Canadian authorities rescue Minnesota YMCA campers as wildfires intensify, mental health support for Brainerd schools, and farmers grow bison while the DNR fights zebra mussels.
Transcript
WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
--MORE & MORE WILDFIRE NEWS--
[TIM WALZ: IT TOOK ONE CALL, AND OVER THE NIGHT, ALL THEIR FORCES WERE ACTIVATED TO GO AND RESCUE MINNESOTA CAMPERS FROM THE Y.]
TWO GROUPS OF MINNESOTA Y-M-C-A CAMPERS STRANDED BY WILDFIRES IN NORTHWEST ONTARIO ARE SAFE AND HEADING HOME.
GOVERNOR WALZ SPOKE WEDNESDAY MORNING AS CANADIAN CREWS WORKED TO REACH THEM.
[TIM WALZ: THE NEWS COULDN’T HAVE BEEN BETTER THIS MORNING. AGAIN, WE WON’T REST UNTIL THEY’RE BACK IN MINNESOTA.]
Y-M-C-A OF THE NORTH SAYS CANADIAN AUTHORITIES PICKED UP ONE GROUP OF FIVE CAMPERS AND TWO COUNSELORS … WHILE A HELICOPTER RESCUED A SECOND GROUP OF SIX CAMPERS AND TWO COUNSELORS.
THE CAMPERS ARE BETWEEN 16 AND 18 YEARS … AND WERE ON AN ADVANCED, INVITE-ONLY CANOE TRIP.
--WILD FIRE EVACUATION STATUS--
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS SAY PEOPLE IN WILDFIRE AREAS SHOULD KEEP PHONES CHARGED... WATCH COUNTY ALERTS... AND BE READY TO LEAVE QUICKLY...
IF YOUR ADDRESS MOVES INTO A SET OR GO ZONE.. FOLLOW EVACUATION ORDERS IMMEDIATELY... DO NOT WAIT TO SEE FLAMES.
STATE OFFICIALS AGREED TO EXTEND GOVERNOR WALZ’S DECLARATION OF A PEACETIME EMERGENCY INTO SEPTEMBER … KEEPING NATIONAL GUARD AND OTHER STATE RESOURCES AVAILABLE AS WILDFIRES CONTINUE.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY HAS ALSO DECLARED A LOCAL EMERGENCY AS FIRES AND SMOKE FORCE EVACUATIONS AND THREATEN HOMES AND BUSINESSES …
--AIR QUALITY INDEX UPDATES--
MOST OF THE STATE IS CURRENTLY UNDER AN EXTREME HEAT WARNING OR ADVISORY...
AND... THE MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY HAS ISSUED AN AIR QUALITY ALERT THROUGH FRIDAY...
AIR QUALITY REACHED HAZARDOUS LEVELS WEDNESDAY IN NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA … AND VERY UNHEALTHY LEVELS THROUGH MOST OF NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA.
THAT SMOKE IS MOVING SOUTH … WITH UNHEALTHY TO VERY UNHEALTHY AIR FORECAST ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN MINNESOTA.
THE POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY IS WARNING PEOPLE WITH RESPIRATORY OR HEART ISSUES TO LIMIT OR AVOID TIME OUTSIDE.
--CYCLOSPORIASIS--
A PARASITIC ILLNESS THAT CAUSES WEEKS OF ‘EXPLOSIVE’ DIARRHEA IS SURGING NATIONWIDE …
THE U-S CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL ISSUED A NATIONAL HEALTH ADVISORY YESTERDAY FOR THE INTESTINAL PARASITE... CALLED CYCLOSPORIASIS [SIGH CLOH’ SPOR EYE’ UH SIS] .. IT IS LARGELY SPREAD THROUGH INFECTED PRODUCE OR WATER...
MINNESOTA’S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SAYS MINNESOTANS DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE STATE’S FOOD SUPPLY OR AN OUTBREAK CURRENTLY..
BUT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT’S EXPERT TRISHA ROBINSON SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE SYMPTOMS ... WHICH INCLUDE ONGOING WATERY DIARRHEA ... CRAMPING ... NAUSEA AND FATIGUE ...
[TRISHA ROBINSON/MDH: THIS ISN’T A DIARRHAL ILLNESS THAT WILL GO AWAY IN A DAY OR TWO.. THESE ARE SYMPTOMS THAT WOULD LAST FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.]
ROBINSON SAYS IT IS ESPECIALLY EASY TO BECOME DEHYDRATED IN THIS EXTREME HEAT... AND YOU SHOULD GO SEE A DOCTOR OR A COMMUNITY CLINIC IF YOU EVER HAVE DIARRHEA THAT LASTS MORE THAN TWO DAYS.
--BUS CRASH SENTENCING--
IN HIBBING – NORTHWEST OF DULUTH - A WOMAN WHO CRASHED INTO A SCHOOL BUS WHILE USING SOCIAL MEDIA ON HER PHONE... GETS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REDUCE HER SENTENCE BY SHARING HER STORY.
THE 21-YEAR-OLD DRIVER PLEADED GUILTY IN APRIL TO SIDE-SWIPING A BUS ..INJURING 21 STUDENTS AND DRIVER.. WHILE LOOKING AT HER PHONE.
THIS WEEK... A JUDGE SENTENCED HER TO THREE YEARS OF PROBATION AND 200 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE ... BUT THE JUDGE WILL REDUCE HER SENTENCE IF SHE SPEAKS WITH HIGH SCHOOLERS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF DISTRACTED DRIVING.
--BRAINERD SCHOOLS STUDENT SUPPORT--
BRAINERD SCHOOL LEADERS ARE PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH IMMEDIATE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT … AFTER TWO FORESTVIEW MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS DIED UNEXPECTEDLY THIS SUMMER.
SUPERINTENDENT CHIP RANKIN SAYS THE DISTRICT IS BRINGING TOGETHER COUNSELORS, MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT PLAN FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.
[CHIP RANKIN: IT’S NOT JUST A SCHOOL SOLUTION; IT’S A COMMUNITY SOLUTION.]
RANKIN SAYS COUNSELORS ARE AT FORESTVIEW THIS WEEK … AND WILL CONTINUE SUPPORTING STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR.
OFFICIALS HAVE NOT RELEASED WHAT CAUSED THE STUDENTS’ DEATHS.
DEALING WITH DEATH, ESPECIALLY THE DEATH OF A YOUNG PERSON, CAN PROMPT DEPRESSION AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH A MENTAL HEALTH CONCERN … CALL OR TEXT 9-8-8 FOR FREE CONFIDENTIAL HELP
--ZEBRA MUSSELS--
UP NORTH IN THE BRAINERD LAKES REGION… ZEBRA MUSSELS HAVE TAKEN OVER TWO MORE LAKES IN CROW WING COUNTY..
THE D-N-R ADDED ‘PERCH LAKE’ … AND ‘MANUEL MINE LAKE’ TO ITS LIST OF LAKES THAT HAVE INVASIVE ZEBRA MUSSEL INFESTATIONS.
IN MANUAL MINE LAKE... DIVERS FOUND THEM ATTACHED TO ROCKS, LOGS, AND ON NATIVE MUSSELS.
THE D-N-R NOW CONFIRMS INFESTATIONS IN ABOUT FOUR-HUNDRED, OR FIVE PERCENT, OF MINNESOTA LAKES.
--BISON FARMING NICHE--
--AND FINALLY …--
FOR SOME MINNESOTA FARM FAMILIES … BISON ARE BECOMING A HIGH-VALUE NICHE BUSINESS.
THE MINNESOTA BISON ASSOCIATION SAYS 53 FARMS ACROSS THE STATE NOW RAISING MORE THAN FOUR-THOUSAND BISON COMMERCIALLY … THAT’S ABOUT ONE THOUSAND MORE THAN JUST FOUR YEARS AGO.
SEVERAL TRIBAL NATIONS ARE ALSO FOCUSING ON REBUILDING BISON HERDS FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY, CULTURAL RENEWAL AND LAND RESTORATION.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, IM XAN HOLSTON