In 1971, Tom Grones was part of the first class of paramedics ever trained in Minnesota, and he's spent his entire working career in emergency services.

Minnesota legislators scrambled Monday night to finish the state's next budget on time, while odds dwindled for a major bonding bill to fund construction projects in St. Cloud.

Road improvements will be made to improve traffic in the southern portion of the city.

Nearly $3 million for St. Cloud-area parks and trails are in a bill that's headed to the desk of Gov. Mark Dayton.

Deaths reported Monday to the St. Cloud Times:

Two St. Cloud bars - Rum Runners Spirits & Brew Club and McRudy's Pub - are in danger of losing their liquor licenses.

The Stearns History Museum is bringing back a popular downtown tour.

The winners for the 2013 Poetry in Sidewalks contest have been announced. They are:

Cold Spring Elementary kindergarten teacher Joyce Baumann was named a 2013 Pearson Foundation Global Learning Fellow by the National Education Association Foundation.

Ramps to Stearns County 120 from northbound Minnesota Highway 15 will reopen on Tuesday.

After two years of searching, Royalton Elementary Principal Phil Gurbada found the right artist to make his vision of a farm family sculpture reality.

ST. PAUL - Minnesota health officials say more than two-dozen people have been sickened by eating raw Mexican-style cheese.

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota House has passed a bill that allows a union drive among home daycare providers and personal care attendants after about 10 hours of debate strung out over more than two days.

The National Weather Service has lifted the flash flood watch for Central Minnesota.

Fire calls for the past 24 hours

A massive explosion last month at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that killed 15 people and injured 200 more also heightened awareness of hazardous farm chemicals and how they are stored.

Minnesota lawmakers appeared to be nearing an eleventh-hour, on-time ending to their 2013 session late Sunday, as the House debated increasing income and tobacco taxes to bankroll the state's next budget.

St. Cloud Apollo High School has announced its top graduates for 2013. They are:

The 2013-14 St. Cloud school district budget shows a general fund increase of about $2 million from the previous year as part of a projected increase in state funding, said Kevin Januszewski, district executive director of business services.

St. Cloud Technical High School has announced its top graduates for 2013. They are: