Today in Minot

I must have unplugged the vacuum, I thought to myself when it suddenly stopped working. I walked over to check. The vacuum was still connected. Maybe I blew a fuse. I flipped on a light switch to go to the basement. The lights didn’t work, either....

The Coen Brothers insisted “Fargo” was based on a true story. But which one? A longtime Fargo librarian has spent years trying to track down the real case — and keeps coming up empty. Still, some point to the 1963 murder of Carol Thompson, a St. Paul mother whose husband hired a hitman to kill her for insurance money. The parallels are there: a bumbling husband, a botched crime, a trail of damning evidence. Whether or not it inspired the film, her story remains one of Minnesota’s most gripping true crime cases. C.S. Hagen attempts to untangle the the thread in this piece from InForum.

A scientific article long used to support the safety of Roundup has now been formally withdrawn, after 25 years of influence over regulatory decisions. Elsevier retracted the 2000 paper, acknowledging evidence that it relied exclusively on Monsanto-generated data and may have been secretly co-written by company employees. The article had shaped policy and scientific debate for decades, yet remained in place even as lawsuits mounted. With the retraction now public, the journal’s editors say the integrity of its conclusions can no longer be trusted. Sarah Fielding with Fast Company has the full story.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong today informed legislative leaders that he has identified Jan. 21 as the tentative date for a special session of the 69th Legislative Assembly to act on anticipated federal funding for North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program.North Dakota submitted its funding application to the...

Today is opening day at Bottineau Winter Park, where crews have spent two weeks running snow guns around the clock to build a solid base for the season. The Bunny Hill, Pony Hill, Raceway Slope, and Tower Trail are ready, with more terrain set to follow next week. The park also opens with its Annie’s House adaptive program, giving people with disabilities a chance to ski, tube, and share the hill with family. With strong early snow conditions, a busy first weekend is expected. Megan Topping with KX News has the full story.

Most people of Somali descent in America are citizens, including those living in Minnesota, according to estimates from the American Community Survey, an ongoing survey conducted by the Census Bureau. Immigration enforcement agents have increased their presence in Minnesota in recent days as part of a...

North Dakota’s most recent statewide crime report still hasn’t been released, and the delay is drawing attention. Crime numbers shape debates over sentencing, budgets, policing, housing, and even immigration—and yet 2024 data remains unavailable, now six months past the typical release window. Attorney General Drew Wrigley previously said the report was nearly ready, but no update has followed. With policy disagreements still simmering from last session, the absence of timely data raises a simple question: what’s taking so long? Rob Port with InForum has the full story.

Targa Badlands LLC has been sentenced after failing to install required monitoring systems at its Dunn County compressor station, a lapse that regulators say could have allowed more hazardous air pollutants into the environment. The penalty includes probation, community service benefiting the MHA Nation, and a $500,000 fine. Federal officials note that while the violation was serious, the company did self-report and correct it. The Dickinson Press has the full story.

A new report from Harvest Manitoba shows just how sharply food insecurity has grown in the province. Food bank usage has climbed 150% in five years, now reaching 60,000 people a month—and many of them are working, educated, and raising children. The group says familiar pathways out of poverty no longer deliver stability, pointing to housing costs, low wages, and limited supports. The organization is urging governments to respond, even as political debate continues over affordability and responsibility.

A national vaccine advisory panel has reversed a decades-old recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, a move that public health experts say could weaken hard-won progress against the virus. The new guidance limits the birth-dose to infants whose mothers are infected or whose status is unknown, shifting vaccination decisions for others to parents and doctors. Hepatitis B remains a leading cause of liver cancer, and advocates worry that loosening universal protection could allow infections to quietly rise again. Nancy Lapid with Reuters has the full story.