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As snow fails to fall on North Shore, organizers cancel John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — For the third time in its history, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has been canceled.Amid nearly snowless conditions in northern Minnesota, organizers canceled the 2024 edition, slated to be the North Shore race’s 40th, in a news release on social media posted late Tuesday.“This was not an easy decision,” according to the release. “But with concerns over the weather, safety of the dogs, mushers and volunteers, it was the only decision we felt comfortable with.”Much of the region experienced the warmest December in recorded history, 13 degrees above normal, prompted by strong El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean and the effects of climate change. There were no days with subzero temperatures and rain fell on Christmas Eve, only the third such holiday with no snow on the ground in 82 years.Only 7.8 inches of snow have fallen since the beginning of the season, the lowest total at the National Weather Service’s Duluth office on...

Another day, another northern Minnesota ice rescue: This time, 50 stranded anglers brought to shore

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

WILLIAMS, Minn. — Curt Quesnell was fishing east of Long Point on the south shore of Lake of the Woods on Monday afternoon when he got a message with a short video from a buddy that a large crack had opened up less than a mile off Long Point, and several anglers were stranded on the north side of the crack.While Quesnell wasn’t far from the crack, he was on the shoreline side of the fissure set up over about 25 feet of water. It wasn’t where he wanted to be fishing, Quesnell said, but the crack that opened up at about 3 p.m. Monday, driven by strong south winds, had prevented him from fishing where he wanted to fish pretty much all winter.“I put the phone down, and then I got another message saying that a crack opened up, and people are stranded on the other side,” said Quesnell, who lives near Long Point and fishes the big Canadian border lake nearly every day, posting regular updates on his popular NCOR Outdoors YouTube Channel.In a news release issued late Tuesday afternoon, the ...

Missing injured firepower, Wild lose ground in 3-1 loss to Calgary

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

Facing injury absences by a large handful of his best players on Tuesday, Wild coach John Hynes stressed the team dynamics he has been building since replacing Dean Evason on Nov. 28. The Wild have won 11 of 16 games since then, and Hynes said he expects his healthy players to continue the team’s turnaround from a 5-10-4 start.“The strength is in the pack,” he said before Tuesday night’s game against the Calgary Flames at Xcel Energy Center.The pack, however, is thinning.Unavailable because of injuries after Tuesday’s morning skate were points leaders Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, top pair defenseman Jonas Brodin and No. 1 goaltender Filip Gustafsson. Later, veteran wing Marcus Foligno was scratched, as well, and the Wild called on three forwards with a combined six NHL games this season — Nic Petan, Jake Lucchini and Sammy Walker — to fill in some gaps.The Wild recovered from a weak first period to give themselves a chance but clearly missed the firepower watching from...

North Greenbush PD searching for vulnerable adult

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A developmentally disabled woman has been reported missing out of Rensselaer. Police said Kathryn Malek was last seen Tuesday morning.Police said Malek was supposed to board a bus to a local mall and return within a few hours but did not and has not contacted family all day. Albany Police Union responds to review board lawsuit She is 66 years old and may be in need of medical attention. She is 4'11" and 110 lbs. She has black hair and hazel eyes and was last seen wearing a black jacket and black leggings. Anyone with information is asked to contact the North Greenbush Police Department at 518-283-5323. 

Belleville City Council moves forward on plan to buy troubled cemetery for solar farm project

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – In a unanimous vote, the Belleville City Council said that the city can push forward to the next phase in a plan to buy an embattled cemetery in town and turn a large wooded area on it into a solar farm. But as one councilman said, nobody's breaking out the chainsaws just yet.The council voted to allow the city to submit a plan to the state of Illinois to purchase Mount Hope Cemetery.The 120-plus-acre cemetery has been at the center of controversy for decades now. Parallels between a 1994 St. Louis plane crash and recent Japan airline tragedy It was first abandoned; now, the state controls it. But the city has spent more than a million dollars maintaining it over the past 20 years.Now, the city wants to buy the cemetery, clear 25 acres of trees, and lease that land to a solar panel company.City leaders say the solar farm would help cover the ongoing taxpayer burden.Still, some neighbors are not thrilled.

Bi-State Development takes exterior ads off buses and trains

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

ST. LOUIS – As of New Year’s Day, advertisements on the outside of Metro buses and trains are a thing of the past. The Bi-State Development Agency has dropped it, even though it generated millions of dollars per year.One in four Metro buses, trains, and Call-A-Ride vans had advertising on the outside, with some vehicles having two different sets of ads on them. Bi-State signed a contract with a firm for five years to secure that advertising. The deal has proven profitable, with Bi-State making between $1.3 million and $2 million per year.But Bi-State Development CEO Taulby Roach said the agency opted to end that program as of January 1.“Really, we’re kind of reflecting a successful pilot that’s been done in St. Clair County,” he said. “St. Clair County took the advertising off of the trains and buses in that county successfully over the past two years. And what we found is that the community likes it a little bit better; it has a more professional and more profound imagery out to th...

Suspect arrested for chokehold killing in San Bernardino County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

A suspect was arrested after a chokehold killing allegedly left a San Bernardino County man dead on New Year’s Day.The suspect was identified as William Durst, 54, from Santa Monica, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.Deputies responded to a home on the 55800 block of Montara Road in Landers at 11 a.m.Inside the home, the victim, Jeffrey Cull, 71, was found unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Investigators learned Durst had arrived at the victim's home and allegedly tried to force the victim to leave. When the victim refused to cooperate, an argument ensued.  Toddler fighting for life after family killed by hit-and-run driver in South L.A. Durst sprayed the victim with bear spray before placing him in a chokehold, authorities said. The victim lost consciousness and died from his injury.Durst was arrested and booked for murder at the Morongo Basin jail.The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Shawn ...

Bus driver dies more than 2 weeks after UC Santa Cruz campus crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

(BCN) -- The driver of a Santa Cruz METRO bus that crashed into a wall on the University of California at Santa Cruz campus last month has died. In a social media post Saturday, Dan Stevenson's union confirmed the long-time driver died Dec. 28 following the Dec. 12 crash. Study shows CA farmworkers earned less after overtime wage bill passed Stevenson "was a genuinely kind-hearted person dedicated to serving his community. Dan also showed unwavering dedication to his union, advocating for the rights of himself and his colleagues," according to the post from the SMART Transportation Union Local 0023. "He played a pivotal role during our 37-day strike in 2005, consistently offering his support wherever it was needed. The METRO family will deeply miss him."In a message posted to the school's website, UCSC chancellor Cynthia Larive and executive vice chancellor Lori Kletzer also confirmed Stevenson's death and offered condolences to his family and friends. "Dan served our community f...

No. 18 Baylor christens new arena with 98-79 win over Cornell

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

WACO, Texas (AP) — This is the kind of advantage coach Scott Drew and Baylor have long waited to have on their home court. “This one’s unique,” Drew said. “There’s a couple of arenas where when you get done, your head feels like you were in a concert. Now ours is one of them, which is awesome.”Ja’Kobe Walter scored 23 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, fellow freshman Yves Missi added 16 points while making all eight of his shots, and the 18th-ranked Bears christened the brand-new, smaller and much louder Foster Pavilion with a 98-79 victory over Cornell on Tuesday night. “Lights are bright in here, the energy was good,” said RayJ Dennis, who had 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Bears.Missi scored the first points in the Bears’ new home when the 7-footer from Cameroon made a short jumper 30 seconds into their nonconference finale. After Sean Hansen made a 3-pointer on Cornell’s initial shot, Walter put Baylor (11-2) ahead to stay.The Bears moved about a mile from th...

Mangiapane, Huberdeau score as Flames beat Wild 3-1

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:51 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Andrew Mangiapane and Jonathan Huberdeau scored first-period goals for Calgary, and Blake Coleman added an empty-netter as the Flames held on to beat the short-handed Minnesota Wild 3-1 on Tuesday night.Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves in net to earn the win.Mangiapane’s seventh goal of the season opened the scoring at 11:40 of the first period. The third-line winger redirected a shot from Rasmus Andersson and bounced the puck past Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for a 1-0 lead.Huberdeau made it 2-0 with 23.1 seconds remaining in the first period. He cut toward the net and fired a back-hand shot past Fleury for his fifth of the season. It was Huberdeau’s first goal since Nov. 20 and just his second point in the last 14 games.“That one obviously felt good, and especially to finish it off with a win,” Huberdeau said. “I think lately, we’ve been playing better, so I think it was good to get chemistry on our line too.”After the game, Huberdeau said assistant coach Marc...