MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Brandi Craig awoke before dawn Friday to a desperate scene as firefighters smashed their way into a duplex that was engulfed in flames across the street in her north Minneapolis neighborhood while tenants, including a family with seven young children, shouted for help.
“They were all screaming,” Craig said, her face twisting with emotion. “Once they stopped screaming, it was over.”
The fire killed five people, including at least three children, and injured several others, officials said. The cause of the blaze was being investigated, though fire officials say it appeared to have started on the second floor. The names of the victims were not immediately released.
Among those injured was Troy Lewis, according to neighbors and his landlord. Lewis was in serious condition Friday night at Hennepin County Medical Center. The conditions of the others who remained hospitalized were not immediately available.
Craig said Lewis’ wife died in November after an illness, and that he lived in the upper level with seven children, ages 1 to 9.
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WADENA, Minn. (AP) - Authorities are investigating a fire that killed two adults in Wadena County of western Minnesota.
The fire was reported just before 4 a.m. Friday. First responders arrived at the scene near Wadena to find a camper trailer fully engulfed.
Sheriff Michael Carr says names of the victims will be released after the autopsies are completed and the family has had time to notify other relatives and grieve in private.
The state fire marshal’s office is assisting in the investigation.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Wildlife managers have estimated Minnesota’s moose population at 4,350. While that’s higher than last winter’s figure, they say there’s been no significant change in the population trend.
Lou Cornicelli (korn-ih-SELL’-lee), wildlife research manager for the Department of Natural Resources, says the new estimate is very close to 2012’s estimate of 4,230. He says that suggests last year’s figure of 2,760 may have undercounted the animals. He says this year’s higher estimate is likely a result of ideal snow conditions for the aerial survey, not an actual increase.
The DNR says the long-term trend shows Minnesota’s moose population continuing a significant decline. This year’s higher number is about half the 2006 estimate of 8,840.
The agency won’t decide about a 2014 moose hunting season before consulting with northeastern Minnesota’s Chippewa bands.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - All of the Republicans seeking to oust Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton regard Minnesota’s problem-ridden health insurance exchange as an unmitigated disaster, but they differ on what they would do about it if they were elected.
The fissure on health care became apparent this week when Republican businessman Scott Honour strongly advocated replacing the state-run online marketplace, MNsure, with one managed by the federal government. His four main rivals flinched at the idea of relinquishing state control, with Rep. Kurt Zellers and former Rep. Marty Seifert unequivocally ruling it out as a possibility if they win.
It’s a major contrast point in a GOP nomination battle that has seen few so far. Democrats waiting to see who will emerge as the fall challenger are also keeping tabs on the debate, mindful that it’s easier for Republicans to criticize the current system than to present a viable alternative.
In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Honour said that trying to repair MNsure, which cost tens of millions of dollars to construct, would amount to “an open-ended bailout” that doesn’t seem worth it. He also said he doesn’t see the likelihood of a sudden reversal of the federal health care law, which mandated that Americans carry health insurance and led to online exchanges where people could shop for plans.
“MNsure is Obamacare,” Honour said. “What we were doing with MNsure was duplicative from day one. We can move over to the federal exchange. It’s there, it works - not as well as I would want but that’s their problem. It certainly works better than MNsure, and it’s available to us.”
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