Starting this spring, Minnesota 97 in Forest Lake will be reconstructed between Interstate 35 and U.S. 61 to improve traffic flow and safety.

The $17 million project will include resurfacing the road, constructing a single-lane roundabout at Fenway Avenue, and adding turn lanes in specific locations.

A new multi-use trail will be constructed along the south side of 97 to provide a safer space for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as a connection to the Hardwood Creek Regional Trail.

In addition, a raised median will be added to divide eastbound and westbound traffic on the two-lane roadway; the median also will serve as an accessible pedestrian crossing.

Construction will be done in two stages over a two-year period, with one half of the road under construction each year. Construction is scheduled to be done in the fall of 2026.

A public meeting for residents to learn more about the project will be 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, in the Forest Lake City Center’s second-floor community room.

Project staff from the Minnesota Department of Transportation will be available to provide information about the project and answer questions. There will be no formal presentation, and attendees are welcome to arrive anytime during the meeting.

For more information, go to mndot.gov/metro/projects/hwy97-forestlake/.

— Mary Divine

Free AARP class offers fraud protection skills

White Bear Lake United Methodist Church and AARP have partnered for a free upcoming class on preventing fraud and identity theft.

The course will be from noon to 2 p.m. on March 30 in the church’s sanctuary at 1851 Birch Street in White Bear Lake.

It will be led by John Schmidt from the AARP Fraud Watch Network and is open to the public and all ages.

Resources and tools will be provided on spotting signs of identity theft and fraud, understanding fraud trends and steps to protect yourself and others.

For more information about the class, contact event coordinator Peteria Cochran Routt at 612-251-3861 or peteria.cochranroutt@wblumc.org or go to tinyurl.com/ycxy6ew9.

— Imani Cruzen

Kaul blasts Schimel over rape kit delays

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul waded into the state’s Supreme Court race Monday, renewing an old feud with conservative candidate Brad Schimel over delays in testing sexual assault evidence kits almost a decade ago.

Kaul, a Democrat, ousted Schimel, then a Republican, from the attorney general post in the 2018 elections. Kaul hammered Schimel relentlessly during the campaign for taking more than two years to test about 4,000 kits sitting unanalyzed on police department and hospital shelves.

Schimel’s opponent in the Supreme Court race, Susan Crawford, has attacked Schimel over his handling of the kits in ads. Kaul brought up the delays again Monday during an afternoon news conference organized by the state Democratic Party. He accused Schimel of not paying close attention to the testing project and prematurely declaring he had completed the work when his administration left hundreds of kits for Kaul’s administration to test.

When asked what the testing delays have to do with being a state Supreme Court justice, Kaul said justices must be straightforward and Schimel isn’t candid about what went on with the kits.

Schimel defended himself in the days before the 2018 election by saying the state Justice Department needed time to inventory the kits and struggled to find private labs to test them because labs were overwhelmed with untested kits from other states. Jacob Fisher, Schimel’s Supreme Court campaign spokesperson, said in a statement Monday that Schimel voluntarily took the initiative to lead a first-of-its-kind effort to test the kits. He accused Kaul of playing politics.

Schimel and Crawford are vying for an open seat on the Supreme Court in an April 1 election. The race is officially nonpartisan, but Schimel was a Republican attorney general and has GOP backing while Democrats support Crawford.

The race has enormous implications in swing state Wisconsin, with majority control of the state’s highest court on the line as it is expected to face issues that will affect abortion, public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.

— Associated Press