WAYZATA, Minn. (AP) - Researchers say a dugout canoe discovered 80 years ago in Lake Minnetonka could be nearly 1,000 years old, far older than previously thought.
A Minnesota Public Radio report (https://bit.ly/1gnijbDhttps://bit.ly/1gnijbD ) this week says the canoe was removed from the lake in 1934. It was believed to be several hundred years old, but new radiocarbon dating suggests it was built between the years 1025 and 1165. That would make it about 850 to 1,000 years old.
The canoe is on display at the Western Hennepin County Pioneer Association Museum in Long Lake.
Two brothers discovered the canoe during a severe drought in August 1934. They were building an extension to their dock, and they hit an obstruction about a foot below the silt. Researchers say the earth and water helped preserve the canoe.
___
___
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Authorities say two members of the Target Field clean-up crew were shot and wounded in pre-dawn hours outside the baseball stadium.
A Minneapolis Star Tribune report (https://strib.mn/1oX3Ngohttps://strib.mn/1oX3Ngo ) says the two are with a company contracted by the stadium to clean up after events such as Friday’s Minnesota Twins game. The victims were shot Saturday about 3 a.m.
Police spokesman John Elder says no arrests have been made. He says the shooting doesn’t appear to be a random event.
The victims haven’t been identified. Their injuries aren’t expected to be life-threatening.
___
___
WINONA, Minn. (AP) - A Winona environmental group is recommending that air monitors be installed around the city to measure the effect that the processing and shipping of sand used in fracking has on air quality.
The Winona Citizen’s Environmental Quality Committee recommends installing four or five air-quality monitors along truck routes in the city, the Winona Daily News reported Saturday. The committee also suggests placing monitors near places where frack sand is loaded, transported and processed.
Oil- and gas-drilling companies use frack sand to unlock oil and natural gas deposits. Southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin have experienced a boom in silica sand mining because the sand found there is the ideal shape and size for hydraulic fracturing.
Opponents have raised concerns that fracking might lead to air and water pollution.
The Winona Planning Commission is expected to consider the committee’s recommendations at its next meeting, but the suggestions are not binding.
___
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minneapolis police are looking for leads after a man and woman were shot to death in a car.
Police responded Friday about 9:30 a.m. to a report of shots fired. Officers found the man and woman with apparent gunshot wounds.
Authorities provided first aid but both victims died at the scene.
Police spokesman John Elder says the shootings didn’t appear to be a murder-suicide. He says police are still trying to piece together what happened.
No suspects have been arrested. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 612-673-2941.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.