April 2011 Archives

By Mike Munzenrider

This story from i Watch News, with help from the Center for Public Integrity, details how White House visitor logs don't reflect actual visits and visitors to the White House.

The investigation went through more than 1,000,000 records of visitors and compared the records to who actually showed up and who they met with. Over 200,000 of the records do not detail what took place during the visits, and there are over 200,000 records of visits that never happened.

Beyond on the ground reporting, the reporters must have set up databases and spreadsheets to analyze all the data. This could potentially involve HTML coding skills and would require skills with spreadsheets and a little math.

By Mike Munzenrider

A 29-year-old Burnsville man was arrested Thursday in connection to the April 15 hit and run accident in Dinky Town that injured two and killed one.

The man came off probation in March and has DWI and reckless driving convictions on his record reports The Minnesota Daily.

Police found the man based on tips and witness reporting, and arrested him at his work without incident reports the Star Tribune.

The man is being held without bail and police and charges of murder are expected to be filed against him reports the Star Tribune.

By Mike Munzenrider

Minnesota 6th district Rep. Michele Bachmann joined an exclusive list Thursday when she made it onto Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Bachmann made the list because of the level of interest she has raised within Republican circles regarding the 2012 presidential race, Time's Washington bureau chief Michael Duffy told NPR.

While Time cites her popularity among voters for her inclusion, The New York Time's FiveThirtyEight blog reports Bachmann received far less media attention over the past six months than other Republican presidential nomination seekers such as Sarah Palin, New Gingrich, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Rush Limbaugh wrote about Bachmann for Time, saying the left can "underestimate her at their own risk."

By Mike Munzenrider

Weathering the fallout of a 2009 admission of an extra-marital affair, Sen. John Ensign announced Thursday that he would resign his Senate seat effective May 3.

The Republican Senator from Nevada had previously said that he would not seek reelection in 2012, though looming prosecution by the Senate Ethics Committee forced him to step aside reports the Los Angeles Times.

Ensign admitted to an affair with a campaign staffer after the staffer's husband threatened to go public about the affair. Ensign's parent's later paid the man a $96,000 gift, and Ensign apparently helped him get lobbying work, as noted by NPR.

Ensign's open seat will most likely go to Nevada Rep. Dean Heller, a Republican, though newly elected Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, also a Republican, has said that a decision has not been made reports the Los Angeles Times.

By Mike Munzenrider

Two photojournalists were killed and two others were injured in the Libyan city of Misurata by forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi on Wednesday.

Tim Hetherington, award winning war photographer and director of the Oscar nominated documentary "Restrepo," a film about the Afghan war, and Chris Hondros, a well traveled war photographer, were killed when they came under fire in Misurata reports The New York Times.

The men arrived in the besieged city by sea and arrived in the area in which they were killed early Wednesday. They were killed either by a rocket propelled grenade or a mortar witnesses told The New York Times.

Hetherington died shortly after being brought to hospital, while Hondros died a couple of hours after his arrival at the hospital according to Rueters.

By Mike Munzenrider

A bicyclist was killed when she was struck by a large truck near the University of Minnesota campus Thursday morning.

The accident occurred at the intersection of 15th Avenue Southeast and 4th Street when the truck hit the bicyclist as it turned right onto 4th Street reports The Minnesota Daily.

The bicyclist has been identified as Kimberly Yeong Sil Hull, 25, a university student who was set to graduate in two weeks reports The Minnesota Daily.

According to the Star Tribune, Minneapolis police have vowed to step up traffic law enforcement on cars, bicyclists and pedestrians alike.

By Mike Munzenrider

Storms killed 17 people in Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma state officials said.

In Alabama, a total of seven people were killed, all of whom were in their homes at the time reports The New York Times. A mother and her children were killed when their double-wide mobile home was thrown 100 yards.

Straight line winds, not tornadoes, were responsible for much of the damage reports the BBC.

The storm moved into South Carolina, North Carolina and West Virginia on Saturday reports The New York Times.

By Mike Munzenrider

Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 on Wednesday after television cameras caught him using an anti-gay slur after receiving a technical foul.

The incident occurred Tuesday night while Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers were playing the San Antonio Spurs reports The Los Angeles Times.

Bryant received both a personal and technical foul proceeded to hit a chair and yell "faggot" at a referee reports The Los Angeles Times.

"What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period, " Bryant said, as reported by Yahoo Sports. "The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone."

By Mike Munzenrider

Tony Sutton cruised to re-election as party chair of the Minnesota GOP.

Sutton took over the chair in 2009 and lead the party to controlling both the Minnesota House and Senate for the first time in 38 years after the 2010 elections reports the Associated Press.

He must now start organizing support for former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann who are both seeking the Republican presidential nomination reports the Star Tribune.

Sutton will also begin searching for a candidate to oppose Sen. Amy Klobuchar reports the Star Tribune.

By Mike Munzenrider

An Italian activist was killed in Gaza on Thursday, and his body was found by Hamas on Friday.

The activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, was taken hostage by a group in order to be used to free prisoners held by Hamas reports Al Jazeera.

Arrigoni worked for International Solidarity Movement, which defends Palestinian's rights reports Al Jazeera.

The New York Times reports that Arrigoni was killed by strangulation, most likely a few hours after he was kidnapped.

By Mike Munzenrider

A driver going the wrong way on a one way in Dinky Town struck three University of Minnesota students and then drove off early Saturday morning.

Around 2:00 a.m. Katelynn Hanson, Sarah Bagley and Benjamin Van Handel were struck by a car headed west on SE 5th Street, which is an eastbound one way reports the Star Tribune.

All three were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where Van Handel was listed in critical condition; Bagley was in satisfactory condition, reports the Star Tribune.

The three were while walking down the sidewalk. The car proceeded to strike a telephone pole before driving off reports the Minnesota Daily.

By Mike Munzenrider

I spoke with my girlfriend, Amelia, about this story which Boy George's reaction to a friend's beating and the beating itself.

She said that the story depicted the gay community in a straight forward, factual way, which didn't rely on stereotype. Amelia said the story came off as "sympathetic" because of how George's comments were portrayed.

However, she went on to say that she felt there was no bias in the work, pro or anti-gay.

"I don't feel like the person who wrote it gave an opinion," she said.

By Mike Munzenrider

Officials at the Minnesota Zoo are warning that $1.9 million in budget cuts to state financing of the zoo could force it to shut a major exhibit.

The cuts, proposed by the Senate budget bill, would amount to a 15 percent reduction in state funding, reports the Star Tribune.

Gov. Mark Dayton's budget proposes a five percent reduction, while the House bill proposes a ten percent reduction reports the Star Tribune.

The zoo receives 29 percent of it's funding through public money, while, on average, 40 percent of funding comes from the public for zoos and aquariums nationwide according to the Star Tribune.

Previously, zoo officials spoke at the Capitol worried about Dayton's proposed cuts, reports the Morrison County Record.

By Mike Munzenrider

A man killed six people and wounded 15 at a suburban mall near Amsterdam before taking his own life on Saturday.

The shooter, 24-year-old Tristan van der Vlis, appeared to shoot victims at random, using guns for which he had permits reports the Associated Press and the BBC.

Van der Vlis had a previous run-in with the police for charges related to illegal weapons possession, though the charges were later dropped reports the Associated Press.

Police found a note in Van der Vlis' car and his mother found a suicide note, though they offered no explanation why he chose to hurt others, reports the Associated Press.

By Mike Munzenrider

Congressional leaders brokered a budget deal late Friday night to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year.

The deal cuts $37.8 billion from the budget through September, which is more than many Democrats wanted cut, less than what many Republicans wanted reports The Washington Post.

"Today, Americans of different beliefs came together," President Obama said according to The Washington Post. "We protected the investments we need to win the future," he said.

According to a Bloomberg News column, the debate over the government shutdown was just the first skirmish in what will be larger budget battle.

By Mike Munzenrider

Manny Ramirez, controversial slugger, announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Friday.

The abrupt announcement came after Ramirez came up positive for performance enhancing drugs and was facing a 100 game suspension reports ESPN.

Ramirez ended his 19 year career after signing a $2 million, one year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Ray's reports ESPN.

The circumstances surrounding Ramirez' retirement, according to Bleacher Report, will make it difficult for him to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

By Mike Munzenrider

The Red River crested in the Fargo Moorhead area on Saturday, and now flooding concerns move northward with the north flowing river.

The river crested at 38.75 feet, the fourth highest level ever, reports the Star Tribune.

People are still being asked not to leave the cities though the cities themselves appear to be in good shape, reports the Star Tribune.

Moorhead Mayor Mark Voxland is urging residents to install clay diking on their property so that so many volunteers and so much preventative work is not necessary in the future, reports the News Cut blog.

By Mike Munzenrider

This NPR story about Tea Party support among conservatives reports on a recent poll and uses the poll numbers to help frame reporting on the budget debate.

There are moments where the numbers are a bit overwhelming. The poll breaks down into multiple sub-sections and that leads to complicated explanations. The reporter could have broken these sections down into separate paragraphs.

The reporter does not appear to have crunched the numbers; if so, it's not obvious. The source of the poll is Washington University, and that's obvious. The methodology of the poll is explained but not in it's entirety.

By Mike Munzenrider

Jennie-O Turkey Store, the Willmar based food producer, has recalled 55,000 pounds of Turkey that could be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recalled product was distributed nationally though only sold through Sam's Club reports the Star Tribune.

12 people around the country have fallen ill with Salmonella poisoning over the past four months reports the Star Tribune. CNN reports the last illness was reported March 14, 2011.

By Mike Munzenrider

BP has asked the U.S. government for permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico according to two BP officials.

This comes a year after an explosion at one of BP's rigs that killed 11 people and caused a massive oil spill in the gulf reports The New York Times.

The energy producer wishes to resume drilling at 10 deep sea locations by July, operating under stricter safety guidelines and greater transparency according to The New York Times.

According to Yahoo News, BP has spent $41 billion on cleanup costs and damages, for what it terms the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

By Mike Munzenrider

More wreckage from Air France flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic off Rio de Janiero, has been found according to French investigators.

A fourth attempt to locate wreckage containing the jet's flight data recorder began a month ago and investigators are hoping to determine the cause of the crash reports the BBC.

The search is funded by Air France and Air Bus, the manufacturer of the plane that crashed reports the BBC.

Determining the reason for the crash could have potentially important legal ramifications for both companies involved. According to the BBC, a French judge recently filed manslaughter charges against Air France, while the CBC reports the judge filed charges against Air Bus.

By Mike Munzenrider

A man called Wisconsin police to report that strippers who promised to show up at his hotel room failed to show.

Police in Franklin Wis. say an Illinois man who attended a local gentleman's club spent $1,000 on two strippers, who promised to meet him at his hotel room later that night reports UPI.

When the strippers failed to arrive for "on the house" lap dances, the man called police because he felt cheated reports UPI.

By Mike Munzenrider

Rep. Michele Bachmann raised $2.2 million in the first quarter of the year.

This feat of fundraising should continue to fuel speculation that Bachmann will throw her hat into the 2012 presidential race reports the Star Tribune.

Over the same time span, Bachmann raised more money that the 2012 GOP presidential frontrunner, Mitt Romney, who raised $1.9 million.

Bachmann's fundraising abilities should be no surprise; during the 2009-2010 election cycle she raised $13.5 million, more than any other member of congress, according to The Washington Post