Brice's Blog

I have a problem with the way some unfortunate alcohol-related deaths have been addressed in the law lately. I have two cases that have made news in the last week that have gotten me a little irritated. The first of which involves the case of Amanda Jax, who died last year celebrating her 21st birthday at bars in Mankato. Jax was found to have had a blood-alcohol level more than 6 times the legal limit to operate a vehicle when she was found the next morning. In the past week, the bar that Jax was at that night and served her the alcohol had it's liquor liscense taken away (link). The second case involves Sean Humphrey,19, a Chaska boy who froze to death last winter attempting to walk home from a party when he was heavily intoxicated (link). In this case, the man who bought the alcohol for the party has been sentenced to 90 days in jail. I will start with this case first. In a statement released by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Wentzell, he said, "If they don't have access to the alcohol then this isn't going to happen." Blame in this case has been very misplaced I feel. I don't know what high school and early college years were like for this person, but for me and everyone else I know, that statement doesn't ring true. If one person declines to buy alcohol for minors, which Wentzell is saying that man should have done, Humphrey and the others would have had a long list of others that would have. When I was in high school, our class had mutliple people we could go to. Some people in our class dated girls and guys that were 21 that we could go to, some had friends or siblings that were over 21, and some had parents that were willing to do it. The bottom line is, one guy telling those kids "no" does not solve the problem, it only delays the time it takes for the kids to get the alcohol buy a few more minutes. To me, it comes down to the individual making the right choices for himself. Humphrey did not have to walk home, he made that decision himself. He did not have to drink as much as he did, he made that decision also. Don't get me wrong, I think what happened to him is very, very sad and I all the sympathy in the world for the friends and family, but I won't believe for one second that if that man had not bought the alcohol, no one else would have and the kids would have never gotten to drink that night. I think anyone who does think that way is really missing the big picture. Punishing that man is a lot like putting a bandaid on a broken leg, it just doesn't solve to problem completely, sorry. In the second case, Jax's family has sued the bar for their daughter's death, saying they should have cut her off. Again, the decision to drink and order those drinks falls on the individual. She didn't have to keep drinking. And how is the bartender supposed to keep track of how many drinks she has? Speaking for someone who has been at that bar, its pretty crowded. It's next to impossible to keep and exact number of drinks pinned to one person. So I'm not gonna sit around and let people try and convince me that the bartender is responsible for the death in some way. I think as a person, you reach a point in your life were you need to take responsibility for your own actions, and stop placing the blame on others. Once you reach a certain age, you can't rely on someone else to change your diapers forever. Eventually, you gotten make your own dinner, do your own laundry. Once again, not that the situation is not extremely sad. It always is when a young person dies from drinking. As a college-aged person, hearing about it always puts a different perspective on life. I'm just sick of hearing the wrong people getting blamed for other people's mistakes.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A department store in Eden Prairie closed two hours early Saturday night after a threatening phone call was made to the store, according to store spokesman.

According to the Associated Press, the call was made around 7 p.m. Saturday at the Von Maur store and customers were asked to leave immediately following the call.

According to KARE11, the decision to close early was entirely the stores decision after said that no one was ever in any real danger.

According to the Associated Press, Eden Prairie police called the incident a “suspicious incident.�

The threatening call came just three days after nine people were killed in a shooting at an Omaha, Nebraska Von Maur.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A TCF Bank in Roseville and a TCF Bank in Maplewood were robbed within a span of minutes Monday, according to the Minneapolis office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reports WCCO.

The robberies were both done by different suspects. They are believed to be connected though, according to WCCO, and were done in similar methods.

According to KARE11, both robberies were done by a person approaching the teller and handing a threatening note demanding money.

The robber at the Roseville location is described as a black woman, with a dark complexion and round face. She was also described as to be in her mid to late 20s, about 5'0 to 5'2" tall, with a heavy-set build.

According to WCCO, the suspects are believed also to be connected to previous bank robberies in November.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Chanhassen teenager was killed Saturday when the van carrying him and seven other members of the Purdue ice hockey club team rolled on an ice-covered highway in Indiana.

Andrew Jackson, 18, of Chanhassen, was a freshman studying engineering at Purdue.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the seven other students were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital and released Sunday.

According to the Associated Press, the 20-member team was traveling in three separate vehicles. The other two vans reportedly did not see the accident.

The team was traveling to Danville, Ill., when the van crashed about 20 miles west of West Lafayette, Ind., according to the Associated Press.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is investigating the crash.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minneapolis and St. Paul have both declared snow emergencies, which will go into effect starting Sunday evening, following Saturday’s snow storm.

Roads in Minneapolis will start being plowed Sunday at 9 p.m. St. Paul will plow night routes starting at 9 p.m. Sunday, and will plow day routes beginning 8 a.m. Monday.

Cars parked on the streets during those times will be towed, according to the Star Tribune.

According to the Star Tribune, the storm dumped as much as eight inches of snow throughout areas of the state close to the Twin Cities.

The National Weather Service in Duluth reported that the town of Grand Marais received 20 inches of snow, according to WCCO.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 2:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A student enrolled at Hennepin Technical College has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, school officials said Sunday, according to WCCO.

According to WCCO, a letter that was mailed out to students and staff by the school’s Brooklyn Park campus said that a student enrolled at that campus had been infected with an "active, infectious, pulmonary Tuberculosis disease."

Health officials are looking at students and faculty at the campus that may have been exposed to the disease, according to the Associated Press.

According to WCCO, school administrators were working to make a list of anyone who may have come in contact with person diagnosed with the disease.

TB, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a life-threatening infection that primarily affects your lungs.

The student has since withdrawn from the college.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One woman was killed and another seriously injured when the two were struck by a car in Mankato early Sunday morning.

According to the Star Tribune, the accident happened around 12:47 a.m. Sunday when the two woman, believed to be in their early 20s, were walking north on 3rd Avenue after leaving a nearby sorority gathering.

The identities of the two woman have not been released by police.

According to WCCO, the two woman, were taken to St. Joseph's at the Mayo Clinic, where one was pronounced dead and the other underwent surgery.

The driver of the vehicle has also not been identified by police, but is a 17-year-old resident of Mankato.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson sprained his right knee during Minnesota’s 34-0 loss at Green Bay Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

Peterson took a low hit on the knee from Green Bay cornerback Al Harris then flipped forward through the air and lay on the ground for a few minutes.

"I didn't know what to expect," Peterson said, according to the Associated Press. "I was just in pain for a minute there and it slowly went away."

Peterson will have an MRI on his right knee Monday.

According to WCCO, Peterson was able to jog back and forth down the sidelines near the end of the game, but never returned to the game.

“There was no point,� said Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Four commissioners from Hennepin County who voted for a tax on the new Minnesota Twins stadium have received about five threatening letters each over the past year, authorities said.

Two of the letters read "What do you do with someone who steals tax dollars?" and “Judgment Day is coming,� said commissioner Mark Stenglein who is one of the four to have received the letters.

"It's creepy when they send it to your house," Stenglein said, according to the Star Tribune.

The four who received the letters are Stenglein, Mike Opat, Peter McLaughlin and Randy Johnson.

The three commissioners who voted against the tax have not received any threats, according to KARE 11.

Robbinsdale Police Chief Wayne Shellum said he is looking for two men who robbed commissioner Opat Tuesday night outside his home. Opat was robbed at gunpoint and had his wallet and Jeep stolen.

"It's been a long week," Opat said, according to the Star Tribune. "This week my job looks a lot less attractive than last week."

Posted by Brice Lehner at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson ended the Vikings 35-17 win over the San Diego Chargers Sunday by breaking the NFL’s single-game rushing record.

According to the Associated Press, Peterson rushed for 296 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, breaking the record previously held by Jamal Lewis of the Cleveland Browns, who rushed for 295 yards against his current team in 2003.

"I wasn't thinking about the record at all,� Peterson said.

The Vikings also rushed for a franchise-record 378 yards as a team, according to the Star Tribune.

"I do have a healthy respect for being able to run it and taking somebody's will from them,� Vikings head coach Brad Childress said, according to the Star Tribune.

Earlier in the game, San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie returned a missed Ryan Longwell field goal 109 yards for a touchdown to end the first half. Cromartie’s return became the longest play in NFL history.

Minnesota moved its record to 3-5 on the record-setting day, and the Chargers fell to 4-4.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A young woman died early Tuesday morning after a night of drinking to celebrate turning 21.

Amanda Jax, of Mayer, Minnesota, was found dead in an apartment complex off-campus in Mankato Tuesday morning. She was a former nursing student at Minnesota State University and drove in from out of town to celebrate her birthday, according to KSTP.

According to police, she was taken to the apartment after becoming very intoxicated and was found by her friends unresponsive Tuesday morning.

"It appears that alcohol played a significant role in Jax's death," according to the police news release.

Autopsy results are still unavailable at this time.

"She was at the top of our class in high school, extremely smart, just accepted into nursing program, always there for her friends," Erin Salonek, a friend of Jax’s, said.

According to the Star Tribune, Jax had been previously convicted twice for drunken driving in 2005 and 2006.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two students at the University of North Dakota were killed when their plane disappeared on Tuesday night en route to Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The plane was found late Wednesday night, according to KARE 11, near Browerville, Minnesota.

The pilot was Annette Klosterman, 22, from Seattle. She was a flight instructor at UND. The other victim was Adam Ostapenko, 20, from Duluth, Minn. He was a junior aviation student at UND.

"They're both exceptional individuals so we're really feeling that loss," said UND spokesperson Peter Johnson, according to KARE 11.

The plane left St. Paul around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, and disappeared about halfway through the trip.

The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash, which is not known at this time.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A Monticello man died Saturday at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester after contracting rabies from a bat, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Randy Hertwig, 46, was bitten by the bat in mid-August, and did not immediately receive medical help because he never believed he had been bitten, the Minnesota Department of Health said.

"That is one of the big problems with bats, that you can be bitten and not know it," said Joni Sheftel, a veterinarian with the Minnesota Department of Health, according to the Star Tribune.

According to the Star Tribune, the rabies virus is almost always fatal once symptoms begin.

According to WCCO, treatment for rabies is usually lasts a month, consisting of a series of six shots.

Hertwig is only the fifth to die from rabies in the past 100 years, and the second since 1975.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A man is fatally stabbed early Sunday morning in a south Minneapolis alley.

According to reports, around 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning, police where called to the scene at Chicago Avenue and East 35th Street.

The name of the victim has not been released by Minneapolis Police.

According to WCCO, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

A neighbor at the scene said a woman pounded on her door around the time of the stabbing saying her friend had been stabbed. The neighbor’s husband then alerted police, according to KSTP. According to FOX9, the body was discovered by a person riding a bike.

Police are still searching for suspects.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minnesota lost 27-21 Saturday to Division 1-AA North Dakota State in front of a crowd of more than 63,000 at the Metrodome. The result keeps the Bison undefeated at 7-0 and dropped the Gophers record to 1-7, officially eliminating them from bowl contention.

NDSU’s Tyler Roehl rushed for a school-record 263 yards on the Gophers.

“We just weren’t good enough,� Gophers head coach Tim Brewster said following the loss, according to the Star Tribune.

The Bison made up for a 10-9 defeat one year ago at the Metrodome, a game dominated statistically by NDSU.

NDSU did the same this year, piling up more than 270 more offensive yards than Minnesota.

“I think this is probably the worst of our losses, just morale-wise," Gophers quarterback Adam Weber said, according to the Associated Press.

Minnesota will visit Michigan (5-2) next weekend.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Six cases of salmonella poisoning were reported in September in Minnesota as a result of eating Banquet chicken and turkey pot pies, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Health officials have warned people not to eat the pot pies.

The pot pies in question, which are sold in the frozen sections of grocery stores, have a code number that begins with the number 5009, according to KSTP. Officials have said to ignore the “best by� dates on the boxes in these cases.

135 cases of salmonella have been reported nationally since June, but the six Minnesota cases all occurred in September, according to WCCO.

Diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps and vomiting are some of the prominent symptoms of salmonella poisoning, according to WCCO.

ConAgra foods, the manufacturer of the pot pies, voluntarily stopped their production of the pot pies Tuesday at their Missouri plant.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new design for the collapsed section of the 35W bridge was unveiled Monday. The new bridge will have a strong emphasis on safety, according to renderings released to the public by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the construction companies in charge of the project.

Some of the safety features included in the new design include sensors built into the structure of the bridge to help monitor stability and integrity, numerous backup systems that the previous bridge lacked. The bridge will also be built with highly durable concrete, according to the renderings, reports the Associated Press.

Flatiron and Manson Constructors are the companies assigned the $233.8 million project. Current plans are for construction to begin Nov. 1 and completed by Christmas Eve 2008, according to the contract. The companies can earn a bonus for early completion also, in the multimillion dollar range, according to the Associated Press.

According to the Star Tribune, the new bridge will be 10 lanes wide, and will be supported by pillars based on the river banks of the Mississippi. The design also allows for a pedestrian walkway.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 14-year-old St. Paul girl pleaded guilty Wednesday to distributing crystal methamphetamines to classmates during lunch.

The incident occurred Tuesday at Hazel Park Middle School Academy when the girl passed out the drug during lunch to six other students. The seven total students where later taken to local hospitals after becoming sick during the school day.

The girl pleaded guilty to a felony second-degree sale of a controlled substance in a school zone. She will remain in custody until October 10th, which is her next scheduled day in court, according to the Star Tribune.

The girl told school authorities that she “found� the drug, according to the Associated Press.

Police also found two grams of crystal meth at the girl’s house Wednesday morning in a search of the property, according to the Pioneer Press.

According to the Star Tribune, the students ingested the drug by eating it. The “crystal� form of the drug is normally intended to be smoked.

No additional arrests have yet been made.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Recording Industry Association of America began their lawsuit in Duluth against a Brainerd girl Tuesday, alleging her of illegally sharing music files over the internet.

Jammie Thomas is being held responsible for illegally downloading and distributing about 1,700 songs from the website KaZaA, according to the Star Tribune. The recording industry is not pursuing damages for the songs downloaded, but are going after about $150,000 for copyright infringement.

Thomas is the first of more than 26,000 people to take a lawsuit for illegal downloading to trial rather than settling out of court, reports the Star Tribune.

“It kills the company,� Jennifer L. Pariser of Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Artist Records said, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

According to the Duluth News Tribune, Thomas denies downloading any of the songs, and says that the music she listens to is from he CD’s. According to the Star Tribune, Thomas’s lawyer says that anyone could have stolen her computer internet IP address and done it from another computer, and that there is no evidence that Thomas did in fact download the songs herself.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit against Sprint Nextel Corp. Thursday alleging the company of deceiving customers.

The lawsuit claims that Sprint Nextel Corp. renewed the contracts of their customers without consent of those customers, according to Swanson. According to the Associated Press, those customers where then told they would have to pay an expensive cancellation fee on contracts that were supposed to be expired, reports WCCO.

Swanson is seeking penalties of up to $25,000 per incident for those involved in the situation, according to FOX9.

"The company has used hidden trip wires to trap unwary consumers into lengthy contracts simply because they made small changes in their plan," Swanson said.

Sprint Nextel Corp. issued a response, according to KSTP, saying, “It is Sprint Nextel’s policy to go over the contract with the customer so that they understand all aspects of it before agreed to or before the customer-initiated changes are made to the account.�

Posted by Brice Lehner at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Two men were arrested early Tuesday morning near an apartment complex in Minneapolis after a shot was fired at an officer.

The shot was fired around 1 a.m. at the 2400 block of Ogema Place when Minneapolis police officers were approached by a nearby resident with a complaint of two people drinking alcohol in a SUV behind the building, according to Minneapolis Police, reports WCCO.

According to FOX9, when one officer approached the vehicle, the shot was fired and the vehicle sped off. The SUV then crashed into a courtyard of the building and the two passengers fled the scene on foot.

The officers chased the suspects and arrested Vincent Rosendo Macedonio, 23, and Jerome Lee Barney, 25, after receiving additional help from K-9 units, according to WCCO.

Both suspects are being held at Hennepin County Jail facing charges of second degree assault and weapons charges, according to WCCO.

A loaded shotgun was later found in the SUV and a semi-automatic handgun was found at the scene where the vehicle was parked at the time the officers approached the vehicle, according to FOX9.

No injuries were reported from the incident.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A man staying at an Embassy Suites Hotel in St. Paul ripped the head off a duck in the hotel lobby early Saturday Morning, according to police reports.

Scott Clark, 26, corned the duck in the lobby, and then, telling onlookers, "I'm hungry. I'm gonna eat it," removed the head of the duck from its body, according to St. Paul police Sgt. John Wuorinen, reports the Pioneer Press.

Clark, who was staying at the hotel on a business trip, is from Denver, Colorado. According to WCCO, he will remain in jail until Monday when he will appear in court on suspicion of felony animal cruelty.

Clark faces a possible fine of $5,000 and the possiblity of spending two years in jail, according to KSTP.

The use of ducks in the lobby at Embassy Suites was questioned by Tim Shields, general counsel with the Minnesota Federated Humane Societies. "I think Embassy Suites needs to take another look at this and review how they keep ducks safe, or use fish like most hotels would use," Shields said, according to WCCO.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Star Tribune publisher Par Ridder was forced to step down from his position after judge’s ruling in Ramsey County District Court on Tuesday. “Irreparable harm� was done by Ridder when he took the job at the Star Tribune and took with him a laptop from the Pioneer Press containing material confidential to the Press, Judge David C. Higgs wrote, according to WCCO news.

According to the Pioneer Press, also included in the judge’s ruling is that the data the Ridder took to the Star Tribune will be eventually destroyed, along with the Tribune will repay the legal fees accrued by the Pioneer Press, which have reached a level of approximately $5 million, according to Dean Singleton, President of the parent company of the Pioneer Press, MediaNews.

The ruling also blocked the hire of Jennifer Parratt, who was hired away from the Pioneer Press by Ridder. Higgs ruled that Parratt did violate her non-compete clause with the Pioneer Press, while Ridder did not. Parratt will not be allowed to work at the Star Tribune until April of 2008.

“Today’s ruling is clearly not what we expected,� said Chris Harte, chairman of the Star Tribune. “…we will of course abide by the court's decision as we evaluate our legal options."

Ben Taylor, spokesman at the Star Tribune, said that Ridder left at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Star Tribune.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Terry Ryan, 52, announced Thursday that he plans to resign his duties as general manager and executive vice president of the Twins at the conclusion of this season. Ryan, who has been the GM of the Twins since 1994, will remain with the organization as a senior advisor.

"I felt a lot of elation when we won and sorrow when we lost. “Now all of a sudden the defeats are getting a little harder to take, and the wins aren't as much fun. That's not a good thing to experience as a general manager,� said Ryan at a news conference Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

According to ESPN, Bill Smith is set to replace Ryan as GM. Smith is in his 22nd season with the Twins and been a close advisor to Ryan, according to the Star Tribune.

Ryan had been having difficulty in signing some notable Twins to extensions this season, such as Torii Hunter, Johan Santana and Justin Morneau, according to Mike Max of WCCO news.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This new law passes Monday night by the City Council in Chaska makes the person or persons hosting a party liable, regardless of whether those persons are providing the alcohol or not. In doing so, Chaska becomes the first city in Minnesota to pass a bill like this.

There are a few small exceptions to the law, according to the Chaska Herald. They are parents giving their own children alcohol and no others, to observation of religious events, and when an underage person is legally allowed to possess alcohol in a work-related manner.

According to the Star Tribune, a violation is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of $1,000.

The city of Chaska decided to go ahead with passing the law instead of waiting for Carver County to do so because there was concern from the City Council that it may never get passed by the county.

Posted by Brice Lehner at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)