Gibbs, Beth

According to the Star Tribune, the Minneapolis police department released statistics on Tuesday that the number violent crimes have been going down during the past two years.

Only three homicides occurred in Minneapolis between January 1 and April 20 this year, compared to 11 during the same time period in 2008 and 18 in 2007.

In 1995, there were 97 homicides in the same time period, leading one journalist to call it “Murderapolis.”

The rates of rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults have also dropped in the past two years, but not as dramatically as homicides.

Violent crime has dropped in Minneapolis more than 25 percent since 2007 and nearly 18 percent in the past year alone.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was satisfied with the statistics, but is still dedicated to making Minneapolis a safer city.

"This is fantastic, the result of a community-wide effort to make this a safe place to call home," said Rybak. "But we've still got a long way to go."

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The Star Tribune reported that Democrat Al Franken has began putting together a Senate office staff, although he has not yet been officially seated as Minnesota’s U.S. Senator.

Franken’s staff announced Monday that he plans to hire Alana Peterson, a longtime DFL activist, as his state director.

Peterson has worked in politics in a variety of roles. Peterson served most recently as political director and state field director for Rep. Jim Oberstar, who is dean of the state's congressional delegation.

Peterson will allow Franken to "hit the ground running on Day One,” Franken said in a press release.

Republicans called this move a “publicity stunt” because Franken has not officially been seated as Senator.

Franken is up 312 votes in most current recount case between Franken and Republican Norm Coleman.

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The Star Tribune reported a Faribault, Minn., man was placed in jail Wednesday after allegedly approaching two girls in Edina, on separate occasions, and attempting to lure them in to his vehicle, authorities said.

The man, 21, approached an 8-year-old girl and then another on Tuesday and asked them to get in his vehicle and show him how to get to Concord Elementary School.

District spokesman Doug Johnson said both girls refused and went home to alert their parents.

Jeff Long, Edina deputy police chief, said the girls were walking home from school when the man approached them.

According to Kare 11, a teenage boy stopped his car after spotting one of the girls speaking with the man and an Edina mother, Erica Oberlein, followed the vehicle to get the license plate number before calling the police.

“I'm glad this teen had the foresight to stop and ask the guy what he was doing," Oberlein said. "Had he not, I would not have stopped."

The police found and arrested the suspect on suspicion of attempted kidnapping.

The man told authorities he was simply looking for directions.

"The problem we saw with that was that he claimed he talked to a couple people, including a man, but we have not had anyone step forward to say that,“ Long said.

Long said the suspect has a criminal history that includes burglary and assault.

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The Star Tribune reported that a soldier testified Tuesday that an Army sergeant chased a superior officer at base in Iraq and shot him twice.

According to witnesses, Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich sho and killed fellow soldier at their Army base near Baghdad. Staff Sgt. John Dresel was the first witness to testify in the Article 32 hearing.

Bozicevich, 39, who is from Minneapolis, is charged with killing fellow soldiers, Sgt. Wesley Durbin and Staff Sgt. Darris J. Dawson on Sept. 14.

According to Dresel, he heard gunfire and ran towards it. He then saw Bozicevich run toward Dawson, who had fallen on the ground, and shot him twice.

Dresel said he then tackled Bozicevich to the ground and with the help of at least one other soldier, held him down until he could not get up.

According to Army Times, later in the day, staff Sgt. Michael Muci testified he heard an argument between Dawson and Bozicevich.

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The Star Tribune reported that Democrat Al Franken extended his lead on Tuesday over Republican Norm Coleman in the U.S. Senate election.

After a three-judge panel counted about 350 formerly rejected absentee ballots on Tuesday morning, Franken, unofficially, added about 87 votes to the recount lead. These votes give Franken a margin of about 312 votes.

According to the Star Tribune, Franken added 198 ballots and Coleman added 111.

This result makes it likely that Franken will win the election lawsuit filed by Coleman in January that contests Franken’s 225-vote recount lead.

Coleman’s lawyer Ben Ginsberg said Coleman will appeal the case to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Ginsberg said one of the grounds for the appeal will be unequal treatment of the ballots.

According to the Pioneer Press, neither candidate contested the results and both kept a close eye on the three-judge panel.

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The Star Tribune reported a level II sex offender who moved in with his parents in Hopkins last month returned to jail, after being accused of raping a teenage boy less than two weeks later.

Timothy Cavier, 27, was arrested on March 27 and is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct of a 16-year-old boy. He is being held on $150,000 bail.

Cavier and the teenager met through an online service, according to the charges.

The boy willingly performed one type of sex on Cavier while at his residence from March 13-15. The boy refused to perform another type of sex act and Cavier, becoming angry, prompted the victim to perform that act several times over the weekend, according to charges.

According to an article on KTSP.com written before Cavier’s release, he was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl in Hopkins and indecent exposure, after he was caught performing a lewd act at a local ballpark.

Cavier moved to his parents' home in the 200 block of 12th Avenue N., in early March. Police notified the community by holding a community notification meeting before Cavier's arrival and sending out hundreds of letters to the immediate neighborhood.

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The Star Tribune reported another assault was reported on Monday near Lake Phalen.

According to Maplewood police, a woman, who had been running along the west side of the lake, was knocked to the ground by a male attacker.

The attacker struck the woman around three times in the face and began grabbing at her clothing, police said. The man fled after the woman fought back and other people approached.

Police said the victim was not seriously injured.

Police are investigating if this incident might be related to other attacks in the past months near Lake Phalen and an assault in Maplewood almost three weeks before. According to WCCO.com, this is the sixth attack near the lake since August.

Police said the suspect in the incident is described as a black male, about 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans. They also suggest being with a companion, if going around the lake.

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The Star Tribune reported a fire destroyed two townhomes and damaged at least three others on Monday in south Minneapolis.

The fire began after noon in a condominium on the 5000 block of Sheridan Ave. S., according to witnesses.

Assistant Fire Chief John Fruetel said the fire spread quickly to adjoining homes.

"With this new lightweight construction, fire can spread very fast," Fruetel said.

With Minneapolis and Richfield firefighters on the scene, the fire was under control in within an hour, Freutel said.

No one was hurt and it is not clear if anybody wan inside the units when the fire began, Freutel said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation.

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The Star Tribune reported a dolphin calf was stillborn on Thursday at the Minnesota Zoo located in Apple Valley.

Kelly Lessard, a zoo spokeswoman, said Allie, 21 , an Atlantic bottle nose dolphin, was the mother of the calf. Only 70 percent of dolphins born survive their first 30 days.

According to the Dolphin Blog on the Minnesota Zoo Web site, labor complications are suspected of being the cause of death. A necropsy, which is an animal autopsy, will be performed.

The blog entry written by Diane, a marine mammal supervisor at the zoo, stated Allie went into labor about midnight on Wednesday night. Zoo employees did an ultrasound on Allie on Tuesday, which showed the calf was in good position for delivery and had a heartbeat.

Allie came from the Dolphin Connection in Florida in January 2008. The Minnesota zoo is home to three other Atlantic bottlenose dolphins: April, 41; Semo, 45, and Spree, 6.

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The Star Tribune reported that a St. Paul substitute teacher was charged with a misdemeanor after allegedly drinking alcohol while teaching at an elementary school last month.

Fourth grade students at Roosevelt Elementary West Side School of Excellence reported to the principal on March 10 that their substitute teacher, Karl F. Gehrke, 43, was drunk and "drinking something out of a clear bottle with a gray top."

Gehrke is being charged with alcohol possession on school grounds and could face up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1000.

After he was made aware of the situation, Principal Scott Trygeseth, notified the police. Gehrke registered .19 percent on a Breathalyzer test and police found a small bottle of Phillips vodka in his bag, which was 1/3 full.

Tryggeseth told police that Gehrke was, “slurring his words, had poor balance and watery red eyes,” according to the complaint made to the police.

According to the Pioneer Press, Gehrke told police he had been drinking earlier that day.

School officials said Gehrke was fired after the incident.

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The Minnesota Daily reported the University of Minnesota will test its new outdoor emergency public address system on Monday.

The testing will occur over the university’s spring break at six locations on campus.

The tests are to help with the system design to see how far the sound from each location travels and how big the speakers need to be, Director of emergency management Terry Cook said.

The university developed a list of communication needs in case of an emergency, after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. The PA system is the last need being filled on the list, after TXT-U, emergency e-mails, Twitter and others.

The system will only be used in extreme situations such as chemical spills, shootings or natural disasters, Cook said.

The system would use a voice transmission rather than a warning siren, although it is capable of producing such a sound, Cook said.

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The Star Tribune reported that a kidnapped Elbow Lake girl drove to safety and called authorities on Sunday.

Amy Henning, 17, was kidnapped by her stepfather, David R. Sabby, 46, at gunpoint on Saturday at about 7:30 p.m in Fergus Falls. An Amber Alert was issued just after midnight on Sunday, according to Fergus Falls police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Fergus Falls Police Chief Tim Brennen said, Henning and her stepbrother, who is not Sabby’s biological son, were approached by Sabby in the parking lot of West Ridge Mall where they were going to see a movie. Sabby drew a gun, bound the stepbrother with duct tape, left him in the car he and Henning had taken to the mall and fled with Henning.

After struggling for 30 minutes, the stepbrother freed himself of the duct tape and called police.
Sabby let Henning go and allowed her to drive his vehicle. She drove to a Fergus Falls gas station and called police, Brennen said.

Sabby was arrested at his home.

Brennen said there is no obvious motivation for the kidnapping. No details were released about what occurred during the kidnapping.

According to the Pioneer Press, Henning obtained a restraining order on Sabby on Jan. 20. Sabby was charged with 14 felony counts of third-degree criminal-sexual conduct six days later, Sheriff Dwight Walvatne, of Grant County, said.

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The Star Tribune reported that a police said Tuesday that a 16-year-old Minneapolis boy was arrested after admitting to shooting two teenagers near Southdale mall in Edina.

The boy could be charged with attempted murder by the Hennepin County attorney’s office if he is certified as an adult, Mike Siitari, the Edina police chief said.

The teen was arrested late Monday at a home in Minneapolis. The teen was cooperative and showed officers where he had hid the gun and casings in a snow bank, Siitari said.

The arrest comes after two boys were shot during a clash between to rival Hispanic gangs, the Surenos 13 and Vatos Locos, Siitari said.

One gang member, 15, was shot in the leg and was not seriously injured. A second member, 18, was shot in the stomach and required surgery. Sitarii said the 18-year-old is expected to survive.

According to Kare11.com, the Southdale mall security camera system allowed investigators to watch the video and view photos to help them identify those involved and witnesses.

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The Star Tribune reported Minnesota Zoo officials announced Tuesday a rare baby three-banded armadillo was born mid-February at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.

According to Minnesota Zoo officials, the baby armadillo, weighting about 4.6 ounces, is believed to be just the third born in a U.S. zoo this year.

The baby was born Feb. 19., and has been kept behind the scenes with its mother. Its public debut is expected in the summer, Zoo officials said.

According to Fox9.com, the zoo started exhibiting the rare three –banded armadillos in 2005 as part of its “Creatures Beneath the Canopy" exhibit.

The three-banded armadillo is not nearly as common as the nine-banded armadillo, which is commonly found in Texas. The three-banded armadillo is native to Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

The three-banded armadillo is the only type of armadillo that can roll completely into a ball. It uses it shell as a defense mechanism and can close its shell at within hours after birth.

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The Star Tribune reported Tuesday that the reconstruction of Crosstown/35W took over about 20 homes in former residential areas in Richfield and Minneapolis, but one home was left crowded by the construction.

Mary VanSlooten, 65, whose home is located on 1st Avenue South in Minneapolis has not been moved, but it is directly below a concrete overpass and is now only reachable by sidewalk.

VanSlooten complained many times to the Minnesota Department of Transportation in the past year. MnDOT made promises to fix her problems, but she has decided she needs to move out of her home.

MnDOT said Monday that it wants to buy VanSlooten's house.

"It's been pure hell," VanSlooten told the Star Tribune.

VanSlooten bought her home 28 years ago and two years go, she learned of the changes her neighborhood was going to receive.

During the construction, a worker came to her door and told her the recontruction would require 10 feet of her yard. After she refused, the worker returned and said it was no longer needed.

The street in front of VanSlooten’s home was taken for a work zone and she was given instructions to park down the street.

"This is no way for someone to have to live," VanSlooten wrote to MnDOT in a letter on Feb. 5.

MnDOT sent a worker to take pictures of the property and have scheduled a meeting on Wednesday to discuss buying the property.

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The Star Tribune reported an Alzheimer’s disease study involving nuns has moved from the University of Kentucky to the University of Minnesota.

The study of 678 nuns moved back to the university, where it began in 1986, due to the retirement of UK researcher and originator of the study David Snowdon.

The mental and physical abilities of the nuns from School Sisters of Notre Dame, have been tested for over 20 years. The results are cross-referenced with education, writing samples, etc., and then correlated with brain tissue loss after the nuns die.

The nuns are perfect specimens because of their homogenous lifestyle, researchers said.

60 of the 678 nuns from the beginning of the experiment are still alive. The nuns’ ages are between 75 and 106 years old.

UK vice president for research James W. Tracy said the University of Kentucky tried to hold the brain and tissue banks, writings and archive records, but the nuns control the collection.

According to Kentucky.com news the nuns used to say, “when we die, our souls go straight to God, our brains to the University of Kentucky,” but officially in March that will change to the University of Minnesota.

The two universities are jointly holding credit until the University of Minnesota formally announces its attainment of the study in March.

Alzheimer’s research will continue at both institutions.

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The Star Tribune reported skateboarding has become part of the physical education curriculum at an elementary school in Fridley.

Hayes Elementary, which serves students from kindergarten to fourth grade, allowed third and fourth graders to ride skateboards on the gymnasium floor.

Hayes is the first school in Minnesota to have skateboarding in its curriculum.

Physical education teacher Craig Coleman said, he skateboarded as a child and wanted to add it to the class to get students excited.

"It's the big talk of the school," Coleman said. "The kids just love it."

The skateboarding unit began with instructional videos from Skate Pass, a national company designed to provide schools with the necessary equipment and provide teachers knowledge to teach skateboarding in their classes. Skate Pass also provided all of the equipment.

After working on the program for around a year, Hayes Principal John Piotraschke and Coleman were able to fund the $5,000 program with a from a donation by a community health council non-profit group tied to Unity and Mercy hospitals in Anoka County.

Hayes has 30 skateboards and helmets, knee pads, wrist pads and elbow pads. If all goes well with the third and fourth graders, skateboarding may be taught to younger grades in the future.

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The Star Tribune reported Monday that an Eagan principal may be fired after having a kindergartner clear out a clogged toilet bowl with no gloves.

According to Roger Aronson, the attorney of Rahn Elementary School Principal Doug Steele, the toilet bowl had only water and paper towels in it. The 6-year-old boy was asked to place the paper towels in a wastebasket.

Steele asked for a hearing Friday, which he is entitled to, Aronson said.

Steele was put on paid leave in December after the boy's parents made a complaint.

The Burnsville-Eagan-Savage school board voted early February to move forward with disciplinary actions. According to Aronson, Steele has been told he may lose his job.

Elijah and Shannon Hannah, the parents of the boy, told the Star Tribune, the boy told them he was made to remove paper towels he had used to wipe himself from a single-occupancy restroom in his classroom.

The paper towels had clogged the toilet. After his teacher had found out she called the principal, the parents said.

According to Steele, there was only paper towels and water in the toilet, Aronson said.

"It wasn't some gross form of punishment," Aronson said.

The Pioneer Press , reported that according to Ruth Dunn, district spokeswoman, Elaine Mehdizadeh took over Dec. 16 and Mehdizadeh has been teaching in the district for nearly 20 years.

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The Star Tribune reported that on Tuesday 118 cats were removed from a couple's mobile home in St. Anthony.

15 masked workers and police officers removed the cats from the home in the Lowry Grove Mobile Home Park. The process took about three hours.

Keith Streff, senior investigator of the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley told reporters another dozen or so cats were hiding in mounds of debris, consisting mostly of dolls, and will have to be live-trapped.

Three cats were left with the couple, city ordinance limit, and one cat escaped.

In 2002, Humane Society workers removed 72 cats from the couples prior residence in Coon Rapids, Streff said.

The woman has the traits of a obsessive-compulsive animal hoarder and will be given a mental health evaluation, Streff said.

Police identified the couple as Cheryl and Stanley Salidas.

A strong scent of urine prompted a "concerned citizen" to call police on Monday.

The cats seemed to be in fair shape and no dead cats were found, said Streff.

According Kare11.com, Streff told reporters in addition to cats, the couple had hundreds of dolls in the home, including some stored in the refrigerator.

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The Star Tribune reported that two of Minnesota's schools have been ranked in the top 100 by an objective website.

State University.com, ranked Macalester College in St. Paul, 79th and St. Olaf of Northfield 97th out of 2,000 schools nation-wide.

According to StateUniversity.com, the rankings are "100 percent objective." They are based on statistics and governmental scores.

StateUniversity.com states the most influential statistics are the schools ACT/SAT scores, student retention, faculty salary, and student / faculty ratio.

From these and other statistics a school is given a score between 0 and 100, the best score being 100.

Macalester College was ranked high for its student-to-faculty ratio of 12 to 1. Macalester also wants "to educate thoughtful and responsible global citizens by integrating the traditional values of an academically excellent small liberal arts college with an emphasis on internationalism and civic engagement."

St. Olaf ranked high for its academic support services and offers a 15-1 student-to-faculty ratio.

The University of Minnesota- Twin Cities ranked 193rd on the list, but it ranked 96th in the top 500 ranked universities for highest SAT scores.

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According to the Star Tribune, a teenager from Coon Rapids died Friday after he was thrown from a car which collided with a tree.

A passenger, Esteban "Steve" Sisco, 16,was ejected from the 2008 Ford Mustang and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, Dietrich Moren, 20, lost control of the car, drove over the median and collided with a tree reported the Pioneer Press.

Moren was treated for minor injuries and officials said alcohol was not a factor, but a State Patrol investigation is pending, Anoka County sheriff's office Detective Patrick Nelson said.

Moren was driving north on Hanson Blvd. NW. near 110th Lane NW. The collision with the tree occurred at 7:38 p.m.

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The Star Tribune reported that a chilling pipe burst in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building at the University of Minnesota on Friday causing an estimated $1 million in damages.

The pipe burst early Friday morning and flooded five floors of the building. The Minnesota Daily spoke with Building and Grounds employee Randy Gillard, who stated the northeast corner of the fourth and fifth floors were covered with two inches of water and up to one inch on the first through third floors.

University of Minnesota spokesman Dan Wolter told the Minnesota Daily that because it was a chilling pipe, the water was filled with chemicals. According to Wolter, it has be determined the chemicals are safe to put in the sewer system.

Wolter said this was the second pipe break the university has had this winter. A pipe in the Bell Museum of Natural History burst over the university's winter break.

Classes were relocated on Friday and Saturday due to the damage.

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The Star Tribune reported a Colorado man threatened to blow up the Mall of America and assassinate President Barack Obama.

Timothy Ryan Gutierrez, 20, sent an e-mail to the FBI eight days before the inauguration of President Obama. According the indictment the e-mail said, "I'm going to assassinate the new president of the United States of America. PS you have 48 hours to stop it from happening."

Another e-mail stated, "I have rigged 40 pounds of C4... and my favorite TNT to 7 cars outside the Mall of America." C4 is a moldable plastic explosive.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Gutierrez and he faces one count of transmission of threats and one count of a false threat of use of explosives.

Maureen Bausch, executive vice president of business development, told the Star Tribune, mall officials were notified immediately by the FBI and the Bloomington Police department.

Bausch also said the threat was declared not valid after 16 to 18 hours. After officials searched the mall, nothing suspicious was found.

The Pioneer Press reported that according to Cortez, Colo. Police Chief Roy Lane, on Jan. 12, the day the e-mails were sent, FBI agents spoke to Gutierrez at his apartment.

The FBI could make no comment on why Gutierrez was not arrested then.

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After murdering his former girlfriend in his apartment on Sunday, a man set fire to the apartment building in Burnsville, Minn., and died due to smoke inhalation, reported the Star Tribune.

The man, Adam K. Williams, 23, is thought to have murdered his former girlfriend, Brittany Givens-Copeland, 24, and then to have started the flame. Investigators labeled the case a murder-suicide on Tuesday.

Burnsville police said it was obvious Givens-Copeland was murdered before the fire. Autopsies, performed at the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Hastings, revealed she had died due to Asphyxiation, which can mean any form of airway blockage, according to Dr. Lindsey Thomas, chief medical examiner at the facility. (Star Tribune)

Close friends of Givens-Copeland revealed that she was going to end her relationship with Williams, due to a pregnancy with a former boyfriend, Anthony Darst.

Darst and Givens-Copeland had dated early 2006, but ended their relationship in February, when Darst moved to California. Givens-Copeland discovered she was pregnant three months later.

Givens-Copeland had decided to try to reconcile her relationship with Darst, and thus, planned to end her relationship with Williams.

"She wanted to tell him she was going to work it out with me. She said she wanted to talk to him in person; she didn't want to tell him over the phone," said Darst.

Pioneer Press reported that two firefighters received minor burns from the fire and were treated at the scene. Both went back to work.

No others were harmed in the fire, but, according to spokeswoman Courtney Johnson, seven adults and four children are being housed by the Red Cross until they can return to their homes, which are currently uninhabitable.

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