A winter storm descending on the Twin Cities is expected to drop up to 8 inches of snow on the Metro Wednesday. The storm is expected to roll into St. Paul and Minneapolis between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., causing serious trouble during the morning commute, according to the National Weather Service. Most of southern Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin are under a winter storm warning until 9 p.m. Wednesday. Heavy snow will move in late tonight from southwest to northeast, reaching the metro between 3-5 AM. The commutes tomorrow will be severely impacted with 5-9 inches expected. #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/CtYZLSJJ5U — NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) February 19, 2019 The Minneapolis and St. Paul public school districts canceled classes in anticipation of the storm. It will be the sixth day this year that St. Paul has called off school, putting its middle and high schools on pace to dip below the statutory minimum instruction hours. All schools will be closed, and programs, … [Read more...] about St. Paul and Minneapolis cancel school Wednesday as metro prepares for up to 8 inches of snow
Joybird, store acquisitions boost La-Z-Boy sales
Breana Noble The Detroit News Published 7:51 PM EST Feb 19, 2019 La-Z-Boy Inc. reported Tuesday a 13 percent increase in sales year-over-year for the third quarter of its 2019 fiscal year. The Monroe-based furniture manufacturer benefited from the acquisition of e-commerce retailer Joybird and 10 La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores in Arizona and Massachusetts from the previous quarter, translating to a 137 percent increase in net income of $29 million on $468 million in sales. Changes to employee benefits and a legal settlement during last year's third quarter also contributed to the increases. Earnings per share was 61 cents, up 144 percent. La-Z-Boy saw sales increase 26.7 percent in its retail segment to $159 million. Acquisitions and same-store sales rose 6.7 percent, helping to double the division's operating income. "Within the stores, our retail team is professionally executing our strategies while consumers are responding positively to our product and service … [Read more...] about Joybird, store acquisitions boost La-Z-Boy sales
Golden Knights appear stuck in Pacific Division ‘limbo’
Vegas Golden Knights center Cody Eakin, left, uses his stick to slow down Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen, center, as Vegas defenseman Nate Schmidt follows the play in the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) The Golden Knights are in no-man’s land with 21 regular-season games remaining. A playoff berth appears assured. A division title looks out of reach. And players are trying to deal with that reality and still find an edge during a stretch where the team has lost nine of its last 13 games. “I think that we’re in a spot right now where we’re a little bit in limbo,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “It’s got to come from within our room to make a push here and do something. Not just try and limp in (the playoffs).” The Knights (68 points in 61 games) are entrenched in third place in the Pacific Division behind the Calgary Flames (79 in 59) and San Jose Sharks (78 in … [Read more...] about Golden Knights appear stuck in Pacific Division ‘limbo’
Portland mayor makes case for investigation of police texts with right-wing leader
Mayor Ted Wheeler zeroed in on a particular exchange of text messages Tuesday in defending his call for investigations of affable messages between a Portland police lieutenant and Joey Gibson, leader of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer.The exchange the mayor said deeply troubled him was one in which the commander of the Portland Police Bureau’s protest monitoring squad, Lt. Jeffrey Niyya, warned Gibson that a warrant had been issued for one of his supporter’s arrest. Saying at once that he intends to “reserve judgment” until an investigation is complete and that the exchanges “raised significant questions,” Wheeler said his chief concern is what appears to be a police lieutenant coaching someone “about how to avoid arrest.”“Is that standard police strategy?” the mayor asked rhetorically during a press conference Tuesday.Former deputy city attorney Jason Loos, who worked closely with Niiya, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that … [Read more...] about Portland mayor makes case for investigation of police texts with right-wing leader
Portland 911 keeps improving call-wait times
Portland’s 911 agency continues to improve its call-answering times and is on track to meet national standards for prompt dispatching as early as this year, its director, Bob Cozzie, said Tuesday.National standards say emergency dispatchers should answer 90 percent of calls within 10 seconds during the busiest hour of each day. Portland dipped to a low of just 8 percent of calls answered in that timeframe last June. It has steadily improved since, reaching 65 percent answered within 10 seconds during January. Cozzie attributes the headway to increased staffing and technology changes. Agency trainees have become certified call-takers since last summer, he said, and more are in the pipeline.Also key was a decision by Cozzie to turn off a digital “filter” technology that routes calls from cell phones to a pre-recorded message instead of a live dispatcher. His predecessors decided the bureau should use that filter because they believed an outsized proportion of cell phone … [Read more...] about Portland 911 keeps improving call-wait times