Politics And Red Ink Dominate 2010 Year In State News

UNDATED (AP) -- The white snow flew and the red ink grew as 2010 drew to a close in Minnesota, but the snowstorm that brought down the Metrodome roof and a daunting $6.2 billion projected state deficit were just two of the year's most notable stories.

The state also had its second straight major election recount, a Republican takeover of the Legislature, sudden freedom for a man who blamed his Toyota for a crash that killed three people, and a $52 million settlement for victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

Former auto mogul Denny Hecker pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. It looked like there might be a break in the 1989 kidnapping of Jacob Wetterling, but forensic testing of items taken from a St. Joseph farm failed to yield new clues.

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