Minnesota's top stories of 2024 every month
MINNEAPOLIS — Here's a look at the most clicked WCCO.com stories from each month in 2024.
January: Sixth-grade student dead, 5 others injured in Perry High School shooting
On Jan.4, 2024, the town of Perry, located about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines, was rocked when 17-year-old Perry High School student Dylan Butler opened fire on students and staff in the joint middle and high school's cafeteria before class on the first day of school following the winter break. Butler took his own life with a single gunshot minutes after he began shooting.
Butler fatally shot 11-year-old sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff and wounded four other students and Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger, who later died from his injuries.
According to an October report from the Dallas County Attorney's Office, Assistant Principal Brad Snowgren and Marbuger moved towards the source of the gunfire when it began. Snowgren triggered an alarm informing first responders of an active shooting at the school 10 seconds after the first shot was fired and 25 seconds before the first 911 call.
Marburger was wounded seconds into the shooting and had a chance to escape the building but remained inside and pleaded with Butler to stop shooting. Butler responded by shooting and critically injuring Marburger, who then left through an exit.
The Dallas County Attorney's Office concluded Butler acted alone and the investigation found no evidence that anyone had specific knowledge of Butler's plans or helped him in the shooting.
February: City identifies 2 officers, 1 paramedic killed in Burnsville, Minnesota
Two police officers and a paramedic were shot and killed in Burnsville, Minnesota, after officers were called to a home in the early hours of Feb. 18, 2024, as part of an investigation into a potential sexual abuse case. The man who shot them also died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Shannon Gooden, had been barricaded inside the home on 33rd Avenue South and East 126th Street along with his girlfriend and seven young children ranging in age from 2 to 15.
A report from the Dakota County Attorney's office detailed the hours of negotiations that ended in the gunfire that mortally wounded Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, and left Sgt. Adam Medlicott injured.
During negotiations, Gooden allegedly told police he was not armed. However, a few hours later, he opened fire with multiple guns from the upstairs hallway. Over 100 rounds were fired in total during the shooting.
Gooden was a convicted felon who wasn't allowed to have firearms. His girlfriend, Ashley Dyrdahl, was later charged in federal court with buying the high-powered firearms that Gooden used in the shootings despite knowing that he couldn't possess them. She is reported to plead guilty to those charges on Dec. 18.
March: Mike Lindell's MyPillow evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A judge evicted Minnesota-based MyPillow from a facility in Shakopee after the landlord filed a lawsuit claiming that the company, owned by Mike Lindell, was more than $200,000 behind on rent payments.
In the lawsuit, First Industrial, LP claimed MyPillow had defaulted on four months of rent within the last year and had not paid rent in February or March of 2024. In all, the Delaware-based real estate firm said it was owed $217,489.74.
A second eviction lawsuit was filed against MyPillow in July and later dismissed. The lawsuit alleged MyPillow was nearly $450,000 behind in rent payments for a Shakopee facility, which houses an outlet store and a warehouse. Lindell paid the remaining "rent and rears plus costs, interest and attorney's fees," according to a payment agreement.
Lindell has faced a slew of legal problems, including a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems that says that he falsely accused the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election. Lawyers who were originally defending him quit over unpaid bills.
April: Video of deadly fight that led to Apple River stabbing shown during opening arguments of Nicolae Miu trial
During the trial of Nicole Miu, a Prior Lake man accused of killing a teen and stabbing four others on the Apple River in Wisconsin, prosecutors showed two videos of the deadly encounter.
The videos from July 2022 show Miu being pushed and hit by a group of tubers on the river before he stabbed five people, killing 17-year-old Isaac Schuman. The victims ranged in age from 17 to 24 and were from Wisconsin and Minnesota.
While showing several screenshots from one of the two videos of the attack, state prosecutor Karl Anderson underlined that audio in the video indicates Miu was asked more than 20 times to go away.
Anderson said in a 25-second span, Miu then stabbed four members of the Carlson group: A.J. Martin, Ryhley Mattison, Dante Carlson and Tony Carlson. Miu also fatally stabbed Schuman, who suffered wounds to his torso, chest and heart.
In July, a judge sentenced Miu to 20 years in prison. He was convicted of one count of first-degree reckless homicide and four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
May: Skeleton found in chimney of Madison, Wisconsin music store identified after 34 years
After more than three decades, DNA researchers and authorities in May identified a skeleton found in the chimney of a Madison, Wisconsin music store.
Owners of the Good 'n Loud Music store found the "Dane County Chimney Doe" on Sept. 3, 1989, while removing a boiler, according to the DNA Doe Project.
The DNA Doe Project worked with the Madison Police Department to identify the remains as Ronnie Joe Kirk of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Kirk's last-known ties were in Madison. It's unclear how he got into the chimney, but it would have been impossible for him to get in from inside the building, the DNA Doe Project said. His cause of death is still unknown.
June: Rapidan Dam in southern Minnesota experiences partial failure
Flooding on the Blue Earth River caused an abutment of the Rapidan Dam to partially fail on the morning of June 24, 2024, after a wet spring.
While the structures held up in the end, floodwaters forged a new river channel around the dam and cut deeply into a steep riverbank, toppling utility poles, wrecking a substation, swallowing a home and forcing the removal of the beloved Rapidan Dam Store.
Minnesota officials have since voted to tear down the Rapidan Dam and replace the nearby County Road 9 Bridge.
The Rapidan Dam Store temporarily reopened in Mankato at the former Wagon Wheel Cafe.
July: 11 arrested during protest at UnitedHealthcare HQ
Eleven people were arrested on July 15, 2024, outside UnitedHealthcare headquarters in Minnetonka, protesting what they allege is the company's practice of not paying for care.
The protesters were arrested for blocking the street, according to the People's Action Institute, which helped organize the protest as part of its Care Over Cost campaign, which is aimed to bring attention to the health insurance company's "systemic practice of refusing to approve care through prior authorization denials or pay for care through claim denials."
In response to the protest, a spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group said it has had dialogue with the People's Action Institute for some time and has shared "member-related issues" that have since been resolved.
The same month as the protest and subsequent arrests, HealthPartners announced it was leaving UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage network due to what they cited as the insurer's high claim denial rate.
On Dec. 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in what appears to be a targeted attack in New York City. Police have since arrested and charged Luigi Mangione with his murder. Investigators say they believe Mangione was furious at the health care industry.
August: Tim Walz's accomplishments, setbacks during his time as Minnesota governor
In August, Vice President Kamala Harris selected Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her presidential running mate. as her presidential running mate in the 2024 election.
Walz's political star started to rise as he made several viral cable news appearances on behalf of the campaign.
WCCO put together in one spot the governor's accomplishments and setbacks as governor since taking office in 2019 so voters could help get to know the potential vice president.
September: Teamsters in Minnesota rebuke national union in endorsing Harris-Walz
Some Teamsters in Minnesota and other Midwestern states broke ranks with the national union by endorsing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for president.
The endorsement came shortly after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to make an endorsement in the presidential race for the first time since 1996.
Teamsters Joint Council 32, which represents current and former members in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, said Harris and Walz "are proven champions for Union workers," and cited Walz's former union membership and labor victories in Minnesota for its choice.
October: Battleground state polls are close ahead of 2024 presidential election, Minnesota political expert says
Less than a month before the presidential election, national polls showed a tight race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Both Harris and Trump made repeated visits to the swing states, where CBS News polling showed the candidates were virtually tied in the lead-up to Election Day after a hard-fought campaign.
"Trump has been in the lead in six of the seven battlegrounds," Republican analyst Amy Koch said at the time. "If that holds, Trump will win this election."
Ultimately, the race did come down to those seven states, with Trump winning all of them in November.
November: What will happen to Tim Walz after Donald Trump's presidential election win?
Coming off of Donald Trump's election in November, many Minnesotans were wondering what the next steps were for Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
After Vice President Kamala Harris gave her concession speech, when asked what was next, Walz said, "Minnesota."
Walz returned to Minnesota on Wednesday evening after Election Day to continue the two years left on his term.
"I love this county. I love this state. I love this job and I'm not done fighting for Minnesota," Walz said during his first address since losing the election.
In an interview with WCCO in December, Walz said he is not ruling out running for a third term as governor. He added the decision about his political future will come sometime next year, but for now, he is focused on the legislative session that begins in January.
December: NFL legend Randy Moss reveals cancer diagnosis, surgery
Not long after announcing that he was stepping away from broadcasting, NFL Hall of Famer and former Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss informed fans that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
In an Instagram livestream, Moss told fans worried about his health that he's a "cancer survivor." He disclosed that he spent six days in the hospital and underwent surgery. He thanked his team of doctors and all those who prayed for him.
"I am a cancer survivor," Moss said. "Some trying times, but we made it through."
In the Vikings' win over the Bears in Minneapolis on Dec. 16, Moss was honored in multiple ways, including during wide receiver Justin Jefferson's touchdown celebration.