Erica Nicole

Protestors picket outside Chicago Lake Liquors earlier this spring.

Today, the National Labor Relations Board announced it has found merit in the wrongful termination case put forth by the Chicago Lake Liquors Five, meaning the NLRB will now represent the fired workers as they try to receive back pay and/or get their jobs back.

THE BACKSTORY: Fired Chicago Lake Liquors workers still expect to get jobs back with back pay

According to fired Chi-Lake worker Hallie Wallace, the next step will be for an NLRB representative to present a settlement offer to Chi-Lake owner John Wolf. If Wolf doesn't accept the offer, the case could go before an administrative law judge. In an interview earlier this week, Marlin Osthus, regional director for the local branch of the NLRB, said the board has a perfect record during the last couple of years in cases that have wound up in court.

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The DFL remains more popular than the MNGOP, but that isn't saying much.

Today, Public Policy Polling released its end-of-session snapshot of the popularity of Minnesota's elected officials.

SEE ALSO: Conservatives upset Mark Dayton missed speech for birth of first grandchild

And this probably won't surprise you, but it turns out buying a cold beer on a Sunday is way more popular than any of them.

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Blake McCoy on Twitter

McCoy's caption to this photo: "Rescue crews have loaded the child's body into truck and are removing him from Lilydale Park."

-- Original post from afternoon of May 22; updates at bottom --

One 4th grade student at St. Louis Park's Peter Hobart Elementary School is dead, one remains missing, and two others were taken to the hospital following a mudslide earlier today at Cherokee Park in St. Paul.

According to the Pioneer Press, students were reportedly at the park for a field trip when "a big pile of sand" gave way underneath their feet, leaving one student buried and another half-buried. The park received heavy rain this week.

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Photo: Tony Nelson.

MN United mobilized one of the largest grassroots campaigns in state history.

The group behind the push to legalize gay marriage in Minnesota spent more than $2 million on its Capitol lobbying efforts, according to figures obtained by the Associated Press.

The official deadline to report spending isn't until next month, but Minnesotans United for All Families is sure to be among the top spenders of the legislative session.

SEE ALSO:
COVER: A history of the gay marriage debate in Minnesota
Same-sex couples might have to wait just a little longer to wed in Minnesota

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Piper worshipping at his Minneapolis church in 2008.

John Piper, the recently retired pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, has made a cottage industry out of attributing natural disasters to God's vindictive will.

SEE ALSO: Glenn Beck comes to Lizz Winstead's defense over Oklahoma tornado jokes

For instance, in response to the 2004 Asian tsunami, Piper wrote, "The point of every deadly calamity is this: Repent" and "Pain says: 'What sin deserves is this, only worse.'" Piper also said the 2009 tornado that struck downtown Minneapolis was sent to punish the Lutherans, who decided earlier that day to allow homosexuals to become ministers, and said the 2007 I-35W bridge collapse happened to instill the fear of God in people.

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Curtis (top right) said watching the demolition was a "nightmare," but some neighbors used the same word to describe the home's condition.

Yesterday, on orders from the property owner, a demolition crew took out a 124-year-old home at 1925 Park Ave. S. in Minneapolis. But it didn't happen before police were called to deal with Nicole Curtis's last-minute efforts to save it.

SEE ALSO: DRE officer on finding drug-using subjects: We went to "shitty areas" like Franklin Ave. & Park Ave.

Curtis is host of the cable TV show Rehab Addict, which is all about fixing up old dilapidated homes and making them vibrant and habitable again. Before police arrived on the scene yesterday, she attempted a "human chain protest" and went inside the house to stop crews from tearing it down. Curtis stood on the porch while a backhoe ripped apart the living room just feet away from her.

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The City Pages has made the final cut for three 2013 Association of Alternative Newsmedia awards.

We're proud to announce that Reed Fischer's Gimme Noise music blog, last year's "Reinventing the Wheel" cover story, and former art director Mike Kooiman's cover designs are finalists in the Music Blog, Multimedia, and Cover Design categories, respectively.

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Amy Nelson on Twitter

"Saint Paul welcomes same-sex couples to tie the knot in Minnesota's capital city," the city's website says.

In the wake of love becoming the law in Minnesota, the city of St. Paul quickly overhauled its I Do St. Paul website to make it gay friendly.

SEE ALSO: Mary Franson wonders whether marriage equality extends to polygamy

"With the passing of the Freedom to Marry act, Saint Paul is now strongly positioned to offer our complimentary services to same sex couples and bring even more people to Minnesota's beautiful capital city," the website says. "It is important for same sex couples to know they are welcomed in Saint Paul for their big day and that they, their family and friends will receive the same top level of service from our hospitality community that all wedding couples receive on their big day."

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Forget complicated Ponzi schemes. The "business people" behind a recent scam at the SuperAmerica in Waconia provided a refresher course in good ol' fashioned fraud.

SEE ALSO: Tom Petters, convicted Ponzi schemer, teaches fellow inmates business classes

The previous owner of the SA, a 51-year-old man named Husein Sarameh, agreed to sell his business to as-of-yet-unidentified person or group of people last month for $945,000. The buyers wrote a $203,000 check to cover the down payment and Sarameh, following his lawyer's advice, turned over the reins to the store before it had even cleared. And that's where things got weird.

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Borgstrom (left) and Coach jumped to their deaths early this morning.

-- Original post from afternoon of May 14; update at bottom --

Around 6:30 pm. last Friday, 16-year-old Erika Borgstrom texted her mother with a simple message: "I LOVE YOU." Her mother thought she was making a trip to a music store in River Falls. But Erika didn't come home, and her mother's subsequent attempts to call her indicated her phone was turned off. Over the weekend, Erika was reported missing.

It turned out Erika and her 18-year-old boyfriend, Dakotah Coach, had left Wisconsin for Minnesota together, as later on Friday evening, a surveillance camera spotted them at a Walmart in Woodbury. They weren't heard from again until today, when officials announced the couple jumped to their death from the Stone Arch Bridge.

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