Dayton’s budget chief comes from the inside

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota Gov.-elect Mark Dayton is sticking with someone who knows his way around Minnesota’s finances to be his chief budget adviser.

Dayton, a Democrat, chose Jim Schowalter on Thursday to be commissioner of the Minnesota Management and Budget Department. It’s a familiar place for Schowalter, who has served there in top roles under departing GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Schowalter has been Minnesota’s deputy budget commissioner since April and served as the down-a-rung state budget director before that.

As commissioner, Schowalter will be closely involved in Dayton’s big-picture budget decisions. He’ll also have to defend budget proposals in front of a Republican-led Legislature.

Schowalter is the second high-level official from the Pawlenty administration to get a key job from Dayton. Earlier this month, Dayton re-signed Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel.

Minnesota sues 3M over chemical disposal

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The state of Minnesota is suing 3M Co. over its disposal of chemicals previously used to make Scotchgard and other products.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in Hennepin County alleges 3M damaged the state’s natural resources, as well as ground and surface water, by disposing of perfluorochemicals, or PFCs.

Maplewood-based 3M has produced PFCs since the 1940s, and legally disposed of them in landfills until the 1970s. 3M stopped making PFCs in 2002.

In 2004, traces of the chemicals were found in groundwater from Lake Elmo to Hastings. The state’s lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Phone messages left with 3M were not immediately returned.

In May, the state and 3M entered a written agreement to withhold a lawsuit while trying to negotiate an out-of-court settlement. That agreement expired Friday without settlement.

Minn. woman says neighbor’s arrow injured leg

WHITE BEAR TOWNSHIP (AP) — A Minnesota woman claims she suffered permanent leg injuries after being hit by a neighbor’s wayward hunting arrow.

A lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of Donna and John Rotschafer of White Bear Township.

The lawsuit says Donna Rotschafer was mowing her lawn in October 2009 when the arrow pierced her leg. It says the arrow didn’t have just a single point, but had four “bleeder blades” that are used to take down large game animals.

Rotschafer and her husband are suing Leemichael J. Roe, their 36-year-old neighbor.

Law enforcement kills man with gun in Little Falls

LITTLE FALLS (AP) — A 37-year-old man is dead after being shot by law enforcement.

County Sheriff Michel Wetzel says deputies were called at 12:22 a.m. Thursday about a man with a gun who was suicidal.

Deputies and Little Falls police found the man as he was leaving the home of an acquaintance in Little Falls. Wetzel says when officers tried to stop the vehicle, the driver pulled into a nearby driveway.

Wetzel says the man got out with a shotgun and wouldn’t put it down. Two Little Falls officers and two Morrison County deputies fired and the man died at the scene. His name has not been released.

The investigation has been turned over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

About 120 people file claims against Strike Force

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A plaintiffs’ lawyer says about 120 people have filed claims in a $3 million settlement of a federal lawsuit involving a now-disbanded Minneapolis gang unit.

Attorney Randy Hopper says Thursday is the deadline to file a claim.

The August settlement was for a lawsuit against the Metro Gang Strike Force. The lawsuit claimed the strike forces’ police officers abused their authority by extorting cash and property, particularly from people of vulnerable immigration status.

The settlement allows people to file claims if they had property taken without notification or a receipt.

One plaintiff says strike force officers took his wallet and returned it with $100 missing.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press quotes the strike forces’ attorney as saying in August the civil settlement was not an admission of guilt.

Minn. fan accused of assaulting 2 Badgers fans

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Madison police say a University of Minnesota fan is in custody for punching two Badgers fans in the face following this week’s basketball game between the two schools.

Police say the 22-year-old Madison man is being held on tentative charges of substantial battery and disorderly conduct.

Authorities say the man and his friends exchanged words with the victims in a bar after Wisconsin upset No. 14 Minnesota 68-60 on Tuesday.

Officers say the argument escalated outside. They say the suspect hit a 24-year-old man 15 to 20 times, cutting his face and injuring his ear. They say the suspect also assaulted a 25-year-old, who needed stitches on the bridge of his nose.

Mechanical issue prompts Minn. ski lift evacuation

DULUTH (AP) — A four-person ski lift at Duluth’s Spirit Mountain had to be evacuated after breaking down.

Renee Mattson, executive director at Spirit Mountain, tells the Duluth News Tribune that the lift broke down around 5 p.m. because of a mechanical issue. No one was hurt.

Shortly after the lift broke down, the power went out to the entire facility. The power was out for several minutes.

Minnesota Power spokeswoman Amy Rutledge says a utility crew determined the outage was not caused by the company’s equipment.

Skiers Sam and Dan Ohden said they saw stranded skiers waiting to be lowered from the lift.

The emergency evacuation comes a day after a cable derailed at the Sugarloaf resort in Maine, sending skiers plummeting 25 to 30 feet.

New Minn. ruling cast greeted by old budget woes

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota’s budget hole is so large that laying off every worker on the state payroll wouldn’t fill it. Neither would shutting down every state agency.

So when a new governor and a new cast of lawmakers takes over, their options for handling a $6.2 billion budget deficit will be few and they’ll all be grim.

During the campaign, Republicans said they could wring big savings out of state government. Incoming Gov. Mark Dayton vowed to raise taxes on the wealthy.

The state has just about tapped out rainy-day accounts, written IOUs on school funding and set up a line of credit if they need it. Although the 2011 session will detours into issues like a new Vikings stadium, the budget fix will be the focus when the session opens Tuesday.

FAA: 2 killed when small plane crashes in Minn.

MILACA (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says a small plane has crashed in central Minnesota, killing both people on board.

FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory says the plane departed Thursday morning from Aitkin, Minn., headed for Beaumont, Texas. The Piper 46 plane crashed in Milaca, which is about 65 miles north of Minneapolis.

She says the plane lost radio contact with air-traffic controllers about 10:15 a.m. The FAA issued a notice of a missing aircraft and then cancelled it 15 minutes later when it was informed the plane had been found.

The plane is registered to TeeMark Corp. in Aitkin. A woman who answered the phone there said no one was available to talk, and hung up.