Marinette High School

A 15-year-old student takes hostages at his Wisconsin high school.

​Sixth period Western Civilization class was just coming to a close at a Wisconsin high school when 15-year-old Samuel Hengel suddenly took the class hostage with two loaded handguns.

The ensuing standoff lasted for five hours, and drew hundreds of police officers and SWAT team members to the school grounds. Now he's dead, and authorities are piecing together details of an episode that could have turned out much, much worse than it did.

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Photo: Thirteen of Clubs

Powderhorn Park residents are determined to keep their neighborhood safe.

​While most of us were safe at home last Wednesday evening, getting ready for a long Thanksgiving weekend, three women were fighting off sexual assaults from a gang of teenage thugs in and near Powderhorn Park.

One of those four, 16-year-old Macarr Tyree Hill, was charged today with aggravated robbery.

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Would the Vikings turn California purple?

​The owners of the Minnesota Vikings really, really want you to finance them a new stadium. And the specter of the team relocating to a city more amenable to upgraded real estate has long been part of its MO for wrangling a new, taxpayer-funded stadium out of its more rabid fans.

So surprise surprise, with a new Legislature about to take its seat in St. Paul, we hear tell that at least two Los Angeles-area entities have approached the team.

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Former John Kline staffer Andy Post is one of two new bloggers for MDE.

​Right-wing watchdog website Minnesota Democrats Exposed has two new voices as of this week.

University of Minnesota alumnus Andy Post and Ryan Lyk, currently a student at U of M-Duluth, took over the blog yesterday, succeeding former author Luke Hellier.

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Screen shot from KARE-11

Tim White was told he was too fat to fly

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Twin brothers Tim and Will White had never flown the friendly skies. So they were completely thrilled when they finally got their big chance on Thanksgiving Day.

The White brothers arrived at the Chicago airport hours early, waiting with bated breath for their flight to Minneapolis.

But minutes before they were supposed to board, Southwest Airlines cruelly pulled the plug and told Tim he was too fat for his seat.

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Michele Bachmann wants to get all Swiss Family Robinson with Keith Olbermann.

​Keith Olbermann has named Michele Bachmann the "Worst Person In The World" over and over, but given the choice she says she'd rather take him with her to a desert island any day than Rachel Maddow or Chris "Tingly Feeling" Matthews.

"I think it would be so interesting to have a discussion with him," she told Right Network's pleasantly goofy David Brody. "And I think he would be willing to have a discussion. I do."

People, this is not a fair fight.

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Photo: Rick Harris

Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, there's a Scrooge in your midst.

​The post-Thanksgiving retail orgy always produces at least one shameful story of human idiocy. Our winner comes from -- where else? -- Wisconsin, where some Scrooge put a damper on 100-year-old Lois Speelman's holiday cheer, shoving the Wal-Mart greeter to the ground.

There's nothing like filling your shopping cart and putting the beat down on granny to celebrate the season.

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Mark Dayton, left, still leads Tom Emmer.

​Tom Emmer lost his state Supreme Court challenge in the governor's race recount last week. And by the end of the day on Monday, as the hand count got under way, he was still losing to Mark Dayton.

In fact, the Secretary of State's office added another 24 votes to Dayton's column, compared to Election Day returns.

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Blue Earth County Sheriff's Dept.

Jeremy Giefer, once pardoned by the Governor, now faces 11 charges of criminal sexual conduct

​When Jeremy Geifer was charged with 11 counts of sexual misconduct November 18th, Tim Pawlenty might have envisioned his presidential ambitions going up in smoke.

Just over three years ago, the Minnesota governor granted Giefer a pardon extraordinary, voting with the two other members of the Board of Pardons to wipe clean his previous criminal sexual record.

Oops?
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Photo: whitneybee

Minnesotans: Financial dunces?

​Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance is out with a study that would have us believe that Minnesotans are illiterate when it comes to financial knowledge.

Sure. Can we see a show of hands from folks who know how Index funds work and whether bond investments are the best protection against inflation?

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