Green light given to oil pipeline

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota regulators approved the final permit Monday for Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota, giving the company the green light to begin construction on the $2.6 billion project.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency granted a construction storm water permit for the project, which was the last hurdle that Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge needed to clear after years of reviews and court battles. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the independent Minnesota Public Utilities Commission gave their final approvals last week.

The company and its supporters welcomed the decision, but opponents have vowed to keep up their fight.

“Construction can now begin,” Enbridge spokeswoman Juli Kellner said in a statement that didn’t specify when that would happen.

Shooting at apartment complex

BLOOMINGTON (AP) — One man has been found dead and two others were discovered wounded at a large apartment complex in Bloomington early Monday, according to police.

Authorities said they received numerous calls about gunfire about 5:30 a.m. at the Hampshire Hill Apartments. Officers found two wounded men in the entryway to one apartment building.

Deputy Police Chief Mike Hartley said one man had been shot in the upper torso and the other man had wounds that were not caused by gunfire. The second man was arrested, Hartley said.

Additional calls and information gathered at the scene led police to another building in the complex where they found a man’s body.

Hartley did not reveal the circumstances of the man’s death, but said the two crime scenes are related.

Man arrested in Albert Lea shooting

ALBERT LEA (AP) — Authorities in Albert Lea say they arrested a 21-year-old man Sunday accused of shooting three people, including a police officer.

Police responded to a noise complaint at an apartment complex shortly before 2:30 a.m., according to the Albert Lea Tribune. The officer suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was treated and released at a local hospital, police said.

The other victims were a 52-year-old man and a 38-year-old man, both of Albert Lea. Their conditions are not known.

The suspect was arrested after a nearly 9-hour standoff with police. Some residents in the neighborhood were evacuated to a nearby church until the suspect was arrested, police said.