MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has presented the Bronze Star and other war medals to the family of a World War II veteran.
Warren Reyburn was a staff sergeant stationed in the Pacific with the 25th Infantry Division nicknamed “Tropic Lightning.” His division earned recognition for fighting 165 days without rest during the liberation of the Philippine Islands.
Reyburn died in 2000.
Last year, his Purple Heart medal and other family mementos were stolen from his son’s home. Klobuchar’s office worked with Reyburn’s family to get a replacement - and learned that Reyburn should have received seven additional war medals, including the Bronze Star.
Klobuchar says she was privileged to present the medals to Reyburn’s family, and says the Purple Heart was a priceless heirloom.
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DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A conservationist group is encouraging the public to stay away from some areas of Duluth’s Park Point beach, after two endangered piping plovers were spotted there earlier this month.
The St. Louis River Alliance is hopeful the sighting means that the birds may decide to nest in the area for the first time in 30 years. The two birds were seen in the area on May. 5.
“When we see two of them on our beach here, it’s a pretty big deal, because generally we will see one for a couple of days, and then it will leave,” said Kris Eilers, of the St. Louis River Alliance.
The piping plover is a small bird, about the size of a robin, with a black band on its forehead and an orange beak and legs. The birds nest on open beaches around the Great Lakes, but the development of shoreline has reduced their habitat.
In 1990, there were only 12 nesting pairs of piping plovers. That number is at 70 now - in Michigan, Wisconsin and Canada.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - More boat inspectors are on patrol at Minnesota lakes and rivers to help stop the spread of invasive species, including zebra mussels, and authorities say they will be more aggressive about issuing fines to violators as they try to change boater behavior.
The Star Tribune reported (https://strib.mn/1FJ4mRKhttps://strib.mn/1FJ4mRK ) that counties are also beefing up inspections, thanks to $10 million in state funds.
Greg Salo, of the Department of Natural Resources’ enforcement division, said the state’s 148 conservation officers are out issuing tickets over the holiday weekend. He said 17 percent of boaters stopped at checkpoints disobey rules.
“The first few years we tried to focus on education; it’s kind of a culture change for people,” Salo said. “But we’ve gotten to the point now, to get the rest of the public to change, we have to take a stronger approach.”
More than 500 Minnesota rivers, lakes and wetlands are listed as infested, including more than 200 with zebra mussels, which can clarify water but also clog motors and hurt swimmers with their sharp shells.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Six people have been arrested after an alleged water attack on drivers and passengers of a pedal pub in Minneapolis.
KSTP-TV reports there were no injuries in the Saturday evening attack, but six people were arrested on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assault to terrorist threats.
PedalPub Twin Cities manager Lisa Staplin tells The Associated Press that law enforcement and owners were put on alert Saturday after a posting on a Facebook page suggested that people gather on bicycles then attack the pubs. At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, she says, two PedalPub groups were attacked.
In one case, a “pilot” got sprayed with water directly in the face.
Staplin says she’s glad there were no injuries.
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