SUPERIOR A gas meter was severed Thursday after the Franklin Courts apartments partially collapsed, forcing the evacuation of the building and neighboring day care facility. No injuries were reported. Children returned to Happy Hearts day care, 3605 E. Second St., shortly after the evacuation. According to a news release from the Superior Fire Department, it responded to the collapse at 210 37th Ave. E. after a small portion of Franklin Courts collapsed and severed the gas meter feeding the building. Fire crews and the Superior Police Department evacuated the apartments and day care. The ..read more

ST. PAUL Minnesota posted strong job and labor force growth in March, according to information released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The state gained an estimated 11,000 jobs in the past month on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 0.4%, with the private sector up roughly 8,000 jobs, up 0.3%. Minnesota’s labor force increased by an estimated 3,000 people over the month, bumping the labor force participation rate up one-tenth of a percent to 68%. The unemployment rate remained steady at 2.7%. “March was a great month all around for Minnesota employ ..read more

CLOQUET, Minn. Eight Cloquet police officers were honored for their conduct during a Jan. 8 shooting at the Super 8 hotel that left three people dead, including the shooter. “In January of this year, tragedy struck our community, which resulted in the loss of two innocent victims," Police Chief Derek Randall said at the ceremony during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 16. "Our hearts are still with those families to this day." The sudden act of violence resulted in the deaths of Super 8 hotel clerk Shellby Marie Trettel, 22, of Cloquet, and Patrick Jeffrey Roers, 35, of Deer River ..read more

A Lake Superior island town is the new owner of the ferries that connect Madeline Island residents to the mainland in northern Wisconsin. The Town of La Pointe closed on the $17.3 million deal to purchase the Madeline Island Ferry Line’s assets from the former owners on March 28. The Madeline Island Ferry Line has five boats that make nearly 6,000 crossings each year to bring people to Madeline Island from the mainland in Bayfield. The island is a popular tourist draw for thousands of visitors during the summer, boosting La Pointe’s year-round population of about 430 residents. Glenn Ca ..read more

Here is your Duluth News Tribune Minute podcast for Thursday, April 18, 2024. The Duluth News Tribune Minute is a product of Forum Communications Company and is brought to you by reporters at the Duluth News Tribune, Superior Telegram and Cloquet Pine Journal. Find more news throughout the day at duluthnewstribune.com. Subscribe and rate us at  Apple Podcasts,   Spotify or  Google Podcasts. ]]> ..read more

News Tribune, April 18, 1924 Duluth Safety Commissioner Bert N. Wheeler reminded citizens that auction sales are taboo in the city unless they are bona fide closing-out sales. Wheeler is drafting an ordinance that would compel merchants to specify they are going out of business when applying for an auction permit. News Tribune, April 18, 1954 Far-reaching decisions face Minnesota Republicans at county conventions this week, including what to do about Wisconsin Sen. Josepth McCarthy's investigation methods into alleged Communist infiltration of the federal government. News Tribune & ..read more

Several U.S. states experienced a 911 emergency services outage late on Wednesday, including the entire state of South Dakota and portions of Nevada, Texas and Nebraska, according to local officials. It was not immediately clear what was causing the outages. Late on Wednesday, officials in South Dakota and Las Vegas said that 911 services had been restored, but they did not say what caused the crucial emergency infrastructure to fail. Requests for comment from the Department of Transportation's Office of Emergency Medical Services, which houses the National 911 Program, were not immediate ..read more

DOUGLAS COUNTY Changes in legislative districts adopted by the Wisconsin Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers are reshaping how some Douglas County voters will cast their ballots in the fall election. Three municipalities in Douglas County will change assembly districts under the newly drawn maps. Dairyland and Oakland, previously in the 73rd District, will shift to the 74th District, currently represented by Chanz Green, R-Grand View. Hawthorne moves to the 73rd District where Rep. Angie Sapik, R-Lake Nebagamon, has decided not to run for reelection in 2024. All other munic ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS Family members of Ricky Cobb II said Wednesday they filed a federal lawsuit against two Minnesota state troopers alleging the pair used excessive force and violated Cobb’s civil rights during a traffic stop last year that ended with one of the troopers shooting and killing Cobb. “No traffic stop should end deadly, ever. Everyone should be able to get home,” Cobb’s sister Octavia Ruffin told reporters Wednesday while flanked by attorneys, family and community members at the Hennepin County Government Center. Her brother, she added, “did nothing wrong” the night he was stopped ..read more

ST. PAUL After a bill to address Minnesota's housing shortage fell apart this year due to a lack of local city support, legislators and stakeholders continue to seek a solution. Minnesota faces a shortage of about 50,000 housing units in the state, due in part to an underproduction of housing from 2006 to 2016, according to a 2023 report by Minnesota Housing, a state housing finance agency. Housing advocates say that number has ballooned to over 100,000 this year. In addition to a lack of affordable housing, one in four households is cost-burdened by housing payments, according to the repor ..read more