A death in Stillwater

Today, we report on another child dying after swimming in a Twin Cities area lake, Republicans who have "sticker shock" after seeing the price tag for flood relief, the governor denouncing accusations that he's pill popper as "a lie," and Minneapolitans shake hands and pass the mustard on National Night Out. We'll start with the hopeful note sounded in that last story.

A welcome night out
People across the country and Minnesota closed their streets, fired up their grills and hosted block parties Tuesday night for National Night Out. The event, now in its 29th year, aims to fight crime by building community - a message felt deeply in north Minneapolis, where, amid other street violence, two young boys have died this year after being shot. The residents of the neighborhoods where the killings occurred told Matt Sepic they are coming together and remain resilient.

A death in Stillwater
A 9-year-old boy has died of what appears to be a rare form of meningitis caused by an amoeba that lives in fresh water. As a result, Washington County authorities have closed Lily Lake in Stillwater, where the boy swam before dying. Two years ago, a 7-year-old girl died of a similar illness after swimming in the same lake. Deputy State Epidemiologist Richard Danila tells Tim Nelson the lake is closed out of an abundance of caution. Listen and look for more reporting on this later today on MPR.

A possible teen overdose in St. Paul
St. Paul police say they've arrested two men in connection with the possible drug overdose death of a 14-year-old girl. Tim Nelson reports that investigators found the girl and a friend had been taken to a party in Burnsville, where they were given alcohol, marijuana and a drink believed to contain codeine. The girls were taken home, where they fell ill and went to bed.

Sticker shock
Gov. Mark Dayton's administration is proposing a nearly $190 million disaster relief package for lawmakers to consider later this month during a special legislative session. Tim Pugmire reports that legislative leaders say they're not sure that the state can afford it.

'Gutter' politics
Meanwhile, Dayton is firing back at a Republican state senator running for Congress against DFLer Tim Walz in the 1st District. Mike Parry told a gathering the other night that he's seen Dayton down 15 or 16 pills during a private negotiating session, and he called the governor "scary." "That's a lie," Dayton told MPR's Tom Scheck. "Somebody who probably thinks he's losing an election in six days is going to reach for anything he can and try to make an issue out of it and blow it up and see if he can get an advantage with it. To me it says a lot more about him than it does about me."

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