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Victim, suspect identified in April 27 suspected murder/suicide investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department released an update surrounding an April 27 homicide investigation.APD said officers responded at approximately 12:12 p.m. to the 1200 block of Kenyon Drive in reference to a welfare check.Police said the caller had not heard from 47-year-old Shannon Norton and requested officers to check on her. According to a release, the caller also stated that Norton lived with her boyfriend, 52-year-old James Flom. PAST COVERAGE: APD says south Austin double homicide was ‘domestic violence incident’ At the residence, APD said officers entered the home and found Norton and Flom each with a gunshot wound.“Investigators determined that Flom shot and killed Norton and then shot and killed himself,” APD said. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? Austin Police said this case was being investigated as Austin's 26th homicide of 2023.

City of Dallas issues statement after ransomware attack compromises city servers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

DALLAS (KXAN) -- On Wednesday, the City of Dallas confirmed in a statement that a number of its servers were compromised with ransomware.The city's security monitoring tools notified the agency's Security Operations Center (SOC) that a "likely ransomware attack had been launched within our environment," the statement said.Furthermore, the city also confirmed "a number of servers" were compromised with ransomware, which impacted several functional areas, including the Dallas Police Department website.The city team and its vendors were actively working to isolate the ransomware to prevent its spread, to remove the ransomware from infected servers and to restore any services that were impacted, the statement said.The Dallas mayor and city council were notified of the incident, as per the city's Incident Response Plan (IRP), according to the city. The city was still working to assess the complete impact of the incident and also said the impact on the delivery of city services to its res...

Congress Mobile Home Park Tenants sue developer over intimidation, coercion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Former residents of the Congress Mobile Home Park filed a lawsuit Wednesday against California developer Reza Paydar, claiming that he violated the Deceptive Trade Practice Act (DTPA). Specifically, the plaintiffs claim that they were not given the legal amount of time to move out of their former homes.KXAN reached out to Paydar for comment, and will update the article when received. Assisting the plaintiffs are lawyers from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and Austin Community Law Center and organizers with Building and Strengthening Tenant Action (BASTA)."The developer we are suing today forced our clients out of their homes much faster than the law allowed, just to speed up their project and their profits," said Austin Community Law Center in a press release. "The developer's ongoing, callus indifference to the harm they inflicted is obscene. Our clients should not have been forced to abandon their homes and community on short notice. Their strength in standing up ...

Poll shows Ted Cruz approval rating increases as Colin Allred announces Senate challenge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — New polling out Wednesday shows U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's approval rating among Texas voters increased from a net negative to a net positive, as the incumbent senator gets his first major Democratic challenger for his seat in 2024. Pollsters from the Texas Politics Project asked 1,254 registered voters about the job the Cruz is doing. Up from a February poll, 45% said who approve of his job performance and 41% disapprove. It comes as U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, announced Wednesday he will be challenging the junior senator for reelection. The third-term congressman and former NFL linebacker made his announcement in a three-minute video posted to his social media accounts. In the launch video, Allred talks about his upbringing of being raised by a single mom and his record in Congress, while accusing Cruz of not working in the best interest of Texans."We deserve a senator whose team is Texas and Ted Cruz only cares about himself, you know that," Allred sa...

After pandemic spike, Minnesota traffic fatalities may be trending down again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Following an almost two-decade-long decrease in traffic fatalities, Minnesota saw a spike in deaths on its roadways following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.While it’s still too early to tell for sure, those deaths may be on the downturn, according to Mark Wagner, assistant state traffic safety engineer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.Wagner, who spoke at a Toward Zero Deaths workshop Wednesday in Rochester, said those deaths are concerning and that his team, along with MnDOT, are working to make roads safer.“It’s really sad to see the loss of life and the life-changing injuries that increased during the pandemic,” he said. “But at the same time, looking back 20 years when Toward Zero Deaths started, that was a hard time, too, and we found a way to make it work.”Minnesota has seen a 33% decrease in traffic-related deaths since Toward Zero Deaths began in 2003 as a state traffic safety program that works to lessen roadwa...

Split Rock Lighthouse to shine tonight in honor of Gordon Lightfoot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Split Rock Lighthouse will shine its beacon Wednesday night in honor of the late Gordon Lightfoot.It’s a rare honor: The beacon is seldom lit, with an annual exception being Nov. 10 to mark the anniversary of the 1975 sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. A 1976 song by Lightfoot, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” has moved millions of listeners with the true story of the Lake Superior catastrophe.“He was an amazing storyteller,” Split Rock site manager Hayes Scriven said when reached by phone Tuesday. “When you listen to that song, you feel like you’re there. You can see what he’s talking about, very vivid.”In fact, said Scriven, it was Lightfoot’s song that inspired former lighthouse manager Lee Radzak to initiate the tradition of lighting the beacon for the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1985, the 10th anniversary of the shipwreck.“He was coming home one day,” said Scriven, “and the song ‘The Wreck of th...

Rachel Banham is confident, comfortable entering fourth season with Lynx

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Rachel Banham was informed of a “no stepback three” message from Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve this week.“I know. We’ll have to meet about that,” Banham said with a smile. “She said I had the green light, so, honestly, if I make it, we’re good. You’ve just got to make the shot.”Banham did admit her first shot of the season would not be a stepback jumper.“Maybe like my third or fourth,” she said. “Once I’ve got my feel, ya know?”That exchange showed Banham’s current comfort level — with both her relationship with the Lynx’s basketball boss and with the state of her game.The 29-year-old’s seventh WNBA season last summer was her best to date, as the Lakeville North High School and University of Minnesota alum averaged eight points and two assists per game while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range. Above all else, Banham liked the confidence level she brought on a daily basis.“I thought that I came out every game playing confident and at good pace and just being myself again and having fun...

New History Theatre season includes world premiere musicals about Betty Crocker and Harold Stassen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

Five world premieres, including musicals about Betty Crocker and the late Minnesota governor Harold Stassen, are on tap for the History Theatre’s 2023-24 season.“I am most interested in stories of joy, triumph and determination that appreciate and celebrate the human experience,” said the St. Paul theater’s new artistic director Richard D. Thompson in a news release. “The expansive season examines over 100 years of history from the 1920s through today. All the stories are relevant to today’s world, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to the theater to experience them.”Season subscriptions are now available at $270 (five shows), $220 (four shows) and $179 (three shows), with discounts available for seniors. Single tickets go on sale July 11. See historytheatre.com for details.The lineup includes:“The Boy Wonder” (Oct. 5-29): Minnesota’s youngest governor, Harold Stassen, is the subject of this musical from Keith Hovis. Stassen was elected in 1938 and went on to esta...

Pride baseball team finally hits the field and earns a 2-0 start

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

By Garrett SimmonsFor Sunny South NewsIt has been a 2-0 start so far for the Kate Andrews Pride High School Baseball team.A season that has been marred by poor weather, which has resulted in numerous postponements, finally got underway for the Coaldale squad with a league game against Magrath.Kate Andrews ran away with a 14-5 win over the Zeniths, as the Pride offence turned out to be too much for Magrath,“All around, I think we got contributions up and down the lineup, but we had a couple players step up big offensively,” said head coach Daniel Griffith.Ethan Honess as 4/5 with four runs batted in and four runs scored. J.T. Toker, 3/4 at the plate with three RBI and another four runs scored. He also added a walk.“We executed our game plan of being aggressive at the plate, and our pitchers challenged their hitters in the strike zone,” said Griffith, as he highlighted the keys to victory.On the mound, Conner Wittebolle went 5-1/3 with nine strikeouts and three earned runs, in a game ...

Chief West says province’s ambulance turnaround targets “lofty”, but doable

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:54 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsDirector of Emergency Services for the Town of Picture Butte Frank West said the province’s 45 minute goal for ambulance turnaround will require targeted collaboration between agencies to meet, but that it was time for the national benchmark to be adopted and pushed in Alberta.During the April 20 meeting of Picture Butte Council, West presented the Director of Emergency Services report touting a number of updates including the recent implementation of the province’s goal to get ambulances back out into the community faster and aim to have patients safely handed over to emergency department teams within 45 minutes. The benchmark is not a directive per se, but rather a “target” which falls in line with national benchmarks, said West.West said overall he is hearing reports that the effort has been going, “Very well,” in other parts of Alberta.“It’s been very successful in Calgary,” since it began nearly two months ago, and in Medicine Hat shortly thereaf...