October 2010 Archives

Investigators have determined that a fatal Henderson house fire in August was set by the 17-year-old victim.

The Star Tribune reported that according to the state fire marshal's report, arson was the cause of the Aug. 29 blaze that killed Amee Lee Thiel.

Thiel had recently moved in to her father's Henderson home. Firefighters were called to the house around 4:50 a.m. and the doors were locked.

According to the Mankato Free Press, authorities are having a difficulty time determining whether Thiel wanted attention from the fire or if it was a suicide attempt.

There were at least four fires started in various areas of the house, according to the report but Thiel was found in the basement surrounded by stacks of cardboard and paper. She died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

There were no smoke detectors on during the time of the fire but investigators found a box of five smoke alarms in the basement.

Thiel was a strong suspect in a similar an arson fire that destroyed a mobile home in Mankato that was owned by the mother of an ex-boyfriend.

After six days of searching, there is still no sign of the Minnesota man and his three sons who went missing in their plane as they tried to return to Minneapolis from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Star Tribune reported that searchers are trying to locate the family based off an emergency signal from the plane but according to an official with the rescue operation the signal is designed to last only three to five days.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Luke Bucklin the pilot of the plane has had his license since 2002. The family was attending a wedding in Jackson Hole and Bucklin's wife and youngest son took a commercial flight home.

Bucklin is a co-founder of Bloomington, Minn.-based Web development company Sierra Bravo Corp.

Political satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert asked for the return of sanity to American politics during a rally Saturday in Washington, DC.

USA Today reported that Comedy Central predicted the rally held on the national mall would draw about 60,000 people. An estimate commissioned by CBS News reported that 215,000 were in attendance.

Stewart and Colbert, comedians most famous for their mock-news programs on Comedy Central, said their rally was to "promote civility in political dialogue and ease the shrill tone that has dominated this fall's races."

The New York Times reported that it was a "rally to shift blame" onto the media. Stewart called out 24-hour news coverage for holding "its magnifying glass up to our problems bringing them into focus

A Washington area radio station reported that the rally helped set a record for Metrorail transit passengers. 825,437 Metrorail trips were taken on Saturday. The record was previously set during the 1991 Desert Storm rally when 786,358 trips were taken.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Brazil elected the country's first female leader during their election Sunday.

Experts say Dilma Rousseff, who has never held elected office, won the election because of the support of popular Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. A member of the Worker's Party, she beat challenger Jose Serra of the Social Democratic Party by 55.4 percent to 44.6 percent.

According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, Rousseff is a former Marxist guerrilla who was imprisoned and tortured for her views during a period of dictatorship in Brazil. Rousseff is also a cancer survivor and she is sometimes referred to by Brazilians as the "Iron Lady."

Rousseff told the public that her political views have changed drastically from Marxism to pragmatic capitalism but that "she remains proud of her radical roots."

Friday, anti-terrorist officials in the United Arab Emirates discovered a plot to ship bombs on U.S. cargo planes.

According to USA Today, the devices in the packages had large amounts of the explosive material PETN and were destined for two Chicago area synagogues. U.S. officials said the devices were sophisticated and believed the same man who was behind the bombs from the attempted Christmas Day attack is involved with the cargo bomb plot.

The Guardian reported that U.S. officials are seeking Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a "Saudi-born extremist" who may be working with al Qaeda in Yemen.

The bombs are very hard to detect, one of them made it through two Qatar Airways passenger flights before being found in Dubai.

Disguised in printer ink cartridges and FedEx packaging, "could not be detected by x-ray or trained sniffer dogs."

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre admitted to leaving inappropriate messages in the voicemail inbox of former Jets' employee Jenn Sterger, the Pioneer Press reported. Favre's reputation came into question when Deadspin.com published nude photos supposedly of Favre on Oct. 7 with two voicemails he left Sterger. The NFL is currently investigating the scandal, Favre admitted to the messages but said he did not send the pictures.

Sterger, who was an in-house sideline reporter for the Jets in 2008, has yet to speak out about the leaked photos and voicemails. A spokesperson for the NFL said they cannot investigate further without her cooperation.

The Star Tribune reported that the investigation could be finished by the end of the week. Favre could face a fine or suspension from the league for workplace conduct violations.

Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for Tarryl Clark, a Democratic challenger to Michelle Bachmann for Minnesota's 6th District (North Twin Cities suburbs and St. Cloud) Congressional seat.

The Associated Press reported that the race in the 6th is gaining national attention for being the most expensive U.S. House race with millions of out-of-state dollars pouring into campaign coffers.

Clinton also campaigned in Michigan. Political experts speculate that Clinton has been campaigning so that voters disassociate candidates with less popular Democrats like President Barack Obama and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The AP also reported that Bachmann said Democrats were campaigning so hard in her district because she is a "high-value target." Bachmann spent Sunday campaigning in Andover, Minn.

President Obama arrived on campus Saturday to campaign for DFL gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton as part of a series of rallies to promote Democratic candidates before Nov. 2.

The Star Tribune reported that Obama arrived on campus around 3 p.m. Saturday for the rally that was also attended by U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats. The event was held in the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.

According to an article in the Minnesota Daily, the U was the last stop on a four-day tour for Obama who campaigned for Democrats in Washington state, Nevada and California. The Democrats are trying to hold onto valuable seats as they go up against ulta-conservatives this mid-term election.

The Minnesota Daily provided extensive coverage of President Obama's visit to campus this Saturday. The Daily focused on several aspects of his visit including the historical context, the speech, the protests and the activities of Dayton's opponents.

Their coverage of the speech summarized his main points of ensuring supporters vote in November, highlighting the accomplishments made since 2008 and promising that more change was to come but it would take a little more time and faith.

I think the reporters did some research about Obama's rallies and visits because they didn't re-publish many of the comments ("We're not giving back the keys,you don't know how to drive!) he has given at previous rallies including the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Instead, the story focuses on the crowd participation and thoughts regarding the president's visit and the atmosphere of the event. I think that is a good approach instead of using tired quotes. You can predict what is going to be said in a speech if a million similar speeches have been made before and I think that was a good call on the part of the Daily writers.

The Star Tribune, however, published many of the metaphors Obama has been using recently: "As he does frequently, Obama compared the economy to taking over a car that veered into a ditch. As Democrats have tried to push the car out of the ditch, Republicans, he said, were "fanning themselves, sippin' on a Slurpee" and kicking dirt in their faces."

Both news organizations predicted protests and included coverage of protesters and rallies for Republican candidates on the same day. I think they both did a good job of using what little advance knowledge they were given and being creative about how to approach a story that will receive a great deal of media attention.

The New York Times and theChronicle of Higher Education reported that a study by the Project on Student Debt concluded that college students that graduated in 2009 had an average of $24,000 in student loan debt. The number is up six percent from 2008 totals.

According to the NYT, paying back student loans is likely to be especially difficult for recent graduates because the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 20 to 24 was 8.7 percent in 2009.

Experts stressed the importance of students borrowing federal loans rather than finding higher interest rate loans in the private sector.

The Associated Press reported that more than 135 people are dead from an outbreak of cholera in Haiti. The health ministry reported there have been additional 1,500 cases of the disease.

The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that the outbreak has not yet reached the displacement camps where many Haitians are living since the 7.0 earthquake that left 1.2 million people homeless.

"Officials fear an outbreak in densely populated tent cities that have poor sanitation and meager medical facilities has the potential of unleashing a public health disaster."

Most of the cases have been reported in areas along the Artibonite River which officials believe the water contamination stems from.

I decided to compare the online multimedia of the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. I would like to preface the analysis by saying that neither newspaper does a great job at cleaning up their media and making it very appealing.

The Star Tribune has a lot of options and links to different pages which I find annoying. I think the categories are probably great on their end for organizing all of the material, but it's just not the most visually striking multimedia section I have ever seen. They have many options from videos and slideshows to podcasts and options for users to upload their own photos and videos. They produce a few online news shows which is a good way for online readers to interact with the news. The copy on the pages is brief but informative and explains what is happening in the video or photo.

The Pioneer Press looks like it may be doing some updating to the multimedia section so perhaps this isn't really a fair comparison. I like the interface and the "Photo of the Day," because when you roll over the photo, the caption appears. The copy is effective and informative but would be better if it was linked to a larger story. They are in the process of adding sections for podcasts and interactive features.

Both of the websites seem to lack polls, which is one of my favorite ways to interact with news.

According to an article in USA Today, many Halloween retailers are predicting that Lady Gaga costumes will be the biggest hit this year. Rubie's Costume Co. has the license to make Lady Gaga costumes, wigs and make-up. The executive vice president for Rubie's said it expects to sell 1 million Lady Gaga costume items this year before Halloween.

He also said "Lady Gaga is the single most popular costume we've sold for adults in our 59 years in business." Usually the best-sellers are aimed at kids.

The San Antonia Business-Journal reported that classics like witches, pumpkins and vampires are still top-sellers for kids, adults and now, pets. The most popular costumes for pets this year include: witch, pumpkin and devil.

A Pace University college student-athlete was shot and killed by police Sunday in Thornwood, N.Y. after a bar brawl during the school's Homecoming festivities according to an article in USA Today.

Danroy Henry, 20, was a varsity football player at the school. Henry and two passengers were attempting to flee from the scene of a bar disturbance when police fired. The two officers involved were blocking Henry's vehicle from leaving and one officer was on the hood of his car.

The Boston Globe reported that Henry was a 2007 graduate of a Massachusetts high school. He began attending Pace University in fall 2009.

His great uncle told the Globe that Henry "was just a wonderful kid with a bright future ahead of him, and just a gentleman. A real gentleman."

The New York Times reported that Saudi officials have warned France than an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen could be planning an attack in France or Europe.

The French interior minister, Brice Hortefeux said he had been notified of the attack a few days from Sunday. He met with the Yemeni President last week.

Intelligence officials said the group was active or planning to be active. Hortefeux said the threat was real and France will be vigilant.

According to BBC News, this threat is one of many recent concerns regarding attacks on Europe from terrorists in the Arabian Peninsula.

However, BBC reports that French authorities have been accused of scaremongering. Currently the nation's threat level is one level below red (the highest rating.)

The Independence Party gubernatorial candidate, Tom Horner, has received endorsements from four major Minnesota daily newspapers. According to an article from the Associated Press, the Star Tribune, Duluth News Tribune, Fargo-Moorhead Forum and Bemidji Pioneer are all behind Horner for Governor.

Despite these nominations, AP reported that Horner is trailing behind candidates Tom Emmer (R) and Mark Dayton (DFL) in the polls.

MinnPost reported that the Star Tribune may have a stake in the issue: the new Vikings stadium. While all three candidates have said they supported a new stadium, Horner has a specific plan which "could pump tens of millions into newspaper coffers if [the Star Tribune's] downtown Minneapolis land and oversized headquarters are purchased."

As many Minnesota football fans had predicted, Coach Tim Brewster was fired early Sunday morning after a loss to Purdue University on Saturday.

According to an article in the Minnesota Daily, Brewster leaves with a 15-30 record and 0-10 record in trophy games.

University of Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi announced Sunday morning that Brewster has been "relieved of his duties" as head football coach and his contract was terminated.

Since Brewster signed a contract extension in January, he will receive a $600,000 buyout.

The Star Tribune reported that Maturi made the decision mid-season to allow for enough time to find a suitable replacement, hopefully one who will lend a big name to the football program at the University.

In the meantime, co-offensive coordinator Jeff Horton will act as head coach.

For this blog, I will be analyzing the story that broke Thursday on Minnesota Public Radio news about the U of M students involved in a drunk driving accident north of Madison. The lead in the first story is very careful because they did not have a lot of information at the point the story was written. Dunbar uses "suspected" and "at least" to avoid saying anything that is not confirmed yet. Names of the people involved are not used in the first story.
The second day story, also written by Dunbar, opens up with a name of one of the crash survivors and a lead that answered the question, what were these students doing on the side of the road? What happened then? It is much more of a detailed account of what happened described by a survivor of the crash, I don't know why Dunbar chose to write the story in that way. Other local news organizations put out briefs as they got more information (i.e. names of the victims, identity of the driver, consequences) but Dunbar's story is more intimate like an obituary.
Her approach does advance most of the news, many of my questions from the first story were answered including the identities of the people involved in the crash. However, at the time when Dunbar wrote the second day story she did not identify the name of the alleged drunk driver. Other reports came out at that time that did identify the driver and confirm that he was drunk.

According to an article in the Pioneer Press President Barack Obama will be in Minneapolis Oct. 23 to campaign for DFL-gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton. Vice-President Joe Biden was in town last week campaigning for Dayton.

Larry Jacobs, head of the Center for Politics and Governance at the Humphrey Institute, told the Pioneer Press that the rally might hurt Dayton's chances because Obama's approval rating is very low in Minnesota.

They have not decided on the location for the rally, the Minnesota Daily reported. Students Organizing for America at the University of Minnesota is trying to bring the rally to the U.

The Duluth News Tribune reported that Agudath Achim Synagogue in Hibbing, Minn. where Bobby Zimmerman had his bar mitzvah is for sale. Bobby Zimmerman grew up to be legendary folk rock musician, Bob Dylan. The synagogue is No. 8 on the Bob Dylan Walk Tour of his hometown, Hibbing.
The owners of the synagogue, which hasn't held services since the 1980's, are hoping the connection will help the building sell.

""People who like Dylan, love Dylan," Shafer-Pellinen said. "They have an unusual level of devotion to his music -- more so than other musical groups or artists.""

The Associated Press reported the current asking price 119,000. The owners had intended to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast when they bought it in 2001.

Minnesota Public Radio reported that three people, including two students from the University of Minnesota, died early Thursday morning as a result of a drunk driving crash north of Madison.

Two of the victims were changing a tire on I-39/90 north of Madison when a suspected drunk driver swerved into the car.

A University spokesperson confirmed that two of the people who died in the crash were members of the University of Minnesota Spirit Squad.

According to the Wisconsin State Journal, a 31-year-old Madison man, Bradley Ericksen, was arrested in connection with three charges of homicide by drunken driving.

According to the Associated Press, Rich Iott, a Republican Congressional candidate from Ohio, is being criticized for wearing a Nazi uniform during WWII reenactments. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Republicans No. 2 leader spoke out against his actions after Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida singled him out as an example of an "extreme" Republican.

The Atlantic Magazine first published the photo Oct. 8. Iott was part of Wiking, a group that demonstrates the "exploits of an actual Nazi division, the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking." He told the Atlantic it was not because he sympathized with Nazi beliefs but for "purely historical interest in World War II."

Reenactments similar to Iott's Wiking group are banned in Germany and Austria.

The Associated Press reported that Chile's mining minister said Thursday the shaft that will lead the miners to safety could reach them by Saturday.

It will take an additional three to 10 days to lead the 33 miners to safety, he said.

CNN International got acquainted with the rescue team that will pull the miners to safety. The 16 rescuers will go into the mine in groups of two. It will take an hour or more to take each miner up to the surface.

BBC News reported that the men have been trapped since the 5th of August. Rescuers had given up hope of finding the men alive until they made contact 17 days after the accident.

Upon rescue, the miners will have to wear sunglasses to adjust from living two months with no natural light.

The story about the Duluth man who aided his son in covering up a drunken driving accident that ran in the Duluth News Tribune had a anecdotal lead but followed up with fact blocks about the most important information in the story.
The lead tells what Wilczek told the court happened on the night of the crash. The following nutgraph clarifies who the people in the story are, what happened and gets to the hard news: he pleaded guilty in court on Friday.
I think for an accident that happened in June, this is a good set up because it tells the detail of what happened without making it old news. The news isn't that he aided his son in covering up the accident, the news is that today he plead guilty. Then the reporter introduces us to the main conflict of the story: Wilczek claims he did not know the extent of Zadie Morgan's injuries when he transported her to her parents house but she was severely injured according to the reporter's description. I think the structure of the story with background information and new details weaved together is effective. However, I think readers would like to know that Wilczek will likely not face jail time for his actions earlier in the story. I think it is too important to be saved for the last two paragraphs.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter Maura Lerner took a deeper look at heartburn medications in two articles describing the side-effects and alternatives to the commonly prescribed drugs.

In her first story, Lerner reported that 119 million prescriptions were written last year for the drugs and many doctors believed it is over-prescribed. Many of the symptoms doctors attribute to acid reflux disease can be eliminated by changing eating habits.

In addition, Lerner wrote that scientists have raised concerns about long-term effects including bone fractures and pneumonia. If patients abruptly stop taking the drug, it can result in the same symptoms the drug is designed to prevent.

Lerner's second piece examines a Maple Grove woman's attempt to stop taking the drugs she had been prescribed for a year and a half.

Gayle Colehour, 52, limited her intake of corn, wheat and dairy to ease her digestive troubles. She started doing yoga and eliminated nighttime snacking. She said she did not want to be on the drugs for the rest of her life.

Her husband, on the other hand, has been taking Prilosec for six years. He told Lerner that he might try to follow in his wife's footsteps.

A Duluth man plead guilty Friday to the felony charge of aiding an offender after he transported a severely injured young woman from an accident scene involving his son, the Duluth News Tribune reported.

Daniel Wilczek, 51, aided his son, Christopher Wilczek, in removing his girlfriend from a drunk-driving accident June 4 for which Christopher Wilczek is at fault. The girlfriend, 18-year-old Zadie Morgan, suffered severe injures and Wilczek did not seek medical attention for her or report the accident.

Morgan, "who suffered severe and numerous injuries with broken bones in her face, teeth knocked out and her nose was left hanging by a small amount of flesh," has had at least five surgeries since the crash.

FOX 21 reported that Wilczek did not call 911 because he did not want to get his son in trouble. Since Wilczek made a plea agreement, he will likely serve no time at all.

According to an article in the Advocate, Andrew Shirvell, the assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan, has been targeting the University of Michigan student body president in his blog, "Chris Armstrong Watch."

Armstrong, who is openly gay, has campaigned against rising tuition and for gender-neutral housing on behalf of transgendered students. In his blog, Shirvell wrote that he was using his position to push a radical homosexual agenda.

AnnArbor.com reported that Shirvell and Armstrong will face each other in court Monday. Armstrong has requested a restraining order to prevent Shirvell from showing up at his home, protesting at student assembly meetings and sending e-mail and Facebook messages to him.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Shirvell has taken a leave of absence from his job as assistant attorney general. Attorney General Mike Cox said Shirvell will face a disciplinary hearing upon his return. Cox has defended Shirvell's First Amendment Rights but questioned some of his behavior (videotaping outside of Armstrong's home at 1:30 a.m.)
Shrivell defended his blog Tuesday on Anderson Copper 360.

Today several news outlets reported what pundits have been predicting since Rahm Emanuel announced he would be stepping down as White House Chief of Staff--he is now seeking office as the mayor of Chicago.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel released a two-minute video to his campaign website about his return to Chicago and his concerns about the future of the city.

Emanuel was born in Chicago to Israeli immigrant parents but grew up on the North Shore suburbs.

BBC News wrote that Emanuel has a reputation for "brashness" and made no secret of his desire to one day run for mayor.

The Associated Press reported that Emanuel will spend the next few weeks reintroducing himself to Chicago residents before formally launching his campaign.

"As I prepare to run for mayor, I'm going to spend the next few weeks visiting our neighborhoods -- at grocery stores, L stops, bowling alleys, and hot dog stands," Emanuel said.

According to an article in BBC News, tickets to the 2011 Glastonbury Festival sold out Sunday in four hours. The U.K.'s biggest music festival, held every year at Worthy Farm in Somerset, will begin June 22, 2011. The venue has a capacity for 177,500 but there were only 137,500 public tickets released.

Fans had to put a £50 deposit on their tickets to be able to order. They will have to pay the full amount when the ticket site re-opens in April.

The Sun reported that U2 may headline the festival because the group had to pull out of the 2010 festival due to frontman Bono's back injury.

According to NME, the organizer of the festival, Michael Eavis, previously stated the names of the headliners would be released as soon as tickets have sold out. Eavis has not made the announcement yet.