VFW contest for fifth-graders

The Veterans of Foreign Wars contest is open to fifth-grade students. Write in 250 words or less “What the American Flag Means to Me.” Put your name, grade and school on page of the page. Homeschool children are encouraged to enter. Return to Kathy Brockberg, 504 East Main Street, Marshall, MN, 56258 by Oct. 31.

Woman charged in Stearns County in overdose death

ST. CLOUD (AP) — A central Minnesota woman accused of providing the drug that caused the overdose death of her neighbor is now facing a murder charge.

Kayla Reynolds, 30, of Cold Spring, is charged in Stearns County District Court with third-degree murder in the April death of 49-yea-old Heidi Hiltner.

Reynolds called police after she hadn’t heard or seen her neighbor for a few days. They entered Hiltner’s apartment and found her dead April 15, according to a criminal complaint.

The officer said he found a prescription methadone bottle on the nightstand next to Hiltner’s bed. The drug was prescribed to Reynolds, a complaint said.

A court-ordered search of Hiltner’s cellphone revealed text messages since January that led police to suspect that Reynolds had been supplying Hiltner with methadone and amphetamines including two days before the body was found, the Star Tribune reported.

Reynolds has an Oct. 22 court hearing scheduled. Court records do not list a defense attorney.

Enbridge completes 12-mile North Dakota stretch of Line 3

PEMBINA, N.D. (AP) — Enbridge Energy officials said Wednesday that they have completed a small section of its Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement project in North Dakota, leaving only the Minnesota stretch that has been challenged by state officials and others.

Line 3 starts in Alberta and clips a corner of North Dakota before crossing northern Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. More than 400 construction workers started on the 12-mile North Dakota project in August, the company said in a release.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company has also completed the Canadian and Wisconsin portions of the pipeline. Plans to complete the 337-mile line in Minnesota have been approved by the the independent Public Utilities Commission but is facing its third appeal from the state Commerce Department

An administrative law judge is due to issue a report Friday that will inform the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as it decides on water quality permits for the project.

The new line is popular among Minnesota Republicans who control the Senate and construction unions that have previously backed Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.