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AFGHANISTAN-HELPING REFUGEES

‘Do not give up’: Americans help Afghans in new homeland

DALLAS (AP) — Across the U.S., the agencies that resettle refugees and volunteers are scrambling to help Afghan citizens who are fleeing their country after helping the U.S. during the 20-year war there. Russell Smith, CEO of Refugee Services of Texas, said they would typically get a week or so notice that families are arriving in the cities where they’ll be resettled. But with the events in Afghanistan, the process is accelerating. In Minnesota, the pleas for help from Afghans have been filling up Caroline Clarin’s phone for days. She and her wife have already helped a handful of Afghans get visas, and are working on helping more.

AP-US-WILDFIRES-MINNESOTA

Authorities attack Minnesota wildfire from air and ground

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities are fighting a northeastern Minnesota wildfire from the air and on the ground following the evacuation of about 75 residences in the Superior National Forest. The fire was first spotted Sunday near Greenwood Lake. It has expanded to about 3.1 square miles. The Minnesota National Guard is assisting in the firefighting efforts; warm weather and gusty winds are expected to continue for days. The cause of the Greenwood Lake fire has not been determined. While the fire hasn’t reached the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the Forest Service has closed a small portion of the wilderness area west of Isabella Lake.

VIRUS OUTREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota schools face contentions issues over face masks

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — As the return to school approaches and the delta variant of the coronavirus surges, Minnesota schools are divided on whether to require students and teachers to wear masks. Mask policies have been among the most contentious issues that school district leaders have faced this summer. Minnesota Public Radio reports that some district leaders have even had to ask law enforcement for help maintaining calm at public board meetings where masking policies have been discussed and decided. But amid all the disagreement, health experts, school leaders and families agree that it’s important to prioritize getting kids into classes for in-person learning.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-STATE-FAIRS

At Midwest state fairs no masks required, vaccines are free

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State Fairs in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin are offering COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant spreads across the country. In Iowa, a vaccination booth nestled among corn dog and funnel cake stands vaccinated 150 people in the first four days of the fair, in a state where only half of the population is fully vaccinated. At the Indiana State Fair, 304 vaccines have been administered since July 30. And at the Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee, 608 people were vaccinated over 11 days, perhaps enticed by the promise of a free cream puff pastry.

MINNESOTA REPUBLICANS

Embattled Minnesota GOP chair says she won’t resign

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The embattled chair of the Minnesota Republican Party says she won’t resign amid the uproar over the indictment of a major GOP donor on sex-trafficking charges. Jennifer Carnahan said on KNSI and WCCO Radio that the people calling for her ouster are the same ones who opposed her during her bitter reelection fight. She has asked the party Executive Committee to hold a vote of confidence in her leadership Thursday, but says she plans to call a meeting of the larger Central Committee to decide her fate. She denies knowing about donor Anton Lazarro’s alleged sex trafficking before his indictment became public last week.

PEDESTRIAN KILLED

Pedestrian struck, killed was a Minneapolis pediatric nurse

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — The pedestrian struck and killed in a Twin Cities suburb over the weekend has been identified as a 29-year-old nurse who lost her track star sister to cancer two years ago. Ramsey County sheriff’s officials say Abigail Anderson was struck after a driver hit a parked car that was on the shoulder of the road Saturday night in Falcon Heights. The Minneapolis woman was the younger sister of Gabe Grunewald, an Olympic hopeful who died in 2019 at age 32. Anderson was also an avid runner. She was on the cross country team at the University of Minnesota.

ENBRIDGE ENERGY-LINE 3

Bridge disaster diver returns medals in Line 3 protest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former U.S. Navy diver who helped efforts to search for bodies in the treacherous waters of the Mississippi River after the I-35W bridge collapse in 2007 has returned his awards to protest the Line 3 oil pipeline. The Star Tribune reports that John Miller, a native of Monticello who now lives in Hawaii, asked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to stop construction on the pipeline replacement project until lawsuits challenging its approval play out in court. He spoke at an event Monday evening near the site of the bridge disaster, which killed 13 people and injured 145 others. More than 700 people have been arrested in protests along the Line 3 route in northern Minnesota.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICER TRIAL

Minnesota prosecutors oppose releasing Chauvin juror names

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors have asked a judge to reject a request by media outlets to unseal the names of the jurors who convicted ex-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder in the death of George Floyd.Judge Peter Cahill had ordered earlier that the jurors’ identities be kept secret for at least 180 days. The media coalition asked Cahill earlier this month to release the information immediately, saying there was no known threat to warrant keeping their names sealed. But prosecutor Matthew Frank argued Monday that releasing their names now could subject them to harassment and make it harder to seat a jury for the trial of three codefendants.