Hot; Bachmann on Muslim Brotherhood; Auroras fill the sky

Posted at 8:00 AM on July 16, 2012 by Michael Olson
Filed under: Around MN

Today's heat index could reach 105
Saint Cloud Times: "A heat advisory for Central Minnesota is set to start at 11 a.m. today as temperatures could top 100."

Walz raises more than opponents in second quarter
New Ulm Journal: "U.S. Rep. Tim Walz is continuing to top his GOP opponents in fund-raising in the Minnesota 1st Congressional District race, according to his second quarter FEC reports filed Sunday."

Flush times draw newcomers to farming
Star Tribune: "High crop prices are attracting a new generation, but risks remain."

Anxiety and anger as zebra mussel invasion spreads
MPR News: "For many Minnesotans, summer evenings at the lake are perfect for a refreshing swim after a hot day. But if you swim in Pelican Lake, a popular spot in Otter Tail County, you'd better wear shoes or risk getting sliced by razor-sharp zebra mussel shells."

Nolan emerges to run for Congress after 32-year political hiatus
Star Tribune: "The former U.S. rep and the DFL Party's congressional nominee arrived at Capitol Hill as a 'Watergate baby.'"

Bakk suggests letting House take lead on disaster aid
Capitol Chatter: "When asked if they could keep the special session limited to disaster relief, House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, and Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said they did not think it would be proper to take up other issues, but neither promised to control their members."

Bachmann details allegations of "potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration" of U.S.
Saint Cloud Times: "U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann is asking how a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got security clearance given what Bachmann describes as the aide's family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood movement."

Pawlenty looked at as Romney running mate
New York Times: "It was four years ago this summer, when Tim Pawlenty ranked high on the list of John McCain's potential running mates, and Mr. Pawlenty and his wife, Mary, were plowing through a voluminous questionnaire probing deep into their finances and almost every other aspect of their lives."

Bikini parade, cancer claims raise eyebrows in Madison Lake
Mankato Free Press: An owner of a tanning salon in Madison Lake wants to raise awareness of the benefits of vitamin D in fighting cancer. She's wants to set a record of women wearing bikinis in a parade. Town leaders don't want that kind of attention and question the wisdom of exposing your skin to the sun as a way to fight cancer.

Latest word on the campaign trail? I take it back
New York Times: "Politicians and their advisers are routinely demanding that reporters allow them final editing power over any published quotations."

Northern Minn. sky illuminated by Auroras

Doug Kiesling: "The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights lit up the sky over central Minnesota just northeast of the city of Saint Cloud, MN."

Heroin death in Duluth; Thief River food-shelf closed; Ron Paul's insurgency ends

Posted at 4:20 PM on July 16, 2012 by Michael Olson
Filed under: Around MN

Duluth police: 5 heroin overdoses over weekend, one fatal
Duluth News Tribune: "The Duluth Police Department is investigating the recent incidents in an effort to find the source of the drugs."

Out-of-state money floods Minnesota political campaigns
MPR News: "According to the most recent round of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, contributors living as far away as Alaska are pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into Minnesota's congressional races."

Nolan gets lift from DFL in 8th District
Capitol View: "Though Nolan has won his party's endorsement, he's still locked in a primary battle with Tarryl Clark and Jeff Anderson, two other Democrats vying to take on Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack this fall. And Clark raised nearly twice as much money as Nolan in the second quarter of the year."

Thief River food-shelf closed temporarily
Crookston Times: "Susie Novak, executive director of the Crookston-based North Country Food Bank, told the Times Monday that families in need in Thief River Falls will not go without food, even though the board of directors of the TRF Area Food Shelf in Thief River Falls announced Friday that, effective immediately, the food shelf there is temporarily shutting down."

Despite tragedy, divers not deterred at 'the cribs' in Duluth
Duluth News Tribune: "Chalk-written homages to 13-year-old Jeffery Carlos Watson Jr., who died a month ago near 'the cribs,' are gone, but it's doubtful everyone would heed their warning were they visible."

Ron Paul's delegate insurgency ends in Nebraska
ABC News: "Ron Paul's delegate insurgency has come to an end. Supporters of the libertarian GOP presidential candidate fell short at the Nebraska GOP convention, where they had hoped to out-organize Mitt Romney's delegates and push Paul over a critical threshold that would have ensured him an official presence and speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in August."