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A onetime licensed practical nurse in Minnesota has had his license revoked after state officials ruled that he entered suicide chats sites on the Internet and encouraged people to kill themselves, two of whom did just that after communicating with him. In an order in June by the Minnesota Board of Nursing, William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, had his license taken away after the board accepted an extensive investigation about Melchert-Dinkel's several years of participating on suicide websites. His license had been suspended by the board in February. The "findings of fact" collected by a state administrative law judge and accepted by...

President Barack Obama has nominated a Minnesota policewoman to become the first openly gay person to serve as a U.S. marshal. Sharon Lubinski is an assistant chief in the Minneapolis Police Department, where she has worked for 20 years. Obama has had a rocky relationship with gay activists, who want him to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays. He publicly pledged last weekend to do so.

A 26-year-old man has been charged with making false statements to federal officials investigating the disappearance of as many as 20 Somali men from Minnesota. Abdow M. Abdow, a U.S. citizen of Somali descent, was arrested Friday and made his first appearance Tuesday in federal court in St. Paul. FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson says Abdow's case is related to the investigation of the missing men, who are thought to have gone to join a terrorist group fighting in their homeland.

The Nobel committee did President Barack Obama no favors by prematurely awarding him its peace prize. As he himself acknowledged, he has not done anything yet on the scale that would normally merit such an award — and it dismays me that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way. It is not the president's fault, though, that the Europeans are so relieved at his style of leadership, in contrast to that of his predecessor, that they want to do all they can to validate and encourage it. I thought the president showed great grace...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has enlisted a number of GOP strategists from John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, another sign that he’s planning a run for president in 2012. . . . . . Among those interested in getting to know Pawlenty are Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Randy Scheunemann, two top policy advisers from the McCain presidential campaign who have joined the Minnesota governor’s host committee.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has enlisted a number of GOP strategists from John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, another sign that he’s planning a run for president in 2012. Pawlenty has snagged a stable of well-known Republicans to help host his first fundraiser for the Freedom First PAC, his new political action committee, according to an invitation to the kickoff event in Washington obtained by The Hill. ---SNIP--- “Lots of folks want to learn more about how Gov. Pawlenty successfully governed as a conservative in a traditionally liberal-leaning state,” said Alex Conant, Pawlenty’s spokesman. “His innovative, conservative leadership is drawing...

St. Paul, Minn. — If U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's popularity was judged by the sales of her new action figure, she'd be in trouble. The Connecticut-based toy company HeroBuilders has sold only 50 copies of the unlicensed action figure since its release on Sept. 25. Bachmann, a Republican, represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional District and has been a high-profile critic of President Obama and the Democratic Party. "I'll tell you this, she's no Sarah Palin," said Emil Vicale, CEO of HeroBuilders. He said the company's action figure depicting Republican Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and former vice presidential candidate, sold...

Minnesota and other states are worried that emerging plans to overhaul the nation's health care system could leave them facing a expensive new obligation to cover the poor without the money to pay for it. As the health care debate speeds toward a climax in Congress, cash-strapped state officials are running the numbers to gauge the impact on their budgets, which are already bleeding red ink from hard economic times. Minnesota's two U.S. senators, both Democrats, are taking notice. In a letter last week to Senate Democratic leaders, Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken expressed general support for health care...

House ethics officials have called for disclosure of costs associated with Minnesota Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison's religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last year. Originally, Ellison – who is the United States' first Muslim congressman – opted not to announce the cost of the trip, which had a price tag of $13,350. More disturbing than Ellison's lack of transparency is the fact that The Star-Tribune (Minn.) said the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS) paid the $13,350 bill for Ellison’s two-week visit to Mecca. Americans have great cause for concern. The Chicago Tribune said the MAS, despite calling itself an "independent...

Rep. Tim Walz said Thursday he will support the compromise economic stimulus bill that was approved by House and Senate conferees on Wednesday. "What we're doing is addressing an economy that is as difficult as any that most of us have seen in our lifetime. The numbers are staggering, the outlook is pretty bleak in the short run," said Walz. "This piece of legislation is meant to be the life preserver to put us in the right direction, and setting a framework of infrastructure development, targeted tax cuts to the middle and of course research into alternative energies, and funding...

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Friday on the massive economic stimulus plan. All of the Republican members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation say they plan to vote against the bill. St. Paul, Minn. — The members of Congress who represent Minnesotans are spilt largely along party lines on the tax cuts and new spending in the $789 billion economic stimulus package. Republicans John Kline, Michele Bachmann and Erik Paulsen plan to cast no votes. "We hear about fantasy football games. This is fantasy economics," Bachmann said. Bachmann, who represents the 6th District, said the plan spends far too...

(snip) Mike Huckabee and Tim Pawlenty — both potential 2012 presidential contenders — urged restraint. "There will be an outcry from those on the right who will say that Obama's nomination, made two weeks into his Presidency, is impossible to justify, but I think such an outcry will sound like right-wing whining," Huckabee said in a statement. "The better response is simply to allow those on the left to explain what he did in his first two weeks as President that merited such recognition." Pawlenty, speaking on NPR, said there "will be some people who are saying 'Was it based...

It probably wasn't totally unexpected, since the tally of time the on-air talent at MSNBC spends on Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., increases with every broadcast hour. Bachmann, not one to hold back on expressing her opinions, has criticized MSNBC on not one, but two occasions recently. And one of those appearances, on Fox News' Oct. 7 "The O'Reilly Factor," she called her critics on the left-leaning network "personal stalkers, only they have TV shows." And that earned her the top spot on Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" segment. "But our winner, Michele Bachmann," Olbermann said, referring to the first...

A Minneapolis man is charged with robbery after police say store employees and customers held him until officers arrived on scene. Reginald Calhoun was arrested at the Family Dollar Store at 1010 East Lake Street in Minneapolis on Monday. Police say he took off after he robbed and assaulted a clerk. He didn't get far because customers and employees caught him before he tried to get away in a taxi. Police say the taxi driver was not aware Calhoun was allegedly involved in the robberies. Minneapolis Lt. Mike Fossum praised the citizens for their bravery. "They did a great job....

WASHINGTON – Congress plans to conduct a hearing next month on two professional football players whose suspensions were blocked by a federal appeals court. Two people with knowledge of the plans tell The Associated Press that the a House subcommittee will delve into the issue. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because lawmakers have yet to announce the hearing.

"...I mean you're attractive, young, relatively young women who other women can identify with."

For the second time in less than a month, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has painted a bull's eye on a Minnesota Republican, targeting Rep. Michele Bachmann. The Democrats' "Call 'Em Out" Internet campaign was launched last month, featuring Gov. Tim Pawlenty's criticisms of President Obama's plans to overhaul the nation's health care system. The new posting, launched today, lambastes Bachmann's similar criticisms of the health care bills moving through Congress. "Too many Americans live with the painful consequences of our broken health care system to let Bachmann's reckless lies go unchecked," the Democrats said in an e-mail. "So this...

In a column last month, Caryn Sullivan, mother of a child with autism, discussed the growing trend of parental refusal of necessary vaccinations for their children based on fears stoked by junk science and celebrity testimonials claiming a link between autism and vaccinations. As a primary-care pediatrician, I am faced daily with the problem of convincing parents to vaccinate their children. It has become not just a frustration for physicians, but a public health hazard, as the numbers of vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths rise in young children. How did we come to this lamentable situation, and what larger implications does...

Sen. Al Franken finally has a piece of legislation under his belt, signed by the U.S. Senate. His amendment passed through a roll call vote Tuesday night. We're all for getting things done in a Congress that appears to be stalling on anything and everything possible. Franken's amendment stops defense contractors from receiving federal funding if they use mandatory arbitration clauses that prevent victims of assault from going to court. Nine Republicans voted with Democrats on the legislation for a final vote of 68-30. The amendment was part of the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill.... "The story came to my attention...

Over the past several days, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has made a series appearances pushing for action against the disgraced organization ACORN. However, in an appearance on Fox News Oct. 7 "The O'Reilly Factor," host Bill O'Reilly asked Bachmann about a trend others have noticed - why do so many media figures on the left have such a fixation on criticizing her or former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin? "You are a pretty interesting politician, congresswoman," O'Reilly said. "You are second to Sarah Palin in far-left angst. You know, Sarah Palin leads the league, no doubt. But they're after you now....

A Minneapolis company's product could help resolve a shortage of liquid tamiflu, an antiviral medication used to treat flu symptoms that is easy for children to take. The shortage came about because of an increased demand for Tamiflu following outbreaks of H1N1 . To meet the demand, drugmaker Roche started concentrating on making capsule, instead of liquid, versions of the drug. That's because the company can make 25 courses of Tamiflu in capsule form in the same amount of time it takes to make one course of liquid Tamiflu. Children, and adults who have trouble swallowing faced a shortage of...

What happens when you have James Carville prodding Larry King to ask a "tough" question of outspoken Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann? You get a glimpse of what is really driving the movement questioning the legitimacy of President Barack Obama's birthplace. On CNN's Oct. 7 "Larry King Live," a persistent Carville would not let it go - that Bachmann was a part of the so-called "birther" movement - a tactic to frame her as "nutty." "Well, first of all, there are seven Republicans in the House that have ‘birther' legislation before in there," Carville said. "And one of the things that...

Over the past two years, MSNBC - the so-called "place for politics" has had a fascination with the congresswoman from Minnesota's Sixth District. And some of those attacks have been against her family, others borderline misogynistic. However, GOP Rep. Michelle Bachmann told a group of conservative bloggers at The Heritage Foundation on Oct. 6 she really wasn't concerned about MSNBC, and noted how poorly the network does in the ratings. "Quite honestly, I don't even know anything about MSNBC," Bachmann said. "It's not a network that I watch and most of the American people agree with that assessment. They aren't...

Six demonstrators were arrested Monday morning at UnitedHealth Group's corporate headquarters in Minnetonka after they blocked the doors and refused to leave during a protest over health care reform. About 110 protesters sang and spoke about the need to change the way health care is organized and financed in the United States, and said that insurers such as UnitedHealth are making people sicker because the system doesn't offer proper coverage for many patients. They cited what they said is UnitedHealth's practice of "denying care and claims in order to generate record profits." The demonstration was organized by a group called...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, impressed with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recent rollout onto the national political stage, is urging him to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. “Governor Pawlenty is a terrific talent, he’s a very attractive guy and he has a good reform record,” Gingrich told POLITICO over the weekend after his speech to the annual Americans for Prosperity conference in Washington. Pawlenty is “certainly going to be a player. There is every reason he should run, there is wide open field right now,” Gingrich said. “He’s an example that the future of the Republican Party...

Nine U.S. soldiers have lost their lives in the just the past three days in Afghanistan. A new report shows the Taliban is now in control of about 80 percent of the country, up from just over half two years ago. The top commander in Afghanistan says we need to up to 40,000 additional troops if we want to win the war. This week marks the eighth anniversary of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the mission there is currently under great debate. Ghafar Lakwanwal, a Minnesota businessman who was born in Afghanistan, talked with WCCO's Don Shelby about what the...

EVEN the Democrats in Minnesota now realize their new US Sen. Al Franken was elected with the help of ACORN chicanery. The disgraced, pimp-friendly community organizing group claims it registered 43,000 new Minnesota voters. If just 1 percent were fraudulent but survived the recount process, that's 430 votes, almost all cast for Franken, who won by just 312 votes. Asks Katherine Kersten in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "Did ACORN folks pull some fast ones to help get their favorite son Franken elected -- a win that handed Democrats the 60-vote, veto-proof majority that they needed to enact their liberal agenda?"

The president of Somalia says he condemns the recruiting of young men from Minnesota for terrorist activity in his homeland, and he plans to work with the U.S. government to bring those who are still alive back home. President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed spoke Sunday morning through an interpreter in an interview with The Associated Press. He says he plans to publicly condemn the terrorist recruiting at a rally later in the day.

Regulators have shut Warren Bank in Warren, Mich., and two small banks in Colorado and Minnesota, boosting the number of failed U.S. banks this year to 98 as loan defaults rise in the worst financial climate in decades. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Warren Bank, with about $538 million in assets and $501 million in deposits as of July 31. The Huntington National Bank, based in Columbus, Ohio, agreed to assume the deposits and about $83 million of the assets of the failed bank. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. Warren Bank's six branches...

A south Minneapolis travel agency owner who is accused of swindling travelers out of airline tickets, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Hennepin County Court. Ali Mohamud, 35, is charged with six felony counts of theft by swindle. Mohamud owns Amana Travel Agency, located at 1841 Nicollet Ave. S. Mohamud is accused of taking approximately $40,000 from at least a dozen travelers by either failing to purchase their airline tickets or canceling them and keeping the cash. The FBI is also looking into Mohamud. In August, agents searched his business as part of an investigation into Somali men missing from the...

Asked why she attracts such scorn, Bachmann says it's a combination of sexism and envy. "They want to make sure no women, no woman becomes president before a Democrat woman," she says, "and so they're doing everything they can to, I think, sabotage women like Sarah Palin, perhaps women like myself, or similarly situated women, to make sure that we don’t have a prominent national voice." An answer that suggests a shot at the White House is within her ambitions. The mention of Palin, that other pin-up of the immoderate right, is not surprising. But actually Bachmann's views on healthcare,...

(snip) The Freedom First PAC "will offer financial support to candidates committed to putting freedom before government, and provide organizational support for Pawlenty to promote his innovative, conservative message," according to today's announcement. (snip) The PAC's co-chairmen are William H. Strong, the vice chairman of Morgan Stanley, and Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman. “There’s a big debate about the role of government and personal freedom raging at the moment, and I’m excited to help promote fresh new ideas, and new leaders.” Weber said in a statement. “Given Tim’s successful record in Minnesota, he’s in a unique position to harness...

It's Betty McCollum vs. Michele Bachmann in a congressional smackdown over ACORN, the community organization that's been the target of Republican attacks since the 2008 presidential election. Just weeks after embarrassing footage from an amateur sting prompted the U.S. House to defund ACORN, Rep. McCollum, D-Minn., is introducing a similar bill aimed at barring federal dollars to corporations that run afoul of the law. "It just points out the hypocrisy," McCollum said in an interview Wednesday. "Here we have corporations that have been convicted of felonies, and continue to do business with the government." McCollum's bill serves as a pointed...

A conservative group and several gubernatorial candidates are asking Democratic Attorney General Lori Swanson to investigate ACORN over voter registrations and other activities in Minnesota. Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis says a felon convicted of registering illegally in Ramsey County claimed an ACORN canvasser helped her. He was joined at a news conference on Wednesday by a handful of GOP candidates and one Democrat.

Fresh from the introduction of HR1207, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, Reps. Bachmann and Paul arrived at Northrop to paint a portrait of financial dystopia where “100 percent of your paycheck is being spoken for.” Bachmann predicts this will happen some time around 2050. Her voice rising to a high-pitched chant, she ticked off the list of financial aggressors: “Income tax, property tax, gas tax, sales tax—everytime-you-turn-around tax!” Meanwhile, over at the United Nations (the very mention of which drew a chorus of boos), they’ll likely work with China and Japan to “insist on replacing the American dollar...

Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minn. (AP) - The moose calf didn't seem to want to get out of the water. But its mother, perhaps concerned about approaching boats, decided it was time to leave. She waded back into the reeds along the Sea Gull River and nudged her light brown offspring. Then she bounded through the thick brush into the forest, her calf struggling to keep up. In moments, both were gone. Researchers say such sightings of moose, an icon in Minnesota's northwoods, are likely to become more rare. A special advisory committee warned last month that climate change threatens...

ST. PAUL — In more than a dozen statehouses across the country, a small but growing group of lawmakers are pressing for state constitutional amendments that would outlaw a crucial element of the health care plans under discussion in Washington: the requirement that everyone buy insurance or pay a penalty. Approval of the measures, the lawmakers suggest, would set off a legal battle over the rights of states versus the reach of federal power — an issue that is, for some, central to the current health care debate but also one that has tentacles stretching into a broad range of...

ACORN was once the darling of Democrats for its support of every item on the left-wing wish list. Suddenly, its employees can hardly find a Democrat who will answer their phone calls. But ACORN does have a special place in its heart for at least one prominent Minnesota politician. Last year, it showered praise on Al Franken, endorsing his run for the U.S. Senate. Franken returned the esteem: "I'm thrilled and honored to receive this endorsement," he gushed in a press release. He added that he was "more motivated than ever to work with ACORN." I'm not suggesting that Franken...

President Obama's once-robust support in Minnesota has dwindled sharply as he confronts a sluggish economy and significant unease about a health care overhaul that has split Democrats and Republicans in Congress, according to the latest Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.

Unless you've been stuck in the Gobi Desert, you've read the headlines about the scandal at ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Earlier this month, ACORN staffers in four states were caught giving not-so-sage advice to two journalists, posing as a pimp and a prostitute, on how to defraud the government, cheat on taxes and wangle a mortgage for a home-based brothel. ACORN was once the darling of Democrats for its support of every item on the left-wing wish list. Suddenly, its employees can hardly find a Democrat who will answer their phone calls. When the...

If you think speeches attacking the U.S. Federal Reserve couldn't excite a Friday night crowd on a college campus, think again. About 2,000 people -- students and older adults who were in the majority -- filled Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota to cheer libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, as he joined Rep. Michele Bachmann to preach the gospel of a less powerful federal government. Before Bachmann, R-Minn., introduced Paul, she hailed legislation of his that would require a detailed audit of the Fed. The crowd jumped to its feet and roared approval. When she described the...

“I think President Obama addressed that directly and said that he didn’t feel that was the case,” Pawlenty said His comments came when asked about former President Jimmy Carter's and former Vice President Walter Mondale's arguments that Obama’s race is a factor in the animus against him. "I don't like saying it," Mondale told the online news outlet Politico Thursday. "I don't want to pick a person, say, he's a racist, but I do think the way they're piling on Obama, the harshness, you kind of feel it.” “I think people that are guilty of that kind of personal attack...

Watch a live student town hall with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Rep. Ron Paul from the University of Minnesota, hosted by Young Americans for Liberty and sponsored by the Minnesota Campaign for Liberty, Republican Party of Minnesota, Minneapolis City Republican Committee, College Republicans, CFACT, and Students for a Conservative Voice. [Click Here to Watch] (Windows Media Player required) From 8pm EST . *takes seat* :)

St. Paul may soon pass a social host ordinance that punishes adults who knowingly allow parties, where minors are drinking. That includes adults who aren't even there, including landlords. "They bear some of the responsibility to ensure it doesn't continue," said St. Paul Council Member Russ Stark.

Jeffrey Alan Wagner, doesn’t have a traditional resume for a politician. He works as a baggage handler for Delta Airlines at the airport and runs a video-production company. The Loring Park resident attended his first city council meeting last Friday and says he initially jumped into the race on a lark after drinking too much alcohol on the day of the filing deadline. “Do you have to be able to spell Minneapolis to be a city council member?” he laughs. Wagner has not raised any money or sought any political endorsements. But the 42-year old insists he is running a...

Donald Peterson can still remember the day more than 30 years ago when his St. Paul neighborhood became the scene of a murder mystery. "I haven't thought about that in a long, long, time," he says. "Nobody ever found the guy who did it." In May 1977, 30-year-old Mark Shemukenas was found dead in his apartment. His body had been mutilated. And according to news reports from that time, he had been sexually assaulted and castrated. "It was very brutal and very bloody, several instruments were used," says Sgt. Anita Muldoon with the St. Paul Police Department. But the case...

Minnesota's Democratic U.S. senators and the Obama administration enlisted University of Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith today to push for overhaul of the nation's health care system. Smith appeared at a midday rally in Washington, D.C., with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. According to one of the sponsors, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the rally was intended "to emphasize that comprehensive health care reform giving all Americans access to adequate, affordable health care must be passed NOW, not later." Smith was one of five NCAA Division I basketball coaches...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is preparing to launch a national fundraising committee, another signal the Republican may be positioning himself for a possible 2012 presidential run. The 'Freedom First' political action committee will be formalized in the next few weeks, Pawlenty adviser Alex Conant said Tuesday. He described it as a logical step for the governor, who has been giving speeches and campaigning for Republicans around the country. While forming such committees is a typical step for politicians who aspire to higher office, Pawlenty downplayed any link between his new PAC and a 2012 presidential...

Keeping up her long-standing pressure on ACORN, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., sent a letter to President Obama Monday, demanding executive action to halt all federal funding for the embattled organization. In the letter, Bachmann also asked that Obama authorize a formal investigation through the Office of Management and Budget of ACORN and its affiliates. Referring to comments Obama made about the group on one of the Sunday talk shows, Bachmann wrote that it "was disappointing to hear that this issue hasn't made it to your radar screen ... The American people view ACORN's pattern of criminal activities as a serious...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN): “Obama Has The Wrong Values.” “Well President Obama is a gifted orator, but I think he has the wrong values and the wrong ideas for our country. He's taking us in a very dangerous direction. He seems unconcerned about the incredible crushing debt...That's just one of many examples of the country being headed in the wrong direction.” Democrats Ramming Through Tax Increases. “If the Democrats would reach out to us with bipartisanship and set aside the things we can't agree on and they can't agree on, we could put together a bipartisan proposal but they're unwilling...