Bierschbach's Blog

The body of a missing St. Paul man was pulled from a small pond this morning on the campus of Ithaca College in New York, reported the Star Tribune.

Friends and authorities had been searching for William Jacobson, 19, a 2007 graduate of St. Paul Central High School, and a freshman at the college, since Monday. He was last seen leaving a party about 3 or 4 a.m. Sunday, Dave Maley, an Ithaca College spokesman, said.

"According to a news release issued this morning by Ithaca police, a submerged body was recovered about 8:30 a.m. CST from a pond on Farm Road, and then taken to the Cayuga Medical Center morgue for an autopsy," reported the Star Tribune.

Jacobson's friends contacted police on Monday after they searched for him that day. Rescue workers searched briefly Monday evening, and then conducted aerial and ground searches of the hillsides around the college Tuesday, Maley said.

"Ithaca is on a hillside, bounded by steep gorges on either side,'' Maley said then. "We're looking to see if he got lost on his way back [to his dorm] or whether he could have fallen on a hillside. There's a lot of heavy brush.''

The party's host reportedly directed Jacobson to a walking trail on the edge of campus, Maley said.

Jacobson was dressed as William Shakespeare for the themed party and was last seen wearing a white, long-sleeved dress shirt, navy-blue vest, black dress pants and black dress shoes, according to the Star Tribune.

"He was committed to academics and got good grades," Alexander said. "But he was all about having fun. ... He always got along with people and was good at finding what makes a person interesting. He knew how to get the best out of people and have fun,'' Tynan Alexander of St. Paul, who has been one of Jacobson's best friends since they were in elementary school, said.

Friends in the Twin Cities and at Ithaca were keeping one another updated through Facebook.

There were feelings of concern and worry on the campus, Maley said Tuesday.

"There's no reason to suspect foul play," Maley said.

Posted by bier0136 at 6:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April Mosier, 13, managed to pry open a small hole in the side of a crashed airplane on its way to Congo and save dozens of lives on Tuesday, reported the Star Tribune.

April, her parents and brother, a church missionary family from southeastern Minnesota, all survived the crash of the privately operated DC-9 with no major injuries. The jet failed to take off in the eastern town of Goma, then rammed through an airport fence into a busy market area and caught fire. As of now, 38 have died among the 79 aboard and others on the ground.

"She spotted a crack on the right side of the fuselage, too small even for her to wriggle through with her 4-foot-9, 96-pound frame," reported the Tribune.

"Let's open this crack, otherwise we're going to die," April said to a fearful man next to her in Swahili. The two clawed at the opening long enough to create an escape route that April and dozens of others used to get off of the burning plane.

"We tore the crack open with our hands," April told the Star Tribune.

April, who along with her her parents, Barry and Marybeth Mosier, and 3-year-old brother, Andrew, moved from Dodge Center to Tanzania in 2000.

Once she distanced herself from the burning plane, April scrambled to find her parents and brother. Barry Marybeth Mosier were searching just as har for their daughter.

Nearly 30 minutes after the crash, April and her parents were reunited at the hospital.

"When we saw each other, she just burst into tears," Barry Mosier said. "My daughter thought we were dead ... We couldn't believe that the four of us from one family was walking away alive."

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Myon Burrell was found guilty on Wednesday of the murder of Tyesha Edwards, more than five years after she was killed while doing her homework at the dining room table, reports the Star Tribune.

"Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter found Burrell guilty of four counts: first-degree murder and first-degree murder for the benefit of a gang, attempted first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for the benefit of a gang. Porter acquitted him of five similar charges involving drive-by shooting," reports the Tribune.

Linda Longino, Tyesha's mother, wept when the verdict was read.

This is the second time Burrel has been tried for the girl's death. Tyesha Edwards was 11-years-old in November 2002 when a bullet from a gang shootout pierced the wall of her south Minneapolis home and struck her in the heart.

The prosecution said that Edwards was killed by Burrell, a Rolling 30s Bloods gang member, who was shooting at a member of the rival Gangster Disciples.

The defense contends that the case was a rush to judgment and that Burrell was charged in a " volitile politic atmosphere because of community outrage over Edwards' death," the Tribune reported. In a bid to solve the killing quickly, police failed to follow other leads, the defense also said.

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Three more metro counties Tuesday approved a new transit sales tax that takes effect on July 1, reports the Star Tribune.

Hennepin and Dakota county commissioners both approved the quarter-cent sales tax -- which would amount to a penny on a $4 purchase -- , joining Ramsey and Anoka counties, which passed the tax last week. Washington Country commissioners approved of the tax 3-2 on Tuesday night. Carver and Scott counties have not participated as of now.

"The new tax could raise more than $100 million in 2009," reports the Star Tribune.

The Central Corridor light-rail line between Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Northstar commuter rail line from Minneapolis to Big Lake, and bus rapid-transit projects along Cedar Avenue and on Interstate 35W from Minneapolis south into Dakota County are all projects that would benifit from the tax.

Supporters said the agreement will make the Twin Cities more competitive with Denver, Portland and other areas with similar taxes, which gives them a source of funds to match federal transportation dollars that could pay for half the project cost in some cases.

Hennepin board memebers are worried that they state's forecasted budget deficit could prompt the governor or lawmakers to divert sales tax money for other purposes before the session ends. Hennepin County will pull out of the agreement if that happens.

Dakota county can be expecting both population and road use to quickly expand in the next 20 years, with priorities such as rapid-transit projects that would move more people and ease congestion at bottlenecks such as the Minnesota River crossing on Interstate 35W coming south from Minneapolis.

"We do not need to put asphalt across our communities," said Commissioner Willis Branning.

"Dakota County has competed nationally for federal money for traffic congestion relief," reports the Star Tribune. Officials said the county could get $133 million in federal funding to help with the development of bus rapid transit on Cedar Avenue. The sales tax money could help with the local and state match needed for that program, officials said.

Carver and Scott are the next to decide.

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The value of single-family homes plummeted 10.7 percent in January compared with a year earlier, reports the New York Times, sending Wall Street shares down in early Tuesday trading.

"It was the steepest year-over-year decline since the index began eight years ago, and economists said the slump was probably worse than at the height of the last housing recession in the early 1990s," said the Times.

The housing price decline may help to lure buyers, looking to take advantage of someone else's foclosure, back into the market. A wave of foreclosures and a tight credit market has made it difficult for many Americans to take out mortgages.

Some analysts to suggest that the housing market is approaching its bottom, but many economists predict that prices will still fall for several more months.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index, which compiled the results from a 20-city index, indicated that is the first time both indexes dropped by double digits.

"Home prices continue to fall, decelerate and reach record lows across the nation," said David Blitzer, index committee chairman at S&P. "No markets seem to be completely immune from the housing crisis," reported USA Today.

Blitzer said all 20 cities S&P tracks have seen falling prices for five consecutive months. The declines are growing in severity, with 13 of 20 cities reporting their biggest single monthly decline in January.

"The worst performing markets are Las Vegas and Miami, which both reported 19.3% drops," reports USA Today. "Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis both slipped into negative double-digit territory for the first time in January, recording 10.9% and 10% drops compared with last year."

The index is considered an accurate measure of home prices because it monitors price changes of the same property over time, instead of calculating a median price of homes sold during the month.

"I wouldn't be looking for a pattern of improvement until April, May or June," said Global Insight's chief U.S. economist, Brian Bethune.

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St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will deliver his 2008 State of the City address at noon today at the Wilder Center at the intersection of Lexington and University avenues, reported the Star Tribune.

Coleman is expected to speak about the planned Central Corridor light-rail line that will run 11 miles connecting Minneapolis and St. Paul. He will also address his youth initiatives. With the Central Corridor being a highly discussed issue, many will be interested to hear the mayor's information and opinions regarding the topic.

Coleman said he will also hold five community meetings to discuss the city's progress and issues with residents.

The meetings are (from Star Tribune):

Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Wellstone Center for Community Building at Neighborhood House, 179 Robie Street.

March 19, 7 p.m., Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning, 1030 University Av. W.

March 25, Como Zoo & Marjorie McNeely Conservatory Visitor Center, 1225 Estabrook Dr.

March 26, 5:30 p.m., Ecolab Room, Metropolitan State University, 645 E. 7th St.

March 27, 5:30 p.m., Weyerhaeuser Hall Board Room, Macalester College, 62 Macalester St.

Posted by bier0136 at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, died at his Lake Geneva, Wis., home earlier in the day at age 69, reported the Pioneer Press.

"How many guys change the fundamental nature of gaming?" said Nick Postiglione, vice president of The Source Comics & Games in Falcon Heights. "Now he's gone."

Minnesota and Wisconsin have long been important states for gaming. Gygax made many trips to St. Paul, especially during his early years. Dave Arneson, who co-created DD with Gygax, grew up and spent most of his life in St. Paul. The two published the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons in 1974.

"He loved rules. Writing rules. The other thing going for him is he could type and I couldn't," said Arneson.

"The two had a falling-out, with Arneson being ousted from the gaming business they shared, Tactical Studies Rules Inc. " reported the Pioneer Press. "We never reconciled," Arneson added. "We were polite, but things never came together that way."

However, Anderson remembers the good times he and Gygax shared, and their contribution to the world of gaming will never be forgotten.

Posted by bier0136 at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former Black Panther Bobby Seale will be speaking this afternoon at the University of Minnesota Black Student Union's African Cultural History Month celebration, the Star Tribune reported.

An icon of the radical '60s, Seale co-founded the Black Panther Party with Huey Newton in 1966, as an organization to protect local communities from police brutality and racism. He will speak from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Coffman Union Theater, 300 Washington Ave. SE., Minneapolis, and will join students at a dinner in the Mississippi Room at 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Black Student Union.

The Black Panthers had chapters in several major cities and ran medical clinics and provided free food to schoolchildren. "At its peak, it had a membership of more than 2,000. It later developed into a Marxist revolutionary group," The Star Tribune reported.

Seale, was one of the "Chicago Eight," that were charged with conspiracy to incite riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Charges were eventually dropped, however, Seale was in court again a few years later being tried for the torture-murder of former Panther Alex Rackley, a suspected police informant. "That trial ended in a hung jury," said the Star Tribune. "Seale later stepped away from militancy and left the Panthers in 1974."

Posted by bier0136 at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While blood thinners such as aspirin may delay or prevent strokes, many patients aren't helped at all by medication and continue to suffer symptoms that can lead to a major attack. However, a neurologist at the University of Minnesota is taking a more direct approach to preventing strokes, "recommending angioplasties to open clogged arteries in patients' brains," reported the Pioneer Press.

Qureshi is presenting research this week at the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans. His studies make the case that opening clogged arteries should be used more frequently to prevent stroke, or a lack of blood flow to the brain. He said that he feels these patients are "medical failures," and could benifit from such a procedure. Some doctors discourage these procedures because they can cause bleeding and strokes, and can only be considered for only a small number of at-risk patients.

"In 2006, the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, a Minnesota health policy group, concluded that these angioplasty procedures are 'technically difficult' and that medical research hasn't proven whether they are superior. Some studies have even found a 20 percent complication rate with these angioplasties," the Pioneer Press reported.

One of Qureshi's goals at the U is to teach more neurologists to do the procedure well enough to lower the complication risk, but agrees that medical research still needs to prove the advantage of angioplasties to prevent strokes.

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Dozens of investors were potentially victimized in an alleged mortgage fraud case involving possibly as many as130 homes -- mostly in one Otsego development -- with mortgages totaling more than $40 million, reported the Star Tribune.

Richard Tonn, one such investor from Minnetonka, saw an ad in 2006 promising riches by investing in real estate, and thought it would be a good way to increase his $27,000-a-year salary as a nursing assistant. However, within a year, Tonn found himself owing more than $1 million in mortgages and his homes in forclosure.

According to county and state officials, "the number of mortgage fraud cases in the state spiked sharply in 2007 as the ripple effects of the sub-prime lending crisis worked its way through the economy." Last year alone, the Hennepin County attorney's office handled 20 mortgage fraud cases, and it's expected to get worse this year.

Linda Clewette finds herself in the same situation as Tonn. Last year she filed a civil lawsuit through Hennepin Count Dsitrick Court against National Investment Group (NIG), United Management Group (UMG), some of their officers and some builders, claiming she was a victim of mortgage fraud in the purchase of the six homes.

'"They used suckers like me to buy these properties,' said Bill Rosival, one of the investors who is holding nearly $1 million in mortgages," reported the Star Tribune.

Posted by bier0136 at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Layoffs are anticipated in Minnesota after Macy's consolidates three of its divisions in a cost-saving measure, reported the Star Tribune.

Retailing giant Macy's plans to begin immediately consolidating its Minneapolis-based Macy's North organization into New York-based Macy's East, St. Louis-based Macy's into Atlanta-based Macy's South and Seattle-based Macy's Northwest into San Francisco-based Macy's West, according to the Star Tribune.

Although all store locations will remain in place, the consolidation will affect about 950 positions at the Macy's North headquarters in Minneapolis by the second quarter of 2008.

"We believe the right answer is to reallocate our resources to place more emphasis and talent at the local market level to differentiate Macy's stores, serve customers and drive business," Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's, Inc. chairman, president and chief executive officer said. "In essence, we plan to drive sales growth by improving our knowledge at the local level and then acting quickly on that knowledge."

This inititiative is designed to increase sales in its current markets by "ensuring that core customers surrounding each Macy's store find merchandise assortments, size ranges, marketing programs and shopping experiences that are custom-tailored to their needs," reported the Star Tribune.

Posted by bier0136 at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Elevated levels of a chemical formerly manufactured by 3M Co. have been found in nine lakes in the Twin Cities area, reported Kare 11 News.

The PFO's (perfluorooctane sulfonate) found in the lakes had been used for decades by the company in its production of Scotchguard and firefighting foams. The company ceased production in 2002, however, high levels of the chemical still remain in three Minneapolis lakes and six lakes in surrounding areas.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a lakes study Tuesday that began after the discovery last spring of considerably high levels of PFOS in bluegills from Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. State health officials promise to evaluate the findings and determine whether more fish consumption advisories should be released.

Paul Hoff, the MPCA's supervisor of environmental reporting and special studies, said that these nine lakes contained high enough levels of PFO's to possibly be cause concern. The lakes study found that the contamination is due to stormwater runoff.

Kare 11 reports the lakes with elevated levels of PFO's are as follows: Lake Johanna (Arden Hills), Cedar (Minneapolis), Harriet, Hiawatha, Jane, Keller, Powers, Red Rock and Tanners.

Posted by bier0136 at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)