The commissioner of the athletic conference that St. Thomas seeks to join said a decision on the school’s moving to Division I would not be reached until at least January.

Summit League boss Tom Douple said in an interview Tuesday with TommieMedia that the NCAA did not give an outright “no” to the request to move from Division III.

“We know it’s an uphill battle,” Douple said. “But, you know, it’s a battle that we want to fight and try to push for. We think we’re making headway.”

Douple, who has run the league for 15 years, said multiple reasons jump out for inviting St. Thomas to the league.

State officials say more than 5,000 citations have been issued to drivers in Minnesota since a hands-free law took effect in August.

The new law makes it illegal to use a cellphone while driving. Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Hanson tells Minnesota Public Radio News law enforcement officers don’t have to determine what drivers are doing with their cellphones, just the fact they have it in their hands is a violation.

The law allows a driver to use voice commands or single-touch activation to make calls, text, listen to music or podcasts and get directions.

Republicans briefly brought the Democrat-led impeachment investigation to a halt when around two dozen GOP House members stormed into a closed-door deposition with a Defense Department official. Democrats said the move compromised national security because some of the Republicans took electronic devices into a secure room.

The protest by Republican lawmakers on Wednesday captured national attention, drawing the focus away from the testimony of a top U.S. diplomat who told lawmakers just a day earlier that he was told President Donald Trump was withholding military aid from Ukraine unless the country’s president pledged to investigate Democrats.

Emily Haugen can be reached at haug7231@stthomas.edu.