roster to some getting a first taste of what the organization has to offer.

Here are a handful of players worth keeping an eye on this week:

Liam Ohgren

After a cup of coffee in the NHL with the Wild toward the end of last season, Liam Ohgren is in position to make the team out of training camp this year. He will be among the most talented players at development camp, and thus, Ohgren, 20, likely be thrust into a leadership role right off the bat. It will be interesting to see how much he stands out on the ice this week in comparison to his peers. He was selected in the first round back in 2022 NHL draft, and if he’s able to put forth a strong showing at development camp, it could give him an advantage when training camp rolls around in a couple of months.

Riley Heidt

No player in the farm system has risen up the ranks faster than Riley Heidt. After being selected in the second round of the 2023 draft, Heidt dazzled with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. He finished with 117 points (37 goals and 80 assists) in 66 games and signed his entry-level contract with the Wild toward the end of last season. Though he already has a legitimate shot to make the team out of training camp, Heidt, 19, could benefit from turning some heads this week with members of the front office looking on.

Zeev Buium

The hype surrounding Zeev Buium is palpable after he was selected in the first round of the 2024 draft. He has tremendous upside offensively and is a player who could develop into a top pair defenseman in the future. That won’t happen just yet since Buium, 18, already has made the decision to return to Denver University this fall. Nonetheless, his performance this week, assuming he’s on his game, could help him establish him as a foundational piece for the Wild moving forward.

Carson Lambos

Never mind that the Wild recently went heavy on the blue line in the draft. They still have a number of prospects looking to play that position, and that includes Carson Lambos. He played for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey last season, recording 14 points (4 goals, 10 assist) in 69 games while playing regular minutes on the back end. He has a chance to prove himself this week with the Wild already in the process of searching for the next wave of prospects on the blue line.

Samuel Hlavaj

After signing an entry-level contract with the Wild toward the end of last season, goaltender Samuel Hlavaj appears to be a part of the plans between the pipes. As of right now, Hlavaj is squarely behind top prospect Jesper Wallstedt in the pecking order a the position. That said, Hlavaj clearly has some skill, which he showcased while playing for Slovakia at the most recent World Championships. Maybe he can grow into a role as a backup for the time being with potential to become even more as his career progresses.

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