KTOE Noon News 8-1-25
Top Stories for Noon 8-1-25:
- A new drunk driving law went into effect today.(Fri) It stems from a fatal drunk driving incident at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park, where two people were killed and many others injured. The driver responsible had five previous DUI convictions but was not required to have a breathalyzer installed in his vehicle. Under the new law, that’s no longer the case. Anyone convicted of a DUI who has a previous offense within the past 20 years must now install an ignition interlock device for a minimum of two years. A third DUI conviction increases the requirement to six years, and a fourth pushes it to ten years.
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Senator Rich Draheim honored with 2025 Legislative Housing Leadership Award
- Today (8/1) marks the 18th anniversary of the deadly 35-W bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Thirteen people died and 145 were injured when the bridge failed and fell into the Mississippi River during the evening rush hour on August 1st, 2007. Investigators blamed the collapse on design flaws in the span’s gusset plates. Congress approved $ 250 million for a new bridge, which opened just over a year later in September 2008. A 35-W Remembrance Garden near Gold Medal Park honors the victims of the collapse.
- A line of trees along the State Capitol lawn honors fallen Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Mellisa Hortman. Crews planted the first ten trees on Thursday, and state lawmakers placed flowers at the base of one of them. The DFL caucus said in a social media post, “Melissa loved trees, and we loved Melissa. We’re proud to plant these trees in her name and legacy.” Hortman’s children put out a list of ways to honor their parents, and planting trees was on it. She and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot in a June 14th attack in their Brooklyn Park home.
- U.S. Representative Kelly Morrison from Minnesota’s Third District is leading the fight for increased newborn screening. The Congresswoman has co-led a letter sent to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy asking why he decided to disband the nation’s advisory committee on newborn screening. The Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC) is the federal advisory body that provides expert and evidence-based guidance that has standardized newborn screening in all 50 states. The letter states that by disbanding this committee, it will have a devastating impact on life-saving care. Earlier this week, Morrison introduced a bill to strengthen newborn screening across the country.
- St. Paul officials are still working to resolve a recent cyberattack. The city shut down its internal information systems early this week in response to the threat, which led to disruptions to WiFi in city buildings, library collection management systems, and other technological services. While the cyberattack is investigated, Mayor Melvin Carter says emergency services are still operating. He added that he could not provide a timeline for when all systems would be back up and running. Local, state, and federal agencies are all assisting in the investigation.
- Construction will begin early next week near the Olmsted Medical Center in Rochester. Crews will be removing the four-way stop at the corner of 4th Street Southeast and 19th Avenue Southeast to install a roundabout. OMC will be accessible to the public from College Parkway Southeast, coming from the east. It is also to be accessible from 4th Street Southeast heading west. The project will continue through November.
