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by Sarah See

Digital billboards will warn drivers when a snow emergency is in effect in Minneapolis, according to the Star Tribune and Associated Press Wednesday.

Mayor R.T. Rybak and Clear Channel Outdoor officials announced plans for 12 digital billboards around the city to display messages for drivers to sign up for free alerts and to move their vehicles out of the way of the plows, according to the Star Tribune.

Ads will be replaced with alerts when a snow emergency is declared, and drivers are encouraged to call the hotline to find out where to park, according to the Associated Press.

"We already have many creative ways of informing residents and visitors about Snow Emergencies, and thanks to Clear Channel Outdoor, we have a great new one," Mayor R.T. Rybak said. "This partnership will help the City do its job of clearing the streets and keeping people safe during a Snow Emergency, and will help drivers keep money in their wallets by keeping their cars from being towed."

According to the news sources, the billboards are a new addition to the tools already in place that notify residents when the city is under a snow emergency: text and e-mail alerts, automated phone calls, a Snow Emergency hotline, Facebook, Twitter, and the City's website.

"With these digital billboards we have just about every method of reaching people except for skywriting or carrier pigeons," Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy said. "Our Snow Emergency Twitter account is the eighth most followed for a local government in the nation. When it comes to creative communication, Minneapolis excels."

The billboards are intended to help drivers avoid getting towed, according to the Associated Press.

The billboards "will be seen by more than 1 million people throughout the community each day during those designated snow emergencies," Clear Channel Outdoor branch president Susan Adams said.

by Sarah See

A worker was killed Thursday morning in an industrial accident in Milaca, Minn., according to CBS Minnesota.

Scott Armstrong, 41, of rural Swanville was killed while working on a large gravel conveyor belt system that was to be moved, according to the Mille Lacs County sheriff's office.

Armstrong was struck in the head by a large wheel while working as a crushing operator at a Knife River Construction Company gravel pit, authorities said.

Armstrong was pronounced dead, and a medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death, according to WCCO-TV.

Authorities are investigating the fatal incident, according to the Associated Press.

The construction company plans to turn the investigation over to the Mine Safety Health Administration, a Knife River spokeswoman said to the St. Cloud Times.

by Sarah See

by Sarah See

by Sarah See

by Sarah See

by Sarah See

A 15-year-old boy died Monday afternoon after accidentally shooting himself in a deer tree stand near his home in east-central Minnesota, authorities said.

Jeremiah D. Scofield, 15, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the upper inner part of one of his legs, while trying to take off his jacket with the gun between his legs, in Brunswick Township, according to the Kanabec County Sheriff's Office.

Scofield, a Mora High School sophomore, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press.

Scofield was the fourth hunter to die since Saturday, the opening weekend of Minnesota's firearms deer season, according to both news reports.

Of the three other hunters, one died of natural causes and did not fall from his tree stand as initially suspected; one died after his clothing caught fire while lighting a propane heater and falling from his tree stand; and one died after shooting himself when he fell from his tree stand and his gun discharged, according to the Pioneer Press.

by Sarah See

The body of a Blaine man was found Tuesday morning in Rice Lake after he was reported missing last week, according to the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune.

The man, whose identity will not be released until relatives are notified, was reported missing to Blaine police Friday, according to the news reports.

His vehicle was found Monday afternoon at Trappers Bar and Grill in Lino Lakes, located on the shore of Rice Lake, according to the Pioneer Press.

His body was found by an aerial search and rescue team after the area was searched Monday and again Tuesday morning by Anoka County authorities, Lino Lakes and Blaine police and volunteers, according to the Star Tribune.

Foul play is not suspected, and "law enforcement is not pursuing any suspect(s) at this time," the Anoka County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

A cause of death has not been released, according to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office.

The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the death, according to the Star Tribune.

by Sarah See

Arson is suspected for a Roseville apartment building fire that displaced 50 residents, caused about $1 million in damage, and condemned three apartment units, according to the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press Friday.

Police and fire investigators are awaiting laboratory results from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on material recovered from the scene before specifying the cause of the fire, according to both news reports.

Police labeled the fire suspicious and have not said what led investigators to suspect arson, according the news reports.

Officers dispatched to the Centennial Garden Apartments complex fire at 2825 Pascal St. N. around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday saw smoke and flames coming from the second and third floors when they arrived, according to the Pioneer Press.

The entire 23-unit building was evacuated. Firefighters used a ladder to rescue one resident from a second-floor window, but all other residents exited safely, according to the reports.

Police are asking for the public's help in gathering information by calling Crime Stoppers or the Arson Hot Line, according to both reports.

by Sarah See

St. Paul police shot and killed a deer Wednesday evening after it broke through a window of a St. Catherine University building, according to the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press.

Police tracked down the large male deer after it busted through a window of the Coeur de Catherine building around 6 p.m., according to the Pioneer Press.

Students told police an unleashed dog had been chasing the six-point buck across the Highland Park university campus, according to the Pioneer Press.

The deer broke through an O'Neill Center for Academic Development window, which was about 18 inches off the ground, and an interior Sheetrock wall made of gypsum, according to the news reports.

After getting inside the building, which houses the campus center and classrooms, the deer took refuge in an emergency stairwell where it was shot, police spokesman Howie Padilla said.

Classes were in session in the building, police said.

Police decided to shoot the deer before it could get loose again, do more damage, or become a threat to students, Padilla said.

Animal control authorities were called to the scene but had not arrived by the time the deer was shot, a police official said.