ALERT :
- 6/18/13; West Hancock vs. Corwith Wesley Luverne Baseball will play varsity first at 5:45 p.m. No JV. :
MN News
MISSING SOMALIS Judge: Man in terror case a ‘danger’; ordered held MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A Minnesota man who pleaded guilty last year to helping young Somalis leave Minnesota and return to their homeland to fight with the terror group al-Shabab must stay in custody until his sentencing. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis called Omer Abdi Mohamed a “danger to the community.” Mohamed was arrested last week after authorities said he violated conditions of his release when he did not report employment. Prosecutors say Mohamed was in a position of authority at an Islamic school. Mohamed’s attorney says his client volunteered there. Authorities say more than 20 young men have left Minnesota since 2007 to join al-Shabab in Somalia. In the recent trial of another man, witnesses testified Mohamed was a leader in recruitment efforts. Davis says Mohamed’s past activities have been exposed.
MINNESOTA SENATE-BILLS AD GOP’s Bills readies first TV ad of Senate campaign MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills is about to air his first TV ad of the election cycle. A spokesman for the Bills campaign said Wednesday that the 30-second piece is supposed to start airing on Thursday night during the Minnesota Vikings-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. Public records show that the Republican’s campaign is spending about $120,000 to air the spot on Minnesota stations in late October and early November. Klobuchar has aired four different TV ads starting in early October. Polls show her with a wide lead and Bills with continued low name recognition. In the most recent federal fundraising reports, Bills had about $68,000 left in his campaign account while Klobuchar had nearly $5 million.
HOME EXPLOSION-MINNESOTA Man severely injured in Minn. home explosion (Information in the following story is from: Albert Lea Tribune, http://www.albertleatribune.com) ALBERT LEA, Minn. (AP) – An Albert Lea woman credits her two children with saving the life of their father after an explosion in their home on Sunday. Cathy Rofshus (RUHF’-shuhs) tells the Albert Lea Tribune that her 48-year-old husband, Ron Rofshus, had started working with chemicals in a workroom under the family’s concrete driveway when “something went terribly wrong.” She says the explosion severely injured her husband. He made his way to the main part of the house and yelled for his children to call 911. Cathy Rofshus says her 12-year-old daughter called 911, and then her daughter and her 10-year-old son followed the dispatcher’s instructions to apply towels and blankets to her husband’s wounds. Ron Rofshus was in serious condition Wednesday at Hennepin County Medical Center. The explosion remains under investigation.
POLICE SHOOTING-ST PAUL 2 suspects dead, officer wounded in St. Paul ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A St. Paul police officer is recovering from a shotgun wound after a gunfire exchange that killed a suspect. Officer Daniel King and another officer drove their squad car into a parking lot while looking for a suspect in the theft of a shotgun and compound bow with arrows from a home Tuesday night. Police say the suspect, 22-year-old Chue Xiong of St. Paul, fired a shotgun, striking the squad car and wounding King. The officers returned fire, killing Xiong. It was the second time that St. Paul police fatally shot a suspect that day. Just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, police stopped a driver wanted for questioning in a drug investigation. Police say the man started to ram the unmarked squad cars. Two officers fired, fatally wounding 41-year-old Victor Gaddy.
SHOT WITH ARROW Police submit Minn. arrow death to county attorney CHASKA, Minn. (AP) – Chaska (CHAS’-kuh) police have asked the Carver County prosecutor to review the death of a 16-year-old boy who was shot in the head with an arrow. Police said Wednesday that there is no indication of intent to cause Spencer Swanson’s death. But police say their investigation does not support the version told by the teenager who shot the arrow. Swanson was riding a bicycle near his Chaska home on October 13th when an arrow shot by a friend struck him in the head. He died two days later at Hennepin County Medical Center.
FATAL AIRPORT ACCIDENT Worker killed in Minn. backhoe accident IDed (Information in the following story is from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Authorities have released the name of the construction worker killed when a backhoe fell on him at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this week. Forty-six-year-old Jeffrey Tukua of Hastings was doing work on a drainage ditch Monday morning when the backhoe tipped over on him. He died at the scene. The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office says the cause of death was compression asphyxia. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Tukua worked for S.M. Hentges and Sons, a Jordan-based construction company.
MINERAL RIGHTS AUCTION 3 companies bid in Minn. mineral rights auction MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Three companies have submitted bids for the right to explore and mine for copper, nickel and other metals in Minnesota’s latest mineral rights auction. The Department of Natural Resources says Duluth Metals bid on nine parcels northwest of Silver Bay in Lake County. Encampment Minerals bid on 21 parcels south of Hoyt Lakes. And MMG USA Exploration bid on one parcel southeast of McGregor in Aitkin County. Such lease auctions attracted little attention before the boom in exploration for what are believed to be vast untapped reserves of valuable metals underneath parts of northeastern Minnesota. The DNR’s last lease auction prompted an angry outcry. The DNR plans to review the new bids, then notify landowners and submit them to the state’s Executive Council, which is scheduled to meet December 6th.
BIG LAKE KILLING Sheriff: Innocence Project closes ’92 murder case (Information in the following story is from: St. Cloud Times, http://www.sctimes.com) ELK RIVER, Minn. (AP) – The Sherburne County sheriff’s office says the Innocence Project of Minnesota has closed its investigation into a 1992 murder in rural Big Lake. Kent Jones is serving a life sentence for the murder of Linda Jensen, who was found assaulted and stabbed to death in her home. The Innocence Project took on the case in January 2011. The project takes on cases of convicted people and works to prove their innocence through DNA testing. In August, a judge denied a request to retest a knife found at the murder scene. Jones was convicted once in Sherburne County, but that conviction was reversed, then he was convicted again. The Innocence Project declined to comment to the St. Cloud Times on Wednesday.
BEST BUY-OUTLOOK Best Buy axes 2 execs, expects 3Q net income drop NEW YORK (AP) – Best Buy says two executives, including its U.S. president, are leaving the company as it eliminates the most senior level of its U.S. operations to become more streamlined. The struggling electronics chain also forecast a third-quarter decline in revenue in stores open at least a year and says third quarter net income will be significantly below last year’s third quarter. The moves are the latest by CEO Hubert Joly, who was hired in August to help reverse slumping sales. Best Buy is facing increasing competition from online retailers and discounters. Mike Vitelli, president of Best Buy’s U.S. business, will resign when the fiscal year ends February 3rd. Executive Vice President of U.S. Operations Tim Sheehan will leave the company at the end of the month.
VIKINGS STADIUM-ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW Environmental review of new Vikings stadium begins (Information in the following story is from: Minnesota Public Radio News, http://www.mpr.org) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Just how will the new Minnesota Vikings stadium affect the environment in downtown Minneapolis? Planners have begun an environmental review of the project, including traffic during and after construction, air and water quality, and the impact of the stadium lights. The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority held a public information meeting Tuesday evening on the environmental review. Roland Froyen lives near the stadium site. Froyen tells Minnesota Public Radio News that his main concern is storm water runoff from construction into the Mississippi River. An environmental impact report is due next summer. Project managers hope to break ground for the nearly $1 billion stadium at the current Metrodome site by next fall.