Minn. US Rep Peterson waiting to announce if he’s running

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Longtime Minnesota U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson is waiting as usual to announce if he is running for re-election.

Peterson traditionally waits until early in an election year to announce his campaign. The 75-year-old conservative Democrat tells KFGO he will decide in January or February whether he’ll seek a 16th term.

But Peterson said he’s been doing “all the things” he normally does and has “been to some 40 parades.”

Former Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach is running for the GOP nomination to challenge Peterson. Also seeking the GOP nomination is Dave Hughes, who is making his third run for the seat.

Peterson also said he has no regrets about being one of only two House Democrats to vote against a rules package for an impeachment probe of President Donald Trump.

Student charged with assault in Bloomington school stabbing

.BLOOMINGTON (AP) — A 16-year-old student at Bloomington Jefferson High School is charged with second-degree assault for stabbing another student multiple times.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said a juvenile petition alleges the girl stabbed another female student six times during a fight at the suburban Minneapolis school on Tuesday.

The school resource police officer responded to the fight that broke out in the school’s main entrance. The officer could see the victim was stabbed in the stomach.

The suspect was escorted from the scene. Police found the knife used to stab the victim, who was taken to a hospital.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to certify the suspect as an adult.

Rider cited for watercraft jump over road in YouTube stunt

DETROIT LAKES (AP) — A YouTube stunt that involved jumping a personal watercraft over a Minnesota road has amassed hundreds of thousands of views and a couple of citations.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has issued two citations — the equivalent of traffic tickets — to the rider. Conservation Officer Jacob Swedberg told KFGO-AM that Jake Sherbrooke was cited for careless operation of a personal watercraft and for not wearing a life jacket.

The stunt was recorded last month at a gravel road near Rollag in western Minnesota, about 188 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The participants set up a ramp to catapult the watercraft over the road. Sherbrooke was not hurt.

The event was captured on a YouTube video produced by CboysTV. The video has received more than 400,000 views.

Minnesota DNR reaches goal of 26 deer disposal bins

ST. PAUL (AP) — Wildlife managers have reached their goal making 26 dumpsters available parts of in southeastern and north-central Minnesota for hunters to safely dispose of deer carcasses.

The bins are an important part of Minnesota’s plan for combatting the spread of chronic wasting disease.

Hunters are prohibited from moving whole deer out of disease management zones until their deer test clean. But they can take their deer home if they quarter them first. The Department of Natural Resources then encourages hunters to use the designated dumpsters to dispose of the carcasses.

Officials were forced to scramble after one waste hauler backed out late last month.

Chronic wasting is a fatal brain disease that can persist in the environment for years. It’s not known to affect humans.

Minnesota’s firearms deer season opens Saturday.

HealthPartners closing 30 pharmacies, mail order operation

BLOOMINGTON (AP) — Minnesota-based HealthPartners said it’s closing 30 retail pharmacies as well as its mail-order pharmacy operation next year.

The nonprofit health insurer says about 300 jobs will be eliminated, including about 100 pharmacists.

A HealthPartners vice president, Scott Schnuckle, said consumer preferences and pharmacy economics have changed to favor large-scale organizations that can provide extended hours, drive-through pickup and other conveniences.

The Star Tribune said HealthPartners also runs clinics and hospitals in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including Regions Hospital in St. Paul and Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Besides hospitals, HealthPartners runs 55 primary care clinics, 22 urgent care centers and 24 dental clinics.

The pharmacies are expected to close early next year.

Walz heads to Fergus Falls for annual Governor’s Deer Opener

FERGUS FALLS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz heads to Fergus Falls for the 17th annual Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener.

Walz will speak at the Big Buck Brunch on Friday to kick off the event. He will meet later with local fourth and fifth graders to talk about the importance of outdoor education.

The governor will head into the woods on Saturday morning for the opening of Minnesota’s firearms deer season.

This will be Walz’s first Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener, a tradition that began under Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Walz is known mostly as a pheasant hunter.

Nearly 500,000 hunters are expected to participate in Minnesota’s 2019 deer season. According to a 2011 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, all hunting-related expenditures in Minnesota totaled $725 million annually, with deer hunting helping to support 3,760 jobs.