Investigation finds no wrongdoing with Duluth mayor’s girlfriend in city business

Business News

The city administrator asked an outside agency to do an independent fact-finding investigation into the matter this past October.

DULUTH, Minn. — The mayor of Duluth’s girlfriend is having her name cleared after being accused of unethical involvement in city business. 

The Duluth city administrator asked an outside consulting group to conduct an independent fact-finding investigation after reports that Mayor Roger Reinert’s girlfriend Amber Gurske was giving unauthorized work direction to some city staff. Those accusations came from emails obtained and reported on by media. 

“The allegations are based on incomplete information and inaccurate speculation and conjecture refuted by the facts,” states the report made public by Mayor Reinert on Thursday.

Gurske is not a city employee but did manage Reinert’s campaign. According to the report, Gurske is now his personal social media agent and manages his personal calendar, all on a volunteer basis. She did not interfere with city business, the report concludes, and was communicating with city staff to coordinate and ask questions about upcoming events.

The report states it is not “unusual or inappropriate” for elected officials to confer with significant others about their work as long as nonpublic information is not shared, and that facts do not establish anything was shared with her that wasn’t public. 

“Ms. Gurske did not violate any legal or ethical standards, nor did anyone on our team violate City codes or the City charter,” Mayor Reinert said in a press release. “I am gratified the clear findings of this report can now bring this matter to a conclusion.”

Northern News Now reports Gurske has hired a lawyer and is considering legal options now that the full report has been released.

Game Changer movie review live updates: Ram Charan film leaks online

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Game Changer movie review live updates: Kiara Advani and Ram Charan in a still from Shankar’s political drama.Game Changer movie review live updates: Global star Ram Charan is finally returning to the big screens after blockbuster RRR with the film titled Game Changer. It is directed by Shivaji: The Boss director S Shankar. The movie hit theatres on January 10. It will also star Kiara Advani and SJ Suryah in the prominent roles….Read MoreThe film got shows as early as 1 am on Friday. Fans have been sharing their reviews of the movie on social media. Recently, the makers unveiled the film’s trailer which showed Ram Charan in a powerful role. In the film, Ram Charan will be playing the double roles of a father-son duo. Ram Charan taking on a corrupt Chief Minister is one of the major angles of the film. Follow all the updates here:Jan 10, 2025 1:19 PM

Popular comic book store dealing with water damage ahead of more snow

Arts & Culture, Books

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A Lexington business is closed for at least the rest of the week.“You go through the panic mode of, ‘Oh my gosh this happened’. Then you kind of go, it is what it is. You deal with it and roll with it,” said Russell Battaglia, the owner of A+ Comics and Collectibles II.“Yep, that one’s going to be ruined. That’s going to be an expensive piece.”Battaglia assesses the damage at his store. He walked into the location on N Locust Hill Drive Wednesday morning. That’s when he noticed many boxes were discolored, each holding 300 comic books.“It was moist, it was wet. And I was like, ‘Oh uh’. I looked around and that’s when I saw the flood.”Kentucky American Water have been on the scene since the unfortunate discovery. Battaglia said they believe there was a break in a pipe behind in the back of the store. But in this weather, it may take more digging to get to the bottom of it.“It was like a lake. They built a dam to stop the water coming down the back of the building, and the moment they did that, the water stopped coming into the store. Not only do they have to address the break in the pipe, but they’ve got to find it and they’ve got to fix it.”And there’s added concern with more snow on the way.“Hopefully they can find it and get it fixed before all that happens. The question is, once all this snow melts, having that water rush back through here behind the building. Will that cause another problem?”The small business owner said they’ve lost product and sales. But for Battaglia, he’s more worried about the community he’s built.“We had several customers who I literally made phone calls to because I knew they would be here Wednesday morning as soon as the store opened to get their stuff. And you know, I didn’t want to disappoint anybody.”But Battaglia hopes his customers won’t have to wait too long.Depending on Friday’s weather event, Battaglia is hoping to reopen this location next Wednesday. But the location on Southland Drive is still open in the meantime.Copyright 2025 WKYT. All rights reserved.

Business : Sime Darby Property Acquires Logistics Warehouses In Bandar Bukit Raja For RM232 Mln

Business News

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Bernama) — Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP) has acquired two modern double-storey logistics warehouses in Bandar Bukit Raja, Selangor for RM232 million.

It said in a statement that the assets were previously owned by Sime Darby Property MIT Development Sdn Bhd (SDPMIT), a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Sime Darby Property and a Japanese JV comprising MBK Real Estate Asia Pte Ltd and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd.

Business : Dialog’s Shares Remain Flat Despite Securing US$235 Mln Investment

Business News

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Bernama) — Dialog Group Bhd’s share price remained unchanged at mid-morning, despite receiving a US$235 million investment approval for the Baram Junior Cluster Small Field Asset Production Sharing Contract (PSC).

At 11.40 am, the company’s shares were flat at RM1.84, with 78.06 million units traded.

In a note, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd maintained its optimistic outlook on Dialog’s update and opined that the strategic move by the group will strengthen its upstream business.

2024 was the first year above 1.5°C of global warming, scientists say

Science and Health

Chukwumerije Okereke, a professor of global climate governance at Britain’s University of Bristol, said the 1.5 degrees Celsius milestone should serve as “a rude awakening to key political actors to get their act together”.”Despite all the warnings that scientists have given, nations … are continuing to fail to live up to their responsibilities,” he told Reuters.

Concentrations in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, reached a fresh high of 422 parts per million in 2024, C3S said.

Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at US non-profit Berkeley Earth, said he expected 2025 to be among the hottest years on record, but likely not top the rankings.

“It’s still going to be in the top three warmest years,” he said.

That’s because while the biggest factor warming the climate is human-caused emissions, temperatures in early 2024 got an extra boost from El Nino, a warming weather pattern which is now trending towards its cooler La Nina counterpart.

Possible changes to Hot August Nights raises concerns for Virginia City business owners

Business News

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Hot August Nights is considering major changes to their event format and it could affect Hot August Nights in Virginia City.HAN said in October it is returning to Virginia City in 2025 and is opening it up for all who register for the event. Hot August Nights is holding a press event Monday to discuss changes. Changes are being considered after a black man from Texas captured video of Gary, Janis and Tiffany Miller outside of the Firehouse Saloon having a heated interaction that allegedly stemmed from racist remarks and references to a hanging tree.“This is a loving community and we are definitely not a bunch of racists in this town. I think most people know that,” said Jim Grimes. Local business owners say the Millers’ views do not represent the town. “It was just a disgusting situation that we all had to endure,” added Marshall McBride. “To label a whole town as racist. Like, ‘don’t go to Virginia City because that’s a racist town‘ is just so far from the truth it is beyond comparison. It’s crazy,” added Grimes. Marshall is the owner of the Bucket of Blood Saloon and Grimes owns the Delta Saloon. Both take pride in hosting the kick-off event. “Virginia City has been a sponsor for about the last 10 years and many of the businesses support Hot August Nights. Everybody loves to come to Virginia City,” said McBride. Hot August Nights is considering a couple of changes. A smaller event in VC but with more locations around Reno and Sparks, including UNR. Along with adding more days to the event. “With the direction they are going in to extend this to a 10-day event, maybe it will bring more people to town. Which we would hope, but they want to do more “show and shine” around the area,” said McBride. There’s also the possibility that no events will be held at the GSR, due to the construction of the new arena. “Virginia City has always been an important part of Hot August Nights and to not do that significantly diminishes what we have going on here.” “These business owners from Virginia City are not spokespeople for Hot August Nights,” said HAN Executive Director Deny Dotson. “We are excited about the changes and our plans for 2025.”Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.

Smelly South Phoenix Mulching Business To Cease Operations

Business News

A Laveen composting business is shutting down as a result of a lawsuit filed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

According to Maricopa County, the operators of Growers Market agreed to resolve the matter by consenting to the County’s request that they be prohibited from operating a composting facility on the property at issue.
Growers Market further consented to a list of stringent County stipulations that will put a prompt end to the business’s operations and ensure the removal of the offending material.
The settlement reduces the time the property owner has to remove all mulching material by 9 days from an early administrative order. In the earlier administrative judgment, the business was required to vacate the premises by March 10, but now, the settlement specifies that the property must be vacated by March 1.
Effective immediately, no new composting material besides fuel to run the trucks and other equipment may be brought onto the property. Starting January 20, all grinding or screening of mulch material must cease and all related equipment must be removed from the property. Until the property is cleared, Growers Market is permitted to haul off remaining mulch and materials Monday though Friday between 7am and 5pm through the March 1st deadline. Growers Market must allow access to the property for regular inspections and provide weekly progress reports to the County. If Growers Market does not comply with the order, the operators will be personally liable for a penalty of $1,000 per day.
Inspections conducted in the last few months of 2024 led to the Board’s decision on December 11, which authorized the County Attorney’s Office to seek an injunction to enforce the zoning ordinance violation. The business still does not have the required special use permit to run a composting operation in a rural/residential zone.