Tag Archives: Metro

Air quality alert impacts Twin Cities metro this weekend

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an air quality alert for the areas indicated in orange on the map from Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. to Sunday, Feb. 21 at noon. (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency)

An air quality alert will be in effect in east-central and southeast Minnesota, which includes the Twin Cities metro, for much of the weekend, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The alert starts at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19 and lasts until Sunday, Feb. 21 at noon. The affected area also includes St. Cloud, Rochester, Albert Lea, Winona and the tribal nation of Prairie Island.

According to the MPCA, light winds and poor atmospheric mixing will create an increased level of fine particles starting Friday evening. The elevated levels will continue into Saturday as southerly winds are expected to bring more particles into the area. Air quality should improve Sunday morning as cleaner air moves in from the west. 

The decreased air quality could impact people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, high blood pressure, or those doing strenuous physical activity. Young children and senior citizens may also be affected.

Possible health effects could include chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing or fatigue. If experiencing these symptoms those with prescribed inhalers should use them as directed.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, an air quality alert until 3 p.m. on Sunday has also been issued for the following counties in Wisconsin: Adams, Brown, Buffalo, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago and Wood.

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Bruce Springsteen busted after one shot of tequila

Bruce Springsteen was allegedly busted in Sandy Hook, New Jersey when he pulled over to take pictures with fans — and then took a shot of tequila offered by one of them in full view of the cops, a music industry insider said.

The “Born to Run” icon, 71, had been riding his motorcycle on the peninsula on Nov. 14 when he “was spotted by fans who asked him to pull over and take some pictures,” according to a source close to Springsteen. 

“Bruce stopped, took the pictures, then a fan offered him a shot of liquor, which he took, while sitting on his bike, which was stationary,” the source said.

“Park Police saw what happened and they immediately pulled Springsteen over as he drove away.”

The Post has not been able to immediately verify this account with law enforcement.

Springsteen was charged with DWI, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area, a spokesperson for the National Park Service said.

The Asbury Park Press reported Springsteen’s blood-alcohol content was 0.02 — just a quarter of New Jersey’s legal limit — when he was arrested. 

The legal threshold in New Jersey is .08, which the outlet said calls into question why Springsteen was charged with driving while intoxicated.

News of the bust broke just days after Springsteen appeared in and narrated a Super Bowl spot for Jeep, in which he implored Americans to move toward the political “middle” in the spirit of unity amid recent bitter division.

The ad has since been yanked from Jeep’s YouTube page.

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New York Young Republicans plan ‘Re-Occupy Wall Street’

They’re young, they’re Republican — and they’re mad as hell at Wall Street.

Members of the New York Young Republicans are planning to storm Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan Sunday for a “Re-Occupy Wall Street” demonstration to protest actions by hedge funds and other financial institutions to undermine Reddit-fueled populist purchases of GameStop stock this week.

“What we saw the last few days was absolutely despicable. It’s pissed off a lot of people,” group president Gavin Wax told The Post. “We have the elites and the substrata of everyone else who doesn’t get to sit at the big-boy table and make the big-boy money.”

GameStop, a dusty mall retailer of video games and electronics, saw shares spike more than 1,700 percent when amateur day traders poured cash into the stock to protest Wall Street short sellers looking to profit from the company’s failure. The movement was initially organized by the Reddit page WallStreetBets.

As the stock soared and hedge funds faced billions in losses, multiple trading apps moved to prevent additional sales of the stock. One — aptly named RobinHood — has been hit with a class-action lawsuit.

“I do think they need to be prosecuted. A lot of these guys need to go to jail. Text messages and emails need to be seized. It was coordinated. There needs to be repercussions,” Wax said of the institutional effort to shut down the amateur traders.

Wax’s GOP rally ironically seeks to recapture some of the energy of the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests — which saw mostly lefties turn the park into a quasi-homeless encampment that convulsed the city for months.

A hastily thrown together Eventbrite invitation calls YR members and fellow travelers to converge on the park at noon. “Bring signs and dress warmly,” the invite reads.

But Wax said it wouldn’t become an overnighter like the old days.

“We have jobs to go to on Monday,” he said. “It will be nice and orderly. We will be bathing.”

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AOC cheers wage increase for Teamsters at NYC produce market

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrated a wage increase for Teamsters workers at a Bronx produce market, following a week-long strike that was set to end Sunday.

“Our food produce workers wanted a $1 raise after risking their lives in COVID. They were denied, asked to pay more for healthcare, & told ‘you’re lucky to even have a job,’” she tweeted Saturday afternoon of the Hunts Point Produce Market workers. “So they went on strike. Community supported them. Now they’re getting a $1.85 raise and $0 out of pocket.”

Ocasio-Cortez spent Inauguration Day picketing with the 1,400 Local 202 members who staff the market — which supplies 60 percent of the region’s produce.



Members of Local Teamsters 202 celebrate in the Bronx in front of Hunts Point Produce Market after winning a better job contract with the Hunts Produce Market management.

G.N.Miller/NYPost



Members of Local Teamsters 202 celebrate in the Bronx in front of Hunts Point Produce Market after winning a better job contract with the Hunts Produce Market management.

G.N.Miller/NYPost

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Ninety-seven percent of union members officially voted Saturday morning on a new contract that will boost their hourly wages by $1.85 over the course of three years, Local 202 President Danny Kane Jr. said. 

The first crew was set to return to work at 2 a.m. Sunday.

“It’s not often that workers take their fate in their hands and decide to put their hands together to fight for a better tomorrow. These workers did that,” said Kane Jr. while celebrating the wage increase with a champagne toast outside the union’s Bronx headquarters, flanked by state Assemblywoman Anada Septimno and City Councilman Rafael Salamanca.



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