First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson describes a sprawling fraud investigation involving state-run programs in Minnesota at a news conference Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Giovanna Dell’Orto) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — About half or more of the roughly $18 billion in claims paid out by Medicaid to Minnesota-run programs may have been fraudulent, and at least 14 programs were…
Minnesota Monsters Logo DULUTH, Min. – The Minnesota Monsters have signed a deal to host games in the AMSOIL Arena for the 2026 season. The squad, previously known as the Duluth Harbor Monster, played their games in the DECC Arena. Home games will be May 22nd, May 30th, June 22nd, July 5th, July 11th, and July 18th. Minnesota Monsters CEO Steve…
UW Superior Logo SUPERIOR, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Superior is introducing a new online certificate called “AI Essentials: Strategies for Efficiency & Productivity.” Classes for the AI certificate will start in February 2026. UW-Superior says, “This certificate is designed for learners who want to build strong, non-technical artificial intelligence skills that support today’s workforce needs.” The program also looks…
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers Foundation announced it has distributed $1.5 million in annual grants to 395 civic and charitable groups throughout the state of Wisconsin. “We’re pleased to award $1.5 million through our annual Packers Foundation grants this year,” said Packers President and CEO Ed Policy. The grants awarded by the foundation are not recurring and…
Kmauri Burnett DULUTH, Min. & ATLANTA – Kmauri Burnett was booked into the Atlanta Fulton County Georgia Jail on December 16, 2025. Earlier in the day he left the St. Louis County Jail. According to jail records in Georgia he’s being held on two murder charges, carjacking, illegal possession of a weapon, and felony tampering with evidence. Minnesota officials say…
Minnesota Twins Logo MINNEAPOLIS, Min. – The Minnesota Twins have announced two new limited partners and new leadership. Tom Pohlad will succeed Joe Pohlad in overseeing the Twins organization. Tom is Joe’s brother. Joe Pohlad has become a lighting rod and face of the Twins cutting payroll saying the team was going to “right size” the payroll following its most…
Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. xx ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Quinn Hughes scored in his Minnesota debut and the Wild beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 on Sunday for their fourth straight win. Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist…
Bondi Beach Shooting Scene TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — At least 11 people were killed Sunday in an attack on a Hannukah celebration at a popular Sydney beach and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to call it an act of antisemitic terrorism. Antisemitism has been on the rise in Australia, fueled in part by Israel’s war in Gaza, even as local Jewish…
Hannah Dugan MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Federal prosecutors were set to start presenting their case Monday against a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a Mexican immigrant evade federal authorities. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s trial on obstruction and concealment charges was scheduled to begin with opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys followed by testimony from the government’s first witnesses. The…
Minnesota Vikings place kicker Will Reichard (16) celebrates after making a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — J.J. McCarthy threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score, C.J. Ham had the go-ahead TD on his first carry of the…
FILE – Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner arrive on the red carpet at the State Department for the Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner, Dec. 2, 2023, in Washington. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were the two people found dead Sunday at a Los Angeles home owned by Reiner, according to a law enforcement official briefed on…
Bryce James Campbell DULUTH, Min. – Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen tells FOX21 Bryce James Campbell in now in the Lake County Jail. Campbell is the owner of the Lutsen Lodge and accused of setting it on fire the evening of February 6, 2024. He was in the Oakland County (Michigan) Jail from December 3 to December 12, 2025. He…
Community Action Duluth Logo DULUTH, Min. – The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families is now doing what they are calling “enhanced monitoring” of Community Action Duluth (CAD). Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) tells FOX21, “DCYF observes board meetings as part of the standard grant monitoring and program oversight processes. Staff are conducting enhanced monitoring in response…
Bryce Campbell DULUTH, Min. – Jail records show Bryce James Campbell, the man accused of burring down Lutsen Lodge, is no longer in Oakland County Jail in Michigan as of December 12, 2025. He was booked into the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan on December 3. The State of Minnesota requested Campbell be detained in Michigan and then be extradited…
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in St. Paul, denounces President Donald Trump for calling Minnesota’s Somali community “garbage” and dismissing the state as a “hellhole.” ST. PAUL, Min. – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced Tim O’Malley will join the state as Director of Program Integrity. O’Malley will work across state government…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during an event on “Trump Accounts” for kids in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department is targeting businesses that people use to wire money to family members abroad as the Trump administration rachets up investigations into fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community, Treasury Secretary…
Home where bones were found (submitted) CHISHOLM, Min. – The Chisholm Police Department says bones found in a home there on December 2., 2025 were not human. Chisholm Police Chief Jason Vukad release in a statement, the bones were analyzed and determined to not be of human origin. The conclusion was reached after a detailed review by experts trained in…
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz DULUTH, Min. – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is expected to announce a new Director of Program Integrity for Minnesota on Friday, December 12, 2025. The director’s goal is to address and prevent fraud. The governor is also expected to announce the hiring of outside experts to create a statewide fraud prevention program. Fraud in government programs have…
Taylor Welman and Adrian. DULUTH, Min.- FOX21 is a proud sponsor of the Red Cross “12-Hours of Giving” blood drive. It’s a two-day event from noon to 6pm on Thursday, December 18, 2025, and 9am to 3pm on Friday, December 19, 2025. FOX21 talked to Taylor Welman. Her son, Adrian, needed a blood donation a short time after he was…
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was interrupted by protesters holding anti-ICE signs during her testimony before the House on threats to national security WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN & AP) – Secretary of Homeland Security Kirsti Noem was interrupted by protesters as she began her testimony at the start of the hearing on Thursday, December 11, 2025. House Democratic identified members of…
(AP) – The “Architects of AI” were named Time’s person of the year Thursday, with the magazine citing 2025 as when the potential of artificial intelligence “roared into view” with no turning back. “For delivering the age of thinking machines, for wowing and worrying humanity, for transforming the present and transcending the possible, the Architects of AI are TIME’s 2025 Person…
Better Business Bureau Logo SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin has released their top 12 scams of the holiday season. They say you can avoid most of them by taking a few simple precautions. They says common scams involve social media ads promoting discounted items, holiday events, job opportunities, and donation requests – plus direct messages from…
Activists confronted a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the largely Somali neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. DULUTH, Min & MINNEAPOLIS — Federal agents have used pepper spray to disperse a crowd in a heavily Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, center, speaks during a press conference Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in…
Officer Tyler Leibfried DULUTH, Minn. – A Duluth Police Officer who was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing after shooting a man through an apartment door in 2020, is now cleared again of another alleged crime. This time the allegations are of sexual assault involving a fellow Duluth police officer. While he has not been criminally charged for sexual assault, Officer…
Mackenzie Scott NEW YORK (AP) — The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits in 2025 Tuesday, marking a significant increase in her annual giving from recent years. Writing in an essay on her website, Scott said, “This dollar total will likely be reported in the news, but any dollar amount is a vanishingly tiny fraction of the personal…
Great Lakes Aquarium Logo DULUTH, Min. – The Great Lakes Aquarium is projecting a record number of visits in 2025. 2025 is the aquarium’s 25th anniversary year with a projected 235,000 visitors. It’s the fifth consecutive year of attendance growth. Great Lakes Aquarium commissioned the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at UMD’s Labovitz School of Business and Economics…
Richard Patrick of Filter DULUTH, Min. – Rock bands Filter, Finger Eleven and Local H are coming to Duluth. They’ll be taking the stage at DECC on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7:30 PM. Filter is an industrial rock band formed in 1993 by former Nine Inch Nails guitarist Richard Patrick. Take a Picture, Hey Man Nice Shot and Welcome…
Dylan Charles-Edward Wallace SUPERIOR, Wis. – Dylan Charles-Edward Wallace is accused of shooting a Superior Police Officer, crashing a vehicle into Superior Middle School and domestic abuse from incidents over the weekend. He made his fist appearance in court on December 8, 2025. Hs’s facing four felony charges including: Attempt 1st-Degree Intentional Homicide (Use of a Dangerous Weapon), Strangulation and…
SUPERIOR, WI. – A Superior Police Officer has been shot. Superior Police Chief Paul Winterscheidt says, “the suspect is contained.” The officer was transported to Essentia-Duluth and is in stable condition. The active scene is in the area of North 37th Street and Tower Avenue and the Superior Middle School. Superior Police are asking residents to avoid the area. Categories: News,…
Classie Dudley DULUTH, Min. – FOX21 has obtained a 2022 document from the Minnesota Department of Human Services where staff members at Community Action Duluth (CAD) allegedly said they wanted to see Classie Dudley fail as the organization’s Executive Director. It described CAD in late 2022 as a “chaotic organization.” The report says, ” company time to gather staff, write…
UPDATE: Union officials have provided FOX21 with documents showing their complains. The main complaint is one employee has been given more responsibility at CAD. The union says that employee’s current role is not the one that they were hired to do, and should get a raise commiserate with the new duties. The second part of the complaint is regarding alleged…
DULUTH, Min. & EAGAN, Min. – Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota and Aspirus St. Luke’s have made a new multi-year contract agreement. The existing contract was set to expire at midnight on December 31, 2025. Both side had expressed public concerns that they would not reach a deal. The new contract is in effect through 2027. Aspirus Health Minnesota…
FAYAL TOWNSHIP, Min. – Ryan James Moller, 36 of Eveleth, is accused of shooting his own father in the head in an attempt to kill him. Court documents say on the afternoon of December 2, Moller called for an ambulance to come to a residence in Fayal Township because of “a bullet hole through the head.” Law enforcement said they…
Kane Charles Bonga DULUTH, Min. – A man is accused of stealing a car warming-up at the MnDOT office at the corner of Mesaba Avenue and Central Entrance. Charging documents accuse Kane Charles Bonga of stealing a 2008 Subaru Outback. The car belonged to a MnDOT employee. That employee got into a co-worker’s car and followed the stolen Subaru. They…
Kmauri Burnett DULUTH, Min. – A man on the Atlanta Police Department’s most wanted list for allegedly committing two murders will not fight extradition back to Georgia. He signed court documents saying so about 24-hours after his arrest in Duluth. 20-year-old Kmauri Burnett was arrested bv the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, DPD, and St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office near the…
Robert W. Malone NEW YORK (AP) — A federal vaccine advisory committee voted on Friday to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born. A loud chorus of medical and public health leaders decried the actions of the panel, whose current members were all appointed by U.S. Health Secretary…
Chilly Billy’s DULUTH, Min. – MadHouse Burgers featuring Chilly Billy’s has announced that it will close its Woodland Avenue location. In a news release the restaurant said the location will soon become Sabor by Pedro’s, The owners of Sabor by Pedro’s approached MadHouse Burgers about taking over the location. The new Mexican spot from the Pedro’s team is promising to,…
KNIFE RIVER, Min. – Following more than 40-years of restoration the “Leif Erikson Viking Ship” will be on display and open to the public. Viking Ship Restoration Project Save Our Ship, Inc. has been working on the restoration. It will debut at the annual “Julebyen Christmas Village” celebration in Knife River. The boat was built in Norway in 1926 as a…
The Lake Superior Zoo is delighted to announce the birth of twin pygmy slow lorises to parents Colby and Georgio. DULUTH, Min. — The Lake Superior Zoo is announcing the birth of twin pygmy slow lorises. The infants were born on November 17, 2025 to parents Colby and Georgio. The the zoo says the babies have been, “steadily growing, exploring, and…
Command photo of Command Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Erikson, the Minnesota National Guard’s Command Senior Enlisted Leader taken in Cottage Grove, Minnesota on Oct. 16, 2024. ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota National Guard is honoring Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Erikson. Chief Master Sgt. Erikson will be honored in a Saturday, December 6, 2025 ceremony. The ceremony…
Lutsen Lodge Fire DULUTH, Min. – The Bryce Campbell, the owner of the Lutsen Lodge, has been charged with burning down his own business. The fire happened on February 6, 2024. He was officially charged on February 3, 2025. Campbell’s debts and money problems were featured in the charging documents. It reads Campbell’s companies, “North Shore Resort Company, North Shore…
Eurovision 2026 Vienna Logo GENEVA (AP) — Public broadcasters from at least four countries — including Spain and the Netherlands — on Thursday pulled out of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after organizers decided to allow Israel to compete. The developments expose how political discord has taken center stage over a usually joyful celebrating harmony through music. The pullouts, which…
Lutsen Lodge Fire Bryce Campbell UPDATE: The owner of Lutsen Lodge has been charged with arson in connection with the 2024 fire. According to court documents, Bryce James Campbell, 41, is accused of intentionally starting the fire and filing a fraudulent insurance claim. Campbell is being charged with three counts of first-degree arson and one count of insurance fraud. The…
The FBI is offering a $500,000 reward for information that helps identify the person who placed pipe bombs at the offices of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee on January 5, 2021. WASHINGTON (AP) — A man was arrested on Thursday in the FBI’s nearly 5-year-old investigation into pipe bombs placed outside the headquarters of the Republican and…
FILE – The entrance to the Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers is seen in the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., March 14, 2024. MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to take a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of an immigrant rights group arguing that it is illegal for local jails to hold…
Derek Chauvin MINNEAPOLIS (CNN) – The former police officer convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd is seeking a new trial. Derek Chauvin was found guilty of state and federal charges related to Floyd’s death. He has served five years of a 22.5 year prison sentence. Chauvin’s attorney filed court documents asking that three criminal convictions be vacated…
Mike Lindell (AP) – Mike Lindell, a prominent backer of President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, filed the paperwork with the Minnesota campaign board Wednesday. But Lindell told The Associated Press that it’s “not 100%” sure yet he will run. He said he filed because the person who would run his campaign told him they needed to get…
Home where bones were found (submitted) 7:15 p.m. update: Chisholm Police Chief James Vukad said possible human bones were found in the basement of a home Tuesday. Bones found in Chisolm home The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to process the scene. “Initial observations indicate the bones are NOT believed to be of human origin; however, they…
ROSEVILLE, Min. & DULUTH, Min. – The Minnesota Lottery has announced someone bought a Powerball ticket in Virginia worth $50,000. It was purchased at the Short Stop at 1131 2nd Ave. S. The ticket was for the November 26, 2025 drawing. It had four out of the five numbers correct, plus the Powerball correct. In Minnesota, prize claims must be…
Juanita “Nina” Salinas DULUTH, Min. – Juanita “Nina” Salinas is the new City of Duluth Finance Director. Nina most recently served as Chief Administrative Officer for the City of San Antonio Council District 6, where she oversaw constituent services, zoning, public works, and events and outreach for the district. She also supported the district’s review of the city’s $4 billion…
