Reece Lamppa's News Blog

Computer Assisted Reporting

2010-04-25T18:08:26Z

The story I took a look at is one about safety practices used in coal mines around the country.
The story exposes the lack of compliance to law and safety procedures by those in the profession.
The reporters would have had to get records about accidents at coal mines around the nation.
They would also have had to interview those who are currently employed as a miner or someone who used to be a coal miner to find out how they were trained and if the safety procedures are enforced.

Woman shot dead, husband wounded in St. Paul home

2010-04-25T18:07:24Z

A woman was shot to death in a St. Paul home and her husband was shot and seriously wounded Sunday morning, police said.
The gunfire occurred at a residence in the 1700 block of Minnehaha Avenue, killing a 25-year-old woman and leaving her 27-year-old husband in Regions Hospital with a leg wound, according to the Star Tribune.
No arrests have been made, there are no details about who may have fired the shots and the circumstances that led to the shooting, according to the Pioneer Press.
Only the husband and wife were in the home at the time.

South Korea cites torpedo attack in ship sinking

2010-04-25T18:04:51Z

An explosion at close range, and not a direct hit, caused the South Korean patrol ship Cheonan to sink last month, a team of South Korean military and civilian investigators has tentatively concluded.
Instead of being directly hit by a torpedo or other underwater weapon, the Cheonan was affected by a strong explosion that occurred below its bottom at a close range, according to the New York Times.
On Saturday, recovery crews found the body of a missing sailor in the wreckage of the ship, according to CNN.
Forty of Cheonan's 104 crew members have now been confirmed dead, and six more are also believed dead, though they are still listed as missing.

10 killed as tornado rips through Mississippi

2010-04-25T18:01:17Z

Tornadoes tore through four states in the south on Saturday, killing 10 people and injuring others.
One of the hardest hit areas was Mississippi's Yazoo County, where Gov. Haley Barbour grew up, according to Fox News.
More than 15 other counties in Mississippi also had damage, according to the New York Times.
Three children were among the dead, and 21 people were taken to hospitals.

6 dead in head-on crash west of Cambridge

2010-04-25T18:00:27Z

Two vehicles crashed head-on early Sunday west of Cambridge, killing four young people in a car and two occupants in an SUV, the State Patrol said.
The car's driver, a 16-year-old girl from Isanti who just recently got her license, was hospitalized in serious condition at Hennepin County Medical Center, according to the Star Tribune.
An "odor of alcohol" coming from the teenager's car was detected by authorities, according to the Pioneer Press.
10 people were killed since Friday in accidents involving teen drivers.

Kelliher wins party nod as Rybak concedes

2010-04-25T17:58:40Z

In a night of high emotion, House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher won a fierce DFL endorsement contest on Saturday, moving one step closer to becoming Minnesota's first female governor.
In a long day of battling over delegates, Kelliher was victorious over rival Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, according to the Star Tribune.
She now moves on to what will be an even more fierce primary against three other DFLers, as the party tries to win back the governor's office for the first time in 20 years, according to the Pioneer Press.
Mayor Rybak later took the stage to endorse Kelliher, saying that the party cannot be divided any longer.

3 Italian aid workers freed in Afghanistan

2010-04-19T03:54:32Z

Afghan authorities released three Italian medical workers who had been detained for a week.
The aid workers were released Sunday after they were found not to be involved in a plot to kill a provincial governor, according to Fox News.
The nine Emergency employees were taken into custody April 10 after Afghan and British forces found explosives and handguns in an Emergency hospital in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, according to CNN.
Marco Garatti, a surgeon with the group, said that they were well treated while in custody.

Chicago priest apologizes for saying women should join clergy, priests should be allowed wives

2010-04-19T03:52:50Z

A Catholic priest in Chicago who made headlines when he mocked Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign is apologizing for a sermon in which he said priests should be allowed to marry and women should be allowed to become priests.
In a statement posted Wednesday on the Archdiocese of Chicago's Web site, the Rev. Michael Pfleger says he was expressing his personal opinion, but that he respects and follows the teachings of the church, according to Fox News.
Pflegr is a popular pastor of a church on the city's southside, according to MSNBC.
He is a longtime activist who has protested everything from the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Washington's handgun ban to Jerry Springer's television show.

Polish President and wife laid to rest

2010-04-19T03:51:38Z

Poland's first couple was laid to rest Sunday, marking the end of a long journey of grief for the European nation.
The bodies of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were taken along the historic "royal route" from St. Mary's Basilica to Wawel Castle after the funeral Mass, according to CNN.
Tens of thousands of Poles lined the streets and tossed flowers, saying goodbye to their president, according to Fox News.
Other world leaders including President Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were forced to cancel plans to attend.

1 dead in crash near Isanti

2010-04-19T03:50:11Z

One person was killed in a fiery, high-speed car crash along Hwy. 65 near Isanti just before noon Sunday.
After a series of reckless driving maneuvers, a 1997 Toyota Avalon hit a tree and burst into flames, according to the Star Tribune.
It will take more time than usual to identify the body because of the burned remains, according to the Pioneer Press.
The Toyota Avalon was not part of the recent Toyota recalls.

Klobuchar meets with families adopting from Russia

2010-04-19T03:48:31Z

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar met with Minnesota families on Sunday who are concerned about their pending adoptions from Russia.
Russian officials announced last week that all adoptions will be suspended with the United States, according to the Star Tribune.
That happened after a Tennessee woman sent her 7-year-old son back to Russia with a note claiming he was mentally ill, according to the Pioneer Press.
Klobuchar says that she is working with families, providing updates and helping them complete their adoptions.

Cultural

2010-04-11T23:25:05Z

The group which I have looked at is Somali.

The story goes beyond stereotypes and goes into more detail into their life and their everyday struggles.

The story has made me see that everyone is in the same boat in our world and in our economy.

Everyone is trying to make it in this recession, and many people from every different kind of ethnicity are having trouble keeping afloat financially.

The Somali article was about a small business run by a Somali family and how they are struggling to make ends meet.

Woman, 42, rescued from Hugo pond dies

2010-04-11T23:24:08Z

A Lino Lakes woman who was rescued Saturday from an SUV that had plunged into a Washington County pond died later in the day at a hospital.
Sheriff's deputies were called at 1:36 p.m. to Oneka Parkway and Frenchman Road in Hugo, where they found the vehicle underwater, according to the Star Tribune.
The Washington County dive team was called in, and rescue workers were able to pull Debbie Joy Porterfield, 42, from the 2000 Ford Explorer, according to the Pioneer Press.
Porterfield was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where she died.

President's body returns home to Poland

2010-04-11T23:22:59Z

The body of President Lech Kaczynski was returned to Poland on Sunday, after a tragic plane crash took his life.
The plane carrying Kaczynski's body arrived from the airport in Smolensk, Russia, where he and 95 others had been heading Saturday to a memorial service, according to The New York Times.
Thousands of people stood silent in the streets to mourn Kaczynski and the dozens of political, military and religious leaders killed in the plane crash, according to Fox News.
No date for a funeral has been set.

1 killed, many hurt in shooting at Oklahoma mall

2010-04-11T23:21:01Z

Gunfire broke out in a crowded mall Saturday, leaving a teenager dead and several injured, police said.
Five people were taken to the hospital after authorities cordoned off the Arrowhead Mall in downtown Muskogee, according to MSNBC.
It was unclear whether the person killed, 17-year-old Jarrod Reed of Muskogee, was among several people involved in the shooting or a bystander, according to The New York Times.
Details about the other victims, including their conditions, haven't been released.