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Dakota County approves 2024 budget, tax levy increase

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

The Dakota County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s 2024 budget and property tax levy Tuesday morning, highlighting the growing demand for social services.The county’s operating budget of $336 million will be used to fund programs including crisis services, public safety, election administration, road and bridge construction, environmental protection, parks and greenways and library services.The property tax levy increase of 3.5 percent will add $10 annually in property tax for the area’s median home value of $372,000, according to the county.Commissioner Liz Workman (Courtesy of Dakota County)“This budget balances the needs of our residents with the responsibility we have to our taxpayers,” said Liz Workman, Dakota County board chair, on Tuesday. “We’re helping those in need and providing important and valued services that continue to make Dakota County a premier place to live and work.”Dakota County’s tax rate will remain the lowest among metro counties, according to a ...

Tou Ger Xiong memorial scheduled Saturday in Woodbury

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

Comedian Tou Ger Xiong, an advocate and political campaigner within the Twin Cities Hmong community, will be remembered on Saturday with a candlelight vigil organized by his brother Eh Xiong at a high school near his Woodbury home.Tou Ger Xiong, 50, a founder of the Hmong Minnesota Day at the Minnesota State Fair, was found murdered this month in Medellin, Colombia, where he had been staying with friends. Colombian media reported that he had gone on Dec. 10 to meet a woman he met through social media when he was kidnapped by multiple men and held for $2,000 ransom.Tou Ger Xiong (Courtesy of the Bush Foundation)The money was never collected and his body was later discovered in a ravine with multiple stab wounds, leading to speculation he was killed trying to escape. A woman has been arrested by Colombian authorities in connection with the case, according to news reports.Tou Ger Xiong was a recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship in 2019.He was a storyteller, performer, motivatio...

St. Paul bank robber caught by cash tracker sentenced to federal prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

A St. Paul man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for robbing a bank in the city’s Battle Creek neighborhood.Andre Christopher Nelson on Jan. 17 pointed a handgun at three Huntington Bank tellers, demanded cash and ran off with nearly $28,000 they gave him, the charges said. Before he left, he said, “Have a nice day. Stay warm.”Andre Christopher Nelson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)The cash included a tracker, however, and police soon found and arrested the 43-year-old between apartment buildings in the 2000 block of Wilson Avenue, just north of Interstate 94.Nelson was carrying an Aldi bag, which contained the cash, tracker, an unloaded Ruger handgun and a mask, gloves, sunglasses and sweater that matched what the robber wore, charges said.Nelson pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of a bank robbery and was sentenced last month.In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors dismissed a charge of carrying a firearm during a...

Minnesota Yacht Festival coming to Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

It’s been years since a major music festival alighted on Harriet Island Regional Park, despite its seemingly choice location along the Mississippi River below the downtown St. Paul river bluffs.Counting Crows headlined a “Taste of Minnesota” concert line-up in 2010 that ended in bankruptcy for the longstanding food festival. In 2012, the odd match-up of dark alt-metal rockers Tool and the dreamy roots-rock of the Dave Matthews Band put the nail in the coffin of Live Nation’s short-lived River’s Edge Music Festival.C3 Presents now plans to sail into the same scenic venue that other concert promoters have feared to tread for more than a decade. The team behind the popular Austin City Limits Music Festival, Lollapalooza and Atlanta’s annual alt-rock Shaky Knees music celebration have announced they’ll take over Harriet Island Regional Park on July 19 and July 20 for the inaugural Minnesota Yacht Club Festival.Music line-up to comeThe music line...

Charges reduced for Bar:PM owner arrested after police crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office has dropped felony charges against Bar:PM co-owner Chad Morris, who was arrested after a police car crashed into the bar early Monday morning.Prosecutors have amended Morris' charges to fourth-degree assault and resisting arrest, two misdemeanors. He was previously charged with third-degree assault on a special victim, a felony. Morris was arrested after a reported encounter with police that followed the crash. FOX 2 has learned of conflicting accounts as to what happened leading up to the collision. Conflicting stories after police SUV crashes into south St. Louis bar A SLMPD crime summary report claims that two St. Louis police probation officers, each with less than one year of experience, were heading northbound on Broadway. The driver lost control of the police vehicle, overcorrected, and crashed into the front facade of the bar.The report claims that the driver of the vehicle “believed he was traveling too close to a parke...

Endangered Person Advisory issued for missing Ferguson woman

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

FERGUSON, Mo. - Authorities have issued an Endangered Person Advisory in search for a missing Ferguson woman. Latasha Yvonne Lynch, 42, was reported missing from a home in the 400 block of Harrison Avenue. Authorities say Lynch left her home without a cell phone or personal property. The Endangered Person Advisory states that Lynch is schizophrenic and off medication. Conflicting stories after police SUV crashes into south St. Louis bar Police described Lynch as 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. If you have any information on her whereabouts, contact the Ferguson Police Department at 314-522-3100.

The best gift cards for everyone on your list

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Details.You waited too long to shop, but there are still optionsThe window to ship gifts in time for Christmas is rapidly closing, but if you’re out of time in the real world, digital gift cards can come to the rescue instantaneously. Thanks to the wide variety of retailers offering gift cards tailored to any interest, your digital gift card will feel like anything but a last resort.Whether you’re shopping for a beauty fan, health care worker, creative kid or budding astrologist, these gift cards are a thoughtful way to let them choose the perfect present for them.The 50 best Christmas gift ideas of 2023 Creative ways to give digital gift cardsOpening an email may be convenient, but it can also take some of the magic out of gift-giving. Depending on the digital gift card format, you may be able to print off the code and give your gift physically as ...

The Azerbaijani people will turn the COP29 summit into a platform for sustainable peace

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

Climate change is a major hazard to biodiversity on the planet in addition to posing a serious threat to civilization and sustainable development worldwide. Melting glaciers, early plant blossoming, rising air temperatures, droughts, fires, natural disasters, and crises in the economy and society that are made worse by climate change are all obvious signs of global climate change. The substantial amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere in most states with large industrial centers as a result of the alterations brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution makes the fight against climate change much more difficult, writes Mazahir Afandiyev, member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan.It is important to mention that this pressing issue first came up at the end of the past century. One of the most crucial actions in the battle against climate change for resolving such international political issues was to hold an eco-dialogue. With the passage of the UN F...

Former NFL star Derrick Ward arrested in L.A. robbery spree

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

Former NFL player and Super Bowl champion Derrick Ward was arrested Monday on suspicion of robbery, Los Angeles police confirmed. Ward, who played running back for the New York Giants when they won the championship in 2007, was arrested by officers in North Hollywood, LAPD Officer Miller said. Miller could not confirm any further details about the arrest but NBC News reported that Ward, 43, was involved in the robberies of at least five businesses, including gas stations. Derrick Ward of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to a game on December 20, 2009, in Seattle. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)Ward was not suspected of using a firearm during the robberies, according to the report.He was being held on $250,000 bail, police records show. Burglar takes presents from under O.C. family’s Christmas tree: video Ward, who was born in Los Angeles and attended Valley View High School in Moreno Valley, played eight seasons in the NFL with the Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Te...

California approves rules for turning sewage into drinking water

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:42:09 GMT

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places: An ice skating rink in Ontario, ski slopes around Lake Tahoe, and farmland in the Central Valley.And — coming soon — kitchen faucets.California regulators on Tuesday approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses.It's a big step for a state that has struggled for decades to have a reliable source of drinking water for its more than 39 million residents. And it signals a shift in public opinion on a subject that as recently as two decades ago prompted backlash that scuttled similar projects.Since then, California has been through multiple extreme droughts, including the most recent one that scientists say was the driest three-year period on record and left the state's reservoirs at dangerously low levels.The Silicon Valley Advance Water Purification Center is pictured Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in ...