Interior Dept. nullifies Duluth’s casino contract

DULUTH (AP) — The city of Duluth has lost another round in its fight to take a cut of the revenue from a downtown tribal casino.

The U.S. Department of Interior says the city’s lease agreement with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is invalid. The agreement once provided the city with 19 percent of electronic gaming revenue from the Fond-du-Luth Casino, or about $6 million a year. The band stopped making the payments in 2009, which triggered a continuing legal battle.

Lakeville father who abandoned son sentenced

HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) — A Lakeville father found guilty of child neglect for abandoning his son and leaving the state has been sentenced to two years of probation.

Cross left Minnesota last July when his house was lost in foreclosure. He left behind letters telling his 11-year-old son, Sebastian, to go to a neighbor’s house and asking the family to become his son’s guardian. Sebastian later moved in with a great-aunt.

An impact statement was read in court Wednesday in which Sebastian explained that he felt horrible when his dad left and thought his life was over.