Some 4,000 janitors who service more than 100 commercial office buildings across the metro — many of them in downtown Minneapolis — began a three-day “Unfair Labor Practice” strike on Monday.

The commercial janitors are members of the Minneapolis-based Service Employees International Union Local 26. Picketing was scheduled Monday at worksites across the metro in the morning, followed by morning and early evening rallies in downtown Minneapolis.

In early February, multiple sectors of SEIU Local 26 authorized their bargaining teams to call an unfair labor practice strike if contract bargaining was not successful. Some 2,000 security officers and 500 retail janitors who service big box stores later reached settlements. The commercial janitors did not, despite what the union described as a final marathon session on Friday. Their next scheduled bargaining session is this Friday.

Labor rallies, forums and marches to the Capitol are scheduled throughout the week across bargaining sectors. On Tuesday, nursing home workers at 12 locations represented by SEIU Healthcare MN & IA and United Food and Commercial Workers 663 are to go on a one-day strike.

Contract negotiations between St. Paul Public Schools and the teachers union were scheduled to continue Monday after the two sides failed to reach an agreement despite nearly 40 hours of bargaining over the weekend. Members of the St. Paul Federation of Educators, which represents the district’s 3,700 teachers and nonlicensed staffers, have threatened to go on strike next Monday.

— Frederick Melo

Police investigating drowning in St. Croix

The Hudson Police Department is investigating an accidental drowning death over the weekend in the St. Croix River.

Officers were dispatched to Lakefront Park, south of Dike Road, about 8:30 a.m. Saturday on a report of a body in the water.

Police on Monday identified the man as Anders David Engstrom, 34, of Hudson. Engstrom was the sports and education programming director for Valley Access Channels in Stillwater.

“The investigation into (Engstrom’s) death did not reveal any indications of foul play, and we believe this incident to have been a freshwater drowning as a result of an accident,” Chief Geoff Willems said.

Engstrom, an avid outdoorsman, is believed to have been out walking along the river Friday night when he either fell or tripped and fell into the water, said his father, Dave Engstrom, of Afton.

“He loved hiking outdoors,” Dave Engstrom said. “He absolutely loved it. He often went hiking in Afton State Park. He was a real outdoorsman.”

Anders Engstrom studied videography at Century College in White Bear Lake and was a 2008 graduate of Stillwater Area High School.

Engstrom loved his job at Valley Access Channels, where he directed coverage of Stillwater Area High School football games and other events, and filmed Stillwater school board meetings and local city council meetings, his father said.

“It was his dream job,” said Dave Engstrom, who is city administrator/clerk of Lake St. Croix Beach and a former Afton mayor and Washington County commissioner. “He was a very, very nice man. He was a simple man.”

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office water recovery team, the St. Croix County Medical Examiner’s Office, the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, the Hudson Fire Department and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources assisted with the incident.

Bradshaw Funeral Home in Stillwater will be handling funeral arrangements.

— Mary Divine

GOP state senator will seek 8th District seat

A Republican state senator announced Monday that he will run for an open congressional seat representing northeastern Wisconsin.

Andre Jacque of De Pere announced Monday that he will run for the 8th Congressional District seat being vacated by Mike Gallagher. Gallagher abruptly announced last month he won’t seek re-election after he angered his fellow Republicans by refusing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Former state Sen. Roger Roth of Appleton announced his candidacy just hours after Gallagher said he won’t run again. The 8th Congressional District includes the cities of Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh and leans heavily Republican. Republican consultant Alex Bruesewitz also is considering a run.

Jacque was first elected to the state Assembly in 2010. He has served in the state Senate representing northeastern Wisconsin’s 1st District since 2018 and has built a reputation as a staunch conservative. He doesn’t face re-election in the state Senate until 2026. If he wins the congressional seat he would have to vacate his Senate position next January when he’s sworn into Congress.

Gallagher abruptly announced last month he won’t seek re-election after he angered his fellow Republicans by refusing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Former state Sen. Roger Roth of Appleton announced his candidacy hours after Gallagher said he won’t run.

The 8th Congressional District includes the cities of Green Bay, Appleton and Oshkosh and leans heavily Republican.

— Associated Press

Pair of wildfires scorch thousands of acres

One resident and two firefighters suffered injuries related to Sunday’s wildfire in rural Waseca that approached homes in southern Minnesota.

The firefighters received treatment at the scene and hospital and were released, according to Waseca Fire Chief Jason Forshee, while the resident’s condition from burn wounds wasn’t immediately known.

Numerous crews worked to contain the grass fire on both sides of Snake Trail in Waseca County between about noon and 10 p.m. The fire burned less than 2,000 acres starting from the state’s Findley wildlife refuge and jumping across the trail road to the state’s Moonan wildlife refuge.

Investigators believe a man-made brush fire grew into the wider fire, said Waseca County Sheriff Jay Dulas. The incident remains under investigation.

No structures were affected, though the flames crept within feet of some.

Crews remained in the area monitoring for hotspots Monday, said Jake Froyum, regional fire specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The change in weather from hot, dry, windiness Sunday to cold, damp conditions Monday helped.

Sunday’s record temperatures in the 70s, gusty winds and a dry winter leading up to it combined to heighten fire risks. Data from the National Interstate Fire Center shows increased wildfire risks in Minnesota beginning in March and continuing through May.

Typical winter snowpack flattens vegetation and adds moisture to it, Froyum said. That snowpack was absent this year.

Meanwhile in western Minnesota, more than 2,000 acres of grassland are estimated to have burned, including in a wildlife refuge, just a few miles southwest of Fergus Falls on Sunday afternoon. No structures were damaged.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

— News service reports