Judge sentences former Homeland Security agent to 7 years in prison for child sex abuse videos

A judge Thursday sentenced a former Homeland Security agent to seven years in federal prison for making child sex abuse videos. He's one of three Minnesota-based law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty last year to child sex abuse image crimes.

17,000 Minnesotans left the Affordable Care Act marketplace over the past year, according to figures provided by MNsure. This comes after the state of Minnesota announced last fall that the cost of monthly premiums on MNsure would skyrocket 57 percent. A federal subsidy that helped cover the cost of the insurance premiums expired this year, leading many people to drop the coverage.

With a major midterm election just months away, political campaigns are in full fundraising mode. They're trying to build up bankrolls to advertise and get people out to vote. One way they're doing that is through fundraising emails. The emails use different messaging to solicit donations in hopes they lead the recipient to click and give.

Four days after a tornado devastated the area of Floyd Lake just north of Detroit Lakes, recovery efforts are in overdrive. The Floyd Shores Lake Association estimates about 100 homes near and around Floyd Lake were damaged by Monday evening's tornado.

Animal Humane Society rescued 71 cats from an abandoned property in Sibley County on Tuesday. The Humane Society says the cats were living in extreme conditions like dangerously high ammonia levels, no access to water and living among piles of trash and feces.

Former Homeland Security agent sentenced to 7 years for child sex abuse images

‘Action required,’ ‘Leadership chose, YOU’: The recipe behind fundraising emails that can spread like weeds

NWS says Detroit Lakes-area tornado path was 7 miles long with windspeeds of 115 mph

71 cats rescued from trash-filled Sibley County property