Minnesota
Minnesota lawmakers to consider proposal increasing rail safety standards
Practice derailment: Minnesota lawmakers to think about proposal growing rail security requirements
After a derailment in western Minnesota on Thursday, Minnesota lawmakers will hear a rail security invoice on the capitol on Friday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Minnesota lawmakers watched as a prepare carrying poisonous chemical substances derailed in japanese Ohio final month and determined to take a more in-depth take a look at rail security in their very own state. The identical conversations are occurring on Capitol Hill.
A proposal sponsored by Sen. Rob Kupec facilities round emergency response planning and rail security coaching. The invoice, which is ready to be heard in committee Friday, spells out particular pointers railroads need to observe, corresponding to requiring them to contact first responders inside quarter-hour of an incident involving oil or different hazardous substances.
“The primary responders have to know: What’s on this prepare? What are we coping with? As a result of how they reply to that may range relying on what’s being carried chemically. So it might be that it is both life or property threatened, and that first few moments of an accident are actually essentially the most essential,” mentioned Sen. Rob Kupec, DFL-Moorhead.
Kupec mentioned the prepare derailment in Ohio in February impressed Minnesota lawmakers to revisit a earlier proposal they’d labored on, not figuring out that lower than two months later a derailment would occur in their very own yard.
“It does, I feel, communicate to the truth that these accidents are occurring,” Kupec mentioned. “There’s loads of issues going by means of on trains and we simply want to verify we’re ready with if one thing does go unsuitable.
Federal information exhibits between 2018 and 2022, there have been 60 prepare derailments in Minnesota, with reportable harm of almost $11 million.
Federal lawmakers are additionally discussing methods to make the rail business safer. They launched the bipartisan Railway Security Act earlier this month. (insert hyperlink please: https://www.congress.gov/invoice/118th-congress/senate-bill/576/textual content)
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar mentioned she believes Minnesota dodged a significant hazard as a result of the derailment in Raymond did not contain poisonous chemical substances.
“I additionally know that we’re only one extra derailment away from different hazardous incident and in order that’s why we have to get these security requirements in place,” Klobuchar mentioned.
The bipartisan proposal she helps would create stricter security necessities for trains carrying hazardous supplies and enhance the frequency of rail automobile inspections. It will additionally mandate increased penalties if there’s a derailment and require at the very least two staff on a prepare once they’re over a mile lengthy.
“When you’ve longer trains, it goes to face to logic that simply having one employee when you’ve got one thing occurs on the prepare is a fairly harmful proposition. And that is why our invoice calls for 2 staff,” she defined.
Federal information exhibits since 1975, prepare derailments in Minnesota have resulted in 53 folks being injured, however nobody killed.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has reached a settlement with the state attorney general over concerns the Eagan-based health insurer failed to comply with laws insisting that health plans cover mental health services the same as they cover treatments for physical health problems.
The Minnesota Blues plan denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to a series of new oversight provisions. In addition, the insurer will operate under new mental and behavioral health care rules that call for prompt decisions on prior authorization requests as well as applications by health care providers to join the health insurer’s network.
Blue Cross will be required to pay a $300,000 civil penalty if a court finds the insurer has violated terms of the settlement, which was announced Friday. In addition, Blue Cross is contributing $600,000 to a center for rural behavioral health at Minnesota State University-Mankato.
“Mental and behavioral health care is health care, period,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. “We expect someone with a broken leg to be able to get the care they need, and the same should be true of Minnesotans struggling with conditions like depression or substance use disorder.”
Blue Cross said in a statement that it shares Ellison’s commitment to ensuring patients have timely access to “high quality and affordable mental health care.”
“Blue Cross has enhanced our practices related to addressing mental health benefits and access to care to ensure we are meeting the high expectations of members and other stakeholders,” the insurer said. “Today, our strategy is focused on transforming all mental health solutions in ways that can set new industry standards for equitable access to optimal care.”
The settlement is the latest in a series of agreements over the past 18 months between the state and Minnesota health insurers for improved coverage of mental health.
The earlier agreements were prompted by alleged violations of mental health parity laws, which have been adopted over the past two decades to improve patient access to mental health and behavioral health treatments.
The Vikings have lost back-to-back games after starting 5-0. Now they will turn to Cam Robinson, 29, to help protect quarterback Sam Darnold’s blindside after losing standout LT Christian Darrisaw to a torn ACL and MCL. Can they get a win this week against a Colts team that has benched Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco?
Week 9 vs. Indianapolis Colts, Sunday at 7:20 p.m. CT (NBC)
Catch up on what you need to know from this week on the Vikings:
• Vikings trade for Jaguars LT Cam Robinson
The Vikings addressed their massive void at left tackle by trading for Jaguars offensive lineman Cam Robinson.
• Vikings not sweating rookie’s quiet start
“I think Dallas (Turner) is going to be just fine. I think everybody wants everything right now, and he does, too. We’ll get him out there.”
• Meet the former Vikings visionary known as the grandfather of NFL analytics
Retired analyst Mike Eayrs was “so far ahead of the curve” that he is credited with popularizing data science in the NFL in the 1980s.
• What Christian Darrisaw’s injury means
Losing their talented left tackle will make it harder for an inconsistent Vikings offense that has already had trouble sustaining drives.
• 📈Power Rankings: Vikings at No. 8
The No. 17 pick in this year’s draft has one sack and three quarterback pressures through seven games.
Coach O’Connell speaks about new LT Cam Robinson pic.twitter.com/hVymPdY6vo
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 30, 2024
Scouting the Colts
• Joe Flacco will be Colts starting QB ‘going forward’
The decision to bench Anthony Richardson and start Joe Flacco at quarterback is not a temporary one, coach Shane Steichen said.
• Anthony Richardson has hard lesson to learn from the bench
Richardson’s time in Indianapolis may not be over, but his path back to being the Colts starting QB will be a big challenge.
• NFL execs debate Colts benching Richardson
“He hasn’t had many live reps in his football career. This season should have been presented as that development and growth across the board.”
• Richardson’s benching goes far beyond his play
“What a fascinating management dilemma to be in,” a former executive from one of the Colts’ division rivals said.
• Colts GM Chris Ballard has failed to live up to bold promises
Technically, Ballard still has personnel control in Indy, but the chances of him fulfilling the promise proclaimed by his owner are dwindling by the day.
How good are the Vikings?
Check out Austin Mock’s 2024 NFL projections, where you will find each team’s probability of conquering its division, advancing through the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl. The projections are based on 100,000 simulations of the remainder of the season, which factors in each team’s projected strength, current health as well as its remaining schedule.
(Photo of Justin Jefferson: Harry How / Getty Images)
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — A 19-year-old Minneapolis man has been charged in the shooting of three teens near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Labor Day.
The man is charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder and two counts of drive-by shooting toward a person, according to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County on Oct. 23.
At 10:20 p.m. on Sept. 2, officers were called to Dugsi Academy at 1085 Snelling Avenue North in St. Paul on reports of a shooting.
Upon arrival, officers found a teen boy suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg. He told police he had been walking to a friend’s car in the parking lot when he heard gunshots. He said he ran toward the train tracks to escape the gunfire and thought he had blown out his knee, but he quickly learned a bullet had struck him.
The boy told police he did not see who was shooting and had been at the nearby Minnesota State Fair shortly before.
Officers later learned two more teens had been shot and were transported to different area hospitals. The criminal complaint says both victims told police they did not have any issues with anyone and were unsure who would have shot them.
A total of 53 spent casings were found beneath the Snelling Avenue bridge to the east of Dugsi Academy, charges say. An analysis found the casings came from three different guns.
Surveillance video allegedly shows several people exiting a blue sedan before firing their guns from the street and gravel area by nearby train tracks. The suspects then get back into the sedan before leaving the area.
A few hours later, deputies were called to a gas station in Little Canada for a drive-by shooting. Charges say surveillance video showed a blue sedan go out of view shortly before shots rang out. Five more casings from two different guns were recovered from the gas station. Further analysis revealed the casings matched that of those recovered from the shooting near the fairgrounds.
Investigators learned the blue sedan had been involved in a weapons incident on Aug. 27 where three men pulled a gun on security in Minneapolis. The sedan is owned by the man facing charges in the shooting.
Using license plate readers and phone location data, police were able to place the suspect in the area of both shootings around the time they occurred.
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