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Some Chicago employees fired over vaccine mandate should be reinstated, judge rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Some City of Chicago employees fired over Chicago's vaccine mandate should be reinstated with backpay, an Illinois Labor Relations Board judge ruled.The judge found the city didn't bargain in good faith with unions over its 2021 vaccine mandate for city employees. The order applies to AFCSME Council 31 and the Coalition of Unionized Public Employees, which filed similar charges, arguing the city engaged in unfair labor practices during the pandemic, unilaterally implementing the vaccine mandate. Cause of death released for missing Navy sailor found in Lake Michigan The board’s administrative judge found Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration didn’t bargain as it should have. The judge ordered the city to reinstate any employee fired because of the vaccination policy and make them whole for the loss of any pay or benefits with 7% interest.However, the board tells WGN-TV News the decision is not final. The city has 30 days to file an appeal, known as an exemption, before th...

Is pickleball becoming too popular? 'Turf wars' break out in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – There's no doubt pickleball has taken the U.S. by storm. The Sports and Fitness Industry Association says participation in the sport nearly doubled in 2022 — a year-over-year increase of around 85% and a 158.6% increase over the last three years. At one rec center in Austin, Texas, the sport's popularity boom is overwhelmingly clear. Matt Winebright says he started playing at South Austin Recreation Center three years ago. He said he began seeing the courts get more crowded during the COVID-19 lockdown.  NRG Stadium renaming itself ahead of Taylor Swift tour stops “I think pickleball was starting to become more popular,” he said. “But then it turned into a sport people could still play – even when tennis nets were down, basketball hoops were boarded up and the gyms were closed.”Pickleball was invented in the 1960s by three dads living in Washington state, according to USA Pickleball. It’s sort of like a cross between ping-pong and tennis and takes up about half of ...

A few things to know about the Bears' 2023 draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

LAKE FOREST — On April 27, 28, and 29, Ryan Poles and his front office staff will be put to the test as they face a critical three days in their effort to add to their roster. At least the Bears' general manager will have a fair share of chances to find players to help continue to do that in his second year in Chicago.So Poles along with the rest of his scouts and front office staff are going to be very busy at the end of this month as they make selections across seven rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. Here are a few things to know about a very important three days coming up at the end of the month.(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)How many picks do the Bears have?As of one week before the NFL draft, the Bears currently have ten selections in 2023, with at least one pick in every round except the sixth. They initially held the No. 1 overall selection but traded that to the Panthers for the No. 9 & No. 61 picks in this draft along with a first rounder in 2024, a second rounder in 2...

VIDEO: Wisconsin police pull bobcat from inside car

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

PORTAGE COUNTY, Wis. -- A group of Wisconsin sheriff deputies couldn't believe their eyes when they received an animal control call earlier this week.Sheriff Mike Lukas of the Portage County Sheriff's Office noted the unusual call that came into dispatch.“Dispatch gets a caller stating, ‘I have a bobcat in my car.’ You can only imagine what everyone was thinking at the time, so when they dispatched over the radio numerous deputies were curious.” VIDEO: Illinois middle school wrestler sucker-punched by opponent after loss The bobcat was stuck inside the front grill of a residents car. Deputies had to call the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for some assistance.Bodycam footage captured the moment that Conservation Warden Bryan Lockman was able to pull the bobcat out from the vehicle and safely into the bed of a pickup truck.Sheriff Lukas stated that the bobcat was returned to the wild unharmed.WFRV-TV contributed to this article.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Bastrop County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Hail up to the size of ping pong balls has been reported from Fredericksburg to Georgetown and Liberty Hill from a complex of storms moving through the area.Storms are developing southward into the Austin area, and are capable of producing damaging hail and wind gusts. Over 3 inches of rain has fallen in Walnut Creek in North Austin, with observed rain rates over 1.5" in just 15 minutes. LIVE BLOG: Potential severe weather causes Central Texas cancellations A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for all of central Texas until 10 p.m. Remember, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for the development of storms. If a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued then severe weather is happening or imminent and you need to act.Severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m.A broken line of storms is chugging slowly southeastward through the KXAN viewing area. Dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning and welcome rainfall are accompanying the severe weather threa...

Coon Rapids man gets 32 years in prison for beating, slashing neighbor to death last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

A Coon Rapids man has been given a 32½-year prison term for killing his neighbor, who was found dead in his mobile home with head trauma and a slashed throat.An Anoka County jury on Feb. 22 found John Joseph Hare guilty of killing 62-year-old David Charles Nelson on or around Feb. 21, 2022. Jurors convicted Hare, 43, of second-degree intentional murder and second-degree unintentional murder-while committing a felony.John Joseph Hare, 43, DOB: 01/18/1980, of Coon Rapids, was sentenced to more than 32 years in prison on April 19, 2023 for killing 62-year-old David Charles Nelson on Feb. 21, 2022 in Coon Rapids. (Courtesy of the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office)Judge Todd Schoffelman handed down a 391-month sentence Wednesday.According to the criminal complaint, Coon Rapids police were called to Nelson’s home in the 10100 block of Wintergreen Street Northwest around 10:30 a.m. on a report that family members found him inside unconscious with signs of trauma. He was pronounced dead, ...

Police standoff in Mankato ends peacefully after nearly two days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

MANKATO, Minn. — A police standoff that started Tuesday involving a man accused of abducting his son last month ended peacefully Thursday.The city of Mankato posted on social media just after noon Thursday that the incident at Hilltop Lane Apartments “has been safely resolved and there was a peaceful resolution. Both father and son are safe, and there are no injuries.”The standoff started late Tuesday afternoon when police attempted to apprehend 29-year-old Walter Brown, according to a release from the city. Brown reportedly fled on foot, firing a gun at a pursuing officer, who wasn’t injured, before holing up in a nearby apartment in the Hilltop Lane area.Police issued a shelter in place order in the area, which was lifted Wednesday as negotiations with Brown continued. SWAT teams and other law enforcement personnel were seen gradually leaving the area late Thursday morning.Brown and the son, 2-year-old Koran Kory Brown, were taken to the hospital in Mankato...

Citing pay and working conditions, Forest Lake school bus drivers give notice of intent to strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

School bus drivers in Forest Lake could strike as early as May 2 if an agreement with Forest Lake Area School District isn’t reached by then.Citing low wages and long work days, the union that represents the district’s 76 school bus drivers and special education bus aides notified district officials on Friday that they had filed an intent to strike with the state Bureau of Mediation Services. That action triggers an automatic 10-day cooling-off period, which is required under state law.The potential strike would impact students who attend Forest Lake Area Schools, Lakes International Language Academy, North Lakes Academy and St. Peter Catholic School.A Teamsters Local 320 official said Thursday that the school district can’t hire enough bus drivers to fill open slots because pay is 12 percent “under market.” Drivers in the district start at $18.60 an hour; drivers in the Cambridge School District make $25.50 an hour, said Amy Perusse, negotiator and business agent for the union. One...

The relationship of Low’s Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker fuels the new doc ‘Cue the Strings’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

Duluth trio Low has always been a remarkable and unusual band, so it makes perfect sense that the new documentary “Cue the Strings: A Film About Low” is also both remarkable and unusual.The film is screening Friday and Saturday at Minneapolis’ Main Cinema as part of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.As expected, “Cue the Strings” is not a traditional documentary. Instead, it’s a series of Low’s music videos pieced together with concert and backstage footage and other outtakes to create a sort of cinematic tone poem that traces the band’s nearly three-decade career.Local director Phil Harder — who will join Low’s Alan Sparhawk for post-screening Q&A sessions — was able to create the film thanks to a relationship he’s had with the band since the very start.“Cue the Strings” opens with footage from Low’s first music video, for “Words,” which they shot on a frozen Lake Superior with Harder and a 16mm camera. Ha...

Greenfield man pleads guilty to criminal sex act charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:50 GMT

GREENFIELD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Greenfield man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Super Bowl party in February has pleaded guilty. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Charles Semzock, 37, is accused of assaulting a woman in a storage room at a home in Greenfield. Other people at the home forced their way into the storage room to help her.Semzock pleaded guilty to a felony Attempted Criminal Sexual Act charge. He will be sentenced in June.