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Here are some standouts among the submissions for Minnesota’s new flag and seal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

Luis Fitch is currently mulling over loons, stars, lakes and other iconic symbols of Minnesota submitted in the search for our new state flag and seal.Soon, Fitch — the chair of the State Emblems Redesign Commission — will need to discuss his top 25 picks (for each category) at a commission meeting. There will be more winnowing to come, from semi-finalists to finalists, with one flag design and one seal design ultimately selected on Dec. 12.Fitch is still working his way through the 398 submissions for the seal and he has some cutting to do for his initial picks among the 2,123 flag entries.“I have 110 for the flag,” Fitch said with a laugh on Thursday. “And that’s just me. We have a lot to choose from.”The commission’s meetings are open to the public, including an in-person meeting (with a virtual option) on Nov. 21, but Fitch encourages people to view the submissions online and submit comments right now for the commission to consider...

Charges: St. Paul man on probation for bank robbery hits another bank, a pharmacy and a convenience store (twice)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

A 49-year-old St. Paul man pulled off four armed robberies at east-metro businesses while on conditional release in connection with a 2021 bank robbery and on probation from an earlier federal bank robbery conviction, charges filed in Ramsey County this week allege.Michael Dashon Wise already was charged with the March 8, 2021, robbery of a U.S. Bank branch on Larpenteur Avenue in Roseville. Authorities say they were able to tie Wise to the robbery through DNA found on a demand note given to a teller and on a glove lost while fleeing the bank. Wise was released from the Ramsey County jail on Aug. 24, 2022, after posting a $500 bond, ahead of future court hearings in the case.Nearly a year later, Wise went on an armed robbery spree that included hitting up the same convenience store twice over the course of 2½ months, authorities say.Tuesday’s criminal complaint alleges the following:Wise, wearing a green camouflage hooded sweatshirt, black sunglasses, black pants and a black mask wi...

Ramsey County Commissioner Nicole Frethem will not seek another term

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

Ramsey County Commissioner Nicole Frethem announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in 2024.Frethem called representing District 1 on the Board of Commissioners “the greatest honor of my life” in a statement posted to her campaign website. She plans to complete her current term on the board through the end of next year, the statement said.“Many changes in my life, in the community and the world at large during these past few years make it challenging for me to commit to campaigning and serving another four-year term,” Frethem wrote. “Although I will not be seeking reelection, I will be forever grateful for this experience.”Frethem, who lives in Shoreview, has served on the board since winning a special election in 2019, after Commissioner Blake Huffman resigned the seat amid an investigation into the financial dealings of a charity he operated. She won reelection in 2020.Before joining the board, Frethem worked for the Minnesota Depart...

U.S. childhood vaccination exemptions reach their highest level ever

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

NEW YORK — The proportion of U.S. kindergartners exempted from school vaccination requirements has hit its highest level ever, 3%, U.S. health officials said Thursday.More parents are questioning routine childhood vaccinations that they used to automatically accept, an effect of the political schism that emerged during the pandemic around COVID-19 vaccines, experts say.Even though more kids were given exemptions, the national vaccination rate held steady: 93% of kindergartners got their required shots for the 2022-2023 school year, the same as the year before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report Thursday. The rate was 95% in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.“The bad news is that it’s gone down since the pandemic and still hasn’t rebounded,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, a University of Colorado pediatric infectious diseases specialist. “The good news is that the vast majority of parents are still vaccinating their kids according to the recommended schedule...

Denver officer arrested on assault charge in Adams County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

A Denver police officer was arrested in Adams County on Wednesday on suspicion of third-degree assault related to domestic violence.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | A second Green Valley Ranch arson suspect is on track for plea deal, attorney says Crime and Public Safety | Aurora man already sentenced for 2021 murder now to serve 45 years for shooting at Denver police Crime and Public Safety | Denver Police, 911 launches automated response messaging program Crime and Public Safety | Man dies in custody at Denver detention center Tuesday Crime and Public Safety | 2 dead, 5 injured in shooting outside motorcycle club in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood Officer Anthony Guzman Jr. was arrested on assault allegations related to an incident that occurred Aug. 8 in Thornton, the Denver Police Department announced in a news release Thursday.Guzman, 31, was hired by the department in 2022 and worked...

U.S. 85 northbound reopens in Brighton after closure for jackknifed semitruck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

U.S. 85 northbound is open after a jackknifed semitruck closed the highway for three hours between 144th Avenue and Colo. 7, according to Brighton police and the Colorado Department of Transportation.Related ArticlesTransportation | Bus rapid transit is coming to more of Denver’s arterial streets as CDOT ups its support Transportation | Woman dies after being struck by Cadillac on East Montview Boulevard in Aurora Transportation | Aurora woman running across South Parker Road dies after collision with SUV Transportation | Eastbound I-70 reopens at Floyd Hill after sun glare closure Transportation | Silicon Valley ditches news, shaking an unstable industry The semi was jackknifed at East Bridge Street, also signed as Colo. 7, according to Brighton police. No injuries were reported in the incident.TRAFFIC ALERT: Full closure of Highway 85 northbound at Bridge Street due to a jackknifed semi. No injur...

Man charged in crash that killed law enforcement cadet, injured 24 others

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

Nearly a year after a driver plowed into a large group of jogging law enforcement cadets in South Whittier, prosecutors have announced felony charges in the case.Nicholas Gutierrez, 23, faces one count of vehicular manslaughter and nine counts of reckless driving resulting in injury, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said at a news conference on Thursday.If convicted, Gutierrez could face up to 12 years in prison.The Nov. 15, 2022 crash, which was captured on surveillance video, shows a vehicle swerve into the path of several dozen recruits who were on a training run in the area of Mills Avenue and Telegraph Road.In total, 25 cadets were hurt, five critically.Alejandro Martinez, 23, a U.S. Army Veteran, died of his injuries eight months later.The scene of the crash where 25 cadets were injured in South Whittier on Nov. 16, 2022. (KTLA)The scene of the crash where 25 cadets were injured in South Whittier on Nov. 16, 2022. (Francisco Silva)Alejandro Martinez was among...

Suspected DUI driver charged in crash that killed LAPD officer and injured SBSD deputy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

A suspected DUI driver in a Northridge crash that killed two people, including an off-duty officer, and injured a deputy has been charged with murder on Thursday.The suspect, Brian Olivarez, 20, was charged with the murders of Los Angeles Police Officer Darrell Cunningham and his passenger, Jorge Soriano, while seriously injuring two others, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office.The crash happened on Nov. 4 near the intersection of Roscoe Boulevard and Lindley Avenue around 1:15 a.m.Cunningham was driving with an off-duty San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputy and another passenger in a white Infiniti on Lindley Avenue when he was hit by a speeding car.The suspect, Olivarez, had failed to stop at a red light as he was going over 100 miles per hour, police said.Olivarez was also suspected of being under the influence of alcohol at the time, said LAPD.A deadly two-car collision in Northridge claimed the lives of two people and sent three more to the hospit...

Another version of the Las Vegas Sphere could be built in West Hollywood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

A smaller version of the Las Vegas Sphere could be coming to West Hollywood should a developer’s proposal become reality.The West Hollywood Planning Commission's Design Review Subcommittee and Sunset Arts & Advertising Subcommittee will look at plans for “The Sphere on Sunset” during their meeting on Thursday. Saee Studio is designing the project. What we know about the high-speed rail from metro Los Angeles to Las Vegas The new structure won’t be an entertainment venue, like the one in Vegas, but instead will be a “broadcast venue.” The project will consist of a “49-foot-diameter glass sphere hovering above a pedestrian plaza and a neighboring apartment complex,” Urbanize L.A., the first to report the news, said.Concept art of what the project could look like in West Hollywood. (Saee Studio)Concept art of what the project could look like in West Hollywood. (Saee Studio)Concept art of what the project's interior could look like in West Hollywood. (Saee Studio)Concept art of wh...

Jorge Lerma on path to filling critical Oakland school board seat, but more results to come

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:21:41 GMT

OAKLAND — Former school principal Jorge Lerma has a substantial lead in the race for a vacant Oakland Unified school board seat, but later returns on Thursday indicated that opponent Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez is cutting into it.Lerma now has roughly a 57% to 43% advantage over Ritzie-Hernandez, narrowed down from the 63% to 37% advantage he held in initial Tuesday night results.Close to 1,300 additional eligible ballots were counted in the latest returns, bringing the total turnout to about 3,500 in Oakland’s District 5, a largely Latino area south of I-580 that includes parts of East Oakland, including Fremont High and the Fruitvale neighborhood.It’s unclear how many votes are left to count, given that any ballots that arrive in the coming days must be tabulated, as long as they were postmarked on or before the day of the special election on Nov. 6.The District 5 seat is the only one vacant on the Oakland Unified School District board, which frequently finds itself s...