ALERT :
- 5/22/13, The North Iowa Baseball and Softball games vs. Algona Garrigan at North Iowa tonight have been cancelled due to the weather. :
- 5/22/13, The Lake Mills vs. Rockford Baseball game at Lake Mills has been cancelled. :
- 5/22/13, The Forest City Park and Rec has cancelled all BB and SB practices for the 5th, 6th and 7th grades for today.:
- 5/24/13;Reminder that the Forest City CSD will have a one (1) hour early dismissal on Friday, May 24th.:
MN News
MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING Site of fatal Mpls shooting back in business (Information in the following story is from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mpr.org) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Family members say a Minneapolis sign factory where a gunman fatally shot six people last month is trying to move on. Shereen Rahamim (RAH’-huh-meem), wife of company owner Reuven Rahamim, spoke publicly Monday for the first time since the shooting at Accent Signage Systems. She thanked the city and the people of Minnesota for their support the day of the shooting. Reuven Rahamim, four employees and a UPS driver were fatally shot at Accent Signage on Sept. 27; the last victim died Oct. 10. The gunman, Andrew Engeldinger, killed himself in the building. Shereen Rahamim says the people inside the building are getting back to work and getting the sign business going again. Minnesota Public Radio News reports Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was on hand to mark the occasion.
MINNESOTA SENATE Bills questions Klobuchar handling of old case MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Republican Kurt Bills is questioning Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s handling of a case during her days as Hennepin County prosecutor. Bills responded Monday to a story by the Washington-based conservative news site The Daily Caller, which suggested Klobuchar didn’t pursue a case against businessman Tom Petters in 1999 when her office prosecuted several people associated with him. Several years later, Petters was charged and convicted in federal court for operating a massive Ponzi scheme. Klobuchar campaign spokesman Linden Zakula (ZAK’-yoo-lah) says Klobuchar never asked prosecutors to refrain from investigating Petters. He says she was never given evidence to pursue possible charges. The Caller article points out Petters donated to several of Klobuchar’s campaigns. She returned the money. Petters also gave money to Republicans. He is serving a 50-year prison term.
MISSING PLANE SEARCH Search finds no sign of missing pilot in NE Minn. (Information in the following story is from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com) DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – A Civil Air Patrol training exercise has failed to find any sign of a pilot or his plane that went missing over northeastern Minnesota in June. Crews used their training Saturday and Sunday to look for the Piper PA-31 Navajo flown by 67-year-old Mike Bratlie of Lakeville. Bratlie left a South St. Paul airport on June 8 bound for Duluth. At the time, Civil Air Patrol crews, along with ground teams, spent 13 days searching 2,000 square miles for any sign of Bratlie or the plane, without success. Capt. George Supan of the Civil Air Patrol’s Minnesota wing tells the Duluth News Tribune that although no sign of Bratlie or his plane was found over the weekend, “everybody (got) an opportunity to sharpen their skills” for future search efforts.
MISSING SOMALIS Defendant in Minn. terror case in custody MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota man who pleaded guilty last year to helping young Somalis return to their homeland to fight with al-Shabab has been arrested on an alleged probation violation. Omer Abdi Mohamed had been free pending sentencing in the government’s investigation into the travels of more than 20 young men who authorities say left Minnesota to join the al-Qaida-linked group. Mohamed has said he was never a terrorist. He was arrested Friday, accused of lying to probation officers about his employment. His attorney, Peter Wold, says he’s sorting out the issue. Mohamed’s arrest comes after a related trial in which government witnesses testified Mohamed used the Quran to persuade travelers to fight in Somalia. Wold said he hadn’t heard that claim against his client before, and wondered where it came from.
MINNESOTA POWER-EXPLOSION Man hurt in explosion at Minn. Power plant (Information in the following story is from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com) SCHROEDER, Minn. (AP) – An employee was critically injured in an explosion at a Minnesota Power coal-burning power plant in northeastern Minnesota. Forty-one-year-old Joe Fredrickson of Silver Bay was in the coal bunker when the explosion happened around 9:20 a.m. Monday. Frederickson was later transferred to Essentia St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, where he was in critical condition. Schroeder Fire Chief Phil Bonin tells the Duluth News Tribune it’s unclear what may have triggered the blast. A Minnesota Power spokeswoman says the coal bunker was being filled with coal with the blast happened. She says Fredrickson, an 11-year employee, was the only one in the immediate area. The blast happened at the Duluth-based utility’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center along the North Shore of Lake Superior.
MINNESOTA FLOODING-PARK Flood-damaged NE Minn. Park reopens DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Jay Cooke State Park has reopened four months after being closed by major flooding in northeastern Minnesota. The park reopened Monday, after flooding in June washed away roads, trails and bridges. Visitors must enter the park using the western entrance from Thomson. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says campgrounds and camper cabins will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and visitors will have access to most recreational trails. Interpretive programs begin Nov. 3. Park Manager Gary Hoeft says access across Jay Cooke’s swinging bridge won’t be available this fall or winter. Hoeft says the bridge needs extensive repairs before it can reopen. The swinging bridge is expected to reopen late next summer.