Firefighters make weekend progress

As the Jenkins Creek, Camp House and Munger Shaw fires blazed through the weekend, firefighters reported success on all three fronts.

In particular, the Minnesota Interagency Command Team A noted Saturday evening that the Munger Shaw fire is 75% contained. According to a news release from Eastern Area Incident Management Team issued on Sunday, the Camp House Fire was listed as 31% contained.

The Jenkins Creek Fire was still zero percent contained at last report. Firefighting efforts and rainy weather have combined to prevent all the fires from spreading over the weekend. However, crews are preparing for the return of drier and gustier conditions in the coming week.

— Duluth News Tribune

Man charged with smashing windows

A man is charged with using a stick to break windows at restaurants and another business on St. Paul’s West Seventh Street near the Xcel Energy Center.

Estimated costs to fix the windows totals $17,500, with the price tag at $8,000 for one restaurant, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Police responded about 3 p.m. Tuesday to the Downtowner Woodfire Grill at West Seventh and Walnut streets for multiple reports of a man breaking windows in the area. Officers found a 30-year-old about a block away in front of Maharaja’s.

The man had blood coming from his arm. An officer asked why he broke the windows and he said “it was because he needed help,” according to the complaint. St. Paul Fire Department medics took him to the hospital. The complaint said he has no permanent address.

Witnesses saw the man using a stick to break a widow at the Downtowner, at Cossetta Alimentari and Maharaja’s. They also saw him damage the door at Patrick McGovern’s Pub.

The man cut himself when breaking one of the windows. Police noted the stick appeared to be a thick wooden handle from a tool.

The Downtowner’s owner tried to calm down the man and get him to stop breaking windows, but the man swung the stick at him two or three times, the complaint said.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office filed charges of threats of violence and four counts of first-degree criminal damage to property.

— Mara H. Gottfried

López Franzen ends campaign for Senate

Former State Sen. Melisa López Franzen says she’s ending her campaign for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat. The former Senate minority leader was among three DFL candidates vying for the seat Sen. Tina Smith will depart after 2026.

Lopez Franzen had been overshadowed by Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig in endorsements and available money.

— MPR News