DULUTH, Minn. — A massive freeway project to untangle Duluth’s “Can of Worms” interchange is nearing completion.

Gov. Tim Walz and other local, state and federal officials gathered Monday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $435 million reconstruction of the junction of Interstate 35, Interstate 535 and U.S. 53.

The work began in 2020 and required an intricate rerouting of the busy interchange, which connects Superior, Wis., via the Blatnik Bridge.

According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the interchange sees an average daily traffic of 5,320 heavy commercial vehicles.

“Today does mark a major milestone for Duluth and for our region,” Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert said. “After years of construction, we are finally able to reconnect the backbone transportation system of northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. This completion today is not just about a safer, more efficient travel system, but again, a better-connected Twin Ports.”

Safety improvements include the elimination of left exits and blind merges, improved merging sight distance and increased lane continuity.

Funding was provided by MnDOT and federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.

The interchange is scheduled to open to traffic on Oct. 24.

Duluth-Superior will have only a brief reprieve from disruptive road construction.

The deteriorating Blatnik Bridge, which spans the St. Louis River, is due for replacement itself starting next year.

The $1.8 billion project, which is expected to wrap up in 2031, is funded by MnDOT, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

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A 26-year-old Minneapolis man is charged in a June hit-and-run that critically injured a pedestrian on St. Paul’s East Side.

Arlandis Shamar Walls crashed into the back of a car, sped away and soon hit a 28-year-old woman as she was crossing Phalen Boulevard south of Maryland Avenue, the charges allege.

St. Paul police said Tuesday the June 10 hit-and-run left the Brooklyn Park woman paralyzed.

Walls was charged in Ramsey County District Court by warrant on Friday with two counts of criminal vehicular operation resulting in great bodily harm. He had not been arrested as of late Tuesday. His court case does not list a defense attorney.

The criminal complaint gives the following account:

Police officers saw two cars speeding north on Johnson Parkway about 10:50 p.m. and a Nissan Sentra with severe front-end damage abandoned at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and Phalen Boulevard.

A 911 call was then made about someone who was struck a few blocks away near the south entrance to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Officers found the woman on the side of the road conscious, but not knowing what happened or where she was. Her legs appeared broken and she had road rash on the side of her face and back. During her transport to Regions Hospital, she went into cardiac arrest.

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A man and woman at the scene said the driver of a Nissan had rear-ended their car at Johnson Parkway and East Seventh Street and sped into oncoming traffic to get away. They drove after the Nissan to try to get the license plate information and saw the car hit the woman, who flew over the car’s roof from the impact. They estimated the car was going 50 mph.

They said the driver of the Nissan sped away, but soon crashed a third time and then ran.

Officers searched the Nissan and found Walls’ wallet on the driver’s side floor of the car, which was registered to someone in Brooklyn Center.

Video from the northeast intersection of Maryland Avenue and Phalen Boulevard showed the Nissan nearly struck a vehicle while driving north, then crashed into a traffic signal pole. It showed a man get out and run east on Maryland Avenue.

DNA was collected from inside the Nissan, including the steering wheel, airbag and keys. An analysis by the BCA showed the major DNA profile matches Walls, the complaint says.

By ISABELLA VOLMERT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed into law a new 24% tax on marijuana sales between producers and dispensaries, creating revenue to partially fund her long-promised effort to improve the state’s roads.

Whitmer made road repairs her priority this year. The Legislature’s fiscal agencies estimate the wholesale tax will generate $420 million in new revenue to go towards the annual $1.8 billion road funding plan. But analysts predict the additional tax will inevitably lead to a drop in sales.

“When I took office, I made a promise to fix the damn roads so Michiganders could get where they’re going faster and safer,” she said in a video. Whitmer — long considered a potential Democratic presidential candidate, although she hinted she may not be interested in the job — signed the budget in a closed-door meeting.

The wholesale tax will be levied on the sale of marijuana from growers and processors to retailers.

Adam Hoffer, director of excise tax policy at the Tax Foundation, said the new tax will almost certainly lead to an increase in retail prices and a decrease in sales. The Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency predicted a 14.4% sales decline. Shoppers will still also have to pay a 10% retail excise tax on marijuana, which has been in place since it was legalized in 2018, plus a 6% sales tax.

States that allow the sale of recreational marijuana tax cannabis products at different rates, so it’s difficult to make state-to-state comparisons, Hoffer said. But the wholesale tax will drive the amount of tax on Michigan products from the lower end of the spectrum to the higher. Minnesota, Maryland and Maine also hiked taxes on marijuana products this year.

“This massive tax increase is really going to hurt the legal market in Michigan,” Hoffer said, echoing concerns from critics who say it will encourage illicit marijuana sales.

Stuart Carter, founder of the Detroit Cannabis Industry Association, said the tax will devastate smaller businesses in particular. He called it a “slap in the face” after the tax hike was ushered through the Legislature with little chance for public comment.

The new tax was key in the final negotiations on the road-funding plan. Michigan’s freezing and thawing cycle in the winter creates a continuous need for road repairs and the topic has been an issue for decades. Discussion on where to find the funds has been a source of disagreement; lawmakers usually balk at the idea of raising taxes.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonpartisan research organization, ranks Michigan 40th in the nation for road conditions and 28th when it comes to funding road improvements.

Whitmer’s first plan — a 45 cent gas tax increase — was rejected by lawmakers in 2019. She turned to a bonding program in 2020 and the state borrowed $3.5 billion to rebuild highways and bridges. The plan created a marathon of new construction projects, but local roads did not benefit and that borrowing is coming to an end this year.

Michigan’s budget for fiscal year 2026, agreed after months of contentious debate, totals $81 billion, according to the governor’s office. Democrats control the Senate and Republicans control the House. The many disagreements between the parties sent the state barreling towards a government shutdown, and lawmakers technically did not pass a budget by the Oct. 1 deadline. But they agreed to a continuing resolution, and the full budget was passed in the early hours of Friday.

About $1 billion of the package has been dedicated to funding local road and bridge improvement projects. In addition to the marijuana tax, it will also be funded by redirecting all taxes paid at the gas pump towards roads. Previously, gasoline sales tax largely went to a fund for schools.

Lance Binoniemi, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, said the marijuana tax is a “nontraditional method” of supporting roadwork funding, but lawmakers recognized the urgency of finalizing a plan.

“We think this is a big step in the right direction,” he said.

Associated Press writer David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By STEVEN GRATTAN

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — As gold prices hover at record highs, a leading Catholic leader in Peru’s Amazon is urging countries that are destinations for the precious metal to help stem illegal mining that is poisoning rivers with mercury.

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Miguel Ángel Cadenas, an Augustinian from Spain who has lived in Peru’s Amazon for three decades, said illegal mining has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, citing the Tigre, Nanay, Napo and Putumayo rivers as some areas where communities are at risk.

Tests have found mercury levels in some fish above World Health Organization limits, and hair samples from local residents analyzed by scientists and doctors also showed elevated concentrations.

“We are in a delicate situation,” Cadenas told The Associated Press. “Given that the Amazonian diet is rich in fish, we are talking about food insecurity.”

Mercury is widely used to separate gold during small-scale mining. It contaminates water, accumulates in fish, and builds up in people’s bodies, leading to neurological and developmental harm. Cadenas said the health risks are especially acute in the Amazon, where medical services are scarce.

Research in Peru’s Madre de Dios region found that 43% of women of childbearing age had mercury levels above WHO safety limits, while hair samples in villages along Peru’s Amazon riverways showed nearly 80% of residents exceeded the threshold.

“The majority of people do not understand what is happening. There is barely any information,” Cadenas said. “The state should first provide good information to its own population and then sources of food that allow other alternatives — which do not exist.”

Call for gold traceability

Gold prices are soaring — analysts expect them to average around $3,675 per ounce by late 2025 with possible gains toward $4,000 by 2026, according to JPMorgan.

Analysts say weak traceability systems make it easier for illegally mined gold to slip into global markets. Reports from Switzerland and sustainability researchers focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards say gold tainted with mercury in places like the Amazon is often laundered through refineries before entering jewelry, electronics or national reserves.

Cadenas, who served as a missionary and bishop before being appointed in 2021 to lead the Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos, stressed that Peru cannot handle the problem alone.

“As long as the price of gold continues to rise, it is very difficult for a national government to manage this situation,” he said. He pointed to gold-buying nations including China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

“The first responsibility should be that those countries buying gold require traceability, so that it is not possible to pass illegal gold into legality so easily,” he said.

‘Extremely serious’

Cadenas also warned of growing violence, especially against local environmental defenders in the Amazon region.

Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas speaks while attending an Amazon Water Summit in Iquitos, Peru, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Junior Raborg)

Across the Amazon, environmental defenders are frequently targeted — Colombia has led the world in killings for several years, while Peru also ranks among the most dangerous places to speak out against illegal mining and logging.

“There are people who are being threatened with death, and this seems extremely serious to me,” he said, citing reports that illegal miners in remote areas are tied to armed groups, including Colombian FARC dissidents.

Peru has at times tried to rein in illegal mining and mercury use. In 2019 it launched Operation Mercury, a military-police crackdown that sharply reduced deforestation in the La Pampa mining zone, though much of the activity later shifted elsewhere. Authorities also announced record seizures of contraband mercury, including a four-ton shipment at Callao port this year.

Still, Indigenous groups say enforcement is inconsistent, and regional governments across the Amazon warn that cross-border smuggling of mercury continues to fuel illegal mining.

International action

The city of Iquitos hosted the Amazon Water Summit last week, which the vicariate helped organize. Roughly 400 people from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil took part in 14 workshops on topics including water and extractivism, climate change and education.

Participants attend an Amazon Water Summit in Iquitos, Peru, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Junior Raborg)

Cadenas noted that Loreto, Peru’s largest Amazonian department, has the country’s lowest access to drinking water — with about 60% of the population lacking potable water and sanitation. Peru’s Constitutional Court ruled two years ago that this amounted to an “unconstitutional state of affairs,” but he said the judgment has yet to be fulfilled.

Cadenas, who said he knows Pope Leo XIV — who spent years in Peru as a missionary and later bishop — fears the situation will worsen unless international action curbs demand for illicit gold.

“Every day that passes there are more people dedicated to illegal mining. While there isn’t serious international pressure, it will be very difficult,” he warned.

Still, he directed a personal plea to those driving the destruction.

“Earning money is fine, but it cannot be at the cost of injustice and the lives of the poorest,” he said.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.