LAKEVILLE, Minn. (AP) - Police say two people were hurt and up to 20 homes were damaged when a food truck exploded in a Lakeville neighborhood.
Investigators picked through the debris Saturday morning. The area was littered with twisted metal and wood. Insulation hung from trees in the neighborhood.
Authorities say the Motley Crews Heavy Metal Grill food truck explosion was tied to a propane tank. The Star Tribune (https://strib.mn/1x47PTBhttps://strib.mn/1x47PTB ) says the truck was parked in a residential driveway when it exploded about 11:30 p.m. Friday.
Lakeville Deputy Police Chief John Kornmann says the department got more than 80 calls about the blast. There was no immediate word on the conditions of those injured.
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MIAMI (AP) - Developers are proposing to build the nation’s biggest shopping mall in northwestern Miami-Dade County.
The Miami Herald (https://hrld.us/1Go8szPhttps://hrld.us/1Go8szP ) reported on Saturday that Canadian company Triple Five wants to develop the mega mall. Triple 5 opened the Mall of America, currently the nation’s largest shopping mall, in Minnesota in 1992. The company says the new mall, named American Dream Miami, will be even larger.
The $4 billion entertainment and shopping complex will include an artificial ski slope, a lake with submarine rides, Legoland park, water park, sea lion show, indoor gardens and miniature golf course, among other attractions.
“It is our intent that this project - American Dream Miami - will exceed our other world famous projects in all respects,” Triple Five said in a statement.
The 200-acre development is expected to bring 25,000 jobs to the region.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A new concept in renewable energy is catching fire across the country, allowing customers who might find solar panels too expensive or impractical to buy green energy anyway.
Community solar gardens first took off in Colorado a few years ago, and the model - also known as community or shared solar - has spread to Minnesota, California, Massachusetts and several other states. Capacity is expected to grow sharply this year, and interest is up among both residential customers who just like the idea and large companies that want to cut their carbon footprints.
The gardens feed electricity to the local power grid. Customers subscribe to that power and get credit on their utility bills, with contracts that typically lock in for 25 years and shelter against rate increases. Some developers say customer bills will drop below regular retail rates within a few years; others say the savings begin immediately.
“This is really the year that community solar becomes mainstream,” said David Amster-Olszewski, CEO of Denver-based solar garden developer SunShare LLC, which runs two operations in Colorado and is developing more with Xcel Energy Inc., including in Minnesota.
Rooftop solar panels are becoming more popular among homeowners as the cost comes down, but that market is limited to only about one-fourth of U.S. residences, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, an arm of the U.S. Department of Energy. Community solar opens the door to many more, including renters, customers with shaded roofs and those who can’t afford solar panels.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Former Vice President Walter Mondale has been released from the hospital after being treated for the flu.
Mayo Clinic spokeswoman Kelley Luckstein said Mondale was treated Friday night for flu and cold symptoms and was doing well enough to be released on Saturday.
Mondale was supposed to introduce former President Jimmy Carter Friday at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Minneapolis but was admitted to Mayo instead with flu symptoms. Mondale was Carter’s vice president from 1977 to 1981.
Mondale, 87, was also a U.S. senator and ambassador to Japan. He was the Democratic nominee for president in 1984 and lost to Ronald Reagan.
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