KTOE Noon News 9-26-25

Top Stories for Noon 9-26-25:

• Authorities in southern Minnesota are still investigating a shooting in Alden that left one man dead and three family members injured. Freeborn County sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbance at the home of Dave and Shari Peterson on Wednesday and found their 47-year-old son, Joshua, with gunshot wounds to the chest. He died of his injuries at a hospital in Rochester. Dave and Shari were taken to the hospital with blunt force injuries, and their son, Jason, was treated for minor injuries. Investigators say all three were questioned and released. Law enforcement has not identified the alleged shooter.
• Republican Representative Jeff Backer from Browns Valley is questioning the Department of Health’s job postings for two new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultants at salaries of more than $100,000 per year. Backer is the Co-chair of the Health Finance and Policy Committee. Backer says that with Minnesota facing a $6 billion deficit and millions of dollars lost to fraud, waste, and abuse, the focus needs to be on fixing these problems and protecting taxpayer money. He added, “The Department should be focused on cleaning up fraud and delivering real value for taxpayers, not growing bureaucracy with positions Minnesotans don’t want.”
• House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig has joined a group of Democrats demanding answers after a key survey on household hunger in America was cancelled. The Household Food Security Report has provided data on hunger for decades. Craig says this cancellation comes after the Trump Administration has already made the most significant cut in history to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which more than 42 million Americans rely on for food. The letter from Democrats states they want the employees who collect this data to be reinstated in their jobs.
• A growing number of Minnesota counties are partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Sherburne, Kandiyohi, and Freeborn counties already have long-standing contracts to house federal detainees, agreements that generate millions of dollars annually to support jail operations and facility upgrades. Since President Trump began his second term, seven additional rural counties in Minnesota have signed new agreements with ICE. Two of those counties already had existing jail contracts in place. The latest deals include incentives such as salary reimbursements and bonuses for local departments that assist in immigrant arrests.
• Starting October 1, all emergency and non-emergency calls for Saint Peter will be routed through the Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office as the city transitions away from its stand-alone dispatch center. Residents should continue to dial 911 for emergencies, while non-emergency calls will also go through Nicollet County. The change is expected to save Saint Peter about $350,000 annually, avoid costly upgrades, and improve coordination with modern technology. The Police Department will remain locally controlled, and in-person services at City Hall will continue during business hours.
• Xcel Energy employees and partners in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota contributed over 35 hundred volunteer hours during the company’s annual Day of Service. More than 12 hundred volunteers supported local nonprofits through projects like meal packing, trail cleanup, and tree planting. The effort generated an estimated $120,000 in economic impact across the region by working with over 90 nonprofits.

• 2 Drivers Hospitalized in Head On Collision Crash Near Lake Crystal

• Groundbreaking Ceremony at Wrestling Brotherhood’s Indoor Wrestling Facility