K. Stolpa's 3101 News Blog

Senators and Democratic presidential nominee hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke to activists this weekend at the state convention in California.

While both candidates got warm welcomes from more than 2,000 party members, Obama's speech won-over the crowd. Obama used his early opposition to the war in Iraq to set himself apart from this competitors, including Clinton, who voted to support the war in 2002.

California, along with New York, have moved their primary elections up to February 2008, which could make the two states bigger decision-makers in the race for the nomination. California has always been a huge fund-raising state for White House hopefuls, but now their primaries will take place before the nomination is decided.

Check out ABC News and AP coverage of this story.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 11:07 PM | Permalink

More than 100,000 gathered to protest in Istambul Sunday. The demonstration consisted of secular Turks protesting the pro-Islamic government.

This was the second large demonstration in two weeks against the government. Some 300,000 secular Turks staged a protest in Anakara, Turkey to protect Turkey's secular state.

These protests are further evidence of the deepening rift between secular Turks and Islamic supporters.

Check out AP coverage of this story in the Star Tribune and at ABC News.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:55 PM | Permalink

A Gunman opened fire today in a parking lot and shopping mall in south Kansas City, resulting in four deaths, including the shooter. Police shot down the gunman outside the Target in Ward Parkway Center.

The shooter shot at police from a dead woman's car and then proceeded to open fire inside the shopping center.

Police investigated the home of an elderly woman, who had not been seen for days by her neighbors. Police found the woman dead and her car missing.

A police officer recognized the missing car and pulled the driver over later in the day. The driver shot the police officer in the arm, who returned fire. The shooter then pulled into the shopping center's parking lot and killed two people in cars parked next to him, injuring two others. He then entered the mall where he fired more shots and injured at least two more people before being shot and killed by police.

Check out AP coverage of this story in the Pioneer Press (which has a recently updated version) and the Star Tribune (who carried an earlier version).

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:39 PM | Permalink

Funeral services for 17-year-old victim of a Metro Transit shooting were canceled because of violence between friends of the victim and the alleged shooter.

Police broke up altercations between friends of the deceased, Earl Freedman, and Jerome Cross who was charged Wednesday with second degree murder.

Families of both the victim and the accused say they have been threatened as a result of the shooting.

Freedman's family canceled a church service at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church after the fight broke out. The funeral visitation service was then moved a funeral home on University Ave. They plan on holding other services and a burial for Freedman in Chicago.

The Ramsey County Attorney's office plans on seeking to try Cross, 17, as an adult. Cross remains jailed at the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center.

Read more about this story at the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:17 PM | Permalink

Afton teenager is one of several residents to be infected with a rare illness in recent years. Tristan Pennella, 15, was diagnosed with blastomycosis, a fungal disease.

Blastomycosis is caused by a fungus that thrives in sandy, acidic soil with decomposing organic debris, such as rotting leaves. Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, especially areas near riverbeds, are good breeding grounds for the fungus.

It may take months for symptoms to appear after a person first comes in contact with the fungus and breathes it in. Flu-like symptoms make blastomycosis hard to diagnose and include fever, cough, fatigue and muscle aches.

About 30 cases per year have been reported in Minnesota for the past several years. Wisconsin has seen a significant jump in reported cases in the past year, increasing from 100 to 170. Dogs are the most infected by this disease.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:07 PM | Permalink

A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed on a Metro Transit bus early Sunday.

The incident happened shortly after midnight on Metro Transit route 74 heading towards downtown St. Paul. After an altercation apparently between two groups of teens, the shooter leaned inside the bus and shot the victim in the chest said police.

The victim was identified by family on Sunday as Earl Freeman of St. Paul.

The shooting is the third violent attack to occur on a Metro Transit bus that resulted in serious injury or death since early March.

Police are looking for a suspect they described as being a male between 16 and 18 years old.

Check out the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press coverage of this story.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 3:04 PM | Permalink

On Thursday an inauguration ceremony for a controversial dam in Iran went ahead to the dismay of archaeologists and historians.

The utilization of the dam was delayed for months by appeals from the United Nations' Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization. The organization wanted time to excavate ancient Persian ruins that are going to be submerged by the reservoir created by the dam. Among the sites that could be damaged or even destroyed are what is believed to be the Royal Passage of the Achaemenids, the Persian dynasty that ruled in the sixth century B.C. and an Achaemenid village and cemetery dating back 7000 years.

Humidity from the reservoir could also damage the ancient city of Persepolis which is a historical site visited by millions of people every year.

The dam was built to provide irrigation to farms in the area.

Check out coverage of this story in USA Today, the Star Tribune, and Sci-Tech Today, all of which used AP coverage.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 2:50 PM | Permalink

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently proposed a pay-to-drive plan that would charge motorists to drive in lower parts of Manhattan.

The plan would charge cars $8 and trucks $21 per day to drive in Manhattan below 86th Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. This would not be done with toll booths, but rather with cameras at intersections capturing the license plates of cars driving in the area and sending the owners statements.

The goals of the program are not only to reduce pollution caused by vehicle traffic in New York, but also to cut down on traffic congestion in Manhattan. The proposed revenue would be put towards alternative transit solutions for the area. Authors of the plan said in its first year alone the program could generate $400 million.

This is only one of 127 environmental improvement policies proposed by Bloomberg as part of his goal to improve the city's long-term sustainability. Others include his goal to plant 1 million trees in the city by 2017, water conservation initiatives, and energy-related plans such as tax rebates for solar panels. Not only does Bloomberg have other programs in mind to help the city become more environmentally friendly, he follows his own advice, most days he takes the Subway to work instead of driving.

Also check out the All Headline News online coverage as well as ABC's local coverage for NYC.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 2:32 PM | Permalink

Former Gopher Gary Russell is hoping that despite not playing this season, he will be picked up in the upcoming NFL draft.

Russell held a personal pro day on April 2 to get attention from NFL scouts and closet some of the doubts about his playing that could cause professional teams to pass him by. There was a sparse crowd at the field that day, but Russell filmed the workout session and sent the tape to teams.

After flunking out of the university in January 2006, Russell missed what would have been his junior season, and perhaps a successful season, with the Gophers. In 2005 Russell had 18 touchdowns and rushed for 1,135 yards (which averaged out to 6.1 yards per carry). Russell's failing grades did not allow him to play, or stay at the university so he returned to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

Some sports analysts believe Russell could go undrafted and be picked up by a team as a free agent. The Cincinnati Bengals worked him out on March 31, but there were no guarantees of him playing with them reported the Star Tribune.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 2:19 PM | Permalink

The Seminole tribe announced Thursday its plans to buy a large portion of the Hard Rock casino, hotel and restaurant chain.

The Florida tribe bought Hard Rock from the London-based Rank Group PLC in a $965 million deal. Included in the deal were two casinos, 124 restaurants, four hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and what is said to be the world's largest collection of rock n' roll memorabilia, which includes 70,000 pieces.

The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas was not included in the deal, as well as the Hard Rock Casino in London. Rank Group plans to change the London business to the Rank Gaming brand.

The Seminole tribe includes 3,300 members on and off Florida reservations. All the members of the tribe receive payments from the success of their casinos.

Check out the Star Tribune's coverage

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 11:39 AM | Permalink

A Palestinian group claims to have killed BBC journalist Alan Johnston, but so far the claims have not been supported.

Previously unknown group "the brigade of Tawhid and Jihad" contacted news organizations claiming to have killed Johnston a month ago, but reports cannot be confirmed.

So far it is not clear if there is any connection between the group making the claims and Al-Qaida, which was known as Tawhid and Jihad before the name was changed.

Since his kidnapping on March 12, Palestinian journalists have protested for Johnston's release.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 12:27 AM | Permalink

Many teenagers in the Twin Cities area were given dresses for their upcoming proms thanks to local charity organizations.

Operation Glass Slipper expected to give away more than 500 prom dresses during a giveaway this weekend at Southdale Shopping Center. The dress giveaway was organized by Pam Philipp and her daughter Emily of Mendota Heights.

Other organizations and businesses have been getting involved in dress donations this prom season as well. Ever After Gowns invited 200 girls to pick out dresses, and some of the more than 1,000 prom dresses they collected will be donated to students with disabilities at Starry Night Prom.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 12:10 AM | Permalink

Former Symbionese Liberation Army member Sara Jane Olson had a one year reduction of her sentence restored on Thursday after judges ruled her appeal had not followed proper procedure.

Olson is serving back to back sentences for guilty pleas regarding both a bombing of police vehicles and second-degree shooting of a bank customer during a robbery in 1975.

Sara Jane Olson, formerly known as Kathleen Ann Soliah, was arrested near her St. Paul home in 1999 after her picture appeared on America's Most Wanted.

Olson had been living in St. Paul for 23 years before she was arrested by the FBI in 1999. Her arrest came as a surprise to her husband and three daughters, who claimed to have no knowledge that their wife and mother was a fugitive.

The Symbionese Liberation Army, an American terrorist group also known as the SLA were best known for their capture of heiress Patty Hearst.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 11:11 PM | Permalink

Michael Jordan's divorce could become the most expensive celebrity divorce in history according to Forbes.com.

Jordan and wife Juanita filed for divorce in December 2006 but had been living apart since February of that year.

If Juanita Jordan receives more than $150 million dollars in settlement the Jordan's divorce would pass Neil Diamond's 1995 divorce from Marcia Murphey to become number one on the list of expensive celebrity divorces.

Check out the AP's coverage in the Star Tribune and on ABC News.com.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:41 PM | Permalink

A luxury home developing company has seen business slow down in the Twin Cities area. Toll Brothers, a Pennsylvania based company, expanded their business to the Twin Cities two years ago with hopes of a booming market. But sales are not what they hoped for in the Steeplechase of Eagan development.

There appears to be an excess of luxury homes in the Twin Cities area, as is evident by the extended periods of time these homes are spending on the market.

Area realtor Tony Ashworth told the Star Tribune that Toll Brothers is not the only developer of its kind that has suffered from tough sales and falling stocks. In fact, Toll Brothers has faired better than many of its competitors in the national market.

Ashworth said the attractive and convenient location of the Steeplechase development will help it survive in the long run.

Toll Brothers is the company most associated with the "McMansion" label for its homes. "McMansion" refers to luxury homes constructed with the same layout and create neighborhoods with a cookie-cutter feel. Toll Brothers said they do their best to avoid such developments by not building identical homes side-by-side.

Posted by Kelly Stolpa at 10:11 PM | Permalink