Clarise's News Blog

A Minneapolis fugitive who lives in Rome filed via courier package to be the first candidate in the New Hampshire presidential primary, according to the Pioneer Press.
Jack Shepard, a former Minnesota dentist, is a Republican who faces 25-year-old arson charges if he returns to Minnesota. Shepard allegedly set fire to his dental office in 1982. Shepard denies the arson charge, according to the Pioneer Press. He also pleaded guilty to fourth degree sexual assault in 1980. Shepard has lost three elections in Minnesota since 2003.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 8:46 PM | Permalink

Supervalu, a national gas chain based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, will go to court after being scammed out of $10 million, according to the Star Tribune.
The scam started when Supervalu received two emails, one which said it was from Frito-Lay and the other said it was from America Greetings Corp., which told Supervalu to send payments to a new bank number, according to the Star Tribune. Overall, Supervalu sent $10 million to fraudulent bank accounts.
The FBI confined the money before it could be spent, but now a federal judge has to decide whether the recovered money will go to Frito-Lay, American Greeting, or Supervalu.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 8:42 PM | Permalink

The father of a 14-year-old girl who distributed crystal meth at her St. Paul school last week was charged with drug possession Thursday, according to the Star Tribune.
The complaint did not tie the father, Jerry Castillo, 35, to the girl’s meth distribution, the Star Tribune said. According to the complaint, the girl told the police brought the meth to school after finding a tube full of “little crystals� in a bathroom at Hazel Park middle school, the Star Tribune reported.
The police found two grams of meth in a bedroom nightstand during a search of the house.
Castillo denied giving the girl meth, the police said.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 10:38 AM | Permalink

The Klondike Kates, middle-aged “divas of the St. Paul Winter Carnival,� are coming out with a new pin-up calendar in which they appear almost naked—covered by strategically placed umbrellas and towels, according to the Pioneer Press. Other photos for the calendar include seemingly naked Kates posing behind flowers and in a tub.
The Kates hope to rouse interest in their act through the calendars, according to the Pioneer Press.
The calendars are currently in production but can be ordered now. They will also be available at the Winter Carnival. Proceeds will go to the Royal Order of Klondike Kates.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 10:35 AM | Permalink

The Minneapolis City Council will vote Friday whether to restrict the carrying of replica or non-lethal firearms in public, according to the Star Tribune.
The vote is in response to burglaries, assaults, car thefts and kidnappings carried out using such guns. Police officers are afraid of unknowingly shooting someone who is carrying a fake gun.
The Minnesota Airsoft Association, which represents the interests of players of paintball-style war games, gave the only testimony on the proposal. It supports the proposed restrictions.
“The problem is the realism,� Airsoft Association Safety Officer Erik Pakieser told the city council Friday, according to the Star Tribune.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 10:13 AM | Permalink

A 14-year-old St. Paul student pleaded guilty to distributing to distributing crystal meth on Wednesday, a day after police say she handed the drug out at school, according to the Pioneer Press.
The girl was arrested Tuesday and was charged Wednesday with second-degree sale of a controlled substance. Her hearing is scheduled for October 10, and she will remain in custody until then. After finding two grams of crystal met at the girl’s home Wednesday, St. Paul police say they are considering the girl’s parents as a possible source, according to the Pioneer Press.
Seven students went to the hospital from their middle school in St. Paul after ingesting the crystal meth on Tuesday, according to the Star Tribune.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 10:09 AM | Permalink

The Mayor of Spicer, a city in Wilmar, Minnesota, pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and fifth-degree assault Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Mayor Perry Wohnoutka, 47, was arrested Sept. 1 after an incident at a Spicer bar. Prosecutors said that Wohnoutka had been drinking for a while at Melvin’s on the Lake in Spicer when the bar’s owner told his bartenders to stop serving him drinks. Two bartenders tried to put the mayor on his bike to go home and a fight ensued, prosecutors said.
According to a breath test, Wonhoutka had a blood-alcohol level of 0.217 percent, the police report said. He went to jail that night and was released the following day.
Wonhoutka will hire a private attorney to represent him.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 3:50 PM | Permalink

The Star Tribune will refund $12,000 spent on a full-page ad to the Al Franken Senate campaign, according to a Franken campaign official, the Star Tribune reported on Wednesday.
The Star Tribune reported Norm Coleman’s campaign took out a full-page ad this week and paid $23,000, according to the Coleman campaign, which is much less than the $37,000 the Franken campaign paid for their full-page ad two months ago.
According to the Star Tribune’s senior vice president for communications and marketing, Benjamin Taylor, Franken was charged the correct rate and Coleman was charged the wrong one. The fault, Taylor said, was with a new sales rep who gave the Coleman campaign the local rate rather than the national one, according to the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune said from here on, both campaigns will be charged the national rate.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 3:44 PM | Permalink

A man who murdered his ex-fiancé and then shot himself in 2005 was memorialized two weeks ago at a city softball park in Erskine, Minnesota, according to the Star Tribune.
David Defrang, who coached youth baseball and basketball teams before his murder-suicide, was honored with a plaque in Erskine Athletic Park which reads, “In loving memory of David DeFrang, whose love and devotion to our children is greatly appreciated,� according to the Star Tribune.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Defrang, 44, shot Tina Gerving, 39, to death on January 23, 2005, according to the Star Tribune. Gerving had called off their wedding two weeks earlier.
According to Patty Morrison, who coordinated the effort to put the plaque up, the murder-suicide was “one of those things that is impossible to explain,� the Grand Forks Herald reported.
Gerving’s aunt, Linda Emerson, was displeased to hear of the plaque.
“Yeah? Why don’t they make on for Charles Manson, too?� she said, according to the Grand Forks Herald.
According to Morrison, Defrang was well-liked by the community. “Every day in here would make us laugh. He was just a very, very happy person,� she said, according to the Grand Forks Herald. Emerson disagreed.
“He was a very egotistical S.O.B.,� she said, according to the Grand Forks Herald. “He wore a T-shirt like that to show it. It said 'It's All About Me.'�

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 11:28 AM | Permalink

A new procedure for open-heart surgery using robotic arms is now available in Minnesota, according to WCCO.
The new procedure, in which a robot controlled by a surgeon makes a one-inch incision in the patient’s chest and goes in to complete the surgery, is only offered at Regions Hospital in St. Paul although it is available in other states.
In contrast to traditional open-heart surgery, where a patient is cut from the top of the chest down to the navel and ribs are broken, robotic surgery is much less invasive. The robotic arms, controlled by a surgeon eight feet from the patient, make a small incision in the chest, go into the body, and complete the stitching inside the heart. An advantage to this procedure is the tiny camera connected to the robot, which gives the surgeon a much different view of the heart than what is seen in traditional surgery.
“The robot will transmit our tiny moves very effectively without tremor so the dexterity you get with the robot is phenomenal,� Dr. Goya Raikar, who has performed the surgery, said, according to WCCO.
The robot procedure shortens traditional recovery times by weeks.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 11:13 AM | Permalink

An inmate who was set to go on parole next February walked out of a minimum-security unit at a Lino Lakes state prison on Saturday, according to the Star Tribune.
Jun Williams Vang, 27, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to second degree attempted murder for the benefit of a gang, the Star Tribune said. In the case, Vang confessed to his role as a driver in an attempted drive-by shooting in Maplewood.
Vang was under minimum custody since January 25 and was scheduled to be paroled in February, according to the Pioneer Press.
Authorities are now searching for Vang, who walked out of the minimum-security unit between the prisoner counts at 1:45 and 4:30 p.m. According to the Pioneer Press, “Lino Lakes police officer Dale Hager said prison officials told police that Vang had a car waiting outside when he left.� According to the Pioneer Press, Hager said Lino Lakes prison officials notified police two hours after Vang walked out.
Anyone with information on Vang’s whereabouts is asked to call 911.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 2:51 AM | Permalink

Governor Tim Pawlenty called a special session at the State Capitol Monday to pass a disaster relief bill, according to the Star Tribune. Pawlenty called the session in response to pressure from victims of the severe floods earlier this summer in southeastern Minnesota. The session is set to for Tuesday at 5 p.m. Legislators from both parties have promised to stay on task. Pawlenty said relief to victims could be in low-interest, deferred or forgivable loans and potentially could get to homeowners and businesses within days of the bill’s passage, the Star Tribune reported Monday. If the bill passed, it would provide $121 million in aid to southeastern Minnesota, according to the Star Tribune.
Some of the money will help those affected by the summer drought, according to the Pioneer Press, but the special session will not address the 35W bridge collapse recovery effort. “Lawmakers and the governor discussed those issues in recent weeks but dropped them from the special session agenda when they could not agree,� the Pioneer Press reported.

Posted by Clarise Tushie-Lessard at 2:47 AM | Permalink