The number of vehicle miles traveled in the United States rose 3.5 percent in 2015 from a year earlier, the DOT said.
WASHINGTON—Last year 35,092 people died in traffic crashes in the United States, a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase that runs counter to a five-decade trend of declining fatalities, the U.S. Transportation Department said.
U.S. officials said lower gasoline prices combined with job growth increased the number of miles driven last year by the highest rate in nearly 25 years. Distracted driving was cited in about a tenth of traffic fatalities in 2015, the U.S. DOT said.
Data "showed traffic deaths rising across nearly every segment of the population," the department said in a statement.
The number of fatalities was near preliminary estimates issued nearly two months ago.
The last time U.S. traffic fatalities rose at a greater rate was in 1966, when they went up 8.1 percent. That was two years before the federal government required seat belts in cars.
While the number of fatalities rose in 2015, driving is far safer now in the United States than it was in the past. In 1966, the fatality rate—measured as deaths per miles driven—was five times higher than today. In that year, nearly 51,000 people were killed on U.S. roads.
Almost half of passenger vehicle occupants killed last year were not wearing safety belts, although the belts are standard equipment in all cars and required to be worn in some U.S. states, the DOT said.
"Solving this problem will take teamwork, so we're issuing a call to action and asking researchers, safety experts, data scientists, and the public to analyze the fatality data and help find ways to prevent these tragedies," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
Almost one in three fatalities involved drunk drivers or speeding, the DOT said.
The number of vehicle miles traveled in the United States rose 3.5 percent in 2015 from a year earlier, the DOT said.
In 2005, U.S. traffic deaths were 22 percent higher, at 42,708.

Traffic deaths rise 7.2 percent in 2015, almost half involved no seat belt use


FILE PHOTO -- EpiPen auto-injection epinephrine pens manufactured by Mylan NV pharmaceutical company for use by severe allergy sufferers are seen in Washington, U.S. August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo
The increasing cost of EpiPens, an emergency allergy drug applicator, may have been thrust into the national spotlight recently, but a local allergy expert says the climbing rates have been hitting hard long before now.
Dr. Fatima Khan, Altru Health System allergist/immunologist, said the active agent in an EpiPen, an auto-injector system produced by pharmaceutical company Mylan, is the human stress hormone known as epinephrine. For people suffering a life-threatening allergic reaction, that hormone is the vital, short-term therapy used to reduce the severity of symptoms until the subject can reach an emergency room.
"There is no substitute for this treatment; there is no substitute for epinephrine," Khan said. "There used to be two devices that were available in this country, but the other one got recalled, so now we're left with only this brand-name device that I prescribe on a daily basis."
No competition
The lack of choice when it comes to buying a brand-name emergency auto-injector such as the EpiPen is a major reason why the increasing prices have attracted so much attention. Over the past decade, the full price for an EpiPen two-pack — the standard unit a patient would buy — has gone up more than 500 percent to $608.
Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Amy Klobuchar, DFL-Minn., are just two politicians who last week called upon Mylan to deliver an explanation for the steep increase.
"Playing around with the cost of this lifesaving product is wrong on so many levels," Heitkamp stated in a news release Thursday. "Mylan Pharmaceuticals needs to explain why the price of this product has increased 500 percent in recent years."
Heitkamp also called on the Federal Trade Commission to "investigate these outrageous price increases immediately."
Not enough
Klobuchar called Mylan's announcement last week of customer rebates "welcome relief" but stated they don't "fully address the root of the problem."
"The burden of the EpiPen price increases and other prescription drug increases — from insulin to Naxolone — persists for American families, taxpayers and employers," Klobuchar said. "We cannot rely on public outcry as the only solution to high prescription drug prices."
Khan said an insured patient with Mylan-provided savings vouchers contributed about $30 out of pocket for a two-pack of the EpiPens last year. This year, she's heard of patients paying more than twice that amount for the same number of EpiPens.
Khan said her patients on Medicare or other forms of government insurance are not eligible for savings vouchers and are paying even more for the drug.
"I've heard from my Medicare patients that they've paid $300 for that two-pack," she said. "For someone on Medicare, they're retired and on a limited budget to begin with, so that's a lot of money for them to have to pay out of their pocket."
Khan said she asks her patients to carry two applicators with them in case of emergency but added the actual amount an allergy-sufferer should have on hand can be more depending on their circumstances.
A child with a food allergy, for example, might need to keep multiple two-packs in different locations.
"The parent may have two devices that the child carries in their backpack, two devices that are left at school, two devices at Grandma's house where the child always goes after school or some kind of day care setting; and if they play sports, they might have two there," Khan explained.
Patients who live far from the nearest emergency center — as might be the case in North Dakota — or those who work or travel to rural locations, may have similar requirements.
When trying to stock up to prevent potential anaphylactic, airway-closing shock, paying for an adequate amount of the medication can quickly add up.
Khan said the price of EpiPens and other medications typically has increased year over year, and she's heard payment problems from patients in the past.
"Especially if they've got other financial restrictions, (patients) need to think about the expensive medication versus other expenses, so it can be prohibitive" Khan said. "I have had conversations with patients who tell me they did not pick up the prescription because of the cost. This is pretty scary if this is a lifesaving treatment."

EpiPen price spikes sting residents of Grand Forks


WASHINGTON—The United States on Tuesday offered a reward of up to $3 million for information about a former Tajik special operations colonel whom it trained in counter-terrorism before he joined the Islamic State militant group.
The U.S. State Department announced the reward for Gulmurod Khalimov in a statement that made no mention of his training, which included attending five U.S.-funded courses in the United States and Tajikistan between 2003 and 2014, said a U.S. State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The statement described Khalimov as "a key leader" of the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIL and ISIS, that has seized parts of Syria and Iran and staged or inspired attacks around the world.
"Khalimov is a former Tajik special operations colonel, police commander, and military sniper. He was the commander of a police special operations unit in the Ministry of Interior of Tajikistan. He is now an ISIL member and recruiter," it said.
"In May 2015, he announced in a 10-minute propaganda video that he fights for ISIL and has called publicly for violent acts against the United States, Russia, and Tajikistan," it added.
The State Department's "Rewards for Justice" program, which has also targeted Osama bin Laden and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, offered up to $3 million for information leading to Khalimov's location, arrest or conviction.
The State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity suggested that Khalimov was regarded as a special threat because of his counter-terrorism training, which included "crisis response, hostage negotiation and tactical leadership."
"We consider Gulmurod Khalimov to be a threat to national security and the U.S. Department of State due to his prior counter-terrorism experience and training," the official said.
The official declined to say exactly how many courses Khalimov attended in the United States and where they took place or to shed further light on his evolution from a counter-terrorism commander to an Islamic State leader.
The training was provided under the State Department's anti-terrorism assistance program, the official said.

U.S. offers $3 million reward for man it gave anti-terror training


Aug 27, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe (24) celebrates with right fielder Max Kepler (26) after hitting a two run home run during the seventh inning in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The Toronto Blue Jays won 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 27, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) hits a single during the sixth inning in a game against the Minnesota Twins at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
TORONTO—B.J. Upton saw Max Kepler dive for his sinking drive in the eighth inning and when the ball skipped past the right fielder he was thinking triple.
What he did not see was Kepler kicking the ball as he made a sliding attempt to pursue it. Kevin Pillar, who had doubled, scored the tying run on Upton's hit.
Upton continued all the way home for what proved to be the winning run and the Toronto Blue Jays came back to defeat the Minnesota Twins 8-7 on Saturday.
It was scored an RBI triple and an error.
Upton said he could not remember scoring like that before, even in Little League.
"That's a first time," he said. "I saw him dive, I kind of knew it would be a triple once it got by him, but rounding second I saw Luis (third base coach Rivera) keep waving me and I kept going."
Edwin Encarnacion homered and had three RBIs for the Blue Jays, who trailed 5-0 and 7-3 before handing the Twins their ninth straight loss.
"There's all different kinds of ways to lose games," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "That one was particularly difficult. Things just snowballed. You've got a team that's certainly capable of scoring runs in a hurry and got a little momentum. That was a tough one to endure, especially those last couple of innings.
"Max is trying to make a play and get us off the field with a lead and he came up short. He's trying to do something to help us win."
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Upton has injected speed into the team's lineup.
"That's one part of our team we don't have a whole lot of, is team speed," Gibbons said. "A guy like that can make a huge difference. We've seen him steal bases; he's one of those guys that can go first to third just about every time.
"If he hits it in the gap, it could turn into three. ... That was a huge play."
Reliever Jason Grilli (5-3) pitched around a single in the eighth to pick up the win and Ryan Pressly (6-6) took the loss, allowing two runs and five hits in one inning.
Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to earn his 29th save of the season.
Brian Dozier had three hits and two RBIs, and Trevor Plouffe hit a home run and had two RBIs for the Twins.
Twins starter Ervin Santana allowed five hits, five walks and six runs while striking out four in six innings.
"They're an aggressive team and they don't swing at very bad pitches, either," Santana said. "(The clubhouse is) a little down. At the same time, we have to come tomorrow, erase this game today and then play hard tomorrow.
"We had the lead for a couple of good innings and then we gave it in the blink of an eye."
Toronto starter Marcus Stroman allowed nine hits, one walk and five runs in six innings. He struck out five.
Stroman appreciates what Upton has brought to the Blue Jays since he was acquired on July 26 in a trade with the San Diego Padres.
"He's an unbelievable player, gives that added element of power and speed," Stroman said. "Any time he's in there, he can go deep or steal a base or go first to third, first to home. He's dynamic out there and we're excited to have him."
The Blue Jays (73-56) entered the game with a one-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
The Twins (49-80) scored a run in the first. Dozier led off with a single, stole second, took third on Joe Mauer's fly out to left and scored on a wild pitch.
Minnesota scored four runs in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead.
Plouffe led off with a walk and Eddie Rosario singled. Miguel Sano hit an RBI single, Eduardo Escobar hit an RBI double and Dozier stroked a two-run double.
Toronto scored in the bottom of the fourth when Encarnacion walked and Michael Saunders doubled.
Josh Donaldson walked with one out in the sixth and scored on Encarnacion's 36th home run of the season, cutting the Twins' lead to 5-3.
Bo Schultz allowed a walk and Plouffe's ninth home run of the season in the seventh as the Twins bumped their lead to 7-3.
The Blue Jays scored three in the bottom of the seventh to trim the lead to 7-6.
Pillar led off with a single and was forced at second by Upton. Devon Travis walked, Josh Thole grounded out to first and Jose Bautista walked to load the bases.
Pressly replaced Santana and allowed Donaldson's two-run single and Encarnacion's RBI single.

Kepler, Twins bumble away late lead for ninth-straight loss


At one point on their cycling trip, the Astrups had to walk their bikes around muddy water holes dotting a narrow, desolate path. Special to the Forum
Jason and Jamie Astrup stayed in Paris for a few days after the trip ended to take in attractions like the Eiffel Tower. Special to the Forum
The trip offered spectacular views like this of the French countryside. Special to the Forum
Biking on crushed limestone paths near centuries-old structures like this bridge was a common feature of the trip. Special to the Forum
In one French town, children lined the sidewalk to offer high fives to the group as they rode through. Special to the Forum
Jason and Jamie Astrup spent nearly two weeks cycling through portions of Europe on a trip organized by Great Rides Fargo. Special to the Forum
Once the group arrived in Paris, they assembled their bikes and stopped at the Eiffel Tower. Special to the Forum
FARGO — Tom Smith, the owner of Great Northern Bikes, has cycled across portions of Europe before. But last month, he was responsible for two different bike tours organized through Great Rides Fargo, the non-profit arm of his bicycle store.
That meant rather than guiding himself and a few friends through narrow French routes, Smith was responsible for nearly 30 people who'd never biked the paths before.
Two of those people were Jason and Jamie Astrup, a local couple who were the first to sign up for the excursion that would take them through Paris, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands — an option called "the low road" that would take nine days to cover.
The other option, "the high road," involved biking through the Swiss Alps over 11 days. A few riders created a hybrid trip that included spending time on both routes, Smith says.
It wasn't your run-of-the-mill European vacation for any of the cyclists, including the Astrups who biked 40 to 50 miles a day for six days.
"We knew we needed an adventure trip instead of a lying-on-the-beach trip," Jamie Astrup said.
Finding the right route
The Astrups' adventure began in Paris and soon led them to the famous cobbles in the Forest of Arenberg near Roubaix, France, which is picturesque, but not exactly comfortable for cyclists.
"When you're riding on a bike down the path, your bike is just shaking," Jason Astrup says.
Another time the path was a bit softer but the surrounding environment created a scene more typical of a horror movie — a narrow, desolate path; thick, suffocating brush; quiet river and swampy water.
Smith admits the biggest challenge was finding appropriate routes to take, and many were quiet roads through vast countryside or quaint towns.
While those singular paths stuck out to the Astrups as somewhat trepidatious, both say the overall trip was enjoyable. They recalled the crushed limestone paths and the people riding horses as they biked past. It was a side of Europe many people don't see, and several small towns welcomed the group with open arms.
Most of the lodging accommodations included hotels, but in Maastricht, Netherlands, the tour spent the night on a botel — a hotel in a boat. Space was limited, and Jamie Astrup admits she had some anxiety about the close quarters. But the next morning, an Ironman competition got underway, and the Astrups' group was able to watch as 2,000 swimmers began the race next to their boat.
Because the overall experience was successful, the Astrups have many fond memories of the trip. That's not to say they didn't learn a few things along the way.
By far the biggest lesson the Astrups learned involved their bikes. They spent hours disassembling their bikes to pack and fly them, only to put them back together once they arrived. If they ever embark on another cycling adventure, Jason and Jamie say they'll rent rather than bring their own.
They mused about the scene the group must have been in the Gare du Nord train station in Paris — one of Europe's busiest railway stations. The language barrier to explain what they were doing didn't help, but after an hour and a half using Allen wrenches to assemble the bikes, the group was able to embark on their adventure.
"After dealing with transporting our bikes, I'd be OK with adjusting a seat (on a rented bike)," Jamie Astrup says. Not to mention they had to locate new boxes to get the bikes home, and the ones they were given did not exactly fit, so modifications were required.
For Smith, both trips were successful because they showed the riders how accessible independent travel is while on vacation.
"I hope it opens doors for people for their future travels," he says. "It's amazing to be a bicyclist in a transportation system that is so respectful of bicycles. I'm a bicycle advocate, so I think it's important for people to see parts of the world where bikes have become an important part of the culture."

Fargo-organized bike trek across Europe not your typical vacation


Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws the ball during the first quarter in a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Athletic trainer Eric Sugarman said in a statement Tuesday night that Bridgewater “suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage” to his left knee. He said “recovery time will be significant.’’
Bridgewater was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with what Sugarman said was “quickly diagnosed as a dislocated knee.” Bridgewater was sedated and had an MRI, and the full extent of the injury was determined.
Sugarman said Bridgewater will have surgery in the next few days and “there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage.’’ He said he’s expected “to make a full recovery.”
The third-year man went down without being touched after dropping back and grabbed his left knee. Bridgewater looked to be in agony as players and medical personnel rushed to him.
“I watched it on tape,’’ said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. “It was a non-contact thing it looked like to me. Just a freaky deal.’’
Zimmer spoke at an afternoon news conference before the full extent of the injury was known. Still, he said then “it doesn’t look good’’ for Bridgewater to play again this season.
The team canceled practice at 1:55 p.m., 25 minutes after it started, and the ambulance left with Bridgewater at 2:19 p.m.
When the injury happened, several players cursed. Several threw their helmets to the ground, including guard Brandon Fusco and linebacker Eric Kendricks.
Zimmer then his told his players that practice was over, and none were made available for comment. Most left the field, but running backs Adrian Peterson and Matt Asiata, backup quarterback Shaun Hill, defensive end Brian Robison and wide receiver Adam Thielen were among those who stayed to kneel around their fallen teammate and looked to be praying.
“I just talked to (Bridgewater) when he was coming off the field,’’ Zimmer said. “I’ve talked to his mom a couple times, just trying to update her about what’s going on. … (Bridgewater) wasn’t saying much. I just told him, ‘Hang in there, and we hope the best for (him).’’’
For now, Hill, a 15-year veteran, will take over at quarterback for the Vikings, who close the preseason Thursday against Los Angeles at U.S. Bank Stadium and open the regular season Sept. 11 at Tennessee.
“I have confidence in Shaun,’’ Zimmer said. “I think he has played great this preseason. He has been in two-minute drills. He has done a phenomenal job, and the thing we all have to remember is, this is about the team. This isn’t about a one-man deal. We all feel terrible if it is significant, real significant, for Teddy, but this is about the team. We have a real good team.’’
The only healthy quarterbacks on the roster are Hill, who threw seven passes last season for Minnesota after signing as a free agent, and undrafted rookie Joel Stave. Third-stringer Taylor Heinicke is out until at least October after cutting his foot in a freak accident last month at his home.
Minnesota had waived journeyman quarterback Brad Sorensen earlier in the day before Bridgewater was hurt, and Zimmer said he could be brought back. Zimmer said he and general manager Rick Spielman “have been talking about’’ the possibility of bringing in a veteran quarterback.
Bridgewater had started 29 straight regular-season games for Minnesota, and has been considered a rising star. After missing a preseason game Aug. 18 at Seattle because of an apparent sore shoulder, he came back last Sunday to complete 12 of 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown in a 23-10 exhibition win over San Diego.
That was the first game in spanking new U.S. Bank Stadium, and optimism was running high. Tuesday, though, was a real downer for a team that has aspirations of winning the Super Bowl.
“It’s a normal reaction to be devastated,’’ said CBS analyst and former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon. “You got these high hopes and to the players, the coaching staff, the general manager, the owners, it’s a real shocker. But this happens every week in the NFL, a superstar or a key player goes down.
“This is what you draft for, this is why you have depth and have a backup quarterback like Shaun Hill, a guy who’s been in big situations before and isn’t going to panic. … Does it help your playoff chances? No. But everything they’ve talked about and hope to accomplish is still there in front of them.’’
Zimmer message Tuesday was that the Vikings will press on without Bridgewater. He brought up his wife Vikki having died during the season in 2009 when Zimmer was Cincinnati defensive coordinator.
“It’s tough today but tomorrow the sun’s going to (come up),’’ Zimmer said. “Hey, my wife passed away seven years ago, right? It was a tough day, the sun came up the next day, the world kept spinning. People kept going to work. That’s what we’re going to do.’’
Zimmer said he spoke several times Tuesday with hall of famer Bill Parcells, who was Dallas’ coach from 2002-06 when Zimmer was the defensive coordinator and is a mentor. He said he had several conversations “in spirit’’ with his father, Bill, who died last year.
“We’re not going to stick our heads in the sand,’’ Zimmer said. “We’re going to figure out a way. Everybody can count us out if they want, but I think that’d be the wrong thing to do.’’
After news of Bridgewater’s injury got out, there were numerous tweets of support from teammates and other players around the NFL. Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson wrote, “Praying for you,’’ and Oakland quarterback Derek Carr wrote, “I hope you are good bro! My family and I are praying for you!’’
Sen. Al Franken sent out a tweet, reading, “Minnesota wishes you a speedy recovery, and I know you’ll bounce back even stronger.’’
Zimmer has a special bond with his young quarterback, who entered the NFL in 2014, Zimmer’s first season with the Vikings. He got emotional talking about him.
“Teddy is such an amazing kid,’’ Zimmer said. “Everybody loves him. So it was disappointing for (the players) and I didn’t think we were going to get much out of practice. We’ll get back in there (Wednesday) and we’ll get back to work.’’

Bridgewater to undergo season-ending surgery on knee


AFTON, Wis. -- A Wisconsin man is facing five felony charges for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting two women at gunpoint.
Washington County Sheriff’s deputies arrested James Lauck, 36, of New Richmond, Friday morning after responding to the 3100 block of St. Croix Trail South in downtown area of Afton. He faces five felony charges, including second degree assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
Law enforcement responded to a possible hostage situation at approximately shortly after 6:45 a.m. When they arrived, two women frantically waved the deputies down and told them Lauck had been holding them at gunpoint, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday in Washington County District Court.
Lauck allegedly hit and shoved both women and cut one of the women’s hair with a scissors during the incident, according to the complaint.
One of the women told law enforcement that Lauck was her ex-boyfriend and she had recently broken up with him. He had been living with her for the past month, the complaint stated.
Lauck allegedly told the women that he had six bullets, which he said he’d use on them, one of the women’s stepfather and himself. Lauck had put a gun to her head and forced the women to lay on the floor facing away from him, according to the report.
The women broke through a basement window and escaped the home after Lauck went upstairs, according to the complaint.
The incident prompted a large police response because of initial dispatch information that Lauck had a firearm.
Lauck returned to the home on his motorcycle where deputies confronted him. He allegedly ignored directives to show law enforcement his hands and told deputies to kill him, according to the complaint.
Police said they uncovered a camouflage .45 caliber handgun in Lauck’s jacket pocket.
According to the complaint, Lauck is a part of an “outlaw motorcycle gang” and could face a maximum of 64 years in prison if convicted on the charges.
A Washington County judge ordered Lauck to remain in jail without bail.
Court records show he has no prior felony convictions in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin man charged with kidnapping two women


Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Michael Vick at press conference after 24-20 victory against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium last season. Photo by Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- It’s time to see how much veteran quarterback Shaun Hill has left in the tank.
The 36-year-old journeyman, re-signed by the Vikings to essentially be a mentor to Teddy Bridgewater, watched helplessly as his role changed in a blink Tuesday.
As Bridgewater crumpled to the turf at Winter Park with a season-ending knee injury, Hill found himself thrust into the starting role, whether he likes it or not.
Hill and former University of Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave are the only healthy QBs on the Vikings’ roster. The team waived Brad Sorenson on Tuesday, and coach Mike Zimmer hinted the Vikings could bring him back for now. Taylor Heinicke is also on the roster but still recovering from an ankle injury sustained last month.
That means the starting job belongs to Hill — at least for the time being.
Zimmer expressed confidence in Hill during a late-afternoon news conference Tuesday but in the same breath shifted the focus away from the backup-turned-starter.
“This isn’t about a one-man deal,”
Zimmer said. “We feel terrible if it’s real significant for Teddy, but this is about the team. We have a good team. We have a good defense. Our offensive line is much better. We have good receivers. We have maybe the best running back in the NFL. This is about the team, and it’s about us trying to find a way to win football games.”
Hill has bounced around the NFL the past 14 years, playing for the Vikings, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams. Although he has looked OK this preseason, at this point in his career, he’s a backup, not a guy leading a team with championship aspirations.
“We know if Shaun is the guy we’re going to try to figure out the very best way to beat the team that we’re playing that week,” Zimmer said. “And however we have to do it, if it’s running the ball 65 times or throwing it 65 times, it doesn’t really matter.”
It does matter, though, because in today’s NFL, having a more-than-competent quarterback is a must. Plus, Hill’s arm might fall off before he could throw it 65 times.
Zimmer said he and general manager Rick Spielman have talked about bringing in a veteran quarterback to compete with Hill.
Here are four free agents — all out of football — the Vikings could target in Bridgewater’s absence:
- Tarvaris Jackson is a name that should ring a bell for Vikings fans. The Vikings picked him up in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft, and even though his career as a starter never really panned out, he managed to carve out a niche as Russell Wilson’s backup with Seattle over the past three seasons. He was arrested two months ago for allegedly pulling a gun on his wife.
-Matt Flynn signed a big contract with the Seahawks in 2012 after thriving in a backup role for Green Bay. He was penciled in as the starter in Seattle before Wilson took his job. That worked out pretty well for the Seahawks. Still, Flynn has shown flashes in the past and might be worth bringing in to compete with Hill. He was on New Orleans’ roster in 2015 but did not play in a game.
- Josh Freeman started one game for Indianapolis last season. He has been an NFL starter, and if Vikings fans could get over memories of that awful spot start for Minnesota three years ago, he might not be the worst option on the market.
- Michael Vick would at least provide some intrigue. He started three games for Pittsburgh last season, looking uncomfortable in each. That said, a backfield of Vick and Adrian Peterson could be tough to scheme for.
There’s also the possibility of acquiring someone via trade before the Sept. 11 regular-season opener against Tennessee. There were a number of quarterback battles in training camps throughout the NFL, and it might be worth the Vikings calling some of those teams.
Mark Sanchez lost the his shot at starting for Denver when the team opted for Trevor Siemian. The Broncos are now actively shopping Sanchez, who has been a starter in the past.
Josh McCown also could be available after Cleveland chose Robert Griffin III as its starter. McCown has produced in the past, just not at the rate to lock down a starting spot.
San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick might be someone who could be had for the right price. He has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way after opting to not stand for the national anthem. There was a point not too long ago, though, when he was considered one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league.

What other QBs are out there for Vikings to snare?


Briana Sanchez / TribuneFather Aaron Nett and a preist wait for pallbearers to carry the casket out of St. Anthony Catholic Church Friday morning. A funeral service was held for Alayna Ertl at the church.
Briana Sanchez / TribuneFather Aaron Nett lead the burial at Alayna Ertl's funeral Friday at St. Anthony cemetary in Watkins.
Briana Sanchez / TribuneA family member looks down at the casket Friday at Alayna Ertl's funeral service at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Watkins.
Briana Sanchez / TribuneCars lined the streets of Watkins Friday for Alayna Ertl's funeral service. The service began at 10:30 a.m. and ended around 11:45 a.m.
Briana Sanchez / TribuneKayla and Matt Ertl watch as the casket is placed in the hearse Friday outside of St. Anthony Catholic Church. A funeral was held for Alayna Ertl.
WATKINS, Minn.—"We must let this change us."
A standing-room-only crowd, which spilled into the overhead balcony of the St. Anthony Catholic Church in Watkins, was silent as the Rev. Aaron Nett issued a call to action Friday morning.
They gathered for the funeral of 5-year-old Alayna Ertl, the little girl who was taken from her home in the night last Saturday, and allegedly killed by a man who was once a family friend.
As much as the funeral was a time for the small central Minnesota town to remember Alayna, the smiley girl affectionately called a "little mama" for her caring nature, it was also a time to process what had happened.
But not accept it.
"Such a senseless violence, such an evil act. An act that could only be authored by Satan himself," Nett said. "It is incomprehensible and an insult to humanity."
Along with the program, a pamphlet was distributed. A picture of Alayna filled the cover, dressed in sparkly blue as Elsa from the movie "Frozen." Her favorite movie, family friends said.
Inside the pamphlet, several paragraphs painted a picture of the little girl and the things she loved.
"Alayna was her Momma's little princess who always dressed up in a dress. It didn't matter if she was playing outside or going shopping with mom, she had her wedges or 'clicky shoes' (high heels) and lip gloss on."
It talked about a girl who loved to sing and be sung to, and always requested to sing the "sun song" ("You are my Sunshine") before bed.
Just before Alayna's casket was brought in for the funeral, everyone inside the church sang that song together a capella.
Alayna's large family filled the front four pews of the church. They proceeded into the building behind Alayna's tiny coffin, which was covered with a white cloth.
At one point, parishioners prayed together for the family.
People broke down crying as the lector called for prayers for victims of abuse and kidnapping.
In his homily, Nett told community members it was normal to feel numb and angry.
"Why did this happen to such a beautiful, innocent girl? Why her, and why us? Why in this way?" he said.
He said he believed everything happens for a reason, though it was hard to imagine how the town could be hit by another tragedy this year.
Just over a month ago, a tornado devastated the town, seriously injuring one person. It hit the same street the Ertl family lives on.
And last August, two Watkins teenagers were killed and one seriously injured in a crash with a drunk driver. One of the teens who was killed in that crash, Zachary Rohrbeck, was Alayna's cousin.
It has been a hard year for the town of fewer than 1,000 people. So Nett's homily was also a call to action.
"These things do not have the last word. Ever," Nett said. "We must be instruments, ourselves, of peace."
At the funeral's close, the family followed behind the casket as it was carried from the church. Alayna's mother, Kayla, gripped Alayna's brother Carter tightly as they left the church.
Following the funeral and burial at the nearby cemetery, Alayna's family hosted community members for lunch at the Watkins town hall.
Kayla and her husband, Matt, did not speak during the funeral. No family member did.
But the last paragraph written in the pamphlet, written in quotation marks, suggests it is directly from the couple.
"We love you more than anything, baby girl, and miss you incredibly," it reads. "Please watch over us all and be the beautiful angel that you are up in heaven! Dance your heart out, Peanut."


Drone video captured some amazing damage along the path of a tornado that touched down near Hillsboro, N.D., on Saturday.

Watch: Aerial video of Hillsboro tornado damage


Members of Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government fire a weapon towards Islamic State militants in neighbourhood Number One in central Sirte, Libya August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
SIRTE, Libya—At least 34 Libyan fighters were killed and more than 180 wounded on Sunday as they closed in on the last Islamic State militant holdouts in the coastal city of Sirte, according to field hospitals.
Forces aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government, supported since Aug. 1 by U.S. air strikes, have pushed militants back into a small residential area in central Sirte in a three-month-old campaign. Heavy fighting resumed on Sunday after a one-week lull.
The Libyan brigades, mostly from the city of Misrata, say they are close to victory in Sirte, but they have struggled to defend themselves against suicide bombings, sniper fire and landmines.
On Sunday several brigades stationed close to Sirte's seafront advanced several hundred meters eastwards through Sirte's neighborhood Number One, while other fighters overran Islamic State positions in street-to-street fighting to the south.
Fighters used tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns to try to blast through Islamic State sniper positions.
The Misrata-led brigades said there had been five attempted car bombings on Sunday in a "desperate attempt to disrupt the advance", though at least one of the bombs had been destroyed before it could reach its target.
The front lines in Sirte were quieter earlier this week as government-led forces said they were giving time to the wives and children of Islamic State fighters to leave the battle zone.
Almost all the city's estimated 80,000 residents left after Islamic State took full control of the city last year, turning it into its regional stronghold and expanding its presence along about 155 miles of coastline.
The United States has carried out dozens of air strikes against Islamic State positions and vehicles in Sirte. This week the U.S. Africa Command said Marine AH-1W SuperCobra helicopters were being used in the operation, alongside jets and drones.
Libyan commanders say some Islamic State militants probably escaped around the start of the campaign to recapture Sirte in May, and their forces have been trying to secure the desert to the south and west of Sirte.

Death toll hits 34 for Libyan troops battling Islamic State in Sirte


SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minnesota -- A South St. Paul elementary school teacher who was the subject of a criminal investigation and on paid leave is dead from an apparent murder-suicide last week in Washington state.
A criminal investigation into teacher Aric Babbitt and his husband, Matthew Deyo, began about two weeks ago after allegations were made against both of them, South St. Paul Police Chief Bill Messerich said Monday.
Because the investigation is still active, Messerich said, he could not disclose the nature of the allegations and who made them.
“It’s early, but there are some allegations … and we’ve executed a search warrant,” he said. “Overall, it’s a tough one.”
Babbitt, 40, and Deyo, 36, lived together in a South St. Paul home they bought at 1312 S. Fifth Ave. in 2003, according to Dakota County property records.
Babbitt, who taught at Lincoln Elementary School, was put on paid leave by South St. Paul schools after the district learned of the allegations about two weeks ago, Superintendent Dave Webb said Monday.
Babbitt’s sister Sara said in a text message to friends Friday that Babbitt and Deyo were found dead Thursday on Lopez Island, in the San Juan Islands in the northwest corner of the state about 100 miles north of Seattle.
“There was an investigation that was going on, and they felt like they didn’t have an out and ending their lives was best for them,” she wrote in the text message, which was forwarded to the Pioneer Press. “We received a letter from them in the mail yesterday. We are all devastated and in a lot of pain.”
Efforts to reach the sister were unsuccessful. Other family members for Babbitt and Deyo also could not be reached for comment.
SUICIDE NOTE FOUND
San Juan County Sheriff Ron Krebs said in a prepared statement Thursday that a kayaker discovered a man’s body on one of the island’s beaches. Authorities who responded also found the body of a second man.
Both died of gunshot wounds, Krebs said. Witnesses reported hearing two apparent gun shots at approximately 8:30 p.m. the night before.
A suicide note was found stating both of the men had visited Lopez Island years ago with their dog and loved the island, Krebs said.
“At this time the sheriff’s office is ruling this a murder-suicide,” the sheriff’s statement read. Krebs was out of town Monday and not available for comment, a county employee said.
Autopsy results for the two men were not available Monday, the San Juan County medical examiner’s office said.
DISTRICT ALSO INVESTIGATING
Webb said that he learned of Babbitt’s death Friday morning and that he notified school district staffers through an email that same day.
“We lost a staff member … and that’s never easy,” Webb said Monday.
The school district is also conducting an investigation into the allegations, he said. Webb would not disclose the nature of the allegations, saying they involve private personnel data.
Babbitt was hired by the school district Aug. 28, 2002, and has taught grades 1, 2, 5 and 6. He was supposed to teach fourth grade this school year, which starts Sept. 6.
Babbitt had not been disciplined previously by the school district, Webb said.
Babbitt’s father, Dana, was superintendent of the South St. Paul school district from 2003 to 2007. He was previously principal at South St. Paul High School and assistant superintendent in the South Washington County school district.
Grief counselors were available for South St. Paul school district staff Friday and Monday, which is when the district held its scheduled kick-off and welcome-back meeting for employees at South St. Paul High School.
At the start of the meeting, school district staffers held a moment of silence, Webb said. The meeting was “somber, as you could imagine,” he said.

Minnesota teacher under investigation found dead on island with husband


Delayed passengers inside Terminal 7 at Los Angeles International Airport line up to go through TSA security check following a false alarm event in Los Angeles, California on August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Bob Riha Jr
Traffic is seen near the LAX sign, as terminals at Los Angeles International Airport were evacuated briefly late on Sunday following a false alarm, in Los Angeles, California on August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Bob Riha Jr
Terminals at Los Angeles International Airport were evacuated briefly late on Sunday, Aug. 28, after reports of gunfire that police later determined were incorrect, in the second recent false alarm at a major U.S. airport.
At least two terminals were closed while security personnel checked them for anything suspicious, according to Officer Alicia Hernandez of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The central terminal's arrival and departures areas as well as all other terminals re-opened after about two hours.
An investigation was under way, Andy Neiman, head of media relations for the LAPD, said in a Twitter message.
The alert came two months after police temporarily evacuated a terminal at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport while they investigated reports of gunfire there, also later determined to be false.
A preliminary investigation of that incident, which also occurred on a Sunday evening, found no evidence of foul play or suspicious activity.
U.S. airport security officials have been on heightened alert in recent months following deadly attacks at international airports in Belgium and Turkey.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on its website that air traffic to LAX was being delayed at the point of departure.
Airport authorities said in a Twitter post that an individual in a Zorro costume had been detained there, without indicating whether that incident was connected to Sunday night's scare.
•

Zorro detained at LAX, reports of gunfire were false alarm


Underground utilities, such as pipeliines, are marked, with informatoin about how to contact the utility to report a problem. (Enbridge photo)
An Enbridge employee shows John Proulx how he locates underground pipelnes. Proulx accidentally dented a pipe while digging on his northwestern Minnesota farm. (Enbridge photo)
He was tipping over a tree while clearing land on his northwestern Minnesota farm when he heard a scraping sound. He knew he did not hit a rock with his end loader, and the thought crossed his mind that he may have hit an oil pipeline.
He did. But he was lucky because it was just dented, not sliced open, which could have caused an explosion or spill. The Enbridge pipeline had to be shut down and fixed.
"We thought we knew where it was," Proulx said.
Proulx learned his lesson. "It always is better to be safe than sorry in the end."
The next time Proulx prepared to dig, he called 811, a free service to have utilities located.
Enbridge's Laura Kircher staffed a booth at Farmfest near Morgan, Minn., in early August to let farmers know the importance of checking before digging. She said that any work deeper than 18 inches requires a call to 811 to protect utilities and those doing the digging.
In Minnesota, www.gopherstateonecall.org provides more information. And call811.com directs users to more information in any state.
"I think we have a lot of farmers who aren't calling 811," Kircher said, which could end up in injury or death.
If a pipeline is hit, she said, a farmer should shut off his tractor or other implement, if safe, and get away right way. Then he should call 911 and Enbridge; a telephone number for the pipeline company should be on a nearby marker.
Pipeline safety is one of an almost endless number of problems farmers face. Those issues range from noise to injuries, dealing with visitors to fumes. They affect adults and children alike.
"Agriculture has been and remains, arguably, the most dangerous occupation in this state," said Paul Aasen of the Minnesota Safety Council.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say agriculture is among the most hazardous of industries across the country and one of the few in which family members are at risk because farming often is a family enterprise.
In 2012, the centers report, 374 farmers died from work-related injuries. On average, more than 100 youths younger than 20 die from farm injuries annually.
Nearly a quarter of deaths involved machinery, including tractors. Fewer died because of other machinery injuries, including all-terrain vehicle wrecks.
The U.S. Labor Department says the farmer fatality rate is seven times that of that of all in private industry. Every day, the department reports, about 243 American farm workers suffer a lost-work-time injury.
In Minnesota alone, more than 200 farm deaths occurred in the past decade.
The "big fish" in farm injuries remains tractor rollovers, Aasen said. But a new focus is being placed on child safety, He said that once every three days an American child dies in a farm mishap.
There also are issues involving cars, pickups and all-terrain vehicles related to the farm.
"Death and serious injuries in motor vehicle crashes in rural areas are about 10 to 15 percent higher than they are in urban areas," Aasen said, partly because of lower seat belt use there, partly because rural roads often are more dangerous and partly because speeds usually are higher on rural roads.
"You pile all of that together and there is an opportunity for a bigger crash," Aasen said.
Then there is a different atmosphere on the farm.
Farmers "have got much more harried and hurried in their business process," Aasen said.
And in an already dangerous situation, "humans shortcut stuff," he added.
Shortcuts are a special concern in one increasingly concerning type of accident: grain entrapments.
Purdue University reports 47 American farmers died in "confined space incidents," mostly grain bins, in 2014. While that was down from 71 in 2014, the issue is one of the most-discussed in agriculture because the deaths are among the most dramatic.
Farmers often need to enter grain bins, those circular metal-walled containers, to make sure grain is moving properly. But a farmer can run into complications.
For instance, if an auger is moving grain out of the bin, grain can suck a person into the grain flow and injure or kill him in the auger.
A less obvious problem is when a farmer walks on grain in the enclosed bin and, unknown to him, there is an open space underneath. The grain bridge, as the grain on top is called, can collapse, dropping the farmer into grain that can pull him in within seconds.
Farmers usually check grain alone, despite warnings that at least one observer be on hand, or at least someone is notified of the plan to go into a silo.
"As grain cascades down, the victim is covered with an 'avalanche' of grain that traps and suffocates him or her," the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration reports.
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap, a long-time farm safety instructor, said the safety of grain often depends on its condition. Moist grain can bridge easier than dry grain. And each type of grain—corn, soybeans, etc.—has different properties.
A fairly new farm concern is how to keep visitors safe.
With agritourist increasing, people who do not live on farms need to take steps to be safe and healthy, according to Diane Kampa of the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, based at the University of Minnesota.
"The general public who didn't grow up on farms don't have the same immunity," Kampa said.
Frequent hand washing is one of the items emphasized for farm visitors.
Visitors may not understand various farm dangers, such as being in a tractor driver's blind spot, and should closely supervise children, the National Children's Center for Rural and Agriculture Safety advises.
Mary Hoffmann, agriculture teacher at Sleepy Eye schools, works with children each year at the Farmfest agriculture show and elsewhere to teach farm safety to kids. And they are not just from the farm.
"Some of the kids come with grandma and grandpa, so when they visit the farm they know what to do," Hoffmann said.
One common lesson is that grain can pull someone under quickly. Loose clothing also can be a danger on a farm, with a good chance that it would get caught in equipment, Hoffmann said.
There are special problems in garages, machine sheds and barns where chemicals sit out.
"You can't tell if it is blue Gatorade or anti-freeze," Hoffman said.
Many visitors, she added, "don't know what to do when they go to the farm. ... The more people who tell them it is dangerous, the more they understand."
Farmers often think they know what to do and may not need much protection. But women at one Farmfest booth tried to tell farmers they need to do a better of job protecting themselves.
Alex Farfalla from the University of Nebraska Medical Center said that for years, farmers were overlooked when it came to the need for hearing and respiratory protection.
"Your ears and your lungs, they don't grow back," she said.
Respiratory devices range from simple masks to complete outfits that look like space suits. Many are not available locally, Fafalla said, but can be found on Amazon.com and elsewhere online.
Like the masks, hearing protection can range from simple ear plugs to headsets.
Emily Trenkamp of the Iowa-based Great Plains Center for Agriculture Health said farmers around manure pits need to have hydrogen sulfide monitors, available for $100 to $275. The gas can kill animals and farmers alike.
On Aug. 15, a Wisconsin farmer died after being overcome by fumes from a manure holding pit on his farm in an accident such as Trenkamp was trying to prevent.
The Portage County coroner reported that Michael Biadasz was found dead along with at least 13 cows on his Amherst-area farm. The corner said that warmer temperatures created a dome of air that trapped the fumes.

From digging to grain bins, farmers face varied dangers


Pipes stand ready to be laid for the Dakota Access pipeline earlier this summer. Forum News Service file photo
BISMARCK — A 27-year-old man who was fatally injured last week while working on the Dakota Access Pipeline project in western North Dakota was from Grand Rapids, Minn.
Rowe Funeral Home in Grand Rapids posted the death notice for Nicholas Jay Janesich late Monday. Funeral arrangements are pending, funeral home director Dave Huso said.
A GoFundMe page set up at www.gofundme.com/nickjay to help his parents pay for medical and funeral expenses had already raised more than $2,700 by late Monday afternoon.
Janesich was working for Chippewa Falls, Wis.-based Indianhead Pipeline Services LLC as a subcontractor on the 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline being installed from the Bakken oilfields to Patoka, Ill.
A foreman found Janesich slumped over in a tractor cab with serious head trauma at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday near Tioga, North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk said.
The foreman and another employee took Janesich to the Tioga hospital. He was later airlifted to a Minot hospital, where he died Saturday.
Indianhead president Jim Rooney said Monday the company's investigation is ongoing.
"Our sympathies are with the family. It's a difficult time for them," he said.
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, which is developing the $3.8 billion pipeline, notified the PSC about the injured worker Friday as required under its siting permit, Kalk said.
Janesich had been working alone as he prepared the ground over the pipeline for grass seeding, Kalk said, calling it "a terrible accident."
Eric Brooks, director of the Bismarck area office of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said an OSHA team was on site Monday investigating the cause of the injury.
"Whenever you have incidents like this, especially when it's unattended, that seems to be the hardest thing to figure out," he said.
The GoFundMe page said Janesich's job had him operating a tractor on a daily basis, and that the extent of his injuries caused him to slip into a coma.
"Nick passed away peacefully, surrounded by friends and family," it stated.
Work had resumed at the site Monday, but the immediate area around the injury site was fenced off to preserve the scene, Kalk said.
The site is about 200 hundred miles northwest of where hundreds of people are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline's proposed crossing of the Missouri River near Cannon Ball, just north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Investigation continues into pipeline death of Grand Rapids, Minn., man


LOS ANGELES—"Don't Breathe," a twisty story of a group of teenage delinquents who pick the wrong house to burglarize, dominated the late summer box office, debuting to a potent $26.1 million and topping charts. It joins a long list of recent horror films such as "The Purge: Election Year," "The Conjuring 2," "Lights Out" and "The Shallows" that have all found success with audiences. It's a genre that's particularly attractive to studios, because these films don't require much in the way of special effects or star power, making them cheaper to produce than comic-book adventures and science-fiction fantasies.
"These are the films of bean counters' dreams," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore. "They are profit machines and even when they're poorly reviewed, people line up for them."
"Don't Breathe" was backed by Sony's Screen Gems and Steve Bersch's Stage 6 Films, and cost less than $10 million to produce. It more than doubled its production budget in a single weekend, after rolling out across 3,051 locations. The film follows a gang of thieves who find out that the blind man whose house they've targeted isn't as helpless as he appears. Instead of making off with loot, they are pitted in a deadly cat-and-mouse game.
Related 'Ben-Hur' Could Lose $100 Million at Box Office
Sony screened the film at SXSW and Comic-Con in order to build buzz. It also relied heavily on digital platforms to drive enthusiasm for the picture, debuting spots on Snapchat, crafting animated gifs for Twitter and Facebook and launching interactive mobile apps.
"This film is going to be a big moneymaker for us," said Rory Bruer, Sony's distribution chief. "We knew we had something special here. This is a film that's all about keeping people jumping out of their seats and holding onto the person next to them."
"Don't Breathe" displaced "Suicide Squad" from its perch atop charts. After finishing in first for three consecutive weekends, the super-villain mash-up had to settle for second place this weekend with about $12.1 million at 3,582 locations. The Warner Bros. release has earned $282.9 million domestically, a muscular result given that critics derided the film as one of the season's worst.
Among new releases, Lionsgate bowed "Mechanic: Resurrection," a follow-up to the 2011 cult hit "The Mechanic," in 2,258 locations, where it earned $7.5 million. That's less than the first "Mechanic's" $11.4 million domestic debut. The sequel centers on an assassin (Jason Statham) who is lured out of retirement for a series of hits in exotic locales. It co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Yeoh and Jessica Alba.
Fans of the 44th president got a tour down memory lane with "Southside with You" from Roadside Attractions and Miramax. The romantic drama looks at Barack and Michelle Obama's first date, and debuted to $3.1 million from 813 sites. It will have a modest increase in screens next weekend. The film hits theaters as popular opinion of the Obama administration continues to rise, but the improvement in the president's standing didn't factor into release plans, the studios say.
"It helps, but we weren't banking on it," said Howard Cohen, Roadside Attractions' co-president. "If it had been the reverse, it might have given us pause, but it's not like we read the approval ratings and said, 'okay, let's go to 800 screens.'"
The Weinstein Company countered with the boxing drama "Hands of Stone," a biopic about Panamanian fighter Roberto Duran, that opened to $1.7 million at 810 locations. The indie label plans to expand the film to roughly 2,500 locations over Labor Day. Executives at the company said they were particularly pleased by the film's A CinemaScore rating; a sign that the film is being embraced by those who see it.
"People love the movie," said David Glasser, the Weinstein Company's COO and president. "The conversation around the movie has begun and we think it's going to continue to keep building."
In third place, Focus Features' "Kubo and the Two Strings" added $7.8 million to its $24.8 million domestic haul. Sony's "Sausage Party" nabbed fourth position, picking up roughly $7.7 million to bring its total to just under $80 million. Rounding out the top five, Disney's "Pete's Dragon" snagged $7.3 million, driving its stateside gross to $54.7 million.
In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics bowed "The Hollars," a family dramedy that was directed by "The Office" star John Krasinski, on four screens where it made $46,068, for a per-theater average of $11,517.
Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Ben-Hur" solidified its status as one of the year's biggest bombs joining the likes of "Ghostbusters" and "The Huntsman: Winter's War." The biblical epic dropped 60% to $4.5 million, bringing its total to $19.6 million. Rival studios estimate that the film could lose $100 million, while sources close to the film peg that figure as between $60 million and $75 million. MGM put up 80% of the film's cost.
Overall revenues were up 31% from the year-ago period; a weekend that saw the debut of the religious drama "War Room" and the Owen Wilson thriller "No Escape." After a sluggish start and a series of high-profile bombs such as "The BFG" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass," ticket sales have rebounded. Receipts are running neck-and-neck with last year and some think that this summer's revenues could be the second-highest in history when not factoring in inflation.
That's somewhat deceptive, however. Ticket prices have hit record highs, which are helping to boost revenues. As it currently stands, ticket sales could be the lowest in roughly two decades, according to Box Office Mojo. Some analysts believe there's not a lot to celebrate.
"These films have no longevity," said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. "Hollywood gave audiences what it thought they wanted—a bunch of sequels and reboots—and guess what, it didn't work. So they have to ask themselves, what can we offer now?"
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that "The Hollars" was John Krasinski's feature film debut. He previously directed 2009's "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men." It also had the wrong domestic total for "Pete's Dragon."

Box office: 'Don't Breathe' Scares Up $26.1 million as hot summer for horror continues


Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson walks onto the field during the afternoon practice on the second day of the Minnesota Vikings training camp at Minnesota State University in Mankato on Saturday, July 30, 2016. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
What intrigued the Vikings running back was Bryant having spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers before finally retiring in April at 37.
"They were talking about Kobe being the only guy (in NBA history) to play for one franchise for like 20 years,'' Peterson said. "And I remember looking at that like, 'Man, wow, that'd be amazing to be able to do that.' So that's what I hope, man, is to finish here.''
OK, even Peterson, who talks about playing until his late 30s, doesn't believe he'll last 20 seasons. What the 10-year veteran wants to do, though, is play for no team other than Minnesota.
"That would be amazing,'' Peterson sad. "That would be the ultimate goal.''
It was 1½ years ago that Peterson, coming off missing the final 15 games of the season because of a child-abuse incident, said he wasn't sure he wanted to come back to the Vikings. With rumors swirling that Peterson could be traded, he did return and became last season the second-oldest player to lead the NFL in rushing.
Peterson, 31, is now vying to break hall of famer Curtis Martin's record and become the oldest. Then he wants to continue playing long-term with the Vikings.
"We got a great coaching staff, great team, young team, great fans here, so why not?'' he said. "The coach is the main thing.''
Peterson has developed a special bond with Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer, who played a key role last year in making him feel comfortable about returning. Zimmer has great trust in his running back, and that recently was illustrated.
Zimmer left the choice up to Peterson on whether he wanted to play in the preseason. Peterson, who hasn't had an exhibition carry since 2011, had said in May he was "itching" to change that, but he ultimately decided it was in his best interests to remain on the sideline.
"He trusts me,'' Peterson said of his relationship with Zimmer. "We trust each other.''
So Peterson won't take the field Sunday when the Vikings open U.S. Bank Stadium in the third preseason game against San Diego. Instead, he next will play in the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at Tennessee.
As far as Zimmer is concerned, it will be business as usual. Peterson might be a year older, but he's not planning on any changes from last season, when he rushed for 1,485 yards on 327 carries, an average of 20.4 per game.
"I think he can handle the same workload he had last year,'' Zimmer said.
One-team wonders
Peterson, who arrived in Minnesota in 2007, would like to join the short list of legendary runners who played with just one NFL team.
Peterson is No. 17 on the NFL career rushing list with 11,675 yards. No. 2 Walter Payton, No. 3 Barry Sanders and No. 9 Jim Brown are the only other players in the top 25 to have not played for multiple franchises.
"When you play with the same team, I think it makes it a lot more attainable to play for a long time,'' said Eric Dickerson, who is No. 7 on the list and played for four teams from 1983-93. "You look at Adrian. You look at Walter Payton, who was with the Bears his whole career (from 1975-87). When you have to move to another team, it makes it harder. When you don't, you know that team and the team knows you and that makes it much easier.''
The Vikings, who stood by Peterson despite his troubles in 2014, know all about Peterson. But will they like him well enough next year to again pay him huge bucks?
Peterson is guaranteed this season to make $12 million on a contract that was restructured in July 2015. He is on the books in 2017 for a base salary of $11.75 million, a $6 million roster bonus and a $250,000 workout bonus, which would be a whopping total of $18 million.
Few believe Peterson will end up playing for that amount. The Vikings would owe him nothing if he is waived by the third day of the league year next March, although a very possible scenario is his deal is again restructured.
For now, Peterson isn't dwelling on his future contract situation.
"Right now, I really don't worry about that,'' he said. "I focus on the season and things that I can control right now, and whatever else comes after this year will take care of itself. ... At the end of the day, I know business is business, so never unexpect the unexpected.''
For how long?
Peterson has talked about playing until he's 40 but also has backed off from that number. If all works out, here's how long now he's thinking now about playing for the Vikings.
"I kind of change by the seasons,'' Peterson said. "You'll never know how I feel next year or the year after that or the year after that, Right now, I plan on playing long term, for five or six more years. But who knows what life brings?''
If Peterson plays five more years, he would need to average 1,336 yards a season to break Emmitt Smith's career rushing record of 18,355 yards. If he logs six more, he would need to average 1,113.
"That's one of my goals,'' Peterson said of topping Smith. "It's high up there.''
If Peterson duplicates his yardage total from 2015, he will move up this season to No. 8 on the all-time list. Hall of famers in line to be passed include No. 14 Thurman Thomas (12.074), No. 13 Franco Harris (12,120), No. 12 Marcus Allen (12,243), No. 10 Marshall Faulk (12,279), Brown (12,312) and No. 8 Tony Dorsett (12.739).
"It's going to be an honor,'' Peterson said. "I grew dreaming about playing in the NFL and being the best player to ever play. And just to climb the ladder and pass guys, pass greatness along the way, is just a humbling feeling.''
Team goals
Entering this season, though, Peterson has been more outspoken about team goals. The Vikings are coming off their first NFC North title in six years, and Peterson has let everyone know who will listen he believes they have what it takes to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
"That would be awesome to defend the North and put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs and to win a Super Bowl,'' Peterson said. "If I have 1,000 yards, 900 yards, if we're playing in the Super Bowl, that's the best season of my career, over my MVP season. That's how I view it.''
Peterson hoisted the MVP trophy in 2012 when he gained 2,097 yards, nine short of breaking Dickerson's 1984 record for the most in a season. After that, Peterson regularly talked about not only breaking Dickerson's mark, but crushing it.
There's been less talk about that lately. Could it be that Peterson has put such thoughts on the back burner?
"I remember saying in training camp one time, 'You know what, I'm going for 2,500, and I'm just going to leave it at that, so you guys don't have to ask me anymore,''' Peterson said. "That's what it'll always be. That really hasn't changed. I still got the same mind-set that's a mark that I'm going to put out there for myself.''
He also has the mind-set that all the additional yards he gains, he wants them to be with the Vikings.
The Pioneer Press is a Forum News Service media partner.

Finishing career with Vikings is Peterson's 'ultimate goal'


Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut hangs up the telephone after completing a radio interview on primary day at the "Lieberman for President" headquarters in New Castle, Del., in 2004.
U.S. Sen. for Delaware Tom Carper speaks during the Reuters Washington Summit in 2010. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
DOVER, Del.—In 2009, a global coalition was pressing governments to lift the veil on corporate secrecy. Its members — President Barack Obama's administration, influential senators, international law enforcement agencies, anti-corruption activists and major American allies—presented a formidable front in their campaign against money laundering and tax evasion.
The United States, championing the cause abroad, was also pursuing legislation for stronger disclosure rules at home.
Then along came Jeffrey Bullock, the newly appointed secretary of state for Delaware.
His tiny East Coast state was in crisis, heading toward an $800 million budget deficit. Delaware's second-biggest biggest source of revenue was fees from few-questions-asked company registrations and other corporate services. That cash cow was in danger.
A proposed U.S. law would have required states to track the true owners of the companies they register. The global pushback against shell companies was threatening to dim Delaware's longstanding appeal as a secretive corporate domicile.
Seven years later, the proposed law continues to languish, thanks in part to Bullock. He was neither the first nor the only official to take up the fight, but became a leader in defending the status quo as worldwide support for change gained traction. It's as easy as ever to register a company in Delaware with scant disclosure of the real owner, making the state a magnet for anonymous shell companies that law enforcement says can be used to avoid taxes, launder money from drug-trafficking or conceal terrorist financing.
"We're viewed as hypocrites," said Carl Levin, the now-retired Michigan senator who sponsored the legislation and an advocate of corporate transparency in his 36 years on Capitol Hill. "We go after tax havens and people who launder money ... but then we become a haven." His bill received fresh support this month, in a letter from a coalition of the world's largest banks to U.S. lawmakers. The legislation's prospects remain unclear.
Delaware, meanwhile, is doing much better. Since Bullock started his job, the number of companies registered in Delaware has jumped 34 percent, to 1,181,000 as of last year. Revenue from the state's corporations unit surpassed the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2015. In 2010, the state budget deficit was $800 million; as of this July, it was zero. Rising fee income from registrations, which surged during Bullock's tenure, helped plug the gap.
Even before Bullock was appointed, officials from several states were working to address the growing sentiment against corporate secrecy. And Delaware took some steps to curb secrecy, such as tightening oversight of "registered agents," third parties who act on behalf of companies. But Bullock helped outmaneuver foes of the status quo by tapping his political connections, drumming up support among other states and hiring a Washington lobbying firm.
In an interview, Bullock said corporate secrecy in the United States is a problem and that law enforcement needs tools to uncover the identities of company owners. He opposed past efforts to deal with the problem, he said, because they would have placed undue burdens on individual states. The federal government, not states, should be responsible for making the system more transparent, he said.
The cost of opacity
Leaving states to collect ownership information, Bullock said, could leave weak links in the system by creating a patchwork of different approaches and financial resources for collecting those details.
"And criminals can find the weakest link," he said.
The vast majority of Delaware-registered companies are legitimate enterprises. More than 50 percent of all U.S. publicly traded companies and 66 percent of the Fortune 500 call Delaware home, according to the Delaware Division of Corporations.
Still, the opacity championed by Delaware and other states has allowed some notorious criminals to carry out their deeds and hide ill-gotten gains.
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff laundered money defrauded from clients through a Delaware shell company run by a lifeguard out of a beach house. Mexico cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman allegedly used a Delaware-based tequila business to launder drug money. Former Zambia strongman Frederick Chiluba siphoned off millions from state coffers into Delaware shell companies. The list goes on.
Bullock's reach extends into the offices of his counterparts in other states who, at Delaware's direction, lobby their U.S. representatives to fight transparency, said Heather Lowe, director of government affairs at Global Financial Integrity, an anti-corruption advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Bullock's influence is "astoundingly frustrating," Lowe said.
It's impossible for authorities to determine exactly how much dirty money is tucked away in havens. Based on an analysis of International Monetary Fund data, Global Financial Integrity says that roughly $1.1 trillion in illicit funds were transferred out of developing countries in 2013.
Where companies want to be
Corporate America has long favored Delaware as a domicile because of statutes that give directors broad discretion in how they run companies, a dedicated court for corporate disputes that dates to 1792, and a business-friendly legislature. Delaware was the first state to let stockholders limit the liability of corporate directors.
Delaware is also one of the world's easiest places to set up a company. The state charges as little as $90 to register a limited liability corporation, or LLC. All that's needed is the name of a registered agent, which can be bought from an outside company for $50. Approximately 200 agents represent Delaware's 1.2 million companies. "Form Your Delaware Company in Just Minutes," touts the website for one of them, Harvard Business Services Inc.
When law enforcement officials, or anyone else, search Delaware's corporate registry online to see who owns a company, all they get is the name and address of the agent. The true owner, also known as the beneficial owner, doesn't have to be disclosed.
The Corporations Division of Delaware's Department of State comprises a warren of cubicles in the basement of a government building in Dover, the state capital. The division's 111 employees man two shifts, working until midnight to accommodate urgent corporate filings. For $1,000, the office will vet a corporate registration application in an hour, taking requests as late as 9 p.m.
Bullock was raised in Claymont, a steel town whose fortunes fell with the collapse of the U.S. steel industry. He came up in local politics, landing a gig as chief of staff to then-Gov. Tom Carper in the 1990s. Delaware's current governor, Jack Markell, appointed Bullock secretary of state in 2009.
It was a bleak time for Delaware, in the wake of the global financial crisis. By 2010, the state's budget was deep in the red. State leaders were wrestling with the equally unappealing prospects of deep spending cuts and steep tax hikes.
Worse, Delaware's corporate registry franchise, its biggest revenue driver after personal income tax, was in jeopardy.
America the outlier
In 2006, the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, a group of some three dozen nations formed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, noted "significant shortcomings" in the United States. The group declared Washington "non-compliant" in four of 40 categories for anti-money-laundering compliance. Among the failures: Authorities could not obtain timely information about a company's real owners, FATF said.
The task force demanded that the United States fix the problem. For Washington, which was pressing allies to crack down on terror financing, it was an embarrassing critique.
The same year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congress's auditing arm, concluded that federal law made it too easy for individuals to anonymously form companies. Delaware was a favored destination for such companies, the report said.
As anti-secrecy momentum built, Sen. Levin and then-Sen. Barack Obama joined forces with Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota to make it tougher to register new companies without identifying the owners.
They issued a bill in 2008 that would pare back secrecy laws in Delaware and other states by forcing them to collect information about the true owners of companies, thereby making the facts more accessible to law enforcement.
In 2009, the Department of Justice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Manhattan District Attorney's office each testified to a Senate committee that corporate secrecy was a growing problem and impeding law enforcement.
Championing the cause
By then, Bullock had been appointed secretary of state. Trim and friendly, he became a popular figure, tasked with praising the state's founders in speeches on "Delaware Day" and flanking the governor at bill-signing ceremonies.
He pursued a weightier agenda behind the scenes. By May 2009, he had hired Washington lobbying firm Peck Madigan Jones to sway lawmakers and administration officials against Levin's bill. One of the partners, Jonathon Jones, had served as Gov. Carper's chief of staff after Bullock. Bullock is the only secretary of state in the country with a taxpayer-funded lobbying firm, according to lobbying disclosures.
Bullock said the firm's main role was to lobby on the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reforms. Peck Madigan didn't return calls seeking comment.
Bullock then hit back against FATF, the multinational group that had slammed Delaware as a secrecy haven.
He co-wrote a Sept. 16, 2011, letter to FATF on behalf of the National Association of Secretaries of State in which he called the group's recommendations "impractical," warning it not to meddle with "the core principle of Constitutional state sovereignty." Such letters from association leaders are not unusual, a NASS spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Levin made a tactical misstep. He introduced his bill in the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, where an influential member was Delaware Sen. Tom Carper—Bullock's old chum and former boss.
The bill was the subject of two hearings in 2009, tying it up for six months. Carper testified against it, saying states shouldn't be burdened with more work.
"I have long believed it should be easier for law enforcement to access identity information about criminals who manipulate our corporate laws," Carper said in a statement to Reuters. But new rules to ease access should preserve "a nurturing" business environment, he said.
Stuck in the Senate
Levin reintroduced a more detailed bill in late 2011 with ramped-up identification checks. The Treasury endorsed it.
This time, according to a former congressional staffer, Carper pressed Sen. Joe Lieberman, the committee chairman, to let the bill languish. When the bill was scheduled for a markup, the final step before going to the full Senate for debate and a possible vote, it never came to pass, the staffer said.
Lieberman, in an email, said Carper and other committee senators voiced concerns about the bill. "It was my impression that they were hearing from their states' secretaries," Lieberman said. Lieberman said he asked the senators to compromise. "They tried but were never able to find the sweet spot of an agreement. And that's where it ended," said Lieberman, now a lawyer in private practice.
In June 2013, pressure rose on Washington to act. The Group of Eight industrialized nations issued a declaration demanding that members curtail anonymous shell companies. The plan called for creating ownership registries to aid authorities. That month, President Obama issued a national plan to address the G8 concerns, including a call for the Treasury Department and other agencies to back measures against anonymous shells.
Levin retooled his bill yet again in August 2013. It had yet to make it to the Senate floor for debate, five years after it was introduced. This time, he crafted it for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee, hoping for a better reception.
By then, NASS, where Bullock had become a dominant voice, was pushing a counterproposal. It advocated addressing the issue by relying on information the Internal Revenue Service collects from companies.
That wouldn't work, critics said. The IRS has long restricted the information it gives law enforcement, they said. Further, the IRS requires only that companies register "responsible parties," a term that could include anyone—even a lawyer duty-bound to hide the real owner's identity.
It "was a cover to oppose a bill that's presumably aimed at the true owners of corporations," Levin told Reuters. "It's a dodge."
Agents for change
NASS spokeswoman Kay Stimson said the IRS collects the same kind of information described in the Levin bill. Law enforcement officials, she said, have told NASS that the IRS data is sufficient.
In 2013, two retired FBI special agents took up the cause against secrecy, serving as unofficial spokespeople for active agents. Dennis Lormel and Theodore Greenberg, with decades of experience working anti-money laundering cases between them, visited Bullock in his offices in mid-2013.
Too often, they told Bullock, the FBI's trail went cold at the addresses of Delaware incorporation agents. Sometimes that happened when foreign law enforcement agencies sought FBI assistance chasing the money trail of a suspected criminal. Such cases, they said, frayed relations with foreign agencies, which were expected to cough up the goods whenever the FBI was hunting terrorist cash flow.
The two agents walked Bullock through a form and protocols used by banks in Switzerland, long one of the world's most secretive financial hubs. If Delaware could simply meet the same minimal transparency standards as the Swiss, everyone would be happy.
Bullock told them Delaware would not tighten requirements because companies would flee to other states with lax laws, according to the agents. Bullock told them the resulting blow to the state treasury could harm his chances of winning higher office, the agents said.
"I was pleasantly surprised that he was at least being honest," Lormel said.
Bullock said he didn't recall all the details of his meeting with the former FBI agents. He said he does not have future political aspirations.
"The anonymity that is possible when using shell companies can lead to difficulties in federal investigations," an FBI spokeswoman said. She declined to comment on the legislation.
Alternative plan
That July, NASS held its annual convention in Anchorage, Alaska. A report about shell companies, prepared in part by Bullock's office, was circulated among the group's shell company task force. It discussed, among other things, IRS changes that could simplify collecting ownership details.
Afterward, other secretaries of state, including Vermont's James Condos, entered the fray. Condos was a critical link to Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, then chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Levin's bill would soon be pending.
Levin's bill "would leave companies, especially small businesses, with additional costly and confusing layers of bureaucratic red tape," Condos wrote in an Aug. 8, 2013, letter to Leahy, days after returning from Anchorage. The bill never left the Judiciary Committee.
Condos said that Bullock did not encourage him to write to Leahy.
Bullock and NASS say he didn't play the lead in rallying opposition to Levin's bill. The cause had been taken up much earlier by officials in other states, he said, and by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bar Association. NASS says secretaries of state have unanimously opposed Levin's legislation from the start.
"This issue was already hot and heavy when I entered the scene," he said.
By 2014, some Delawareans were growing concerned about the state's reputation as a secrecy haven. A group of state legislators began circulating a draft public letter opposing Bullock and supporting Levin's bill.
Rebellion at home
Bullock tried to quash the letter before it went public. "I am writing to urge you to not sign on," he wrote in an email to state Rep. Paul Baumbach on July 10, 2014. To "support this kind of legislation sends the wrong message to the 1,050,000 legal entities incorporated in Delaware," he said.
Baumbach signed anyway. He said he has stopped following the issue.
Bullock told Reuters that he emailed the lawmakers out of concern that the registration business would simply move to other states if Delaware changed policies unilaterally.
Thirty-one of Delaware's 62 elected state legislators signed the letter opposing Bullock and supporting Levin's bill. "Taking action will help ... ensure that individuals cannot use our state's incorporation laws for illicit purposes," the legislators wrote.
The resistance failed. In March 2014, a senior U.S. Treasury official told Lormel, the former FBI agent, that the Obama administration was conceding defeat. There was too much opposition to the bill.
A month later, an item on the White House blog reported Obama's support for the alternative proposal centering on IRS data.
Asked about the change of tack, a senior administration official said: "The Obama administration wants to work with Congress to pass meaningful legislation that would require companies to know and report accurate 'beneficial ownership' information at the time of a company's creation, so that the information can be made available to law enforcement."
Lormel, the former FBI agent, said the IRS approach may yield some useful information for law enforcement, but noted that identities of real owners might still be missing.
Levin and limbo
Levin retired in 2014. Other legislators took up his cause. Similar bills have struggled to gain traction.
In May, the U.S. Treasury unveiled a new rule that, starting in 2018, will require banks to more thoroughly vet the real owners of potential corporate customers. Levin says the Treasury's definition of beneficial owner is loose and allows the reporting of managers instead of actual owners.
On July 14, Delaware's Senator Carper introduced yet another alternative - a bill that would codify the IRS approach supported by Bullock.
This legislation, crafted by Bullock's office and Delaware's senators, would require every U.S. company to get an IRS identification number. Companies would provide "responsible party" information to the IRS that law enforcement officers could use in money-laundering and terrorism cases, according to the bill.
The bill also outlines a new process for federal law enforcement to obtain that information from the IRS, a step that has required a court order and often led to dead ends.
Proponents of transparency think it falls short. "These are half-measures that largely serve to deflect political opposition rather than tackle the problem," said Mark Hays, a senior adviser at Global Witness, an anti-corruption group.
Two days after Carper introduced the bill, Bullock unveiled it at a NASS conference in Nashville, Tennessee. He suggested the bill would help cast secretaries of state in a more positive light after years of fighting the Levin bill.
"I know how people portray us," Bullock told the conclave. "I don't want to be against things, I want to be for things."

How Delaware kept America safe for corporate secrecy


SPICER, Minn.—A 38-year-old Lake Lillian man was arrested early Sunday after shots were fired outside Zorbaz restaurant in Spicer.
According to a news release from the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office, a deputy heard numerous gunshots in the area of Zorbaz a few minutes after 2 a.m. Zorbaz' bouncers and other witnesses told the deputy that a while male in a vehicle had displayed a handgun and fired shots into the air while leaving the parking lot.
Deputies found the vehicle a few miles south of Spicer on County Road 8, and the man was arrested on weapons and assault charges and for driving under the influence.
The man is in custody at the Kandiyohi County Jail, and formal charges are expected this week, according to the release.

Shots fired outside Zorbaz in Spicer early Sunday


FARGO—They're in most everyone's wallets, but the next generation of credit and debit cards aren't accepted everywhere—long after the deadline for merchants to stop swiping and start reading chips.
EMV cards, short for Europay-Mastercard-Visa, have been around since 1994 and used in many countries since the early 2000s. But the cards, which have an embedded chip that encrypts transactions and boosts security, are relatively new in America.
Switching to EMV has been in the works for years, gaining urgency with big data breaches, including the 2013 Target breach that affected 40 million customers.
Instead of requiring the change, the U.S. opted for a liability shift on Oct. 1, 2015—after that, merchants unwilling or unable to accept new cards were liable for fraudulent charges when the lower-tech magnetic stripes were swiped.
"The risk is not that big yet, but it's growing," said Dan Fisher, president and CEO of Fargo-based technology and payment consulting firm Copper River Group.
Nearly 11 months later, Fisher said only half of America's point-of-sale terminals accept chip payment.
Slow change
Even merchants that want EMV might not be capable yet, according to Bill Russell, executive vice president of banking services for Bell Bank.
Heavy demand led to long delays in getting new equipment, he said, while chains might require companywide software upgrades before the new readers work.
"It's a combination of all those things that has made the accessibility that's out there so low," he said.
It's also a complicated and time-consuming change, according to Carrie Lick, interim deposit administration and serving solutions manager for Gate City Bank.
"There's more involved than just plugging it in and dipping your card," she said. "Retailers have to install special software and go through a certification process."
Fisher said the processors that merchants and financial institutions use for card transactions are a big reason for the delayed rollout. Many processors weren't ready on time or have been slow to change.
That's why customers may be asked to swipe their card even when a store has chip-reading terminals—the machine is ready, but the processor or store software isn't.
Banks generally wanted EMV as early as possible because of the liability shift, Fisher said. That's a big deal when card fraud topped $11 billion globally in 2012 and counterfeit card fraud was on the rise in America.
In countries that went to EMV, banks saw a 40 to 50 percent cut in debit card fraud, he said.
Bell Bank started issuing chip cards last fall, and Russell said the bank has already avoided losses it would've been liable for in the past—the transactions wouldn't have been approved if the retailer had used a chip-reading machine.
No rush
Wurst Bier Hall would face "massive" upgrade costs, according to President Lisa Meyers, so the restaurant isn't going to buy new readers and software anytime soon.
"We're going to wait until we absolutely have to," she said.
Dan Hurder, too, isn't worried about accepting EMV. The managing partner of Great Plains Hospitality, which operates The Boiler Room, Sazerac Alley and Barbacoa in Fargo, said it would cost $6,000 per restaurant.
There's another deterrent: EMV transactions take several seconds longer to process than swiping, a delay that Fisher said is warranted by the boosted security, but one Hurder said adds up to a big problem.
"We've talked about scenarios in which you get a group of 12 that comes in and everyone's on split checks and everyone has a chip reader," Hurder said. "Yeah, it's only 20 seconds but times 12 transactions, you're now standing there processing cards for 240 extra seconds. That's four minutes that you're not on the floor taking care of other tables."
Regional supermarket chain Hornbacher's started rolling out chip readers at its stores this spring. Customers weren't really asking much about EMV compatibility before the change, but President Matthew Leiseth said it was a chance for Hornbacher's to be proactive while also replacing hardware and software at the end of its normal life cycle.
"For us, it was about making sure that we had the latest technology, and the reality is with the new chips, it protects the customers that have them," he said.
Brady's Service Center in south Moorhead is currently replacing its gas tanks and pumps, and owner Brady Olson said the new pumps will have chip-reading equipment. But he's not sure if EMV will be accepted at first because the software and network might not be ready.
Even when that happens, Olson wonders why the country isn't fully committing to the most secure technology—chip plus PIN—which adds an extra security measure beyond signing that also bears potential higher costs for some credit card companies and merchants.
Consumers can use chip plus PIN with debit cards, entering their personal identification number rather than signing, but American credit cards haven't yet moved to that more secure standard for many transactions.
"The frustration would be why spend this kind of money to not do it properly?" Olson said.

Many merchants still swiping long after deadline to switch to new credit, debit card technology


Some say lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. But that may not be the case for a Reynolds, North Dakota rancher. Paul Lenz raises SimAngus cattle, and according to livestock specialists what happened on his farm is out of this world.

Rare second set of triplets a surprise for ND rancher