Here is the latest Minnesota news from The Associated Press

RED WING, Minn. (AP) Red Wing Mayor John Howe says he applauds state regulators' decision to allow the Prairie Island nuclear plant to run another 20 years. But he says he's disappointed the state Public Utilities Commission didn't solve the problem of where to permanently store nuclear waste. He says it also didn't find a way to pay for more security at the plant.

ALBANY, Minn. (AP) A Sauk Centre woman is in critical condition and her unborn child is dead after she swerved to avoid a deer on Interstate 94 near Albany Wednesday. A spokeswoman for St.

Cloud Hospital says 27-year-old Jennifer Huston was in critical condition yesterday. Initial reports had called her injuries much less severe.

Information from: KSAX-TV, http://www.ksax.com ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota's elections chief is proposing a makeover of absentee ballot envelopes and instructions with a goal of avoiding the confusion exposed in the 2008 election.

Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said the redesigned ballot would make the process for casting such ballots clearer.

RED WING, Minn. (AP) Minnesota-based boot maker Red Wing Shoes says it will lay off about 200 workers in Kentucky and Minnesota.

The company says it will close a manufacturing facility in Kentucky and will shut down the second shift at the Red Wing plant. Sixty layoffs will be in Minnesota, the rest will be at the Danville, Kentucky, plant.

Information from: Post-Bulletin, http://www.postbulletin.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-14-09 0130CST | save this article / add to your favorites list