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Fatal drug overdoses remained high last year but plateaued, Minnesota Department of Health says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

Drug overdose deaths in 2022 remained at historically high levels following several years of sharp spikes, but they held steady compared with 2021, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Thursday.The annual report on drug-related mortality found a slight 0.8% decrease in overdose deaths from 2021 (1,354) to 2022 (1,343), based on preliminary death certificate data. The decrease in deaths is more noticeable in greater Minnesota, with a 5% reduction in fatal overdoses from 2021 to 2022.Opioid-involved overdose deaths increased by 3% — from 977 to 1,002 — and MDH said that fentanyl was involved in 62% of all fatal drug overdoses in 2022. The potent, synthetic opioid contributed to 92% of the 1,002 opioid-involved overdose deaths in Minnesota.Minnesota Department of HealthHowever, fatal overdoses from heroin, methadone and prescribed opioids decreased, with deaths from heroin reaching a 10-year low after falling 56% — from 103 to 45 deaths.Psychostimulants (metham...

Ross Raihala: Here’s the story behind my Twitter feud with country superstar Luke Bryan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

One of the greatest things about my job is that for all the routine involved in it, I still find myself constantly surprised. And this week has proven to be a whopper in that department as I ended up in a Twitter feud with country superstar Luke Bryan that got national press coverage.How did I get to this place? Let me explain.Ross RaihalaSaturday night, I headed to Xcel Energy Center to review Bryan’s show. I’ve covered him since the start of his career back in 2007, when I wrote about his potential stardom in these very pages: “His amiable debut single ‘All My Friends Say’ is now out, with a full album due in June. His endearing down-home vibe lends credibility to lyrics such as: ‘I can grow my own groceries and salt-cure a ham/Hey baby, I’m a country man.’ ”In the years that followed, I caught him several times as an opening act and was on hand in 2014 when he made his debut as a local arena headliner at the X. In my review, I called him out fo...

State adds 8,000 jobs in Sept.; unemployment steady at 3.1%

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

Minnesota added 8,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.1%, the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development said Thursday.The release also noted that the state’s job growth of 0.3% outpaced the nation. The state unemployment rate compares to a national rate of 3.8%.The state’s labor force grew for the seventh month in a row, adding more than 1,500 workers, DEED said. That gives the state a labor force participation rate at 68.5%, steady for the third straight month. This measures the portion of the population that is working or actively seeking work and is used to calculate the main unemployment rate. Nationally, the labor force participation rate was 62.8%“Minnesota continues to add jobs and draw more people into the labor force — that’s great news,” DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in the news release. “DEED is focused on helping more people join or rejoin the labor force on in-demand career paths. New DEED progra...

Local organization to host in-person Thanksgiving dinner again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Logistics still need to be finalized for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the non-profit organization Equinox but a spokesperson said they plan on going back to the in-person meal. Despite challenges over the last three years, this year the organization is focused on the return of an in-person dinner. Outside of the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, on State Street near Washington Park,  Chief Development Officer for Equinox Christina Rajotte said they’re excited to get back to the church to eat Thanksgiving dinner together. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “We want to reassure the community that we are still here as a resource for the community for Thanksgiving meals. We are just shifting things and changing things up a little bit this year,” said Rajotte.This year, Equinox is celebrating 54 years of serving the community and serving Thanksgiving meals, which they said will happen at the...

Delaware Avenue Boys & Girls Club re-opens this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Out of the ashes, the Delaware Avenue Boys and Girls club is back following a fire nearly 2 weeks ago. Starting tomorrow these doors will open once again to welcome teenagers back to the facility.MORE NEWS from NEWS 10"It’s surreal to think like a week ago. We didn't think we were going to open this gym for our kids to come back in but tomorrow all of this will be kind of cleared out the gym is clean smelling good…” said David Gordon the club’s program director.He says following countless hours of manpower, after school programs have resumed, and Come Connect Church was able to hold it's Sunday services in the gym. When the gym officially reopens tomorrow night, the club will host a teen night and resume youth sports."When teens come back, we got a lot of programs…volleyball, some frisbee, some indoor kickball…" Gordon previewed. For Gordon who grew up in Albany, the recovery process was a labor of love. "I know Albany. I've seen the transitions of ...

Is it legal to leave a child home alone in Missouri and Illinois?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Parents make many important decisions each and every day for the children. The responsibility of deciding when it's appropriate to leave children home alone is a significant consideration. Some states have restrictions on leaving children alone at home depending on circumstances like age, time and location. Others give parents the power to make those decisions based on their best judgment. Is it legal to leave your child home alone in Missouri and Illinois? And at what age can parents legally leave their children at home? MissouriThere are no Missouri laws or statutes that note of age restrictions for leaving your children at home. However, the Missouri Department of Social Services has offered this guidance to parents since 2014: "The Children’s Division Abuse/Neglect Hotline takes reports of a child under age 8 left alone, with a face to face safety check held within 3 hours." Parents are advised to make decisions based on their child's maturity and belief in a safe en...

MoDOT runs snow drills to prep plow drivers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Winter is just around the corner. But with potential snowfall not too far away, it’s time for road crews to start their preparations. The Missouri Department of Transportation’s Winter Operations Snow Drill is even more important this year.Employees have been out training, going through equipment, making sure everything is in working order, so they can get used to driving with snow plows during winter.MoDOT has about 100 new maintenance employees across the state, which makes the drill this year that much more important.“About 27% of our winter snow fighters have less than three years’ experience. So, this drill is so, so important. Safety is a cornerstone for MoDOT, and these folks need this training,” Michelle Forneris, MoDOT assistant district engineer, said.Check FOX 2's traffic map for real-time updates.Despite their efforts to hire more staff, MoDOT is still several hundred employees short of what it takes to plow 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. But they can move r...

Video shows shooting victims flee for help; suspect still at large

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Surveillance video obtained by FOX 2 shows the moments after an overnight shooting, in which the two victims flee to a local gas station for help.The shooting happened shortly before 1:30 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of North 10th and O’Fallon streets, in the Columbus Square neighborhood.The victims, a 21-year-old woman and a 17-year-old male, were sitting inside a red sedan when a person wearing a mask and dark clothing walked up to their car and began shooting. Sex offender banned from rec centers after FOX 2 tip The woman suffered a gunshot wound to her arm. The teenage victim had been shot in the arm and leg. Both were taken to a local hospital. Their injuries are not life-threatening, police said.According to investigators, it’s unclear if the victims knew the shooter.A nearby resident who’s lived in the area since she was a child said news of the shooting was not surprising.“Just be sitting inside my home and I just heard a shooting; literally so clos...

BNSF says it inspected track the same day as deadly train derailment near Pueblo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

BNSF Railway says its workers inspected a stretch of track north of Pueblo within hours of when one of the rails is believed to have broken, causing a deadly train derailment and bridge collapse.The company, which owns the train and the segment of track it was running on, said this week that it used a combination of techniques to test the track in the months and hours before Sunday afternoon’s derailment. The disclosure in response to media questions comes as federal officials are investigating the crash, which killed a truck driver and closed Interstate 25 for several days after a rail bridge collapsed onto the highway.BNSF’s communications staff did not provide detail on the exact timing of the inspections, but Lena Kent, the railway’s general director of public affairs, said Wednesday that the most recent inspection of the track section occurred Sunday prior to the incident.On Tuesday, investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said they believe...

Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy airs frustration on 1-5 start, lack of production, Steve Smith dust-up: “Go watch the film and see what it is.”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:10 GMT

Jerry Jeudy decided to clear the air Thursday.In the process, he showed the extent to which he’s frustrated by his lack of production so far this season, his spat last week with former receiver and current NFL Network analyst Steve Smith, Jr., persistent trade rumors and, most of all, the Broncos’ 1-5 start.“It’s always frustrating losing. Nobody wants to lose,” Jeudy told reporters at his locker. “Losing is the worst possible thing that can happen. That’s really frustrating.”The latest loss came a week ago at Kansas City, a game in which Jeudy got into it with Smith before the game after Smith torched Jeudy on television and called him, in part, “just a guy” and “an average wide receiver,” and then Jeudy danced behind an NFL Network live shot.“You don’t go to them in person and act friendly toward them and act like you didn’t just talk bad about them,” Jeudy said of Smith. “I don’t have no hate toward Steve Smith. He was a good player and all that stuff like that, but it’s just wha...