A PeeWee hockey coach was forced to call 911 on Monday night after his players, their parents and various other spectators noticed that the games zamboni driver was weaving all over the ice and running into boards.

The zamboni was being driven by a Minnesota man with three drunk-driving convictions on his record and according to on-lookers it was taking him 25 minutes to do his job when ice resurfacing typically only takes 10 minutes.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune by the time police arrived on the scene the 34-year-old driver had managed to park the zamboni in the ice arenas garage and then failed a sobriety test.

In the official police report officers says the coach noticed before the game that the man’s eyes were red and that he smelled like Red Bull. The coach didn’t realize the man was drunk until a parent after the game said the driver was  ”weaving all over, slurring his words.”

The allegedly drunk zamboni driver was taken by police to the local station to have blood-alcohol testing performed at which time charges are likely to be filed against the man.

Being drunk behind any vehicle is a dangerous act, being drunk behind a multi-ton vehicle that’s driving around on ice is just plain stupid, especially when children are present.

That zamboni pictures above isn’t the one in question but wouldn’t that be ironic.

Do you think after three, now possibly four drunk driving violations that the driver of the zamboni needs to be put behind bars and have his license revoked for life?

Drunk Driving Zamboni Driver Arrested During PeeWee Hockey Game is a post from: The Inquisitr

Okay, this one is hard to sum up in a title, but is incredibly worthwhile to read about, so bear with me.

Former Minnesota Senate majority leader Amy Koch has been a vocal opponent of gay marriage, and in 2009, she tried to amend the Minnesota Constitution to add language stipulating that “a marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in Minnesota.” Because she cares a whole super lot about the sanctity of marriage, and wished to see it not be taken lightly, or diluted by the gays.

Except! Apparently not her own. Koch was carrying on in secret with a male staffer, news of which came to light in her state and caused a significant scandal. The situation was complicated because the staffer, believed to be a man named Michael Brodkorb, worked under Koch and the “inappropriate relationship” presented a fairly clear conflict of interest.

Luckily for Koch, people in her state were understanding and forgiving of her transgressions. Which also isn’t true! John Medeiros- of the Minneapolis’ Intermedia Arts’ Queer Voices reading series- authored a scathing letter to Koch, hoisting her on her own petard in a way that is both beautiful and horrible to observe, in that she deserved every bit of it. Since justice can not be afforded the piece when snipped and quoted, the full text is below.

What do you think about Koch’s situation and Medeiros’ letter?

Dear Ms. Koch,

On behalf of all gays and lesbians living in Minnesota, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for our community’s successful efforts to threaten your traditional marriage.  We are ashamed of ourselves for causing you to have what the media refers to as an “illicit affair” with your staffer, and we also extend our deepest apologies to him and to his wife. These recent events have made it quite clear that our gay and lesbian tactics have gone too far, affecting even the most respectful of our society.

We apologize that our selfish requests to marry those we love has cheapened and degraded traditional marriage so much that we caused you to stray from your own holy union for something more cheap and tawdry.  And we are doubly remorseful in knowing that many will see this as a form of sexual harassment of a subordinate.

It is now clear to us that if we were not so self-focused and myopic, we would have been able to see that the time you wasted diligently writing legislation that would forever seal the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman, could have been more usefully spent reshaping the legal definition of “adultery.”

Forgive us. As you know, we are not church-going people, so we are unable to fully appreciate that “gay marriage” is incompatible with Christian values, despite the fact that those values carry a biblical tradition of adultery such as yours. We applaud you for keeping that tradition going.

And finally, shame on us for thinking that marriage is a private affair, and that our marriage would have little impact on anyone’s family. We now see that marriage is more than that. It is an agreement with society. We should listen to the Minnesota Family Council when it tells us that marriage is about being public, which explains why marriages are public ceremonies. Never did we realize that it is exactly because of this societal agreement that the entire world is looking at you in shame and disappointment instead of minding its own business.

From the bottom of our hearts, we ask that you please accept our apology.

Thank you.
John Medeiros
Minneapolis MN

Amy Koch, Gay Marriage Opponent, Gets Apology Letter from LGBT Org After Her Affair is a post from: The Inquisitr

Veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb was released by the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday ending his brief time with the organization.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter McNabb asked to be released from his contract so he could seek out a better fit for his talents, a similar move to Kyle Orton who last week was released by the Denver Broncos and quickly picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs.

With his career now placed on the waiver wire McNabb can be picked up by any team will to pay his salary for the last five games of the regular NFL season.

McNabb began the season with a 1-4 start and was pulled from the steams sixth game in front of his hometown Chicago Bears, being replaced by rookie Christian Ponder. The rookie has started every game since replacing McNabb.

In the meantime talks have begun to circulate that the Chicago Bears could pick up McNabb to replace the injured Jay Cutler. After serving time in Washington and Minnesota the change to the Bears would make sense for McNabb who is use to playing on a team with a poor receiving corp and a porous offensive line.

In the meantime Yahoo Sports says of the trade situation in the NFL:

The release of McNabb should increase calls that the NFL’s trade deadline be moved to later in the year. When quarterbacks go down and benched veterans are available on other teams, the market should allow that franchises get something in return for cutting loose an Orton or a McNabb. In the current structure, the Vikings will get nothing in return for McNabb’s release.

Do you believe that Donovan McNabb will end up as a Chicago Bears before weeks end? If not Chicago talks have circulated that he could join Kyle Orton in Kansas.

[Image via Walter G Arce / Shutterstock.com]

Donovan McNabb Leaves Minnesota Vikings, Could Join Chicago Bears is a post from: The Inquisitr

Dear Aaron Rodgers, The next time your Green Bay Packers play the Minnesota Vikings, please take it easy on them.

Your 45-7 win against them was just so overwhelming. You do not have to complete 23 of 30 passes for 250 yards and four touchdowns. You even extended your single-season NFL record by notching your ninth consecutive game with a passer rating exceeding 110.0 (140.3) and breaking Brett Favre’s team mark by throwing at least two touchdowns for the ninth consecutive game.

Come on Aaron Rodgers, you broke this little girl’s heart for beating the Minnesota Vikings. Next time, take it easy.

Aaron Rodgers Breaks Little Girl’s ‘Heart’ for Beating Vikings is a post from: The Inquisitr

As Kim announced that she is cutting short his Australian tour to have some time for herself, Kris Humphries was seen working out intensely in a gym in Minnesota.

His wedding ring which he was still wearing when the divorce was announced is now missing.

A US Weekly report said that as Kim cut short his Australian tour, Kris has also cancelled his plan to host a party at Chateau Gardens in Las Vegas.

A representative from Chateau Gardens said:

“We can confirm that Kris Humphries has rescheduled his appearance at Chateau Gardens in Las Vegas. While he works through this very private matter, his friends here at Chateau Gardens understand and look forward to welcoming him back to Las Vegas when he will return to celebrate his birthday.”

With Kim gone and NBA playing days gone for now, reports are saying that Kris can still hope for his hefty share from their E! wedding special.

A source told US Weekly:

“Kim and Kris got 30 percent of the revenue from every commercial that aired. The wedding special aired in about 50 countries — they made out like bandits!”

Let’s see what’s next for them. Maybe they can do a television special of their divorce proceedings.

Kris Sweats It Out in the Gym (as Kim Cancels Aussie Tour) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Michele Bachmann isn’t sounding so sure of herself and her campaign these days, during an appearance on an Iowa radio station this week she was asked if she had to win Iowa’s caucuses to keep her presidential campaign alive, a question she danced around until asked the third time at which point she responded in an uncertain voice:

“No, no, no, no,” while adding, “Not necessarily; we might go on.”

It was one of those rare occasions when Bachmann wasn’t her cheery self when discussing her campaigns path.

In the meantime her “late competitor” Rick Perry has gained steam along with fellow GOP member Mitt Romney who have pushed Bachmann out of the debate spotlight while much of Bachmann’s original Tea Party supporters have shifted their focus to Perry who’s religious views are not seen as far outside of the mainstream.

One longtime Iowa GOP operative told the L.A. Times:

“She’s a great candidate but has turned into a really bad campaigner,”  while adding, “She has not gone to northwest Iowa, to the heart of where her support would be. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, she’s only visited a handful, most of which are urban counties. She needs to go out to the rural counties — she would be well received.”

Adding to Bachmann’s demeanor is likely the fact that crowds for her most recent outings have dwindled while valuable airtime on major networks and cable stations have been handed off to her competitors.

In the meantime Michelle Bachmann is claiming that her drop in the polls is related to the “flurry of excitement” over Texas Governor Rick Perry entering the race, telling a reporter:

“We’re very grateful for where we’re at right now,” while adding, “We think we are positioned perfectly right now.”

Bachmann’s own campaign manager Keith Nahigian wrote about the importance of Iowa in a fundraising appeal to supporters.

“It’s extremely hard for any candidate to win both Iowa and New Hampshire,” and “Thus for Michele, the early state is Iowa — and we plan to run aggressively and to win decisively.”

Do you think Michelle Bachmann stands a chance?

Michele Bachmann Losing Steam in Iowa is a post from: The Inquisitr

Antipsychotic drugs are most typically used to control delusions, hallucinations and abnormal behavior in people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but more recently they have been prescribed to hundreds of thousands of elderly nursing home patients in the U.S., an aggressive approach that appears to be slowing.

According to various studies antipsychotic drugs can limit an elderly persons ability to communicate, socialize and participate in everyday life.

Some doctors claim they need to use the drugs to control a small number of dementia patients with psychotic behavior who are a danger to themselves and others, a percentage of the dementia population that doesn’t match the number of drugs currently being prescribed.

In a three-year-old program called “Awakenings” health care providers are being encouraged to use exercise, aromatherapy, pets and other methods in the place of drugs, the study has been able to remove antopsychotic’s from a patients body and get them listening to music, playing video games and even playing balloon volleyball.

Demonstrating the abundance of antipsychotic drugs being prescribed a government audit in May examined Medicare payments for atypical antipsychotics and found that in a six-month period one in seven nursing home patients 65-year and older had been prescribed the drugs.

Adding to the danger of prescribing the drugs to seniors the FDA has been issuing warnings since 2005, notifying doctors that there is an increased risk of death in patients with dementia due to heart attacks or pneumonia.

The drugs known as typical antipsychotics were added to the FDA warning three years later.

Do you know a nursing home patient who was prescribed antipsychotic drugs, what were the effects?

Nursing Homes Beginning To Reduce Antipsychotic Drugs For Dementia Patients is a post from: The Inquisitr

A forest fire that is blazing in Minnesota is causing air to become unsafe for people in Wisconsin according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

After examining the area the Wisconsin DNR raised the air quality index to red on Wednesday and extended that index into Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine and Kenhosa counties until 11 p.m.

Officials say that “fine particles” in the area  are responsible for the raised air level.

According to DNR spokesman Bill Cosh the “red index” is “rare” and the last time it was raised to that level was in the same area on December 20, 2007.

Cosh also revealed that weather conditions in the area are improving which should lower the index sooner rather than later.

The forest fire ignited in northeastern Minnesota on August 18 and the U.S. Forest Service says calming winds could slow the growth of the blaze which has already engulfed more than 100,000 acres, while traveling more than 160 square miles along the Minnesota-Canada border. The fire started with a lightning strike on August 18 and picked up earlier this week when 30 mph wind gusts caused the fire to spread east.

Kris Reichenbach, a spokeswoman for the Superior National Forest tells the Wall Street Journal that the fire had “unprecedented growth.”

At this time 200 highly experienced firefighters from federal and state agencies are arriving Wednesday and Thursday from all over to help get the blaze under control.

If you live in the affected area feel free to leave us a comment explaining how air quality is in your specific area.

Minnesota Fire Causes Air Quality Index Warning To Hit “Red” Status In Wisconsin is a post from: The Inquisitr

The ballot in question came to national attention due to a duplicity on the ballot: the box for Franken is clearly filled in, but so is the space for write in candidates. Unlike most other countries, voters in the United States can add their own candidates to a ballot paper, and cast a vote for them.

Bemidji resident Lucas Davenport claims he voted for the Lizard People (not surprisingly) as a joke. From NPR:

“I don’t know if you’ve heard the conspiracy theory about the Lizard Men,” said Davenport. “A friend of mine, we didn’t like the candidates, so we were at first going to write in revolution, because we thought that was good and to the point. And then, we thought the Lizard People would be even funnier, and there was kind of a running inside gag between some friends and I.”

Lizard People refers to the conspiracy theory there’s a race of shape shifting lizards masquerading as humans who rule the world, but Davenport doesn’t consider himself a believer.

Davenport submitted his handwriting for testing to prove ownership of the ballot. How does the old saying go: this man votes

Lucas Davenport voted for Lizard People in the Coleman/ Franken Senate vote is a post from: The Inquisitr