Minnesota
Minnesota dad who ranted against Trump election gunned down wife, ex-girlfriend and his 2 kids in murder-suicide
A Minnesota dad who ranted against President-elect Donald Trump online shot and killed his wife, ex-partner, and his two sons before turning the gun on himself, according to authorities.
The shooter, 46-year-old Anthony Nephew, had a “pattern of mental health issues,” Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said on Friday — one day after authorities found five people dead inside two homes in the city.
Authorities found Anthony Nephew’s ex-partner Erin Abramson, 47, and their son, Jacob Nephew, 15, dead from apparent gunshot wounds inside their home Thursday afternoon, police said.
After identifying Anthony Nephew as a suspect, police found his 45-year-old wife Kathryn Nephew, and their 7-year-old son Oliver Nephew dead from gunshot wounds inside their family home close by.
Anthony Nephew was also found dead inside the home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Before his rampage, Anthony Nephew had been sharing left-wing and anti-Trump posts on his Facebook account.
“My mental health and the world can no longer peacefully coexist, and a lot of the reason is religion,” Anthony Nephew wrote in July.
“I am terrified of religious zealots inflicting their misguided beliefs on me and my family. I have intrusive thoughts of being burned at the stake as a witch, or crucified on a burning cross.
“Having people actually believe that I or my child are Satan or, the anti-Christ or whatever their favorite color of boogie man they are afraid are this week.”
In another post, he accused Republicans of “making it harder for women to leave” abusive relationships.
“Gilead here we come,” he wrote, referencing “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian novel turned Hulu series in which women, who have been stripped of their rights, are forced to reproduce for the ruling class.
Anthony Nephew shared other political posts, including an image of former president Barack Obama, Trump, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The word “hate” sits under Trump’s face, while the words “hope,” “heal” and “grow” correspond with the Democratic politicians.
“Not that anyone cares, but as an Independent voter, I would really like to see both the political parties in our country pick better candidates,” he wrote in July. “We can do better than a binary choice between fascism and not fascism.”
Anthony Nephew previously even issued a chilling warning about his mental health battles, writing in an op-ed in the local Duluth News Tribune in 2021, “For millions of Americans, a breakdown leads to suicide — or homicide before suicide.”
“Mental health in this country is stigmatized, ignored, or treated as a burden for the individual to bear alone, with little help and less understanding,” he wrote.
“Americans deny they have mental health struggles. Because they have to, because they’re told to, or because they don’t realize their mind is broken.”
Police in Duluth, a city of nearly 90,000 residents about 135 miles north of Minneapolis, have not yet determined a motive in the shootings.
Police said there is no ongoing threat to the community.
With Post wires.
Minnesota
Icy Minnesota roads causing white-knuckle Thursday commute
MINNEAPOLIS — Thursday is another day to go slow on Minnesota roads.
Morning commuters can expect icy roadways and even some blowing snow in the Twin Cities, as temperatures hover around freezing.
There were nearly 600 crashes and spinouts across the state on Wednesday, the Minnesota State Patrol reports, including an accident on Interstate 35 in Owatonna that killed a baby boy and injured a 4-year-old girl.
A WCCO photojournalist witnessed several drivers unable to make the climb over St. Paul’s High Bridge on Wednesday evening, causing what he described as “pandemonium.”
In Minneapolis, the Third Avenue bridge had to close because of an accident involving a Metro Transit bus.
The state patrol reports 18 semis jackknifed across the state on Wednesday, including five cases in a two-hour span on Interstate 94 near the town of Downer, located a few miles southwest of Moorhead.
Minnesota
NEXT Weather: 10 p.m. forecast for Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024
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Minnesota
Minnesota's largest coal plant goes solar: Sherco Solar comes online
Xcel Energy has started delivering clean energy from one of the US’s largest solar farms: Sherco Solar in Minnesota. It’s a major step in the utility’s push to ditch coal and move to renewable energy across the Upper Midwest.
Sherco Solar, which recently began generating power, will eventually have a massive capacity of 710 megawatts (MW). The first part of the project is already pumping 220 MW of affordable solar electricity into the grid, with the next two phases expected to go online in 2025 and 2026.
The solar farm is being built on the site of the Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco), Minnesota’s largest coal-fired power plant. Xcel Energy plans to retire all three of Sherco’s coal units by 2030, with the first one already offline. Once fully operational, Sherco Solar will generate enough electricity to power around 150,000 homes, replacing a significant chunk of the coal power that’s being phased out.
What’s notable about Sherco Solar is not just its size but also its cost efficiency. It’ll be the cheapest solar power on Xcel’s Upper Midwest grid, and the company is taking full advantage of federal tax credits to bring those savings to its customers. Sherco Solar is expected to cost around $1.1 billion, but it will qualify for about $480 million in federal tax credits – all of which Xcel says it’s passing on to its customers.
The solar project is also making use of the existing grid connections from the coal plant, which helps speed up the timeline and save money. “With Sherco Solar, we’re maximizing the benefits of the clean energy transition for our customers,” said Ryan Long, president of Xcel Energy for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Sherco Solar is creating 400 union construction jobs and 12 permanent jobs for ongoing operations and maintenance. Plus, it’s set to bring about $350 million in economic benefits to the local community as the coal plant phases out.
And there’s more on the horizon: Earlier this month, Xcel started work on a long-duration battery storage project at Sherco with Form Energy, and they’ve proposed even more battery projects for the site. Xcel is also looking to expand Sherco Solar by another 200 MW in a fourth phase of the project.
The utility is committed to ensuring a smooth transition for Sherco’s workers. Xcel has a strong track record of closing or repurposing coal plants without layoffs, and it’s promising jobs to any Sherco employees who want to stay on board.
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
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