DULUTH One of Northeastern Minnesota’s longest-tenured judges plans to step down at the end of his term, triggering a rare election with no incumbent this fall. Sixth Judicial District Judge Dale Harris, who is chambered at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Duluth, confirmed to the News Tribune this week that he will not seek another term. “It just feels like the right time,” he said. “You need energy, creativity and patience to do this job, and I can tell that I don’t have those qualities at the same levels I did a few years ago. This is one party that I would rather leave a little early ..read more

Starting next week, certain dairy cattle must be tested for avian influenza before they can be transported to a different state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday, April 24. The requirement is among several that will expand the testing, reporting and monitoring of the cattle to reduce the spread of bird flu among the animals. The new rules follow evidence that highly pathogenic avian influenza which is commonly spread by migrating birds has transmitted from cow to cow and from cattle to poultry, and that infected cows might not show symptoms of illness, the USDA said. L ..read more

NEW YORK A federal judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's bid to throw out an $83.3 million defamation verdict in favor of the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said the former U.S. president defamed her after she accused him of raping her decades ago. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan denied Trump's requests for a new trial, or to have the former Elle magazine advice columnist's case thrown out altogether. He also dismissed arguments that the jury's award to Carroll following Trump's "malicious and unceasing attacks" was too high, and that errors at the civil trial tainted the verd ..read more

GARRISON A 67-year-old Garrison man died after the UTV he was in crashed Wednesday, April 24, in Roosevelt Township in southeastern Crow Wing County. The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office reported the UTV, or utility task vehicle, crash happened at 7:47 p.m. near the intersection of County Road 138 and Loveland Pass. The cause of the crash is being investigated and the victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of family members. Assisting the sheriff’s office were the Garrison Fire Department, Pine Center First Responders, Onamia Ambulance, North Memorial Ait Care and the Minne ..read more

ST. PAUL Embattled Minnesota state Senator Nicole Mitchell plans to return to work as a lawmaker Thursday, April 25. The Democrat senator from Woodbury was arrested earlier this week, accused of driving 200 miles from the Twin Cities in the middle of the night to break into her step-mother's home to get items belonging to her father, who had recently passed away. Her arrest has added to the showdown between parties in St. Paul as lawmakers debate if she should be ousted. Mitchell's lawyer said he met with the senator Wednesday morning before she left to return to the Twin Cities area. He ..read more

BROOKSTON Law enforcement is still searching for Peter Michael Martin, a Fond du Lac Band member who has not been seen since March 8. “Where the hell is my cousin?" said Colleen Thompson, Martin’s cousin. "You know what I mean? Every day that goes by, it's grimmer and grimmer." The Fond du Lac Police Department, the lead agency on the search, has held numerous search-and-rescue efforts throughout the Fond du Lac Reservation, but they have yet to yield any substantive results. Efforts have since expanded to include support from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the tribal nat ..read more

SUPERIOR Three apartments remain vacated at Franklin Court Apartments following a partial collapse at the building April 18. Superior’s Chief Building Inspector Brian Bustrak said the collapse occurred in an abandoned boiler room that was sealed off when the former Franklin School was renovated into apartments. The boiler system and piping are expected to contain asbestos due to the age of the building, which will complicate cleanup at the site. “We need to proceed cautiously,” Bustrak said. According to a news release from the Superior Fire Department, it responded to 210 37th Ave. E. af ..read more

Here is your Duluth News Tribune Minute podcast for Thursday, April 25, 2024. (HTML Module goes here) 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

ASHLAND Northland College has once again delayed a decision on the future of the private environmental liberal arts school, frustrating faculty and students who say they’re living in limbo. The Northland Board of Trustees said in a statement to the campus community late Tuesday, April 22 that the college had recently received several “transformative” donations that could affect its future. The gifts still fall short of the $12 million the college had hoped to raise by April 3 to keep the campus open, but the board said it’s hopeful about the future. “The board recognizes that this creates c ..read more

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. Robert James, born Raymond Lisenba of Alabama on March 6, 1894, would be dubbed "Rattlesnake James" during his murder trial of his fifth wife, Mary Busch of Alexandria, Minnesota, for his first cruel attempt at her death. But not his first alleged killing. Barbered beginnings Raymond Lisenba was born in Hale County, Alabama, in 1894 to a low-income family and worked as a sharecropper until his brother-in-law paid for him to attend barber school in Birmingham. According to a 2017 article from Los Angeles Magazine, he was described as a pale, portly man with "beady, red-rim ..read more