Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page B5

REMER, MINN. A small town in northern Minnesota has lost its mayor and a teacher in separate deadly accidents on the same day and on the same stretch of highway. Remer is a community of about 370 people in Cass County. Mayor Howard Prushek was changing a flat tire on his pickup Wednesday along Hwy. 6 when he was struck by a van and killed, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Prushek, 76, had been mayor for a year and a City Council member for 17 years. Also Wednesday, teacher Timothy Budrow was riding in a car that spun out of control, crossed the centerline on Hwy. 6 and was struck by an SUV. Budrow was killed. Another teacher in the vehicle was seriously injured.

Budrow, 60, was a sixth-grade teacher in Remer. ASSOCIATED PRESS Small town loses mayor, teacher in car accidents ADAM BELZ adam.belz@startribune.com A Green Line train hit a pedestrian in St. Paul on Friday afternoon, shutting down a busy intersection for a time. After the accident, which happened at Snelling and University avenues about 2 p.m., light-rail service was stopped and passengers were redirected to buses. Train service resumed in less than an hour.

The pedestrian was taken to Regions Hospital. No update on that condition was available Friday evening. COLLEEN KELLY Light-rail train hits pedestrian Minnesota contracts with health insurers, forcing them to bid competitively for hundreds of millions of dollars in state business. Her agency also has faced a historic challenge to its sex offender treatment program, under pressure to make reforms after a federal judge declared the program unconstitutional for detaining individuals indefinitely without a clear path to release. Dayton hailed and job managing largest state in a written statement.

Before her appointment as DHS commissioner, Jesson was a law professor at Hamline University, a deputy Hennepin County attorney and a deputy attorney general. In an e-mail to agency employees Friday, Jesson said Monday will be her last day as commissioner. Deputy Commissioner Chuck Johnson will serve as acting commissioner until Dayton appoints successor. am grateful to the Governor for this new opportunity to serve the people of Minnesota, but it will be very difficult to leave our work Jesson wrote. have had many rewarding positions in my career, but when a reporter recently asked why I have served as commissioner for the last five years, the answer was easy: This is the best job ever Like Jesson, Smith is a former prosecutor who spent years working for the Minnesota attorney office.

In the early 1990s, Smith litigated a number of high-profile consumer fraud cases and investigated antitrust complaints. One case, against a marketer of air purifiers called Alpine Air Products, went to the state Supreme Court and was widely considered significant because it established that consumers do not need overwhelming evidence of harm to be entitled to refunds when marketers make false claims. Smith has spent the past 21 years as an attorney for the University of Minnesota, where she has represented the school in lawsuits on a wide range of issues, including employment and antitrust claims. She was appointed deputy general counsel in May 2013. am really excited to serve on the court and to expand my public Smith said.

is an excellent court doing really important work for the people of Chris Serres 612-673-4308 Twitter: Dayton taps 2 high-profile judges JUDGES from B1 Monday will be Lucinda Jesson last day as chief of the state Department of Health and Human Services. University of Tracy Smith spent years as a prosecutor in the state attorney office. Kathryn Hoffman, lead mining attorney. Hoffman also said the firm would wind up unable to represent Minnesota because its other clients would create a conflict of interest in violation of legal ethics. State Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans, who is guiding the process, said the state chose the sharpest lawyers for an exceptionally good price, and said they are able to represent the interests.

Frans said the firm has reviewed its potential conflicts and is able to create an ethical wall between its other clients and the state of Minnesota. like to work both sides of the he said. an opportunity to get them on the public service Frans said he is writing to the MCEA and legislators who have expressed similar concerns. Minnesota hired the firm to defend it against what many see as inevitable lawsuits whether it approves or rejects the proposed mine, a $650 million open pit and processing facility near Hoyt Lakes. An environmental review, required by law and nearly 10 years in preparation, was completed last month, and PolyMet is expected to apply early next year for the necessary permits.

While insisting that he is undecided on the PolyMet proposal, Dayton has called this one of the most important environmental decisions he will make as governor and one that has the potential to divide the state. Proponents say the 350 jobs can help rejuvenate the economically depressed Iron Range. Environmentalists fear that a new type of mining will create unprecedented risks for water pollution. The state has run into conflict-of-interest problems before in environmental litigation. been embroiled in a 3 -year dispute with 3M Co.

in one of the largest environmental lawsuits in Minne- sota history. But for most of that time, the case has been mired in a side dispute over whether the Washington, D.C., law firm should be disqualified because it once represented 3M. Frans said Crowell Moring has already taken the steps it needs to take with other clients, and that conflict of interest is not a risk. far the National Mining Association has not inserted itself into the he said. And in the future, the law firm will avoid any work for the association that could pose a problem, he said.

got an ethical wall he said. There are, however, more subtle problems, said Richard Painter, who teaches legal and government ethics at the University of Minnesota Law School. He was hired by 3M as an expert witness in its dispute with the state. gut reaction is, if your decision is to deny the permit, then mining company lawyers are not going to be your best he said. Painter also questioned whether Minnesota and the law firm can fully assess potential conflicts of interest before the state decides for or against plan.

Josephine Marcotty 612-673-7394 Mining foes cry foul over law firm POLYMET from B1 GLEN STUBBE An environmental review of controversial mine in Hoyt Lakes, was completed in November and the company is expected to apply early next year for the necessary permits. fights and shootings have taken place in and around La Que Buena since 2011. They included a 30-person brawl, a fight over a gun that resulted in gunshot wounds and an attack with a broken bottle. Employees have been scratched and pistol-whipped by patrons. One person attempted to stab a bouncer, who responded with a baton to the face.

Most prominent, however, was the November 201 3 shooting of four patrons through a restaurant window leaving one dead. The killer has not been identified. has been shed multiple times at the restaurant, and licensing violations have continued to Assistant City Attorney Joel Fussy said at a hearing this week. some point, it is incumbent upon the city to deny the privilege of continued liquor license operation at a site with such a lengthy history of both license violations and disruptive and dangerous criminal activity. That time is now, and quite frankly, The manager, Cindy Leon said the business has been working hard to keep bad actors out.

A roundup of violent incidents in an administrative law review of the matter shows that many occurred after staff refused to serve or tried to eject cus- tomers. the neighborhood. You can take us out, and the neighborhood is still going to be Leon said. us leave is only going to bring back what we cleaned up on our block. Because our security takes care of the whole Multiple meetings The revocation would extend beyond what the administrative law judge recommended in October.

The judge advised the city to pull the late- night food license but allow it to keep the liquor license, subject to conditions. Fussy said the city pursued both revocations, however, because most of the incidents occurred before 2:30 a.m., when a late-night food license needed. going by a minor Jordan Kushner an attorney for the owner, told the committee. basically the difference between whether La Que Buena can remain in business or The city brings in problem businesses for settlement conferences to hash out a change in operations. Officials highlighted Tuesday that La Que Buena has had three such conferences, more than any of the 400 other on-sale liquor license holders.

Among the changes La Que Buena agreed to was installing emergency exit hardware on the rear door required by building codes. Kushner said the business did not follow through after learning it would cost more than $30,000 because of an obstruction outside. we know there is a fire code Council Member Lisa Goodman said. addition to that, there is a lengthy record of unwillingness to abide by license settlement Restaurant owner Juan Sanchez speaking through an interpreter, pleaded with the committee to allow him to keep the license. wife and my children and my family, we have struggled to keep this business Sanchez said.

want to keep moving forward. I feel very nervous right Eric Roper 612-673-1732 Twitter: City poised to strip liquor license of troubled eatery LICENSE from B1 ELIZABETH FLORES Tape covered bullet holes outside La Que Buena after a shooting that killed Luis Alejandro Torres-Sanchez in 2013. Victims thrown from the vehicle; 2 others injured. By LIZ SAWYER liz.sawyer@startribune.com Two Lakeville South High School students were killed in a single-vehicle crash near the school shortly after classes were dismissed Friday afternoon, officials said. The victims were part of a foursome of teenage boys who were in a pickup that rolled over at 225th Street west of Dodd Boulevard just before 3 p.m., authorities said.

Passengers Jake Flynn, 17, and Johnny Price, 18, died after being ejected from the vehicle. Two other teens, one of whom was found wandering dazed nearby, were hurt, but are expected to recover. The boy found walking near the site was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis by ambulance, and the fourth teen, found in the vehicle, was airlifted there. The survivors, seniors Alex Hughes and Mason Kohlbeck are on the varsity football team, head coach Larry Thompson said. Hughes is in intensive-care unit in serious but stable condition with a fractured skull and broken cheekbone, he said.

One of the surviving teens was driving the pickup, but authorities did not say whether it was Hughes or Kohlbeck. Thompson said that both of the survivors were wearing seat belts. Authorities did not release any information about seat belts. There were no witnesses to the crash and its cause is still unknown, said Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie. is an extremely difficult time for the district and the Lakeville Area a statement from the school read.

will be providing support and counselors as long as The school provided grief counselors in its auditorium Friday evening. Lakeville South canceled all after-school activities Friday, including a varsity boys basketball game against Wayzata and a girls basketball game at home against Minneapolis Washburn. Weekend activities also were canceled. Lakeville North will still hold events Saturday, students who do not feel able to take part will be said Amy Olson a school district spokeswoman. Flynn, a junior, and Price, a senior, were star athletes at the school and poised for college scholarships, Thompson said.

Flynn, recently voted varsity football captain by his teammates, was in the weight room Friday before school, the coach said. always have a big smile on his face He was a fine young Price had played for Thompson for two years and also was a talented baseball player for Lakeville South, as well as a member of the Minnesota Blizzard Elite, a traveling baseball league. Thompson described both young men as dedicated and personable. a true loss for our school and our he said. hearts go out to their Students from both Lakeville high schools joined prayer groups in auditorium Friday, sharing stories about the boys Lakeville Mayor Matt Little shared his grief on Twitter upon hearing the news.

so sad and upset. There is no fairness in he wrote. if you can find your strength, use it to support their friends and Reached by phone, Little said he believed the students had just left school at the time of the crash. one of those things where you feel pretty he said. Staff writer Beatrice Dupuy contributed to this report.

Liz Sawyer 612-673-4648 Two Lakeville South students die in crash SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2015 STAR TRIBUNE METRO B5 5" 963 A8G.