Latest Minnesota Headlines

All the headlines from our Minnesota Topic Page, ordered by recency.

After Flooding, Midwest Farmers Fear Repeat Of ’97

Apr 8 2009 // Recent floods are receding for now, but farmers and ranchers in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota are worried they’re on track to repeat the dismal year of 1997.That was the year spring blizzards and record...

Liaisons Highlight Consumer Insurance Concerns

Apr 6 2009 // Insurance agents, brokers and regulators should be aware that when it comes to insurance, consumers are concerned with such issues as the use of credit scores in determining rates; purchasing policies over the Internet;...

Few in Flood Zone Have Insurance

Mar 31 2009 // As North Dakota’s Red River crept within view of their backyard this past week, Denette and Billy Narum had an extra incentive to pray their sandbags held. Like most people in the path of potential floods, they have...

Insurers Oppose Minnesota Consumer Credit Ban Bill

Mar 24 2009 // While insurance consumer advocates step up their criticism of insurers’ use of credit scores, the American Insurance Association (AIA) and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America testified before a...

Minnesota Foundation Donates $1 Billion to Fight Climate Change

Mar 20 2009 // Minnesota’s largest private foundation is contributing $100 million toward a $1 billion initiative by several large foundations to fight climate change.McKnight Foundation President Kate Wolford says the coordinated...

Minnesota Judge Won’t Remove Himself from Medtronic Case

Mar 11 2009 // A judge who dismissed thousands of lawsuits against Minneapolis-based Medtronic said this week he will not remove himself from the case, despite criticism for not revealing that his son works for a law firm tied to the...

Audit Hits Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Claims Handling

Feb 27 2009 // An audit of Minnesota’s worker’s compensation system has found that insurers are mishandling a growing number of claims, including by paying injured workers less than they deserve.The report from the...

How Food Safety Officials Cracked the Peanut Poison Case

Feb 11 2009 // A century ago, at the dawn of food safety laws, inspection amounted to little more than opening a bin of flour and looking for something wiggly.It’s a different story now. Solving the case of the poison processed...

Bill Would Seal Minnesota Bridge Victim Fund Records

Feb 4 2009 // The Minnesota Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would keep records about the Interstate 35W bridge victim compensation fund under wraps.The bill would keep the records out of court proceedings and...

Fireman’s Fund Brings ‘Green’ Homeowners Insurance to Minnesota

Feb 3 2009 // Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. is now offering ‘green’ homeowner’s insurance to consumers in the state of Minnesota. This is the first-ever admitted green insurance available to homeowners in the...

People

Jan 25 2009 // The Insurance Marketing and Communications Association named Richard Look president. He is a marketing communications veteran with agency and insurance company experience, and currently serves as vice president of...

Minnesota Committee Chair Pushes for Primary Seat Belt Law

Jan 22 2009 // The chairman of the Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee says 2009 should be the year when Minnesota passes legislation to allow authorities to ticket any motorist for not buckling up.The so-called primary seat belt...

Family of Minnesota Salmonella Victim to Sue Peanut Butter Firms

Jan 20 2009 // The family of a woman who died after contracting salmonella plans a lawsuit against the companies that made and distributed peanut butter blamed in a recent outbreak, an attorney said.Shirley Mae Almer, 72, died Dec. 21...

Minnesota to Report Monies Paid to Bridge Victims

Jan 13 2009 // Minnesota finance officials are required to disclose details this week on how much the state has spent so far to compensate victims of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.Last year’s Legislature approved $38 million...

Minnesota Family Blames Poor Construction, Not Tornado, for Death

Jan 13 2009 // The family of a 10-year-old girl who died in a 2006 tornado in Rogers is blaming a homebuilder for the girl’s death.In a wrongful death lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court, the family of Jaymi Wendt claims poor...

More Than 2,600 Arrested in DWI Crackdown Across Minnesota

Jan 12 2009 // The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says a statewide crackdown on drunken driving in December netted 2,655 arrests.The results were reported last Friday. Those arrested had an average blood alcohol content of 0.14,...

Schroeder Heads New Minnesota Surplus Lines Insurance Association

Jan 9 2009 // Nicholas Schroeder is the first executive director of the new Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota (SLAM), a non-profit organization of brokers of insurance that is placed with companies that are not licensed in...

Number of Fatal Minnesota Crashes Lowest in 64 Years

Jan 7 2009 // Preliminary results show Minnesota in 2008 had the fewest number of traffic deaths in 64 years.The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says preliminary results show that 424 people died in crashes involving a vehicle...

Workers’ Comp Assigned Risk Rate to Rise in Minnesota

Dec 31 2008 // Minnesota’s Commerce Commissioner has issued a rate order approving a 2.6 percent increase in the overall level of the assigned risk rates for workers’ compensation insurance. The increase is effective April 1,...

Minnesota Mold Expert Wishes Homeowners Would Take Control

Dec 23 2008 // On the surface, Michael Ring’s business is about finding mold in people’s houses and getting rid of it.But shortly after he started Moldex eight years ago, Ring discovered he’s actually in the education...