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A University of St. Thomas sophomore was killed Saturday in an unexpected house fire.
Michael Adam Larson, 20, of Woodbury died in a 3 a.m. fire on the 1700 block of Selby Ave., where he lived with three house mates.

The Star Tribune reported that the three others in the house were his girlfriend and two house mates. They suffered smoke inhalation and minor injuries and were taken to Regions Hospital, said St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard.

The third fire fatality to hit St. Paul sustained fire, heat and smoke damage estimated at $120,000 to the building and $40,000 to the contents.

A prayer service was held Saturday night on campus reported The Pioneer Press.

With a gusty storm Saturday night accumulating snow on the Metrodome's roof, the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission recommended the Vikings-New York Giants NFL game be moved to Monday night.

The postponed game will air at 7 p.m. on KSMP, Channel 9 by Fox's affiliate in Rochester, Minn.; and in New York reported The Pioneer Press.

Seven workers have been blasting hot water with fire hoses to melt the snow.
"I would say so far in my career this is probably at the top as weirdest thing that has happened," Vikings defensive end Brian Robison said.

The Star Tribune reported that not only does this ensure everyone's safety, but it gives Vikings quarterback Brett Favre more than 31 hours to nurse his sprained sternoclavicular joint.

Kiara Buford, a junior guard on the women's basketball team, was named Gophers go-to player on Thursday.

A career-high 27 points for Buford helped beat Virginia Tech 63-58 at Williams Arena in the AAC/Big Ten Challenge. With Buford's most crucial points at 14.3 seconds left reported The Star Tribune.

"I got a little excited in the beginning because I felt I was open," said Buford. "When we move the ball around and, if I keep my dribble, then I can find seams."

As the Hokies opened the second half with a 5-0 run, Buford and China Antoine hit back-to-back threes for a 36-31 advantage reported The Pioneer Press.

The Gophers (5-3) will play against third-ranked Baylor for Sunday's Big Ten/Big XII Challenge game.

The repeated quote of "I'm done. I'm done," said by Brett Favre this Wednesday is still leaving fans and reporters on edge.

He also said those words when he retired during the 2007 and '08 seasons.

Favre holds every major passing record in NFL history. Yet, on his path to finishing his 20th season, he has already thrown 25 interceptions and 15 touchdowns --- his 71.0 passer rating is 30th out of the 33 quarterbacks that are listed reported The Star Tribune.

"I don't feel like I did when I was 25. I don't feel a whole lot different from last year, but every year, as you could imagine, gets tougher and tougher. Recovery time is a lot longer. At some point you've got to give your body a break."

The Pioneer Press reported that Favre said he has no interest in coaching in the nor did he sound interested in becoming a sports analyst.

The federal lawsuit on behalf of Koua Fong Lee and his family against Toyota Motor Corp. was filed in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Monday.

Bob Hilliard, an attorney from Corpus Christi, Texas would not speculate what he might ask a jury to award, reported The Star Tribune.

Lee said that Toyota knew its product had defects because the company had received previous complaints about various models, but the company failed to correct problems.

In a statement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the company "knowingly hid" safety problems from regulators.

The Pioneer Press reported that Toyota was negligent, committed fraud and was responsible for the infliction of emotional distress onto the Lee family.

After the filtering of 148 candidates and a one-hour public interview, the Board of Regents chose Eric Kaler as the University of Minnesota's 16th President on Thursday.

The provost of Stony Brook University in New York accepted the job from Board Chairman Clyde Allen with a four-year contract with a base salary of $610,000 annually, and $50,000 in retirement payments in his second, third and fourth years reported The
Wall Street Journal.

"We need a charismatic, dynamic leader," Martin Chorzempa, student representative to the Board of Regents, said.

The 54-year-old received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the U in 1982.

The Minnesota Daily reported that he was one of the top honors in the National Academy of Engineers.

A meeting between former New York Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger and Brett Favre happened on Thursday afternoon in Manhattan.

When allegations first came out, the Pioneer Press reported that Sterger would not speak to Favre unless they had reached a financial settlement, but Sterger's lawyer, Joseph Conway confirmed the meeting.

Sterger and her attorney, Conway as well as manager, Phil Reese met with NFL security chief Milt Ahlerich.

The Star Tribune reported that the NFL had been investigating the case for several weeks, of which Favre admitted to Ahlerich that he left Sterger messages but denied sending vulgar photos.

A St. Paul man was charged with first-degree assault on Wednesday after police said he stabbed another man with an ice scraper, which caused the victim's eye to fall out.

Justin L. Mulligan, 28, was charged with first-degree felony assault after an officer heard shouting during the routine patrol of 1225 Westminster St. in St. Paul.

The officer reported that he saw Mulligan smash out the driver's-side window with a nearly 3-foot-long ice scraper and began striking the man inside reported the Pioneer Press.

The victim was "bleeding profusely from his eye with the mangled remains of his eyeball hanging from his socket," The Star Tribune reported.
The victim was taken to Regions Hospital.

An unlikely candidate won the election over incumbent Bob Fletcher on Tuesday, but claims he never envisioned following his father's footsteps as a St. Paul police officer or running for political office.

Ramsey County Sheriff-elect Matt Bostrom was only 7 when his father ran for the Minnesota Legislature while he helped Dan Bostrom go door-to-door campaigning on St. Paul's East Side reported the Pioneer Press.

Yet, after rising in the St. Paul Police Department to assistant chief and now achieving the position of Ramsey County Sheriff-elect, Bostrom thinks much differently.

Although Bostrom's position does not start until Jan. 3, The Star Tribune reported that his "up-and-at-'em" attitude is what got Bostrom his 57 percent victory over Fletcher.

Less water equals higher water bills? St. Paul Regional Water Services have proposed a 5.5% rate increase for next year.

With the proposed increase and planned conservation around the Twin Cities, the average family will pay nearly $10.56 reported the Pioneer Press.

The St. Paul Regional Water Services has brought the increase to provide conservation around the Twin Cities area by also replacing all 94,000 commercial and residential water meters in the city and the eight surrounding suburbs reported The Star Tribune.

The push for conservation has support from the community, the increase in bills is not.

"We just want everyone to understand that we're not expanding our customer base like a power company. We have costs, and we have to meet them." Executive water Director Steve Schneider said.

Minneapolis officials say that for those who use 5 percent less water next year will not see their bills go up a dime, but many argue that those who live in the city will have a harder time to conserve water.

The St. Paul City Council is set to hold a public hearing Wednesday.