Rochester settles lawsuit and bear center set to expand

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Rochester settles lawsuit and bear center set to expand

Posted by: Karen Lundegaard Updated: September 21, 2012 - 10:54 AM

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The Rochester school district settled a bullying lawsuit, agreeing to pay $87,500 to the parents of a boy who was repeatedly bullied by a middle school classmate before and after gym class.

The lawsuit centered on 2008 assaults in which the boy suffered a concussion and damage to a cochlear implant that had to be surgically replaced, and the boy could no longer hear in his left hear. The assault came three weeks after a previous incident, after which Willow Creek Middle School officials had agreed to provide supervision in the locker room. But during the assault in question, no adults were supervising the boys.

The insurer for the bullying boys parents also agreed to pay $32,000 in the three-way settlement, the Post-Bulletin reports.

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The North American Bear Center in Ely is set to nearly double, as it breaks ground next week on a $1 million expansion. The Hope Learning Center, named after the cub who’s birth was captured on a web camera, but then killed last fall by a hunter, will include a multimedia classroom, broadcast room, lecture hall and exhibit space.

Donations came from fans of Hope’s mama, Lily, as well as a $400,000 donation. The center still has $445,000 to raise for the expansion, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

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Some 150 Winona workers are striking, but not really talking about why. The workers of the Badger Foundry Co. voted Wednesday to reject management’s proposal for a new contract and Thursday they were out in front of the company holding signs that said “unfair.”

But no workers or the union would talk about what the workers want in a new contract or what the company had offered, according to WKBT News 8000. The 102-year-old Badger Foundry makes “high quality castings” according to its website.

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