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MINNESOTA-STIMULUS White House: Stimulus behind 14,315 Minn. jobs ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) The White House says the federal stimulus created or saved more than 14,000 jobs in Minnesota.

That's about 2,500 more jobs than state officials reported weeks ago.

President Barack Obama's administration said the stimulus created or saved 14,315 jobs in the state through the end of September. The White House released the numbers Friday. The numbers cover jobs attributed directly to the stimulus.

Earlier this month, state agencies reported that the stimulus created or saved 11,800 jobs in that period.

Flu-TWIN CITIES HOSPITALS New limits on Twin Cities hospital visitors MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Twin Cities hospitals are imposing stricter limits on visitors as a way to keep the flu from spreading.

The hospitals announced the new rules Friday at a joint news conference. The limits now cover the entire hospital and go beyond earlier restrictions that applied only to hospital birth centers and pediatric units.

Allina hospitals will not allow children under age 5 to visit patients, starting Monday. And no one under 16 will be allowed unless they are immediate family.

Allina wants to limit patient and staff exposure to possible swine-flu infection.

Similar rules will apply to Hennepin County Medical Center, North Memorial Hospital, Regions Hospital and hospitals run by Fairview and HealthEast.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com PETTERS TRIAL Investor details $60M lost in alleged Petters scam ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Jurors in the Tom Petters fraud trial are hearing how a hedge fund lost $60 million.

Gregg Colburn, a partner in Interlachen Capital Group, told jurors on Friday that his company thought Petters Co. Inc. was going to use the money to buy Sony and Panasonic TVs from a distributor. He said Interlachen was led to believe that the TVs were being unloaded by the bankrupt retailer Circuit City.

Colburn said Petters and his associates also led them to believe that Petters' company would be re-selling the TVs to the retailers Sam's Club, Costco and BJ's Wholesale Club.

It turned out that the merchandise never existed, and Interlachen lost its $60 million when the Petters empire collapsed last year.

Prosecutors are using the deal as an example of how Petters' alleged $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme operated.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT DIES-MEXICO Family of Minn. man sues over spring break death OAK PARK HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) The family of an Oak Park Heights man who died while on spring break in Mexico has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against his traveling companion.

The civil lawsuit says 20-year-old Josh Gunderson choked on his own vomit, which could have been the result of a struggle.

The lawsuit alleges that Gunderson fought with Zachery Jensen, who was serving as the bodyguard of a woman who was with them.

The suit was filed Thursday against Jensen and the father of the woman, Ashley Jones.

Gunderson's mother, Liz Gunderson-Koll, says the main reason for the lawsuit is to find out what happened to her son.

Jones' family and Jensen have declined comment. Jensen's mother says alcohol was the culprit.

EEOC-SCHWAN'S Schwan's fires back at EEOC in sex-bias case MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Schwan's is accusing a government agency of abusing its authority while investigating a sexual discrimination complaint against the frozen-food delivery company.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is seeking an order to compel Schwan's to turn over company records. The case began more than two years ago when management trainee Kim Milliren filed her complaint against the Marshall-based company in June 2007.

Milliren contends she was harassed by managers, then demoted for complaining about it. Schwan's denies her allegations.

The EEOC is trying to get a federal court order to compel Schwan's to turn over company records. But the company contends it already has turned over records that it believes responded to the EEOC's investigation.

A U.S. magistrate judge is to hear the dispute Wednesday in St.

Paul.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com MINNESOTA FOOD SHELVES Minn. food shelves to get donation from farmers ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota farmers are giving 85,000 pounds of Pork and more than 36,000 pounds of cheese to food shelves.

Representatives of the state Pork Board, Milk Producers Association and Soybean Research & Promotion Council announced the donation with Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Friday. The Agricultural groups are working together as Minnesota Farmers Helping Families.

The food is worth more than $115,000 and will get to food shelves through Hunger Solutions Minnesota, a St. Paul-based hunger relief organization.

Pawlenty says farmers are helping others even as they struggle with their own economic challenges. Visits to food shelves have nearly doubled since 2000.

ELK-CHRONIC WASTING-MINNESOTA Elk herd in SE Minn. shot to control CWD ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) State officials say tests found three more elk tested positive for chronic wasting disease in a herd near Rochester.

Sharpshooters killed the farm herd of about 560 elk last month after one of the animals tested positive for the disease in January.

The animals lived on a 1,300-acre elk farm near Pine Island.

Officials say after a female elk tested positive for CWD, the remaining elk in the herd were removed to prevent the disease from spreading to other farmed deer or elk or wild deer in the area.

Sharpshooters from a U.S. Department of Agriculture division euthanized the animals. Samples were tested at a USDA lab in Ames, Iowa.

Chronic wasting disease is fatal to elk and deer. There's no evidence that it can spread to people.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com PUNCH-BABY KILLED Minn. man guilty in punching death of fetus MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A jury has convicted a Hopkins man accused of paying a friend to punch his pregnant girlfriend to kill the fetus.

Twenty-five-year-old Dameon Gatson was charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault. He showed no emotion Friday morning when the jury returned guilty verdicts on all charges.

Prosecutors say Gatson arranged the events that led to his daughter's premature birth in 2007 and her death nine days later after severe bleeding in the brain.

Police say Gatson paid the man $40 after he hit Shyloe Linde twice in the stomach. She was six months pregnant.

Defense attorney Emmett Donnelly says Gatson will seek a new trial on the grounds that he was denied the chance to confront his accuser.

Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 10.

Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com ESCAPEE RECAPTURED NE Minn. escapee arraigned Duluth, Minn. (AP) An escaped inmate in northeastern Minnesota is back in custody.

Twenty-five-year-old Eugene Raymond Hawpetoss was arraigned Friday in St. Louis County District Court. He's charged with escape from custody. Bail is set at $15,000. Hawpetoss remained in jail Friday.

The complaint says Hawpetoss was to have been taken from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center to the county jail on Monday for disciplinary reasons. But as counselors were trying to put Hawpetoss into leg shackles and handcuffs, he jumped away from then, ran outside the building and into the woods.

Police found Hawpetoss in a Duluth apartment Wednesday. They took him into custody without incident.

Hawpetoss had been sentenced to the corrections facility for one year as a condition of probation after being convicted of second-degree assault.

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-31-09 0130CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list