Latest Minnesota news, sports, business and entertainment at 3:20 a.m. CDT

SENATE-SCHOLARSHIPS

Senate Republicans revive private school scholarships plan

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Senate Republican leaders say a proposal to use tax credits to funnel donations into scholarships for low- and middle-income students to attend private schools is a priority for them. And they’re hoping to make it the subject of negotiations with Democrat Gov. Tim Walz and House Democratic leaders late in the session.

Senate Taxes Chairman Roger Chamberlain is making another run at passing the proposal, which was dropped in 2017 amid a veto threat by then-Gov. Mark Dayton.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said at a news conference Tuesday that Walz has made lots of proposals Republicans don’t support. But he says end-of-session negotiations involve give and take.

The Minnesota School Boards Association and the teachers union Education Minnesota oppose the bill, saying it would divert resources from public schools.

CHILD CARE FRAUD

Auditor: BCA should investigate fraud in troubled program

(Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s legislative auditor recommends that responsibility for investigating fraud in the state’s troubled Child Care Assistance Program should be transferred from the agency that runs it to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

James Nobles said in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday that criminal investigations are more in line with the BCA’s mission rather than that of the Department of Human Services.

The Star Tribune reports the recommendation follows a report from Nobles last week that found significant levels of fraud in the child care program, and distrust between its fraud investigators and the department’s inspector general, Carolyn Ham, who’s now on leave and says she’s being treated as a scapegoat.

Gov. Tim Walz told reporters Tuesday his revised budget, which he’ll announce Friday, will include aspects of the auditor’s recommendations.

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PRISONERS-DRUGS LAWSUIT

Minnesota inmates win access to costly hepatitis C drugs

(Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota inmates with chronic hepatitis C infections have gained access to pricey antiviral drugs following a class-action lawsuit settlement.

The Star Tribune reports that five inmates sued the Minnesota Department of Corrections in 2015, accusing the agency of withholding medication that has a 95 per cent cure rate. The drugs range in price from $26,400 to more than $100,000 per patient.

The state agency has argued that providing the drug would overwhelm the state’s corrections budget.

Under the settlement terms that won preliminary approval Monday, the department is required to screen all inmates for hepatitis C. The department must provide the antiviral drugs to an inmate with an advanced stage of the disease, or those who have both hepatitis C and other health complications.

The litigation follows similar calls for the treatment in Pennsylvania and Oklahoma .

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FISH HOUSE EXPLOSION

Fish house explosion critically injures man

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) — A Detroit Lakes man is hospitalized in critical condition after a fish house exploded in Moorhead.

The fire department says the explosion happened Sunday and that Michael Herzog was outside the fish house when firefighters arrived. A CaringBridge website says Herzog has second- and third-degree burns over 90 per cent of his body.

Herzog, a former Concordia Moorhead quarterback, was rushed to Sanford in Fargo, North Dakota, then airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

OPIOIDS-SUICIDES

Opioid deaths, suicide reach record levels in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — State data shows the number of deaths from opioids and suicides in Minnesota reached record levels in 2017.

The Minnesota Department of Health says 783 people took their own lives in 2017, a 5 per cent increase from the previous year. There were 422 deaths from opioid overdoses, a 12 per cent increase from 2016.

State officials have set goals of reducing suicides by 10 per cent in 2020 and 20 per cent in 2025.

The Minnesota House passed a bill to address the state opioid crisis on Monday. It would support a wide range of prevention, education, intervention, treatment and recovery strategies. The state would pay for them by sharply raising its annual registration fees for pharmaceutical manufacturers and drug wholesalers that sell or distribute opioids in Minnesota.

WINTER WEATHER-FLOODING-HAY HELP

Farm aid non-profit arranging hay help for Nebraska ranchers

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Plains farm aid non-profit Farm Rescue is launching an effort to bring donated hay to flood-stricken Nebraska ranchers.

North Dakota-based Farm Rescue first activated its “Operation Hay Lift” program to help drought-stricken Upper Midwest ranchers in 2017. Dozens of volunteer truckers hauled hundreds of loads of hay to the region.

The organization now wants to do the same for Nebraska ranchers dealing with widespread flooding after a massive late-winter storm, and it’s seeking hay donations and volunteer drivers. The Nebraska Farm Bureau says farm and ranch losses in that state could reach $1 billion.

Farm Rescue provides free physical labour for farmers and ranchers dealing with an injury, illness or a natural disaster in six Plains states. It relies on volunteers from around the country, donations and corporate sponsors.

GOP TRAIN ACCIDENT

Feds release files on GOP train crash ahead of final report

CROZET, Va. (AP) — Federal investigators have released nearly 100 documents that detail last year’s fatal accident between a trash truck and an Amtrak train that was carrying Republican lawmakers in Virginia.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said the information was made public Tuesday “in anticipation that a final report may be issued soon.”

The document release does not change the basics of what authorities say happened. The train had struck a trash truck that entered a railroad crossing after the safety gates had come down.

One of the truck’s passengers died. A congressman on the train suffered a concussion and others sustained minor injuries.

The documents include photos and interviews and preliminary reports on the January 2018 accident that occurred about 125 miles (200 kilometres) southwest of Washington in the town of Crozet.

The Associated Press