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WILDFIRES-MINNESOTA

More evacuations ordered ahead of NE Minnesota wildfire

ISABELLA, Minn. (AP) — Authorities have ordered more evacuations near a quickly spreading wildfire that’s one of several burning in northeastern Minnesota. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office says Monday’s evacuations were happening near Grouse Lake and Mitewan Lake because of the growing Greenwood Lake fire, about 15 miles southwest of the town of Isabella in the Superior National Forest. Around 50 homes and cabins were covered by the order. The evacuations follow the clearance of more than 100 homes and cabins in the area last week. The lightning-caused fire had burned nearly 14 square miles as of Monday morning but officials said there was “substantial fire growth” Monday afternoon.

BABY CRASH

St. Cloud woman crashes SUV during police chase

Prosecutors have charged a 20-year-old St. Cloud woman who allegedly fled from police with her 8-month-old daughter in the vehicle. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Angelica Henry-Schmidt faces one count of fleeing an officer and endangering a child. According to a criminal complaint, a sheriff’s deputy noticed Henry-Schmidt parked at a Little Canada gas station early Saturday morning. Burglars had targeted the station several times over the past year. The deputy asked her to stop as she drove by, but she took off, traveling at speeds approaching 100 mph before she lost control and rolled the vehicle. Deputies found the baby on the ground next to the SUV. The baby suffered only superficial injuries.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

University of Minnesota mandates COVID-19 vaccinations

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota will require all students to get vaccinated against COVID-19. President Joan Gabel and medical school Dean Jakub Tolar issued a news release Monday hours after federal regulators fully approved the Pfizer version of the vaccine saying shots will be mandatory and students will receive an email in the next few days with instructions on how to confirm their vaccination status. The mandate is effective at University of Minnesota campuses in the Twin Cities, Crookston, Duluth, Morris and Rochester. Faculty and staff members will be required to inform the university of their vaccination status.

AP-US-TALLEST-MAN-DIES

Igor Vovkovinskiy, tallest man in US, dies in Minnesota

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the United States, has died in Minnesota. He was 38. His family says the Ukrainian-born Vovkovinskiy died of heart disease Friday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He came to the Mayo Clinic in 1989 as a child. His size was due to a tumor pressing against his pituitary gland. He grew to become the tallest man in the U.S. at 7 feet, 8.33 inches. Vovkovinskiy’s older brother tells the Star Tribune that he was already a celebrity when he arrived from Ukraine, but that he “would have rather lived a normal life than be known.”

WILDFIRES-MINNESOTA

Minnesota wildfire not expanding; still remains uncontained

FINLAND, Minn. (AP) — Authorities fighting a northeastern Minnesota wildfire say the blaze did not expand its reach over the weekend. The Greenwood Fire was expanding by about 1,000 acres a day since it started last Sunday. But after growing to nearly 7 square miles Thursday night and raging through Friday, the U.S. Forest Service reported an estimated footprint of 9,067 acres on Saturday. It remained that size during its report Sunday morning. None of the fire has been contained The agency on Saturday closed the popular Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness due to concerns about wildfires and drought. Several other smaller wildfires ignited by lightning strikes have been reported inside the wilderness area.

I-94 SHOOTING

Man found with gunshot wound on I-94 in Brooklyn Center dies

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man found with a gunshot wound on Interstate 94 in Brooklyn Center later died from his injuries. Commander Garett Flesland says officers were dispatched to I-94 just south of I-694 around 9:30 p.m. Saturday for a report of a shooting. Officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound and was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead. While police say they are no longer seeking any individuals, several people at the scene were detained and detectives are conducting several interviews. According to jail records, a 42-year-old man was arrested.

ISLE ROYALE-WILDFIRE

Trails, camps closed on Isle Royale after wildfire expands

ISLE ROYAL, Mich. (AP) — A wildfire that’s burned about 200 acres on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale has prompted the National Park Service to close some trails and campground areas on the wilderness island. The park service said Sunday on the Isle Royale National Park’s Facebook page that the closures were necessary “to maintain public health and safety” after the fire on the Lake Superior island’s east end expanded over the weekend amid lingering drought conditions. MLive.com reports the fire was burning so intensely that it could be picked up by satellites and that planes were being used to ferry water over the fire in the hopes of dousing some of it.

FATAL SHOOTING

Man found dead of gunshot wound in Minneapolis North Loop

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis police say a man was found dead of a gunshot wound inside a vehicle in the North Loop neighborhood, and it is believed to be a homicide. The man believed to be in his 30s was slumped over in the vehicle that officers responded to a 911 call in the 300 block of Washington Avenue North shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday. Police say in its preliminary investigation that the victim was shot from inside the vehicle. The department’s Crime Lab collected evidence and the scene while the Homicide Unit spoke to people in the area that morning.