Eastbound Minnesota 36 between Interstate 35W in Roseville and Interstate 35E in Little Canada will be closed this weekend, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The closure begins at 9 p.m. Friday and ends at 5 a.m. Monday.

Drivers will be detoured north on I-35W, east on Interstate 694 and south on I-35E during the closure.

MnDOT will be repairing and resurfacing the roadway in the area. The project is expected to be completed later this month.

Ramps to and from Highway 36 and Edgerton Street closed Tuesday and will remain closed until around 5 p.m. Sept. 12. Motorists can follow the signed detours.

To learn more about the project, go to tinyurl.com/ 2duu84bz.

— Imani Cruzen

Pedestrian, 85, fatally hit crossing highway

A pedestrian was struck and killed Wednesday afternoon on U.S. 12 in Howard Lake, west of Minneapolis.

Barbara Jean Hoppe, 85, of Howard Lake, was transported to the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, but her injuries were fatal, according to a report from the Minnesota State Patrol.

Jonathan William Edwards, 46, of Howard Lake, was driving a 2013 Nissan van eastbound on Highway 12, according to the report. Hoppe was crossing the highway from north to south at 11th Avenue. Edwards was not injured.

Alcohol was not involved, according to the State Patrol, and roads were dry at the time of the collision shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The State Patrol is continuing to investigate.

— Forum News Service

School bus driver charged with DWI

A school bus driver was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly driving while impaired in northeastern Minnesota.

According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, 17 South Range students were on board the impaired driver’s bus when he was pulled over near Saginaw.

In a news release, the sheriff’s office said a “concerned citizen” called just after midnight Wednesday to report an off-duty St. Louis County School District bus driver was consuming alcohol. The citizen was concerned “he was highly intoxicated and would not be sober by morning when he would likely begin his route.”

Deputies contacted the driver at his home at 6 a.m. Wednesday and the driver assured them he would not work later. The sheriff’s office also informed the school district.

An hour later, the school district told deputies that the driver was, in fact, on his route. Deputies pulled him over “without incident” on Independence Road just north of Seville Road in Saginaw, according to the news release.

The driver was arrested on pending charges of second-degree DWI and operating a school bus with evidence of alcohol present in the person’s body, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said all 17 children on board were students at South Ridge School near Alborn and were “uninjured and doing well.” Their parents were notified, and school district staff arrived to “take custody” of the bus and children.

While the sheriff’s office said official blood test results “will not be available for quite some time,” a preliminary breath test recorded the driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.16 — twice the legal limit to drive a typical motor vehicle. However, Minnesota law forbids school bus drivers from having any amount of alcohol in their system while operating a school bus.

On Wednesday, the driver remained in the St. Louis County Jail.

— Forum News Service

Concordia gets $20M gift for business school

Concordia College has announced a gift to the school that it said will transform how business students receive their education.

The donation was revealed during a Thursday gathering of administrators, faculty and students at the liberal arts college in Moorhead.

Concordia President Colin Irvine announced the “transformative” milestone, a $20 million gift to the Offutt School of Business from an anonymous donor.

“This truly historic contribution will greatly enhance our capacity to attract, teach, to inspire and to equip the next generation of business leaders,” Irvine said.

Terry Brandt, vice president for advancement, said the gift — the largest gift ever given to the business school and one of the largest ever given to the college — is more than a financial contribution.

“It is a profound investment in the future of education at Concordia College. It will open doors, it will create opportunities and significantly enhance the experience and impact we offer our students,” Brandt said.

Irvine said the donation builds on other major steps made in the last year , including the opening of the Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions.

Following that, a $10 million anonymous gift helped the school launch 22 new or reimagined academic programs, five new or expanded co-curricular programs, and infrastructure investments, including a new outdoor track, new turf and lights for the football field, he said.

Those investments have helped prompt a boost in enrollment, Irvine said, with more than 600 new students registered this fall, marking the school’s largest class since 2018.

Susan Larson, Concordia provost and dean, said the $20 million gift will lay the groundwork for expanding graduate program offerings, including a master of business administration degree and graduate certificates in management and business analytics.

At the undergraduate level, Concordia will expand programs that integrate real-world experiences with rigorous academic learning, she said.

“We have had exciting conversations in the past year on areas around econometrics, business and sustainability, and sports and arts management,” Larson said.

The gift will also bring upgrades in classroom technology, she said, and will prioritize scholarships for lower-income students.

Concordia broke ground in June 2011 on the Offutt School of Business, named after former chairman of the Concordia Board of Regents Ron Offutt, who contributed the lead gift toward the $50 million fundraising campaign.

The business school opened its doors in January 2013.

Chris Mason, dean of the Offutt School of Business, said since then, the school has graduated more than 2,000 students.

“This generous donation ensures that our future students will continue this legacy armed with an education that not only meets the demands of today but anticipates the challenges of tomorrow,” Mason said.

— Forum News Service

3 officers shot, injured while serving warrant

Three police officers were shot and wounded while trying to serve a warrant Thursday morning on a man inside a Milwaukee apartment building.

The injuries suffered by the officers were not considered life-threatening, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman told reporters in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred.

Norman said the 35-year-old suspect was wanted on charges that included being a felon in possession of a firearm, domestic violence-related false imprisonment and sexual assault.

Officers had attempted communicating with the man when he started shooting at them around 11:38 a.m., Norman said.

“Our officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect,” Norman continued. “After the gunfire ceased, officers continued communication with the suspect.”

The man, whose name was not released, eventually surrendered two firearms with high-capacity extended magazines and was arrested. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of wounds. Norman said he not immediately certain if the man had been shot by officers or on the extent of the officers’ wounds.

The wounded officers — ages 49, 44 and 43 — are members of the police department’s Special Investigation Division. Each has more than 19 years of service as a police officer, Norman said.

Four officers fired their weapons and will be placed on routine administrative duty as the shooting is investigated, said the chief, adding that the shooting was captured on police body cameras.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called Thursday for an end to gun violence in the city.

“What happened here was a travesty and it should not have happened,” Johnson told reporters. “Even though the officers were injured here, this wasn’t just an attack on them. This was an attack on the entire Milwaukee Police Department. This was an attack on the entire city of Milwaukee. This is an attack on everybody in this community who wants to have safety in our community.”

— Associated Press