LIVE CHAT: Kibitz during Last Presidential Debate with MN Patch

Participate in Patch’s live blog while you watch Monday's final debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

Join Patch for a live blog chat during the last presidential debate Monday night—if you're not watching or attending a marathon Fridley City Council meeting at Fridley City Hall. The topic for the night is foreign policy: Can Mitt Romney overcome his London gaffe? Can President Barack Obama put the Libya issue to rest?  At 8 p.m. Monday, the president and challenger will meet for the second time this election season in Florida.  The foreign police debate will be moderated by CBS' Bob Schieffer. Throughout the debate, Patch will be moderating a live blog where users can share their thoughts in real time, participate in polls and post photos from debate-watching parties. We’ve also invited state legislators, political candidates, party …

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Keith Basinski Funeral Is 2 p.m. Thursday

Service for UPS driver killed in Minneapolis shootings is at Emmanuel Christian Center in Spring Lake Park. A Teamster spokesperson called his death unprecedented.

The funeral for Keith Basinski of Spring Lake Park, the UPS driver shot and killed at Access Signage on Sept. 27 in Minneapolis, is set for 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 at Emmanuel Christian Center in Spring Lake Park. Visitation is at the church from 1–2 p.m., immediately before the funeral service. The burial ceremony is at Hillside Cemetery, 2610 19th Ave. NE, Minneapolis, at 4:45 p.m. A memorial fund for Basinski's family has been established at First Advantage Bank, Coon Rapids. Basinksi's union has also set up a memorial fund. 'Doing His Job' "We feel a responsibility to our family," said Edward Reynoso of the Teamsters Joint Council 32. "We consider our members' families our family." Reynoso called Basinski's murder …

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At Barry Pankonin's Funeral, Hundreds Remember Plymouth Resident as Friendly Fridley Police Officer

The service for Pankonin, who died in an off-duty motorcycle crash Tuesday, was packed with police, firefighters and other first responders, as well as friends, neighbors and family.

In the days following Fridley Police Officer Barry Pankonin’s Aug. 21, 2012 off-duty death near his home in Plymouth, Fridley Police Chief Don Abbott asked city staff members for one word to describe the late member of their “police family.” Abbott shared what he heard with family members, neighbors, friends, police officers, firefighters and other first responders at Pankonin’s funeral Saturday: “Do you know what the number one response was? 'Smile.' Something about his smile. How deep it was, how warm it was and how genuine it was.” See a separate post with more than 50 photos from Barry Pankonin's funeral. Hundreds Celebrate 'Panks' Pankonin died suddenly Tuesday in a motorcycle crash involving no other vehicles or pedestrians, only …

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PHOTO: Remembering Fridley Police Officer Barry Pankonin

A memorial has sprung up near his home and the fatal motorcycle crash site in Plymouth.

Here is a memorial near the Plymouth home of Fridley Police Officer Barry Pankonin, who died nearby in an off-duty motorcycle crash on Tuesday. His funeral is Saturday, with visitation on Friday. (See separate post for full funeral arrangements.) Leave a comment below, or if you have one, add a photo of Barry Pankonin to this post.

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The Fifth District Report

VIDEO: Colbert Report Profiles MN 5th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison suffered gamely through an interview by host Stephen Colbert.

Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District was the subject of a "Better Know A District" segment on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" Thursday. Host Stephen Colbert highlighted New Hope, the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and Prince in his intro, then "sat down ... in a room" with U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-MN) for a wide-ranging, even scattershot interview that managed to touch on both Mohammed and Mary Tyler Moore. The "Fighting Fifth" is the second Minnesota district to be profiled on the "Colbert Report" and the 67th overall.

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(UPDATED) Ron Paul's MN Convention Speech Drawing 5th District Interest

Local Republicans readying for Paul's appearance Friday.

See updates below. Ron Paul is set to speak at the Minnesota Republican convention Friday, and party activists in the Fifth District are preparing for a possible Paul win—with one local activist saying "I get the feeling I'm witnessing history." Paul is poised to make a strong showing in Minnesota after congressional-district conventions gave him 20 of 24 available national delegates. The Texas congressman was denied a speaking slot at the 2008 state convention, but has proven a popular candidate and speaker here since—turning fans away, for example, from an over-capacity speech in Arden Hills shortly before Minnesota's 2012 caucus night. On Monday, Paul announced his campaign would stop spending money in states that haven't yet held …

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All 7 Fact Sheets on Fridley Superfund Sites from MN Pollution Control Agency

The MPCA acted in response to community pollution and cancer concerns.

Updated (10 a.m. Friday): Fact sheets on the BAE Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Boise Cascade/Onan Corp./Medtronics Inc. Superfund sites from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency are now available for reading online here and available for downloading at MPCA website. Updated (11:30 a.m. Thursday): The Fridley Commons Park Wellfield Superfund Site fact sheet is now available for reading online here (see PDF) and for downloading at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website. Original post (2 p.m. Wednesday): The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency posted new fact sheets about Superfund sites in Fridley on its website Wednesday. Four new factsheets are online already, with three more to be posted as soon as Thursday, …

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UPDATE: MN Senate Finance Panel Passes Vikings Stadium Bill

Sen. Barb Goodwin, who represents parts of Fridley, abstained.

The Minnesota Senate Finance Committee voted 9-5 Wednesday afternoon to pass the Minnesota Vikings stadium without recommendation forward to the Taxes Committee. State Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50), who represents much of Fridley and is a member of the committee, abstained during the committee's final vote. On an earlier voice vote, Goodwin voted with the losing side to amend the bill so that Minneapolis citizens would hold a referendum on spending more than $10,000 on a professional sports facility, in accordance with the city's charter. Another amendment, adding racino gambling as a source of funding for the stadium, passed over objections that it would kill the bill's chances. (Goodwin's vote on that amendment wasn't audible.) Goodwin …

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Fridley to Honor Firefighter Scott Allard at Memorial Service Monday

It's the first funeral for an active-duty Fridley firefighter in decades.

The Fridley community and fire department, along with family and friends, will pay last respects to Scott Allard on Monday, following his death on April 10. The longtime Fridley resident and veteran Fridley firefighter was recovering from injuries from a March 31 motorcycle crash at the time of his death. The memorial service for Allard is at 7 p.m. Monday at St. Philip's Lutheran Church, with visitation starting at 4 p.m. Protocol for Honors Scott Allard's memorial will include honors in keeping with protocol for firefighters who die while on active duty. Firefighters across the state are invited to the memorial on Monday. From 8 a.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday, neighboring mutual-aid fire departments will take over all duties of the …

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