Deaf Man Beaten, Shot In St. Paul

A Minnesota deaf man was beaten and shot this week in a robbery attempt. Police say it happened in St. Paul in the middle of Wednesday afternoon. Read more from CBS-4 here.

DeafBlind Art

DeafBlind writer John Lee Clark talks about art he can touch in a Poetry Magazine post. He poses the question: We have DeafBlind artists, but do we have DeafBlind art? Read his entire piece here.

Service Dog Laws

Nearly two dozen states now have laws against claiming a dog is a service animal when it is not. The latest state to pass such a law is Minnesota, where the governor signed a bill into law Thursday. The goal is to prevent "untrained animals into stores, restaurants, libraries and other public places where their behavior can be bothersome," The Washington Post reports. Read the full story here.

At rural MN hospitals, deaf people struggle for interpreters

We told you yesterday about the Minnesota hospital that had settled a complaint with a deaf man. Minnesota Public Radio has a report on his case-and about the "dozens of complaints filed against Minnesota hospitals in recent years." Read the story here.

Hospital agrees to settlement over Terp Refusal

Fairview Health Services has agreed to a pay a deaf man an undisclosed amount of money for failing to provide him with a sign language interpreter while his infant daughter underwent medical tests at Hibbing hospital in Hibbing, Minnesota. Matthew Svatos wasn't able to take part in the decision because the hospital refused to pay for an interpreter. Read more about the case in the Star-Tribune here.

Deaf Man Prevented from Serving on Grand Jury

A Minnesota man wasn't allowed to serve on a grand jury because he is deaf. Mark Valimont is now suing the state. He wants the court staffed to be better trained and compensatory damages “in excess of $50,000.” Read more at the Star-Tribune here.

Lawsuit against St. Paul Police

A deaf woman says she was mistreated by the St. Paul police department. Catrina Hooper says she felt "hurt and afraid" after her encounter with officers. KSTP-TV has a video report.

deaf literacy vital for blended families

"Research shows that a lack of early access to visual language, like ASL, can limit literacy for the rest of a person’s life," reports Minnesota Daily. "That’s why University of Minnesota associate professor of deaf education Debbie Golos created a set of online resources in 2010 to help children and adults learn language visually." Read about her effort here.

The Stars Come out for Starkey

Last night celebrities came to St. Paul, Minnesota to support the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Each year the organization holds a Gala to raise money for hearing aids. Millions of dollars are given as a result. Among this year's celebrities were Johnny Depp, Jennifer Garner, Alice Cooper, John Mellencamp, and Jay Leno among others. KARE-TV has this video of celebrities arriving.

Police fail to provide Terp

Minnesota cops refused to provide an interpreter after making an arrest in 2013. Alan Read, who was born deaf, wanted one but Oakdale police would only write notes to him. Now they will pay $30k to settle his complaint, according to Minnesota Public Radio. Read the full story here.

$30K over interpreter

The Minnesota city of Oakdale is settling a complaint that it failed to provide a sign language interpreter. Alan Read will get $30,000 and the police department will work on its policies and training to meet ADA law. Find out the details of how it happened in a TwinCities.com article posted here.

Tensions between the Deaf community and Starkey

A Deaf advocacy group objects to how the Starkey Hearing Foundation operates. The California Association for the Deaf is calling on Starkey to stop exploiting the people who are receiving hearing aids from the group and slogans like “hearing brings joy.”The CAD president told Minnesota's Star Tribune “Their marketing approach is really hurting us. They are pushing the concept that we are OK only if we can hear, that hearing equals joy. Hollywood loves that, but it is just not true.” Starkey won't talk about the controversy. Read the full Star Tribune here.

Q&A with new Gally Prez

The new president of Gallaudet University is from Minnesota and the Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the state. Incoming president Bobbi Cordano sat down with the Star Tribune to explain her vision for the Washington, DC school. Read the interview here.

Sisters get implants together

Two Minnesota sisters both with hearing loss are journeying through the process of getting cochlear implants together. KMSP-TV has a video report

Arrest in killing of Deaf Poker Player

A man is behind bars for killing a deaf poker player from Minnesota. Las Vegas police took Rufus Anthony Smith into custody for the May murder of John Collins. Police say the confrontation was the result of a drug deal gone bad. Authorities are still looking for a second person. Read the full story from the Associated Press.

Football Association Sued For Discrimination

A Minnesota family are suing the "Spring Lake Park Panther Youth Football Association over their deaf son’s participation in the league" related to the payment of interpreters. WCCO-TV has a video report.

Twins headed to Gallaudet: "It's awesome!"

A pair of Minnesota twins are headed to Gallaudet University to study--and play sports. Tommy and Sam Ellenbecker helped win their high school a national deaf schools football championship as well as collect numerous other records and titles. Both were basketball all-stars. Read their story here.

Forbes Show at U of Minnesota

Rapper Sean Forbes drew hundreds to the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Memorial Union Monday night for a concert. Sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Disability Resource Center, the event was covered by WCCO-TV in Minneapolis (captions available).

Deaf Woman tells Police she was assaulted

A Minnesota convicted sex offender is facing charges that he raped and beat a deaf woman in St. Paul. Police say a naked woman ran from the apartment of Michael Darnell Burns to a neighbor, saying Burns had assaulted her, according to WCCO-TV. Read the full story here.

Doug Bahl Passes

The deaf community has lost one of its well-known voices of advocacy. Doug Bahl has died from cancer at the age of 63. He was president of the Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens for a decade and taught ASL at St. Paul College. You can read here about his lawsuit against Police in St. Paul. He was pulled over in 2006 and beaten during the traffic stop for failing to obey the commands of officers--commands he could not hear. Officers now receive training from the city about how to relate to deaf citizens.