MEDIA

Bill Salisbury, a dean of Minnesota political reporting, dies at 80

Alex Derosier and Mary Divine / St. Paul Pioneer Press — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 20:50:55 GMT

ST. PAUL — Bill Salisbury, who in almost 50 years as a political reporter with the Pioneer Press covered 40 sessions of the Minnesota Legislature, eight governors as well as presidential visits and state and national political conventions and campaigns, died Monday at Lyngblomsten Care Center in St. Paul after a period of declining health. He was 80.

A self-described “newspaperman,” Salisbury noted that during his career “assignments took me to Bosnia, the White House, conventions in New York, San Francisco and other major U.S. cities, a presidential limousine ride with Bill Clinton, factories and farms, prisons and jails, parks and sewers. I got to ask tough questions of high-ranking politicians and tell extraordinary stories of ordinary Minnesotans.”

Armed with an affable nature, an objective approach — he called himself a “political agnostic” — and quick mind, he worked the House and Senate chambers at the Minnesota Capitol as well as the halls where lobbyists and staff passed bits of news and rumor, as he made sense of policy and politics affecting the daily lives of readers.

“No one defined the Pioneer Press better than Bill,” said former executive editor Walker Lundy. “No one knew his beat better. Most importantly, no one was a more decent human being. An editor looks for reporters he can always count on. Bill was one.”

During a reception marking his retirement in 2015, Salisbury said some of the more memorable stories he covered included former Vice President Walter Mondale announcing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate in 1984 at the Minnesota Capitol, the first time a woman was part of a national ticket. He also mentioned passage of the gay marriage bill in 2013.

And, there was the death of U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone in a plane crash in 2002. Salisbury had known Wellstone since the college professor first ran for state auditor in the early 1980s.

“That was maybe the best campaign I covered and it was definitely the worst campaign I covered,” Salisbury recalled.

‘Tough but fair, hard charging but respectful’

Salisbury, who often specialized in covering tax and spending bills, was “infinitely fair” and didn’t believe in “gotcha” journalism, said longtime friend and colleague Steven Thomma, who now serves as the executive director of the White House Correspondents’ Association and lives in Fairfax, Va.

“I knew him for nearly 40 years, and to this day, I have no idea who he voted for ever in an election. No idea,” Thomma said. “We didn’t talk about that stuff, and it didn’t show in his journalism.”

Thomma and Salisbury worked together at the state Capitol in the 1980s and in Washington, D.C. Salisbury ended every interview with a politician with the same question, Thomma said.

“He’d ask whoever he was interviewing — the governor, usually, ‘Is there anything you want to add or emphasize?’” Thomma said. “I remember that quote. I’m not sure it would make it into his story, but he gave them the chance of feeling that it was a conversation as much as it was anything else. It certainly wasn’t a gotcha interview. Not from Bill Salisbury. He wanted to get information and find out what that person was doing and thinking, and that helped draw them out.”

Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, who worked with Salisbury at the state Capitol for the Pioneer Press from 2001 to 2009 and from 2015 to 2017, said he drew respect from colleagues — those who worked with him and those he competed against on new stories.

“Bill was a consummate Capitol reporter, showing generations of journalists under the domed building how to be tough but fair, hard charging but respectful in our interactions,” said Stassen-Berger, who is now the executive editor of the Des Moines Register. “In recent days, colleagues who worked with him and competed with him visited Bill to show their respect and admiration. Working beside him in the Capitol basement helped make the journalist I am.”

Longtime StarTribune politics writer Lori Sturdevant, who met Salisbury in 1978 while she wrote for the then-Minneapolis Tribune, said “for the last 20 years of Bill’s time there, he was the dean of the capital press corps. We all looked up to and respected him and gave some deference to him.”

Salisbury was the “consummate objective reporter,” said Steve Dornfeld, a longtime Pioneer Press colleague who later served as his editor.

“Bill always kept his opinions to himself,” he said. “He just didn’t allow his opinions, whatever they might have been, to color his reporting. He had good friends and good sources on both sides of the political aisle, and they knew they were going to get their share of scrutiny, but Bill was always fair. He was always very well liked on both sides of the aisle. I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about him.”

Salisbury mentored many young journalists during his time at the Capitol, Dornfeld said.

“He was a walking encyclopedia about the Capitol,” Dornfeld said. “No matter what the issue was, he could fill in a young reporter who was working with him or beat reporters who had come up to the Capitol to cover an issue. They might be familiar with the issue, but not familiar with how the Legislature operated, so Bill was very helpful in schooling them on the basics.”

Ethics mattered to Salisbury. He would tell a story of declining the offer of an ice cream cone from then-President Barack Obama during a visit in St. Paul on the grounds that he couldn’t take gifts of any sort from politicians.

The Belgrade Tribune

Salisbury was born in Belgrade, Minn., on June 22, 1945. His father, the late E.R. Salisbury, was the editor and publisher of the weekly Belgrade Tribune. His mother, the late Marie Salisbury, was a homemaker and community activist who proofread his father’s newspaper articles and called every home in town weekly to ask: “Do you have any news for the Tribune?”

He liked to say he launched his newspaper career as a preschooler with a “typo.”

“Somehow I got behind my dad’s newspaper printing press, pulled the letter “B” from Tribune at the top of the front page and put it back in upside down. That week subscribers received the “Belgrade Triqune.” My dad found it amusing but made sure it never happened again.”

Upon graduating from Belgrade High �� in 1963, Salisbury attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., for one year, transferred to the University of Minnesota journalism school for two quarters, and then dropped out of school and landed a job as a copy boy at U.S. News & World Report magazine in Washington, D.C. Soon after he recalled that his draft board threatened to revoke his student deferment, so he enrolled at the University of Minnesota Morris, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1969.

While attending school in Morris he met Janet Holt, the love of his life. They were married in Alexandria, Minn., in 1968. Janet died in 2016. The couple had one daughter, Rachael, who was born in 1969 and became a talented musician. She died in 2020.

Reporting career

Salisbury landed his first daily newspaper reporting job at the Fairmont, Minn., Sentinel in 1971. He moved to the Rochester Post Bulletin in 1972 and was appointed their state Capitol correspondent in 1975. The Pioneer Press hired him as a general assignment reporter in 1977 and he was assigned to their Capitol bureau the following year.

He served as the paper’s Washington, D.C., correspondent from 1994 through 1999, before returning to the state Capitol. Salisbury retired from that beat in 2015 but continued to cover politics and government for the paper part-time.

Nearly a decade after his retirement, Salisbury kept a desk at the Pioneer Press Capitol bureau. It remains filled with materials and notes from stories he had worked on years after he stepped away from full-time work.

He is survived by a sister, Wilma Salisbury of Euclid, Ohio, and son-in-law Pierre Dimba of Shoreview. He also is survived by sisters-in-law Margaret Lichty and Judy Holt, and brothers-in-law Alan Lichty, Robert Holt and Dale Logan.

Salisbury’s last piece for the Pioneer Press was on Aug. 11, 2024, on Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate and past Minnesotans on the national ticket.

He continued reporting part-time after retirement “because I enjoyed meeting people and learning new things,” he said. Journalism provided him with a “sense of purpose” and allowed him to serve others.

“But most meaningful to me, I got to meet and occasionally befriend a lot of smart, good-hearted folks who brought much joy to my life,” Salisbury said.

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Forum Communications acquires MetroSports TV, launches new media brand

Staff reports — Wed, 07 May 2025 18:35:32 GMT

Forum Communications Company, headquartered in Fargo, N.D., has acquired the Sioux City, Iowa-based MetroSports TV, and will expand its commitment to sports broadcasting in the Upper Midwest.

MetroSports TV will become Midwest Sports+ with a soon-to-launch streaming app and website (midwestsportsplus.com). This new sports media brand aims to connect viewers across all platforms — a destination for fans, families and athletes alike with high-quality sports content and streaming. In addition to digital streaming, games will also be broadcast on KSFL TV in Sioux Falls, KNBN TV in Rapid City, and KCAU in Sioux City, creating a broad regional footprint.

“Our focus will be on high-quality broadcasts so fans can feel close to the action,” said Mary Jo Hotzler, chief content officer for Forum Communications. “We’re excited to be able to showcase our incredible sports reporting and broadcasting talent in this way, too.”

Forum Communications is a family-owned media company with more than 35 newspapers, TV stations, websites and apps across the Upper Midwest. Those include The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and WDAY TV in Fargo, as well as the WDAY+ streaming app.

In South Dakota, the Mitchell Republic, Sioux Falls Live, KSFL-TV in Sioux Falls and KNBN Newscenter 1 in Rapid City are all part of Forum Communications Company and will also contribute the sports broadcasts for Midwest Sports+.

MetroSports TV, founded in 2017 by retired coach and educator Pat Schiltz, has steadily grown into a trusted name in regional sports broadcasting and a leader in high school sports coverage, bolstered in recent years by partnerships with local TV stations in Sioux Falls and Sioux City. Schiltz will remain with Forum Communications as the director of business development for Midwest Sports+.

“MetroSports TV is delighted to join the Forum Communication Company's multi-media platform,” Schiltz said. “Forum's dynamic content team combined with our existing coverage areas is a big win for all the sports viewers in the Upper Midwest.”

The Midwest Sports+ app will go live later this summer and will be available in the app store or through Google Play, Roku, AppleTV and FireTV devices, as well as through Android and IOS mobile devices.

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College tuition, social media and state savings: This week in the Minnesota Legislature

Mary Murphy — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 21:01:54 GMT

ST. PAUL — Legislators in the Minnesota Senate and House this week passed several bills out of their chambers. Lawmakers also pitched some new legislation aimed at adding warnings on social media platforms, supporting children of disabled vets, and cutting state spending by reducing funding for transportation projects and undocumented immigrants.

College tuition aid for children of disabled veterans

On Tuesday, March 18, the House Higher Education Finance Committee advanced a bill to fund higher education compensation for children of veterans with disabilities.

The bill, HF982, authored by Rep. Mary Frances Clardy, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, would give free college tuition to, and cover costs of fees and textbooks for children of veterans who are 100% disabled. Allocations would be based on the final cost after subtracting state and federal grants, scholarships and financial aid.

"Investing in the education of children of disabled veterans is not just a benefit; it's a recognition of the sacrifices made,” Clardy said in a press release. ”I’m grateful for my constituents bringing the idea forward. It's an acknowledgment that these military families have already paid a heavy price and that we, as a collective society, have a responsibility to ensure their future is not limited by those sacrifices."

Alan Garske, a twenty-year U.S. Navy veteran who has with four children and lives on a fixed income, said in the press release that this bill would help all veterans.

“I am a 100% disabled veteran because I was in the Navy for 20 years defending our country to its fullest,” Garske said. “I am married with four children, and they will be college age coming up soon. This is an investment not only to help me but for all veterans who are at 100% disability.”

Cutting funding for immigrants, transportation

On Monday, Senate Republicans presented a package of eight bills focused on reducing funding for transportation projects, prohibiting state services to undocumented immigrants and preventing possible future waste.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said at Monday’s press conference that Gov. Tim Walz’s budget proposal from January has proposed “painful” cuts to disability care and special education, but that his caucus will be taking a different approach.

Johnson said after the press conference that the bills provide a “small sample” of what Senate Republicans may aim to cut in a budget proposal, which is due in early April.

One of the bills to cut transportation costs is SF250, which would prohibit spending on the Northern Lights Express (NLX) Project. The NLX project is projected to be 80% federally funded and the Minnesota Legislature allocated $195 million to the project in 2023, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The other two proposed transportation-funding cuts are in SF286, which would prohibit spending on the Reconnect Rondo, and SF39, which would enact a temporary moratorium for spending on light rail projects, with the exception of the Green Line metro system through Minneapolis and St. Paul.

“We’ve identified hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into projects and programs that don’t serve the best interests of Minnesotans,” Johnson said. “By ending the train boondoggles, freeing up existing health care funds, prioritizing Minnesotans, and implementing good government measures, we can cut spending, without shifting the costs onto counties or schools, who will in turn, shift that burden onto property taxpayers.”

One of the bills, SF690, would prohibit any state spending for undocumented immigrants, specifically under MinnesotaCare and the North Star Promise scholarship program.

Senate Republicans are also proposing a set of four bills to prevent wasteful spending: SF240 would restrict grants to non-profits with highly compensated officers, SF242 would require a report on vacant state office spaces, SF1230 would discontinue certain commissions and work groups after two years, and SF1990 would require legislators to disclose any financial ties to entities seeking state funding.

Social media protections

On Wednesday, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, and Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, announced legislation to require social media apps to show mental health warning labels and timers tracking how long a user spent on a platform.

The bills, HF1289/SF1807, would amend the existing “Prohibiting Social Media Manipulation Act” to require that platforms show users a mental health warning label every time the user opens the platform. The bill also requires social media platforms to display a pop-up notification every 30-60 minutes alerting the user to how much time has been consecutively spent on the platform.

“The evidence is clear that unchecked social media is linked with poor mental health outcomes, especially among children,” Stephenson said in a press release. “As policymakers, we have a responsibility to address this growing crisis.”

Bills passed out of chambers

The first and only bill to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz so far this session is SF1552, which amends financial reporting requirements for grain buyers. Walz signed the bill on Monday, March 17.

House

HF289: Establishing the State Agency Value Initiative (SAVI) program for state agencies to encourage innovation and cost savings. The bill was passed 133-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF286: Expanding the scope for background checks for adult entertainment or massage license applications to include national data. The bill was passed 132-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF72: Prohibiting entities or organizations that receive state funding from making campaign expenditures or otherwise expending money for any political purpose. The bill was passed 130-3 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF23: Increasing whistleblower protections. The bill was passed 133-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF1346: Modifying training requirement for mandatory reporters, requiring more training on noticing signs of abuse and maltreatment. The bill was passed 134-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF688: Modifying service dog provision in housing accommodation for individuals training service dogs under accredited programs to be granted reasonable accommodations. The bill was passed 114-15 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

HF129: Requiring the director of child sex trafficking prevention to submit a program evaluation each odd-numbered year to the Legislature. The bill was passed 132-0 in the House and now goes to the Senate.

SF202: Modifying Minnesota’s Partition Act, updating the law on eminent domain and the transfer on death deed (TODD). The bill passed 119-12 in the House. It previously passed out of the Senate on a 62-0 vote.

Senate

SF334: Modifying professional development training requirement for the implementation of the Read Act. The bill was passed 62-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House.

SF1360: Increasing speed limit for implements of husbandry (vehicles used for agriculture) to 35 miles per hour. The bill was passed 65-0 in the Senate and now goes to the House.

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Gene Hackman and wife's deaths called 'suspicious' in search warrant

Jordan Moreau / Variety Entertainment News Service — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 19:20:25 GMT

Investigators believe the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are "suspicious," according to a search warrant affidavit released Thursday morning, Feb. 27.

Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 63, were found dead in their home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday afternoon. The cause of their deaths has not been determined, though the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office said early Thursday that foul play is "not currently suspected."

In an application for a search warrant, Det. Roy Arndt told a judge the circumstances are "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation."

The bodies were reportedly found by two maintenance workers. Arakawa was lying on the bathroom floor. A prescription pill bottle was open on the countertop, with pills scattered nearby. Hackman was discovered in the mud room, adjacent to the kitchen, with his sunglasses at his side.

It appeared to the detective that both had fallen to the ground. A dead dog was also found in the bathroom closet, near Arakawa's body. Two healthy dogs were also found on the property, one near Arakawa and the other running loose outdoors. The front door of the house was open, though there was no sign of forcible entry.

The fire department and the gas company were called out to check for a natural gas leak, which could cause carbon monoxide poisoning. They did not detect anything, and there were "no obvious signs of a gas leak," Arndt wrote.

"Affiant believes that the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation," the detective wrote in summarizing the situation.

It was not clear when Arakawa and Hackman had died. Arakawa's body "showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet." Hackman's body was "similar and consistent with the female decedent."

A space heater was found near Arakawa's head, and it appeared "the heater could have fallen in the event the female abruptly fell to the ground," the affidavit adds.

Judge John Rysanek, of the Santa Fe County Magistrate Court, approved the search warrant at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Office of the Medical Investigator will conduct autopsies and determine the cause of death. The agency declined to comment Thursday, saying it does not discuss pending investigations.

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Netflix gender transition musical 'Emilia Perez' piles up Oscar nominations, leading 'Wicked' and 'Brutalist'

Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway / Reuters — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 18:10:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Netflix's Spanish-language musical "Emilia Perez" led Academy Award nominations on Thursday, Jan. 23, providing the streaming service with another shot at its first best-picture trophy, followed by historical drama "The Brutalist" and box-office smash "Wicked."

"Emilia Perez," the story of a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman and starts a new life, earned 13 nominations. "The Brutalist," a 3 1/2-hour tale about a Holocaust survivor and architect chasing the American dream, and "The Wizard of Oz" prequel "Wicked" picked up 10 nods each.

All three films will compete for the coveted best-picture trophy at the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood on March 2.

"A Complete Unknown," starring Timothee Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan, dark romantic comedy "Anora" and papal selection drama "Conclave" also landed in the best-picture race.

The other nominated films were the science-fiction blockbuster "Dune Part 2" Brazilian political docudrama "I'm Still Here," racial drama "Nickel Boys" and horror movie "The Substance."

Nominations for the film industry's highest honors were announced on Thursday in Beverly Hills as the Los Angeles area, the heart of the movie business, grappled with ongoing wildfires that devastated parts of the city this month. A new blaze erupted on Wednesday.

Netflix has never won best picture despite nominations for such films as "Roma" and "The Irishman." The streaming service releases its films in theaters for only a limited time, enough to qualify them for awards consideration.

In the best actress category, "Emilia Perez" star Karla Sofía Gascón made history as the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Oscar.

Demi Moore, who spoke at the Golden Globes about being underestimated over her four-decade career, was nominated for playing a fading celebrity in "The Substance."

"I am deeply humbled," Moore said in a statement on Thursday, while acknowledging the destructive wildfires.

"My heart is with my friends, family, neighbors, and community here in LA," the actress said.

Best actor nominees included Chalamet, "The Brutalist" star Adrien Brody and Sebastian Stan, who played Donald Trump in his formative years as a New York real estate developer in "The Apprentice." Co-star Jeremy Strong, who portrayed ruthless Trump attorney Roy Cohn, received a nomination for supporting actor.

"Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo was nominated for best actress and co-star Ariana Grande for supporting actress for playing students of magic who become the witches in "The Wizard of Oz."

Notable names left off the nominations list were Angelina Jolie, who played opera singer Maria Callas in "Maria," and Nicole Kidman for "Babygirl."

This year's Oscar nominations were postponed twice because of the wildfires, which have clouded Hollywood's awards season. Several red-carpet events have been postponed or canceled.

The Oscars ceremony will proceed as a celebration of movies and the resilience of Los Angeles, organizers said.

"We will honor the talented filmmakers nominated today, pay tribute to our brave first responders and celebrate the enduring spirit of Los Angeles and the film industry," Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said just before the nominations were unveiled.

Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the film academy.

Walt Disney's DIS.N ABC will broadcast the event and comedian Conan O'Brien will host.

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New Minnesota state reporter: High school class unlocked a love for journalism she didn't know she had

David Olson — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 14:05:00 GMT

ST. PAUL — Mary Murphy didn't know she loved reporting until she took a high school journalism class based on advice from classmates who told her it would be an easy A.

"It wasn't the easiest of A's, but I did get an A," she said, referring to the course she took at Hopkins High �� in Minnetonka, which she graduated from in 2016.

On Oct. 1, Murphy began a new job as the Minnesota state correspondent for Forum Communications Co., the parent company of The Forum.

Murphy said that prior to taking the aforementioned journalism class in high school, she had not been aware of how important unbiased reporting is to democracy and to the healthy functioning of society in general.

After high school, she continued to pursue her interest in journalism and in 2020, she graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a degree in journalism and political science.

After working at an internship covering the Washington State Legislature for the Washington State Journal, Murphy said she came to understand the meaning of a phrase she had long heard but never fully grasped: Find a job you love and you won't work a day in your life.

"It was incredibly energizing," she said of her internship.

This past summer, Murphy did freelance work for the Seattle Times and Cascade PBS in Seattle.

Murphy said one story she covered for Cascade PBS that she feels particularly proud of was about a new law passed by the Washington Legislature that allows DACA recipients to be hired as police officers.

As she wrote in her story, former President Barack Obama introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012, providing protection from deportation to immigrants who came to the United States as children.

Murphy's story noted that even before Washington passed its new DACA law, the state offered DACA recipients a number of opportunities, including access to college financial aid and professional license fields like teaching and nursing.

Murphy said the new law allowing DACA recipients to become police officers in the state of Washington was met with backlash from some, adding that she did her best to include in her story the voices of DACA recipients who had embarked on becoming officers and their reasons for doing so.

"It's one thing to report on the policies, it's another thing to get to know the people it is impacting," she said.

As a reporter, Murphy said she welcomes feedback on stories.

"Even if it's criticism, I think it's important for audiences to engage directly with journalists. We want to know what people want to hear about and how they're responding to the information we're giving them," she added.

Of all the jobs she might have found after college, Murphy said ending up covering state news and the lawmakers in Minnesota's Capitol was a stroke of luck.

"Politics reporting is a pretty coveted beat in journalism," she said. "I feel grateful I got my pick of the litter."

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Forum Communications completes purchase of Rapid City TV station

Staff Report — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 20:55:32 GMT

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Forum Communications Co. has announced it has completed the purchase of KNBN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Rapid City.

Forum Communications also owns KSFL-TV and Sioux Falls Live in Sioux Falls, along with The Mitchell Daily Republic in South Dakota.

Forum Communications acquired KSFL-TV (then KWSD-TV and low-power station KCWS-LD) in November of 2022, around the same time it launched Sioux Falls Live, a website covering local news, weather and sports.

Forum Communications is a family-owned media company based in Fargo, N.D., that owns and operates newspapers, news websites, television stations and printing plants in 19 communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Television stations owned by Forum Communications include WDAY-TV, an award-winning station based in Fargo that broadcasts throughout North Dakota as well as in northwestern Minnesota, northern South Dakota, eastern Montana and parts of Canada.

Bill Marcil Jr., president and CEO of Forum Communications and publisher of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, called the purchase of KNBN-TV an exciting day for the Forum Communications family.

He described KNBN-TV as Forum Communication's "missing puzzle piece" in western South Dakota.

"Now, the entire state will see our brand of quality journalism, unparalleled sports coverage and innovative broadcasting," Marcil added.

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Update: More than 60,000 reports filed as Verizon's mobile network goes down for thousands in US

Reuters — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 16:22:51 GMT

Tens of thousands of Verizon users reported outages for the wireless carrier's services across the U.S. on Monday, Sept. 30, with Chicago and Indianapolis among the hardest-hit cities and some iPhone users stuck in "SOS" mode.

According to tracking website Downdetector.com, the outage began at around 8:30 a.m. CST and there were 66,761 reports as of 11:28 p.m. CST, with regions including Minneapolis, Phoenix, Omaha and Denver among the most reported locations.

Verizon Communications VZ.N said it was aware of an issue impacting its services. "Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue."

Some Verizon users said on social media platform X their phones were stuck in "SOS" mode.

"SOS" appears in the status bars of iPhones if the device is not connected to a cellular network but can still make emergency calls through other carriers, according to Apple's AAPL.O website.

The outage tracking website also showed 1,111 incident reports by AT&T T.Nusers as of 11:25 a.m CST, but the carrier said it was not experiencing a nationwide outage and the network was operating normally.

"Downdetector is likely reflecting challenges our customers are having attempting to connect to users on another network," AT&T said in a post on X.

In February, sector rival AT&T faced nationwide wireless outages that lasted over 12 hours and impacted more than 70,000 customers.

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating the AT&T outage which blocked more than 92 million voice calls and prevented more than 25,000 attempts to reach 911, the agency said.

News of the Verizon outage comes hours after the company announced a deal to give infrastructure firm Vertical Bridge rights to lease, operate and manage 6,339 mobile towers across the U.S. for $3.3 billion.

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How and why our company makes political endorsements

FCC Editorial Advisory Board — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 11:59:00 GMT

We are in the midst of the 2024 election season. The newspapers and television stations of Forum Communications have provided and will continue to provide news and analysis of local, state and federal races across the Upper Midwest.

Our readers can find all of our election coverage and information in the "Election 2024" section of our websites. In addition, our company has partnered with Vote 411 and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota to create a useful Voter's Guide for 2024.

Every election has consequences, and 2024 is no different. The choices of voters will impact our collective future — individually and as a country.

So over the next several weeks, Forum Communications Co. management, the company's Editorial Advisory Board and local newspaper editorial boards will provide political endorsements on various local, state and federal contests.

FCC makes endorsements for candidates and issues because our leadership believes newspapers play a crucial role in democracy by sharing information and informed ideas. During election season, a paper's editorial board evaluates and interviews candidates for various offices. The newspaper's editorial board may then write an endorsement recommending a candidate or issue preference in a specific race.

Who is on an editorial board

Local editorial endorsement decisions are made by a newspaper's management and its editorial board. At larger newspapers, community members and newspaper editors are included. At smaller newspapers, it may be the publisher or site manager and an editor. Editorial board members may be listed on the opinion page of the newspaper.

In statewide and federal races, the Forum Communications Co. Editorial Advisory Board will make a recommendation based on research, coverage and candidate information. After company leadership reviews and approves those recommendations, individual members of the company's Editorial Advisory Board will craft a company endorsement.

These decisions are guided by the Forum Communications Company Mission Statement:

We strive to provide information that truly matters to the people of our state and region. Our highest priority is public service — shining light on issues that deeply affect our communities and holding local and state governments and institutions accountable. We feel we have a responsibility to give readers diverse opinions that are broad and fair. In endorsements, we favor business-friendly candidates who stand for government that is not overly intrusive, with regulations that prudently balance costs and benefits. We also prefer candidates who work to solve problems while avoiding divisive posturing.

Our endorsement goal

Our editorial endorsement goal is not to tell voters who to vote for or to pick the winner in any specific election. In some races, there may not be an endorsement for either candidate.

Our newspaper aims to share the editorial board's view about the candidates running for political office. This endorsement recommendation is sincere and far more truthful than many political ads you will read or hear in the coming weeks.

Any specific endorsement is simply the editorial board's insight into which candidate it believes will best serve the voters and residents of a specific local, state or federal district.

The final decision always remains with each voter when they complete their early or absentee ballot or enter the voting booth on Nov. 5. Please exercise your basic American right in 2024 — vote.

Reader Feedback

Readers may respond to this commentary or any editorial endorsements by writing to this email address: fccadvisory@forumcomm.com.

This commentary column was written by Kelly Boldan, the editor/site manager of the West Central Tribune of Willmar, Minnesota. He is a member of the Forum Communications Co. Editorial Advisory Board and the West Central Tribune Editorial Board.]]>

James Earl Jones, voice of Star Wars’ Darth Vader, dead at 93

Bill Trott and Lisa Richwine / Reuters — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:19:01 GMT

LOS ANGELES — American actor James Earl Jones, an imposing stage and screen presence who overcame a childhood stutter to develop a stentorian voice recognized the world over as intergalactic villain Darth Vader, died on Monday, Sept. 9 at the age of 93, his agent said.

Jones, a longtime sufferer of diabetes, died at his home surrounded by family members, agent Barry McPherson said. No cause of death was provided.

Jones had a great physical presence on stage and television, as well as in movies, but he would have been a star even if his face was never seen because his voice had a career of its own. The resonating bass could instantly command respect, as with the sage father Mufasa in "The Lion King" and many Shakespeare roles, or instill fear as the rasping Vader in the "Star Wars" films.

Jones laughed when a BBC interviewer asked if he resented being so closely tied to Darth Vader, a role that required only his voice for a few lines while another actor did the on-screen work in costume.

"I love being part of that whole myth, of that whole cult," he said, adding that he was glad to oblige fans who asked for a command recital of his "I am your father" line.

Jones said he never made much money off the Darth Vader part - only $9,000 for the first film - and that he considered it merely a special effects job. He did not even ask to be in the credits of the first two "Star Wars" movies.

His long list of awards included Tonys for "The Great White Hope" in 1969 and "Fences" in 1987 on Broadway and Emmys in 1991 for "Gabriel's Fire" and "Heat Wave" on television. He also won a Grammy for best spoken word album, "Great American Documents" in 1977.

Although he never won a competitive Academy award, he was nominated for best actor for the film version of "The Great White Hope" and was given an honorary Oscar in 2011.

He began his movie career playing Lieutenant Luther Zogg in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" in 1964.

Later acclaimed movie roles included novelist Terence Mann in 1989's "Field of Dreams" and South African Reverend Stephen Kumalo in 1995's "Cry, the Beloved Country." He also starred in "Conan the Barbarian," "Coming to America," "The Sandlot," "Matewan," "The Hunt for Red October" and "Field of Dreams," among others.

Jones also was heard in dozens of television commercials and for several years CNN used his authoritative "This is CNN" to introduce its newscasts.

Estranged from father

James Earl Jones was born on January 17, 1931, in the tiny community of Arkabutla, Mississippi, to a family with a mixed ethnic background of Irish, African and Cherokee.

His father, prizefighter-turned-actor Robert Earl Jones, left the family shortly afterward. James was raised by his maternal grandparents, who forbade him to see his father, and the two did not get together until James moved to New York in the 1950s. Eventually they appeared in several plays together.

Jones was about 5 years old when his grandparents moved the family from Mississippi to a farm in Michigan and it was around that time that he quit speaking because of his stutter.

He was mostly silent for a decade until a ploy by his high school English teacher got him to speak up. The teacher made Jones recite to the class a poem that he said he had written to prove he was familiar enough with it to be the author.

Although after that he said he still had to choose his words carefully, Jones learned to control his stutter and became interested in acting.

After studying drama at the University of Michigan, he moved to New York, where his theater performances increasingly attracted critical attention and acclaim.

His breakthrough role on Broadway was "The Great White Hope," playing a character based on Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. The play examined racism through the lens of the boxing world and critics raved about Jones' performance.

A popular theater draw for decades, his Shakespeare leading roles included Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello. He also had a notable portrayal of singer-actor-activist Paul Robeson on Broadway in 1977 and of author Alex Haley in the television mini-series "Roots: The Next Generation."

He was "capable of moving in seconds from boyish ingenuousness to near-biblical rage and somehow suggesting all the gradations in between," the Washington Post wrote in a 1987 review of "Fences."

Jones' first wife was Julienne Marie Hendricks, one of his "Othello" co-stars. Earl and his second wife, actress Cecilia Hart, who died in 2016, had one child, Flynn Earl Jones.

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