19 Oct 2023

Vikings looking forward to taking center stage on Monday Night Football

by admin | posted in: News | 0

There’s something about playing under the lights. Maybe it’s the glitz and glam associated with the spectacle. Maybe it’s the nostalgia. Maybe it’s the fact that everybody in the country is watching.

Whatever it is, the Vikings are looking forward to taking center stage on Monday Night Football when play host to the San Francisco 49ers. As important as the game is for the Vikings, head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t think he’ll need any sort of motivational speech ahead of the primetime game.

“It’s Monday Night Football at U.S. Bank Stadium,” O’Connell said. “I think we’ll be fine getting revved up for that.”

Though the energy is palpable across the NFL on a weekly basis, it does seem to get taken up a notch when the sun goes down.

“You feel it more in warmups,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “You feel it more early.”

That feeling should give the Vikings a little more juice as they try to score an upset win over the 49ers at home.

“You get an opportunity like this on Monday Night Football and it’s a lot of fun,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “You know, to really play a team like the 49ers, who have showed they’re a top team in this league, and to be able to go out there and compete with them, and pull it out, that would be amazing.”

More details on Davenport

A high ankle sprain is the reason pass rusher Marcus Davenport landed on injured reserve. Though a high ankle sprain sometimes requires surgery, the Vikings are still evaluating if that will be necessary for Davenport in this particular situation.

“He’s still getting some opinions,” O’Connell said “I don’t have that information right now.”

In the meantime, Davenport will continue to put in work in the training room, making sure he does everything in his power to be ready when he’s eligible to return.

“He was pretty excited to be feeling healthy and back in there,” O’Connell said. “We’ll get that timeline when we figure out what’s best for him.”

Cleveland working through injury

After suffering a foot injury last weekend, left guard Ezra Cleveland will be a player to keep an eye on this week in practice. Asked about Cleveland on Wednesday, O’Connell wouldn’t give any indication as far as his availability for the game between the Vikings and the 49ers.

“I know he’s feeling better and better,” O’Connell said. “We’ll see what his workflow potentially could look like as the week goes on.”

If Cleveland is unable to play, the Vikings will turn to left guard Dalton Risner.

Minnesota Vikings |

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins never lost a Michigan-Michigan State rivalry game

Minnesota Vikings |

Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks named NFC defensive player of the week

Minnesota Vikings |

The Loop Fantasy Football Report Week 7: Help! The Loop needs a quarterback!

Minnesota Vikings |

Teammate Harrison Phillips defends Marcus Davenport after Vikings place him on IR: ‘The narrative is so wrong on that guy’

Minnesota Vikings |

Vikings’ Danielle Hunter leads NFL in sacks, even as trade rumors swirl

19 Oct 2023

Hudson city administrator to step down

by admin | posted in: News | 0

Aaron Reeves, who has served as city administrator of Hudson, Wis., since September 2019, will be leaving his position next month.

Reeves, 49, of Hudson, announced his resignation Oct. 13 in a letter to Mayor Rich O’Connor and the Hudson City Council. His last day will be sometime around Thanksgiving, he said.

Aaron Reeves (Courtesy photo)

“It has been an honor to work for the city,” Reeves said Thursday. “My proudest accomplishment has been to have done my part in keeping Hudson a safe and beautiful place to visit and live.”

Reeves would not disclose his plans after leaving the city, other than to say he plans to “continue in government.”

Reeves announced a year ago that he was resigning from the city’s top job, but later changed his mind after receiving “a great amount of support from council and staff that made me think hard about my decision,” he told the Hudson Star-Observer in a story posted on Oct. 4, 2022. “Hudson is an amazing community with top notch staff and a strong council that I want to be a part of moving forward.”

Assistant City Administrator Michael Johnson will serve as interim administrator until a new city administrator is hired.

The Hudson City Council plans to use Public Administration Associates LLC, based in Whitewater, Wis., to conduct the search, which will commence after the holidays, Reeves said. PAA is the search firm that the council used when Reeves was hired, he said.

Prior to taking the job in Hudson, Reeves served as city administrator in Cloquet from 2017-2019 and as assistant city administrator in Rochester from 2016-2017. Reeves also served as city clerk in Rochester; city administrator in Cannon Falls, Minn., and city administrator in Kenyon, Minn.

He has a master’s degree in public administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southwest Minnesota State University.

“I want to thank all the council members who served during my tenure for giving me the opportunity to serve,” Reeves said. “I really want to thank the department heads and city staff, whose hard work made my job much easier. I owe any success I’ve had to the staff and their commitment to the city.”

Local News |

Aging U.S. power grid to get $3.5B update; Minnesota to share largest grant

Local News |

Few Republicans have confidence in elections. It’s a long road for one group trying to change that in Wisconsin.

Local News |

Wisconsin Supreme Court is asked to redraw legislative boundaries created by Republicans

Local News |

Allina Health System doctors vote to unionize

Local News |

Gunfire from hunting can hurt hearing forever

19 Oct 2023

Ex-Florida GOP lawmaker who sponsored so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill sentenced to prison

by admin | posted in: Politics | 0

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced to prison a former Florida state legislator who catapulted to national attention for being the sponsor of a bill barring classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity that was called by its critics the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Former Rep. Joe Harding (R-Williston), who plead guilty in March to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $150,000 federal Covid-19 relief loan, was sentenced to four months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, also sentenced Harding to two years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Court records show that Harding is scheduled to surrender to authorities on Jan. 29.

“The theft of any amount of taxpayer funds is inexcusable,” said Jason Coody, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Florida, in a statement. “However, the defendant’s deceptive acts of diverting emergency financial assistance from small businesses during the pandemic is simply beyond the pale. Today’s sentence both punishes the defendant’s criminal conduct and should serve as a significant deterrent to others who would selfishly steal from their fellow citizens to unlawfully enrich themselves.”

Harding was first elected to the state House in 2020 from a north central Florida seat that includes parts of Marion County. He resigned from the Legislature last December, one day after a federal grand jury indictment against him was unsealed.

In an August sentencing memo to the judge, federal prosecutors said that Harding’s contributions to his community were “commendable” but added that “his intentional criminal acts while serving as an elected state representative signify a betrayal of the public’s trust.” Coody concluded that a variance from sentencing guidelines was warranted because Harding repaid the loan and confessed after he was caught but he argued that some prison time was still needed to act as a deterrence.

Authorities accused Harding of using false bank statements for two dormant small businesses to obtain loans from the Small Business Administration during the pandemic. Harding told the SBA that one of the companies, The Vak Shack, for the 12 months prior to Jan. 31, 2020, had four employees and $420,874 in revenue, while Harding Farms had two employees and $392,000 in revenue, according to authorities.

Ryan Chamberlin, a Republican from Belleview, replaced Harding in the state House after winning a five-way GOP primary and then the special election held in May.

19 Oct 2023

Fatal drug overdoses remained high last year but plateaued, Minnesota Department of Health says

by admin | posted in: Society | 0

Drug overdose deaths in 2022 remained at historically high levels following several years of sharp spikes, but they held steady compared with 2021, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Thursday.

The annual report on drug-related mortality found a slight 0.8% decrease in overdose deaths from 2021 (1,354) to 2022 (1,343), based on preliminary death certificate data. The decrease in deaths is more noticeable in greater Minnesota, with a 5% reduction in fatal overdoses from 2021 to 2022.

Opioid-involved overdose deaths increased by 3% — from 977 to 1,002 — and MDH said that fentanyl was involved in 62% of all fatal drug overdoses in 2022. The potent, synthetic opioid contributed to 92% of the 1,002 opioid-involved overdose deaths in Minnesota.

Minnesota Department of Health

However, fatal overdoses from heroin, methadone and prescribed opioids decreased, with deaths from heroin reaching a 10-year low after falling 56% — from 103 to 45 deaths.

Psychostimulants (methamphetamine) and cocaine also contributed to the number of drug overdose deaths. Cocaine-involved deaths saw the largest increase of any drug category, increasing 27% — from 165 to 210 deaths.

“We are responding to the more deadly threat of fentanyl with several new tools for saving lives that were passed by the Legislature in 2023, such as expanding the availability of naloxone, and covering the costs of having it on hand, in school buildings, treatment programs, and during emergency and law enforcement calls,” Minnesota Commissioner of Health Brooke Cunningham said in a statement accompanying the annual report.

Nonfatal drug overdoses treated in Minnesota’s hospitals last year also decreased year-over-year from 17,792 to 16,934.

“In 2022, for every one overdose death, there were nearly 13 nonfatal overdoses,” the report said. “A majority of nonfatal overdoses were treated in the emergency department (69%) and were of unintentional (i.e., accidental) or undetermined intent (65%).”

The data update comes just a few months after Gov. Tim Walz and the DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature approved $200 million in funding to address substance use prevention, harm reduction and recovery.

Also this year, naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication known by the brand name Narcan, was approved for over-the-counter purchase. Certain facilities and professionals, including schools and law enforcement officers, are required to carry naloxone.

Health |

Investigators work to determine which identical twin was driving in fatal crash with Amish buggy

Health |

State adds 8,000 jobs in Sept.; unemployment steady at 3.1%

Health |

Farmington teen killed in motorcycle collision in southern Minnesota

Health |

Aging U.S. power grid to get $3.5B update; Minnesota to share largest grant

Health |

Search warrant: Couple suspected of selling meth before 5 officers shot in Benton County