INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Flags flew at half-staff in Minnesota and at national parks across the country Tuesday for a Voyageurs National Park ranger who died while trying to rescue a family of three stranded by high waves on a lake.
Kevin Grossheim, 55, of Kabetogama, died Sunday while responding to a call for assistance for a father and two sons who were trapped on an island in Namakan Lake after their boat became disabled. Winds gusting over 40 mph (64 kph) had whipped up waves of 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) Sunday morning.
“One of the rangers that was out there said he has never seen conditions as wild as they were," St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said.
Grossheim reached them with his boat, but it overturned after he picked them up, the National Park Service said.
“The front kind of nosedived, the boat listed, and flipped over upside-down,” Ramsay said. An initial report by the park that the ranger was towing the family’s boat proved to be inaccurate, he said.
The three family members were able to swim to shore, but Grossheim disappeared. His body was recovered that afternoon after a roughly three-hour search. A cause of death was not released.
The remote Voyageurs, established in 1975, covers 340 square miles (880 square kilometers) of lakes, forests and streams on Minnesota's border with Canada. Namakan Lake is one of four big lakes in the park, which also has smaller lakes. Namakan is 16 miles long and 7 miles wide at one point (16 by 11 kilometers). The park is known for boating, camping and snowmobiling; its dark skies; and abundant wildlife, including wolves, bald eagles, moose and beavers.
Grossheim had served as a ranger there for 23 years and was an experienced boat operator, familiar with navigating the lakes, the park service said.
“Kevin was much loved by all and always known to go above and beyond,” park Superintendent Bob DeGross said in a statement.
National Park Service Deputy Director Frank Lands ordered American flags lowered at national parks through sunset Wednesday in Grossheim’s honor. Gov. Tim Walz issued a similar order for state buildings in Minnesota and encouraged people, businesses and other organizations to lower their flags, too.
“Kevin Grossheim was a dedicated ranger and public servant, known for his unwavering commitment to helping others,” Walz tweeted Tuesday.
In this undated photo released by the Voyageurs National Park, park ranger Kevin Grossheim, 55, of Kabetogama, Minn., is seen on his boat at Pike Island on Namakan Lake in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minn. (Voyageurs National Park via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are steadying themselves on Tuesday as falling oil prices release some of the pressure that’s built up on the market.
The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in afternoon trading and clawing back most of its loss from the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 96 points, or 0.2%, and likewise nearing its record set last week, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% higher, as of 12:41 p.m. Eastern time.
Wall Street held firm even though stock markets around the world sank following scary swings in China, as euphoria about possible stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy gave way to disappointment. Stocks tumbled 9.4% in Hong Kong for their worst day since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Helping to support Wall Street was a sharp drawdown in oil prices. They gave back some of the big recent gains they made on worries that worsening tensions in the Middle East could ultimately lead to disruptions in the flow of oil.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.5% to $77.28. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude, meanwhile, eased 5.1% to $73.25.
Pressure coming from the bond market on the stock market also leveled off a bit. Treasury yields were holding steadier, a day after they shot to their highest levels since the summer.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.02% from 4.03% late Monday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with overnight interest rates, edged down to 3.96% from 3.99%, late Monday, though it's still near its highest level since August.
When Treasurys are paying higher yields, investors generally become less willing to pay very high prices for stocks and other investments. And Treasury yields have been storming higher over the last week following a suite of reports showing the U.S. economy may be healthier than expected.
Such reports, including one last week showing much stronger hiring by U.S. employers than forecast, raise hopes that the economy will avoid a recession. But they also force traders to ratchet back expectations for how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by, now that it has widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation.
Traders have abandoned expectations for the Fed to cut its main interest rate by a larger-than-usual half of a percentage point at its next meeting, for example. Instead, they’re largely betting on a traditional-sized cut of a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group. Some are even betting on a small possibility the Fed could keep its main rate steady in November.
On Wall Street, PepsiCo rose 0.7% after delivering stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue fell short.
CEO Ramon Laguarta also said the company now expects a “low single-digit” increase in an important measure of revenue for the year after it had earlier forecast growth of about 4%. U.S. consumers continue to pull back on buying snacks and drinks after years of price increases.
DocuSign jumped 7.9% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the electronic document signing company would join its S&P MidCap 400 index. DocuSign will replace MDU Resources, which will be bumped down to the S&P SmallCap 600 after announcing last week that it was spinning off its construction services subsidiary, Everus Construction Group.
On the losing end of Wall Street were oil-and-gas companies, which gave back some of their big recent gains driven by the jump in crude prices. Chevron fell 1.9% and was one of the bigger reasons the Dow was lagging other indexes.
In stock markets abroad, trading in mainland China reopened following a national holiday. Before, indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen had surged on hopes for stimulus from the government and the central bank meant to prop up the economy’s flagging growth.
On Tuesday, China’s economic planning agency outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but it refrained from major spending initiatives. That helped lead to the 9.4% drop for the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong.
In Shanghai, where the market had been closed as Hong Kong ran higher over the last week, stocks rose 4.6% following their reopening.
The disappointment in China had worldwide effects, knocking down stocks of companies in Europe, the United States and elsewhere that do lots of business in and around China. Estee Lauder fell 2.3%, for example, while Wynn Resorts lost 2%.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott, Elaine Kurtenbach and Zen Soo contributed.
The New York Stock Exchange, rear, is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - Signs mark the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in the Financial District on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. Trinity Church is in the background. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 24, 2024., 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
