MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Al Franken finally got to take his seat in the U.S. Senate. Two Northwest Airlines pilots were grounded after they forgot to land in the Twin Cities. And a 13-year-old boy with cancer touched off a nationwide manhunt when he fled with his mother to avoid court-ordered treatment.
Those were just a few of Minnesota’s top stories of 2009, a year also marked by Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s rising profile on the national political scene, the fall of Minnesota businessmen Tom Petters and Denny Hecker, the dawn of the Brett Favre era with the Minnesota Vikings, and two newlyweds who became an Internet sensation with their joyous dance down the aisle.
Politics
Franken became Minnesota’s junior senator in July, ending eight months of legal and political struggles and giving Democrats a 60th vote for a theoretically filibuster-proof majority. He was seated in time to question Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, leading to one memorable exchange when they swapped memories of the Perry Mason TV series. Franken stumped Sotomayor by asking her to name the only episode in which Mason ever lost his case.
State government fell back into the red as its budget continued to hemorrhage. The 2009 session ended in May without a budget deal due to a stalemate between the Democratic-led Legislature and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty over spending and taxes. Pawlenty then chopped $2.7 billion in spending by himself, but it wasn’t enough. Minnesota enters the new year with a projected $1.2 billion deficit through mid-2011.
Pawlenty announced in June he would not seek a third term, fueling speculation he’ll run for president in 2012. Pawlenty is taking all the usual steps. He started a political action committee and has been traveling extensively, both across the U.S. and abroad. Pawlenty’s withdrawal touched off a mad scramble to fill his open seat in the 2010 election.
Crime and courts
Tom Petters was convicted in December for a Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $3.5 billion. Federal prosecutors called it the biggest financial fraud in Minnesota history. Petters had been one of the state’s most prominent businessmen before his fall, growing a merchandise liquidation company into Petters Group Worldwide, which included Polaroid and Sun Country Airlines among his holdings.
In scenes reminiscent of how the Petters case broke, state and federal investigators searched the headquarters of former auto magnate Denny Hecker in June and July. Hecker had already been in the headlines for months as his automotive empire collapsed. Hecker’s attorney has denied any wrongdoing.
In May, 13-year-old Daniel Hauser and his mother, Colleen Hauser, fled to California to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy. They returned home to Sleepy Eye voluntarily a week later. His parents had interrupted his treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma after it made him sick and opted instead for alternative medicine. In November, after chemotherapy and radiation put Daniel into remission, a judge closed the case.
A fuller picture emerged in November of the federal investigation into the disappearances of some 20 young Somali men from Minnesota. Fourteen people are now charged in what some experts call one of the largest terrorism investigations of its kind. Court documents allege several Somali men promised both “true brotherhood” and “fun” to persuade fellow immigrants to return to their homeland and take up arms.
The state shut down the Metro Gang Strike force in July in one of the state’s worst police corruption cases in years. A special review panel in August said it had found “appalling and outrageous” misconduct, including missing cash and property. The FBI investigation is continuing. No charges have been filed, but some officers were suspended from their home departments.
The state reached settlements in April with victims and families of those killed in the 2007 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. The state has now paid out $37 million in claims to 179 survivors, including families of the 13 people killed. One bridge contractor reached a settlement with about 130 parties in November, but lawsuits against two others aren’t set for trial until March 2011.
Former 1970s radical Sara Jane Olson returned to her adopted home of St. Paul in March after serving half of a 14-year sentence in California for crimes she committed there with the Symbionese Liberation Army. While she was a fugitive, she discarded her birth name of Kathleen Soliah and assumed a new persona in Minnesota as a housewife, mother, community volunteer and actress.
Other news
Two Northwest Airlines pilots overshot the Twin Cities by more than 100 miles before they realized their mistake over Wisconsin in October. Timothy Cheney and Richard Cole told authorities they got busy working on crew scheduling on their laptop computers and didn’t realize they had flown over their destination until a flight attendant asked when they would be landing. Both pilots lost their licenses.
The Transportation Department levied a precedent-setting $175,000 in fines in November against three airlines for the stranding of 47 passengers overnight in a cramped plane at Rochester in August. Congress is now weighing passengers’ rights legislation that would place a three-hour cap on how long airlines can keep passengers waiting on tarmacs before they allow them to deplane or return to a gate.
Three Minnesota National Guard soldiers were killed in a rocket attack in Basra, Iraq, in July in the deadliest day for Minesota troops since 2005. Pawlenty paid his personal condolences to their unit, the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division, during a trip to Iraq a few days later. At least 14 people with strong Minnesota ties died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009.
The Fargo-Moorhead area was hit by severe flooding in March and April. The Red River communities used millions of sandbags to withstand two major crests. Local leaders are now trying to develop a diversion plan to protect the cities from chronic flooding, but residents downstream fear their communities would be sacrificed by the permanent defenses.
A Minnesota native was among three American hikers detained by Iran. Shane Bauer, 27, a freelance journalist, spent his first 14 years in Onamia before moving to California. His mother, Cindy Hickey, lives near Pine City. Bauer and two companions were arrested in July after straying over the Iranian border while hiking in Iraq. The U.S. and their families have been appealing for their release.
Sports
Former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre turned his erstwhile archrivals into big winners. Coach Brad Childress coaxed Favre out of retirement in August. Now 40, Favre has given Vikings fans their highest hopes in years for a Super Bowl appearance, a trip the Vikings haven’t managed since 1977.
The Minnesota Twins said goodbye to the Metrodome in October, ending a memorable 28-year run that included World Series titles in 1987 and 1991. Minnesota Gopher football also left the Dome behind after 27 forgettable seasons, returning to campus with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium in September.
On the lighter side
St. Paul newlyweds Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz got more than 15 minutes of fame in July after their wedding video was posted on YouTube. It shows the St. Paul couple, their bridesmaids and groomsmen boogying down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever.” The video has now drawn more than 34 million views. It landed them appearances on NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” inspired an episode of NBC’s “The Office” and raised over $26,000 for the Sheila Wellstone Institute’s fight against domestic violence. It finished as the year’s third-most viewed video on YouTube.