Jenessa Olson

The Star Tribune reports Saturday that a man was shot and killed and a youth injured in an altercation outside a north Minneapolis youth center Friday.
According to inspector Mike Martin of the Minneapolis Police Department, the victim, a man in his late 40s, was outside the Jerry Gamble Boys & Girls Club, 2410 Irving Av. N., when a fight broke out between two groups of young men at 4:20 p.m.
Martin said that shots were fired, striking the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The article goes on to say that a juvenile male who was also shot was taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he was in critical but stable condition. His wound was not considered life-threatening.
Martin said it was unclear whether the man was part of the altercation or a bystander who was was trying to break up the fight.
Although the dispute does not appear to be drug-related, ipolice say that t is possible that it is gang-related. They are looking into it.
Marlene Wright, vice president of marketing and communications at the Boys & Girls Club, said club officials were still trying to piece together details of the shooting.
Wright also said there had been no similar incidents of violence.
"Our purpose and the reason we have these clubs in these neighborhoods is so kids have a place to go, a place to get off the streets and a safe place to be productive," she said. "This is exactly what we don't ever want to see happen. It's unfortunate."

http://www.startribune.com/local/35634239.html?elr=KArks:DCiUnP::DE8c7PiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Sunday that two men were shot at in a drive-by attack early Saturday morning.
This is the second shooting death on the 1400 block of Dowling Avenue within three days.
Broken glass, a nearby homeowner's crushed vehicle and a trail of blood were all that remained of Saturday's shooting by mid-morning.
According to the article, an SUV carrying two men was stopped at the intersection of Fremont and Dowling Avenues about 3 a.m. when another car pulled up and someone fired several shots.
Police spokesperson Sgt. Jesse Garcia said the car with the wounded men continued west for about two blocks before it crashed into a parked car and a house on Dowling Avenue.
One of the people in the car died at the scene, and the other was taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale and is expected to survive.
Neither of the victim's names have been relieased.

http://www.startribune.com/local/35252644.html?elr=KArks:DCiUnP::DE8c7PiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Friday that the holiday season was kicked off by the Minnesota Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors with their annual Blue Light Holiday Ceremony on the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul.
The article says that the ceremony began Friday at 6:30 p.m. and featured blue lights, music and appearances by family members of fallen Lino Lakes officer Shawn Silvera and fallen Minneapolis Park Police officer Mark Bedard. State Sen. Ann Lynch, DFL-Rochester, and Gretchen O'Neil and Paul Gertsen, who are representing Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), also attended the event, which promotes Project Blue Light during the holidays.
The Anoka County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard and many law enforcement officers attended the ceremony near the Peace Officers Memorial.
The ceremony is a way for the community to come together and remember the police officers of Minnesota that were killed.
According to the article, "Project Blue Light is held as a visual display of support and gratitude for men and women who serve as peacekeepers in the community."

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/34869894.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports that there is talk of the new U stadium selling alchol to those with more expensive seating.
The article states that President Robert Bruininks is recommending that the university apply for a state liquor license to sell alcohol in four areas of luxury seating at the new TCF Bank Stadium.
The rest of the fans would not be allowed to purchase beer, wine or liquor, and this includes the student section.
At the Metrodome, students who are 21 years old can buy beer because football games are held off-campus. According to the article, "the only place the U allows alcohol sales is at Northrop Auditorium, an exemption that passed in 1999 despite some opposition."
The NCAA discourages schools from selling alcohol at games, but other schools, such as the University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin, allow alcohol sales in their exclusive seating.
According to the spokesman Daniel Wolter, the policy "provides a good balance by providing adequate controls on alcohol consumption, while also enabling us to make these more attractive venues."
The Board of Regents will review the request today and could take action in December.
The Star Tribune reports that the three other U facilities -- Williams Arena, Mariucci Arena and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum -- will likely be the lesser-known beneficiaries of the vote.

http://www.startribune.com/local/34438099.html?page=1&c=y

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 6:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Sunday that a 33-year-old Dodge Center man is the person of interest in the killings of a mother and son. The incident that left three other family members hospitalized.
Dodge County Sheriff Gary Thompson identified them Sunday morning as 12-year-old Ismael Nicholas Bugarin and 27-year-old Teresa Bugarin. Authorities say that the boy was stabbed, and the mother's cause of death has not been released.
The article reports that two younger siblings involved in the case were taken to a Rochester hospital by ambulance Saturday night for treatment of knife wounds. Their conditions have not been released.
The man who is the person of interest was not immediately arrested, and he was flown to a Rochester hospital where he remained Sunday.
According to Thompson, the stabbings at the Valley View Mobile Home Park were domestic. He said everyone involved had been accounted for, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would investigate the case.

http://www.startribune.com/local/34171449.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsr

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Sunday that Sen. Hillary Clinton is returning to Minnesota for some Election Eve campaigning for Barack Obama and DFL Senate candidate Al Franken.
According to the article, "Clinton will join Franken at an Obama-Franken Get-Out-The-Vote rally in Duluth on Monday."
It is also mentioned that Sen. Amy Klobuchar also will speak at the rally.
Clinton was last in Minnesota on Oct. 21 for two campaign rallies — one in Minneapolis to support Franken and one on the Iron Range in support of Obama.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was in Minneapolis last week for an Obama-Franken rally.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/33725509.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Sunday that Deb Tilson shared advice for women who are being abused, minutes after her 19-year-old daughter's former boyfriend was convicted of the daughter's murder. Tillson's advice is to tell others and keep telling them until someone listens and intervenes.
Even though Zachery O. Matthews had started abusing Kristine Larson at the beginning of their roughly three-year relationship, it wasn't until six months before her death that she started telling friends, Tilson said.
If she had started talking sooner or one of her friends had broken the confidence, Tilson said, Larson's life could have been saved.
Matthews was convicted Friday of first-degree premeditated murder, two additional murder counts and interference with a body.
The article reports that,"he will be sentenced Wednesday at 10 a.m. by Hennepin County District Judge Lloyd Zimmerman. Matthews, 22, is expected to get life without the possibility of parole for the murder conviction."
"The world's going to be a safer place from a really mean, abusive, controlling criminal," Tilson said after the verdict.
Prosecutors said Matthews made strangled Larson with a shoelace because she arrived 30 minutes later than he expected at his St. Paul apartment in December. Matthews claimed he found Larson dead in his closet.
Larson and Matthews shared a two-year-old son, who witnessed the murder scene. This caused disbelief among the family that Matthews could have committed such a horrific crime in his presence, Tilson said. "We knew he did it, but we didn't want to believe it," she said.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/33225409.html?elr=KArks:DCiUnP::DE8c7PiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Sunday that a University of Minnesota policy might make it harder for students to vote on Election Day this year, when record turnout is expected.
The university has a policy of "Makeup Work for Legitimate Absences," which says voting in national elections is not considered an acceptable reason to miss class.
This could be a potential problem for students with a busy class schedule and little free time.
Law student Jessica Nowlin says the policy could be slightly problematic, because students have no idea how long it will take when they go to the polls.
However, university spokesman Dan Wolter says it's hard to believe that with polling places open for 13 hours, students can't find time to vote.
Nonetheless, Wolter is encouraging students with legitimate excuses to consult with instructors, who have the final say on the matter.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/local/31250924.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7EaDiaMDCiUT

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Sunday that a 10-year-old Chaska boy collapsed and later died after participating in a running club at his Eden Prairie school Friday afternoon.
The boy, Joshua Damptey, collapsed at Oak Point Intermediate School around 2:30 p.m. Friday, according to an e-mail sent to district parents from the Eden Prairie Schools. Accoring to the article, "he died shortly after at a local hospital, but his cause of death was not released by officials."
The fifth-grader had moved to Chaska about a year ago with his mother, and 7-year-old brother, but the boys had stayed in Eden Prairie schools. Joshua had previously attended Eden Lake Elementary School, and his brother attended Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion School.
"They were always polite, smiling and waving hi," said Brian Busch, who was a neighbor to the family. "He would ride his bike around happily."
The Eden Prairie School District will have social workers and counselors available for students to talk with Monday.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/30828474.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBDia_nDaycUiacyKUU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Saturday that a number of small-business owners noticed vandalism to their property Thursday, and the group of teenagers responsilble for the act returned Saturday to clean up the mess they made.
According to the article, the businesses in the Lindhurst neighborhood say their property was spray-painted with graffiti Thursday night, but the vandals came back the next day to apologize and to take responsibility for what they had done.
Authorities report that the teens' parents convinced the vandals to clean up the mess and apologize to the business owners.
The teens acknowledged that what they did was a stupid thing to do, according to Diamond Lake Rental owner Bill Graham. He says his truck was spray-painted, but a group of teenagers apologized and cleaned up.
The situation was resolved and police cited three teens with damage to property.

http://www.startribune.com/local/30471694.html?elr=KArks:DCiUnP::DE8c7PiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

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The Star Tribune reports Monday that Minneapolis was ranked 7th in the latest rankings of SustainLane U.S. City Rankings.
Minneapolis moved up three spots from 2006 in a survey that "ranks cities based on their ability to take steps toward preserving and enhancing their quality of life, and for preparing for resource deficits due to high gas and energy costs, drought and rising food costs," the article says.
The survey included 50 of the largest cities in the U.S. and took into consideration 16 economic, environmental and green/clean technology categories. The cities' air, drinking water, parks, public transit systems as well as farmers markets, renewable energy sources and green buildings were measured.
The article goes on to say that, "Minneapolis received kudos for the number of people who commute by bicycle and for the number of community gardens."
There were just a few cities ranked ahead of Minneapolis, which include Portland, Ore at No. 1 followed by San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York and Boston. Philadelphia was No. 8, immediately followed by Oakland and Baltimore.

http://www.startribune.com/local/29304159.html?elr=KArks:DCiUHc3E7_V_nDaycUiacyKUU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Tribune reports Saturday that two researchers at the University of Minnesota are doing research on children's brains to test how children reason and learn.
The researchers, Phil Zelazo and Stephanie Carlson at the Institute for Child Development, are focusing the study on the development of "executive function" in the brain. The article describes this as the way humans regulate their thoughts and actions, such as delaying gratification and controlling their attention span. Executive function is being able to translate knowledge of a situation into action.
Zelazo and Carlson are are focusing their study on children to test whether this concept of executive function can affect childrens' behavior.
The impulsiveness of children has always been a concern of parents and teachers, and with the findings of Zelazo and Carlson, perhaps this can be changed.
The article reports that "teaching children different kinds of reasoning strategies could make children better at regulating their own behavior, more likely to consider their friends' opinions, and less likely to get into fights at school."

http://www.startribune.com/local/south/28669899.html?elr=KArks:DCiUnP::DE8c7PiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 6:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Burnsville man and his brother are facing assault charges after the man's wife and mother of his child reported that she had been bound by a telephone cord and burned by the two men.
Milton T. Brasson and his brother Aaron D. Brasson are being charged with second-degree assault, domestic assault by strangulation and false imprisonment.
The woman explained to police that Milton and Aaron Brasson tied her up and proceeded to repetitively burn her with a red-hot spoon. She went on to say that at one point, she "made a dash to the door after Milton Brasson untied her hands momentarily, allowing her to loosen the cord around her neck. He dragged her back and burned her right cheek with the hot spoon." (Star Tribune)
The article also mentions that Brasson and the woman share a 2-year-old son, who witnessed the assault.
A court hearing for both men is scheduled for Sept. 29.
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/28284389.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsXThe woman was able to get out of the apartment and get to the police to report the incident.

Posted by Jenessa Olson at 4:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)