Senate passes bill securing C-130 planes for Air Force
The C-130 planes are involved in a lot of critical missions at home and overseas. They're important for delivering supplies into hostile areas or national disaster areas.
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John Lauritsen is an Emmy award-winning reporter from Montevideo, Minn. He joined WCCO-TV in late-July of 2007. Two days after he started, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed.
Before his television career, John grew up on a farm near Milan, Minnesota and graduated from Montevideo Senior High School. He received a Master's Degree in mass communications from St. Cloud State University, and has also taught a class there as well. He credits growing up on a farm and going to school in a small town with helping him become the reporter he is today.
He began his career at KSAX-TV in Alexandria, Minn., before moving to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked for KWWL-TV. John also worked at Channel 12 in Brooklyn Park, Minn., before coming to WCCO-TV. He has been a reporter, anchor, sports reporter, sports anchor, editor, producer, and photographer during his television career.
During his time at WCCO-TV, John has covered a variety of stories. He has reported on everything from floods to tornadoes to blizzards that have dumped nearly two feet of snow on Minnesota. You can also find John covering a crime story, a fire, a human interest story, or a sporting event.
John's favorite stories are those that highlight a special moment in someone's life. In 2008, he reported on a soldier who came home from Iraq and surprised his daughter at her volleyball game.
And though he isn't a fan of snakes, John reported on Minnesota's only poisonous snake population in southeastern Minnesota and he managed not to get bit in the process.
When he's not reporting, John can be found at the gym or playing in one of three volleyball leagues that keep him busy year-round. He also plays in a football league in the fall and is an active tennis player.
In 2009, he ran the Twin Cities Marathon for the first time. He has also tried surfing, skydiving and rock climbing, and is an avid reader whenever he can find time to sit down.
John lives in Maple Grove with his wife, Jessica, and children, Harlow and Bo.
The C-130 planes are involved in a lot of critical missions at home and overseas. They're important for delivering supplies into hostile areas or national disaster areas.
Big River Farms says the lack of moisture has also hurt cover crop soil, which will be used for next year's growing season.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley is discussing the investigation into Mohamad Barakat, who officials say shot four people - killing one police officer - on a busy Fargo street last week.
Simply storing hay bales during a hot, dry summer, has become a risky venture. The heat has nowhere to go.
"People have boats and want to try out this lake and that lake, and they may not be familiar with it, and they ding them up," said Prop MD's Jesse Pettit.
Three straight years of dry weather has impacted fruits and vegetables, and now smoke from the Canadian wildfires is creating new challenges.
he Minnesota Department of Transportation is taking a closer look at a stretch of highway currently under construction.
The dry weather continues to be an issue across the state. Corn and soybeans are struggling in some parts of Minnesota, but the alfalfa crop has become a concern, too.
It's a chapel dedicated to Christianity, and to grasshoppers.
For many veterans, the memories of war can be difficult, even painful. But a Vietnam War veteran in Otter Tail County is learning that fellow soldiers will follow through, half a century after their mission is over.
John Lauritsen takes us to the Big Fish Supper Club in Cass County, where he found one whopper of a fish tale.
From "HAMilton" to "Paisley Pork." There are dozens of pigs with creative names located throughout Martin County.
The 4th of July is less than two weeks away, and the summer travel season is in full swing.
The facility is proactive, not reactive. It pulls in water from Crystal Lake and removes pollutants, like phosphorous, that are main ingredients for algae blooms.
No matter which way you approach Phelps Mill, you're going to hear the rush of the Otter Tail River. And you're going to see a site that's been here since the first automobiles were hitting the road.