Latest Minnesota news, sports, business and entertainment at 9:20 p.m. CDT

ANCIENT SKULL FOUND

Nearly 8,000-year-old skull found in Minnesota River

REDWOOD FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A partial skull from nearly 8,000 years ago that was found by two kayakers in a river last summer will be returned to Native American officials in Minnesota. Renville County Sheriff Scott Hable said the bone was found after a drought lowered the Minnesota River near the city of Sacred Heart, about 110 miles west of Minneapolis. A forensic anthropologist with the FBI determined the skull likely was from a young man who lived between 5500 and 6000 B.C. Hable posted about the discovery on the department’s Facebook page on Wednesday, but removed the post after Native American officials said publishing photos of the skull was offensive to their culture.

ELECTION 2022-MINNESOTA-HOUSE

Minnesota holds special primary for late congressman’s seat

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Voters in southern Minnesota will choose candidates in a special primary next week. It’s the first step in the process for filling the seat of Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer in February. The GOP candidates on Tuesday’s ballot include Hagedorn’s widow, Jennifer Carnahan, a former chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota. Other candidates include state Rep. Jeremy Munson and former state Rep. Brad Finstad. On the Democratic side, the endorsed candidate is former Hormel Foods CEO Jeffrey Ettinger. The winners will face each other in a special election Aug. 9 to fill out the rest of Hagedorn’s term.

MINNESOTA LEGISLATURE

Minnesota budget deals remain elusive near end of session

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Common ground on several budget bills remains elusive as Minnesota lawmakers rapidly approach the end of the legislative session. Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman said Friday that tax committee chairs have made “fantastic progress” on a tax relief bill. But sticking points between committee chairs in most other areas — including health and human services, education and public safety — have forced leadership to get involved. Targets for how to divide up the state’s $9.25 billion budget surplus include $4 billion for tax relief, $4 billion in spending and another $4 billion to be left in reserve.

BC-MN-FEDERAL COURT-DISABILITY AWARD

Federal jury awards $111 million in MN personal injury case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal jury in Minnesota has awarded a college student more than $111 million in damages after concluding negligent care of his injured leg following surgery led to a permanent disability. The jury verdict this week, which could be one of the state’s largest personal injury awards, is the result of a 2019 lawsuit brought by 25-year-old Anuj Thapa against St. Cloud Orthopedic Associates in Sartell. Thapa had surgery for a broken leg at CentraCare’s St. Cloud Hospital in 2017. He was left with a condition that occurs when excess pressure builds in a muscle group. According to trial testimony, Thapa has had at least a dozen surgeries on his leg since then and has disabling, permanent damage.

CARBON DIOXIDE PIPELINES-REGULATION

MN utility commission: CO2 pipelines should be regulated

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota utility regulators have decided pipelines that carry carbon dioxide are hazardous and therefore subject to state approval. The decision by the Public Utilities Commission Thursday affects two multibillion-dollar CO2 pipelines proposed to cross Minnesota and carry waste from several ethanol plants in the Midwest. Commissioners interpreted a 1998 state law on pipelines that carry hazardous materials includes those transporting carbon dioxide. The decision initiates a rulemaking process that could take a year to complete. Actual approval of any CO2 pipeline could take months after that. The companies seeking to build the pipelines disagree with the commission’s decision.

BUS PLANT CLOSING

Large northeastern North Dakota manufacturer shutting down

PEMBINA, N.D. (AP) — One of the largest employers in northeastern North Dakota is closing later this year. Winnipeg, Manitoba-based New Flyer Industries is shutting down its charter and transit bus manufacturing plant in Pembina, located close to the Canadian border. Pembina Mayor Mike Fitzgerald says company was notified of the decision in a letter. The company told Fitzgerald that it was having difficulty finding qualified employees, which is a factor in its conversion to electric vehicles. KFGO radio reports that the plant’s location also has become an issue, New Flyer also has a plant in Crookston, Minnesota, which is about 100 miles from Pembina. The Pembina plant opened in 1963. Fitzgerald calls the move “devastating” and says it will put more than 200 employees out of work

AP-US-ABORTION-RELIGIOUS-DIVIDE

Religious backers of abortion rights say God’s on their side

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The loudest voices in the abortion debate are often characterized along a starkly religious divide, the faithful versus not. But the reality is much more nuanced, both at an Alabama abortion clinic and in the nation that surrounds it. The clinic’s staff of 11 — most of them Black, deeply faithful Christian women — have no trouble at all reconciling their work with their religion. And as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to dismantle the constitutional right to an abortion, they draw on their faith that they will somehow continue. God is on our side, they tell each other. God will keep this clinic open.

HELICOPTER-DUCK COLLISION

Co-pilot injured when duck smashes into helicopter

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter co-pilot was hurt after he was struck by a duck that went through the windshield of the aircraft returning from a law enforcement call. The pilot was able to land the aircraft safely. The incident happened shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday when the helicopter was returning to St. Paul after it had been dispatched to Wabasha County. The patrol said the pilot of the Bell 407 helicopter was able to keep the chopper in the air and land without incident at St. Paul Downtown Airport, where that patrol bases its flight operations. The injured co-pilot was wearing his helmet and had his helmet-shield down when he was hit. He was treated at a local hospital for a head injury and released.