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A car struck and killed a 3-year-old as she was crossing a St. Paul street Saturday morning.

Mai Yer Moua was following her father, Vang Moua, across Rose Avenue, where they were attending a family ceremony, when a truck struck her. Her mother, Mai Neng Moua, was reaching for their younger child and other things when Mai Yer crossed.

Police spokesman Peter Panos told the Star Tribune that the death appeared accidental, and that the driver, whom he declined to identify, was distraught over the girl's death. It was too early to say how fast the man was going.

"It could be anybody -- it just happened to be his little girl," Mickey Yang, Vang's cousin, told the Star Tribune.

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Minneapolis Police dressed in riot gear subdued a large crowd of students at a block party in Dinkytown late Saturday with tear gas.

The party was part of the school's Spring Jam festivities, students told the Pioneer Press. Minneapolis police responded around 8 p.m., and tried to subdue students on 7th Street and between 14th and 13th Avenues SE with pepper spray, tear gas grenades and foam rounds.

According to the Star Tribune, the crowd grew to around 500 through the night. At least 60 officers responded to the incidents.

Police told the Pioneer Press that students caused damage to cars and started a fire in the street. They also threw rocks and bottles at the officers when they arrived.

The Star Tribune reported some homes in the area were also damaged.

More than 60 officers were on the scene.

Six people were arrested, but no serious injuries were reported.

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A 21-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly trying to lure two eight-year-old girls into his car Tuesday and show him the way to Concord Elementary School.

According to the Star Tribune, both girls refused and alerted their parents.

District spokesman Doug Johnson told the Star Tribune the incidents happened around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, is in custody pending charges.

Edina deputy police chief Jeff Long declined to identify the two girls who were walking home from school when the suspect approached them.

A citizen spotted the suspect talking to the girl, learned what happened, and followed him to get the license plate number before calling police.

The suspect told police he was lost and needed to find his way home, Long told the Star Tribune.

"He said he was sincerely lost and looking for directions," Long said. "The problem we saw with that was that he claimed he talked to a couple people, including a man, but we have not had anyone step forward to say that."

Long also told the Star Tribune the suspect asked to speak to an attorney and has had a criminal history that includes burglary and assault.

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A woman was killed and two others were injured after a collision Saturday night between a suspect fleeing Roseville police and the woman on Saturday night.

Shoua Vang, 48, was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital after Tito Fonzio Campbell, 33, left Interstate 35E in a stolen Chrysler and crashed into her car near Larpenteur Avenue in St. Paul, according to the Pioneer Press.

Vang's son declined to comment, according to the Star Tribune.

The incident began after Roseville police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle near Highway 36, the Star Tribune reported. After chasing Campbell eastbound on the highway, police stopped because the suspect passed other cars in "a dangerous manner by using the right shoulder of the highway." Campbell was not being pursued by the police when he crashed into Vang.

Campbell was arrested on the scene of the accident, Roseville police told the Pioneer Press. He is being held on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.

Police also told the Pioneer Press that there was an eight-year-old boy in the suspect's car that was hospitalized at Region's with non-life threatening injuries, but his relationship with the suspect is unknown. The man in Vang's car was hospitalized at Region's in serious condition.

Campbell was taken to Region's hospital for a blood-alcohol draw, according to the Pioneer Press. His blood alcohol level was not released.

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A bill regulating the tattoo industry is in the Legislature and has drawn both support and opposition from tattoo artists across the state.

The bill would mandate state health-related practices for artists and require training and inspections, according to the Star Tribune.

Though there are no current state regulations, some cities and counties in Minnesota have ordinances, and artists need to follow federal health and safety regulations.

The bill, which is not the first attempt to regulate tattooing in Minnesota, is believed by supporters to be a form of protection for people who wish to get a tattoo in a tattoo parlor.

"It's not a good thing that any guy with a couple thousand dollars can just open a shop," Dwayne Holt, a tattoo artist and shop manager at Anchor's End Tattoo in Duluth, told the Star Tribune. "You couldn't go and get your hair cut by someone who just picked up the scissors this morning."

Tanika Nolan, one of the 20-year owners of ACME Tattoo Co. in St. Paul, opposes the bill because she believes the bill to be too broad. The regulations and guidelines go beyond public health, Nolan told the Star Tribune, and they might make it harder to enter the profession and push tattoo artists underground.

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A proposed road extension linking Midway to the East Side could run through two businesses, and both owners do not want to leave.

The project is an extension of Pierce Butler Route, from Grotto Street to Interstate 35E, according to the Star Tribune. New changes to the plan include buying out the properties where Daisy Huang's Super Foods and Gennadiy Yermolenko's proposed Capitol Car Co. sit.

"We're doing business for the neighborhood; they can't just move us wherever," Huang told the Star Tribune. "Our business is where we are today. We don't think this would work elsewhere."

Huang spent nearly $3 million in renovating her grocery store and bazaar in recent years. Yermolenko spent about $1.5 million redeveloping the old salvage yard nearby that he recently purchased.

Tait Danielson Castillo, the executive director of the District 7 Planning Council, said initial plans put the road north of Huang's business.

Project manager Eriks Ludins told the Star Tribune that the neighborhood knew about the change in plans in 2007. He also said putting the road north of the store would have included 1,500 feet of bridge and would have made the project more costly.

Posted by vangx570 at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Governor Tim Pawlenty ordered a statewide study to determine the best rail products for Minnesota.

According to the Star Tribune, Pawlenty said on his radio show Friday that the Northstar commuter line, scheduled to open this fall, should be extended to St. Cloud. Additionally, studies of a high-speed line from the Twin Cities to Chicago should include access to Rochester.

Originally, the Northstar commuter line was supposed to reach from Minneapolis to St. Cloud, but since the creation of the original plan 14 years ago has expanded to a $310 million rail line from Minneapolis to Big Lake.

Though the proposal for a stop in Rochester on a high-speed line from the Twin Cities to Chicago is contrary to the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, a $1.2 billion, mulitstate route to follow existing tracks along the Mississippi River from Winona to St. Paul, Pawlenty wants to "explore all options," according to the Star Tribune.

The Star Tribune reported Pawlenty met with Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and U.S. Rep. Tim Walz separately to discuss rail projects.

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Police believe that "gang friction" caused the fight between a group of students Wednesday at Chaska High School, but school officials say police are inaccurately describing the fight with "inflammatory language."

According to the Star Tribune, Eight students were charged with offenses ranging from assault and riot to possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds. Their punishments will range from suspension to expulsion.

School administrators, led by Superintendent David Jennings, said Friday that the fight started over "someone's girlfriend, someone's iPod and too much machismo among teenage boys," a different story from what the Chaska police believe to be a fight after a student flashed a gang sign.

"Video from school cameras show it was not a push-and-shove thing," Chaska Police Chief Scott Knight told Star Tribune Friday. "One kid is down being kicked and stomped."

"As the altercation became more heated, a gang sign was used, and that probably fueled or contributed to the issue, but I don't believe it started it," Principal David Brecht said Friday to the Star Tribune.

School resource officer Trent Wurtz told the Star Tribune the fight broke early Wednesday morning in the cafeteria commons, where at least 100 students were gathered.

The weapon found on a student was revealed to be a corkscrew with a blade that's used for cutting foil, the Star Tribune reported. It was only discovered after the student was asked to empty his pockets after the fight, Jennings said.

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A 35-year-old man from Brooklyn Park was in jail and charged Thursday with raping a 16-year-old from Milwaukee he met online and held against her will.

According to the Star Tribune, Tony Xiong allegedly drove to Milwaukee, picked the girl up, brought her back to the Twin Cities and kept her in his home.

Xiong told Brooklyn Park police he was marrying the teenager and his actions were permissible, according to the charges.

Police found the girl locked in a bathroom after Xiong consented to a search, the complaint said. Xiong denied having sex with her or holding her against her will, the Star Tribune reported.

Xiong picked the girl up on last Saturday and drove her to Minneapolis, where he had sex with her even though she continued to tell him "no," the complaint said. According to the Star Tribune, the teenager told police Xiong told her he was 23 when they chatted online.

After the girl was able to call her parents and gave them Xiong's address, they called the police. The girl's parents told the Star Tribune they did not give him permission to take her.

The Hennepin County attorney's office charged Xiong with third-degree criminal sexual conduct and false imprisonment, which are both felonies.

Posted by vangx570 at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 42-year-old man suspected of killing his girlfriend's son killed himself after a police chase down Interstate 94 and releasing his girlfriend, who he held hostage in the car.

Peter Tek shot himself in the head after releasing his girlfriend. Authorities told the Star Tribune Tek shot his girlfriend's 27-year-old son, Savang Sath, at the family's home in Big Lake.

Tek's girlfriend suffered head injuries, police told the Star Tribune. She is currently hospitalized, but expected to recover. Tek had been living with her and her son for four years in Big Lake.

Cheth Tek, Peter Tek's brother, they had been at a party and returned home about 2 a.m. on Saturday. Authorities told the Star Tribune there was an argument between Tek and two adult females about an hour later. Tek and Sath then got into an argument and Tek shot Sath twice. After 20 minutes of holding both women hostage, he left with Sath's mother.

The Pioneer Press reported that Tek stopped near Stearns County Road 6. Deputies negotiated with Tek for an hour before he released his hostage, authorities told the Pioneer Press.

Tek killed himself in his vehicle with a Taurus .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, and the shells casings were the same caliber as those found in the home Sath was shot, authorities told the Pioneer Press.

The Star Tribune reported that, a few hours before Tek shot himself, he called his ex-wife and spoke to his son, Phath Bauer. In the call, he implied he was going to kill himself.

Posted by vangx570 at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The city of St. Paul asked the state of Minnesota to forgive a loan in order to build, own and operate an ice arena across the street from the Xcel Energy Center.

Mayor Chris Coleman proposed the idea of creating a second ice rink, called The Pond or 'Mini-X,' to a state House subcommittee Thursday. In order to build the rink, Coleman's bill asked the lawmakers to forgive $33 million in loans, which the city would use to build the arena.

According to the Star Tribune, the bill would also allow the city to issue up to $40 million in bonds to help finance the project.

The building will be 120,000 square feet and will have three stories. It will be open year-round, have seating for up to 4,000 people and, according to the Pioneer Press, house shops and restaurants in the future.

According to the Star Tribune, the Pond will provide a place for the Minnesota Wild to practice, to host amateur hockey and figure skating events, to handle overflow from the Xcel Center events and to give downtown visitors another recreational event that would make them spend more time and money in the area.

"It creates jobs, it's shovel-ready and it can have an immediate impact on the economy," Coleman told a subdivision of the House Finance Committee, according to the Star Tribune. "This is exactly what the city of St. Paul needs to be doing in this economy."

St. Paul officials told the Star Tribune the project will create 200 jobs and bring in more money. The early estimates say the rink will make at least $4 million annually.

The future of the plan is unclear.

The city has tried to persuade lawmakers to forgive the debt previous to this proposal, but it has failed.

According to the Star Tribune, the city will continue to pay the loan for the next four years, for a total of about $7 million. If the legislation is approved, the city would have paid back $15.3 million of the original $48 million Xcel loan.

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Police on Thursday seized a car suspected to be the car involved in a hit-and-run in Apple Valley that struck and critically injured a woman in an intersection crosswalk.

The family of the woman, Joan LeVasseur, 26, of Apple Valley, also said it has decided to remove her from life support.

Police said they were led to the car by a tip from the public. They seized the 2003 Ford Focus, and Apple Valley police Capt. Jon Rechtzigel told the Star Tribune the car had front-end damage consistent with striking a pedestrian.

LeVasseur has been in Hennepin County Medical Center with a severe brain injury, multiple fractures to her legs, a fractured pelvis, a broken right and and cuts on her face. The Pioneer Press reported her family wrote on her CaringBridge Web site that doctors told them there is "no sign of meaningful recovery."

Rechtzigel told the Star Tribune the people living at the home where the car was seized are not talking with police and have secured an attorney.

No one has been charged. The case remains under investigation, Rechtzigel told the Pioneer Press.

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An Elbow Lake, Minn., man accused of abducting his stepdaughter at gunpoint Saturday was arrested by police early Sunday morning.

David R. Sabby, 46, kidnapped his stepdaughter, Amy Henning, 17, in a parking lot at the West Ridge Mall Saturday evening. Around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, Sabby gave her the keys to his car and let her drive away, Fergus Falls Police Chief Tim Brennan told the Star Tribune.

Sabby later approached a home near Swan Lake in Otter Tail County looking for a phone and was arrested after the homeowner called the sheriff about him, the Star Tribune reported.

The Pioneer Press reported that Sabby had tied up Henning's stepbrother using duct tape and left him in the car Henning drove to the mall. After 20 to 30 minutes, the stepbrother managed to get free and notified authorities.

Henning had a restraining order against Sabby.

Brennan told the Pioneer Press Sabby was not cooperating with the investigators. Sabby was booked into Otter Tail County Jail on suspicion of second-degree assault causing substantial injury, kidnapping causing bodily harm and possession of a firearm.

Motive for the kidnapping is unknown, Brennan told the Star Tribune. It is also unclear what happened while the girl was missing.

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A deaf woman struck by a hit-and-run driver Friday in Apple Valley remains in critical condition.

Joan LeVasseur, 26, was walking eastbound on Cedar Avenue on 153 Street in Apple Valley when a car struck her. The Star Tribune reported she was walking towards Cub Foods in a crosswalk.

The vehicle left the scene without stopping.

The car was described to the Pioneer Press by police as a "large light-colored vehicle in the northbound lane." The Star Tribune reported there could be possible front end damage.

LeVasseur suffered severe head trauma, brain injuries and fractures in her legs, pelvis, right hand and lacerations to her face, Lori LeVasseur, her sister-in-law, told the Pioneer Press.

Apple Valley Sgt. Joe Shaw told the Star Tribune there have been no arrests in the case.

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Police arrested a Duluth man after allegedly stealing a car and repeatedly calling 911 to brag to the police that they would not catch him.

Police told the Star Tribune the 23-year-old man, whose name was not released, stole gas from a gas station Friday night then fled in a car he allegedly stole earlier.

An officer chased the man after he spotted the stolen car, but after crashing into a guardrail the man turned off his lights and sped away.

After police found the car abandoned, the man allegedly began calling 911 and telling dispatchers he would not be caught because he was "smarter than the police."

Two hours later, a man called 911 to report a prowler and found the suspect hiding in a shed. Police arrested him.

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A Fridley man was sentenced to 84 days in jail and will be on probation for six years after his release for exposing himself to underage girls last year.

According to the Pioneer Press, Brian Erik Thompson, 26, was sentenced by Judge Robert Awsumb in Ramsey County District Court. His sentence begins March 13.

He also had to pay a fine; remain law-abiding; have no contact with the victims, minors or vulnerable adults; not have any unapproved access to the internet; and possess no pornographic or sexually explicit material.

In 2008, Thompson exposed himself three times to girls younger than 16. On Feb. 6, he drove up to a 15-year-old girl in Roseville and asked her for directions while his penis was exposed. On April 29, Thompson pulled up to a girl walking home from school in St. Paul and asked for directions. When the girl approached him, he exposed himself to her. On June 17, he exposed himself to a 14-year-old girl delivering newspapers in Roseville.

Thompson was arrested on June 18 because the 14-year-old girl was able to give police his license plate number. In November, he pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Since his arrest, he has been admitted into a treatment program for sex offenders.

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Minneapolis police are investigating a possible link between five armed robberies committed Sunday morning in different areas of South Minneapolis.

The suspects were described as two men in their 20s and robbed seven people between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m., according to the Star Tribune.

Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer told the Star Tribune the men drove up to victims in a car and robbed the suspects after threatening them with a gun, taking cash, wallets, purses, cell phones and clothing.

According to the Pioneer Press, the suspects approached people getting into or out of a vehicle.

The robberies occurred in three locations, the Pioneer Press reported. Two were near the Crosstown Commons, one was on East 35th Street west of Hiawatha Avenue, and two were east of downtown.

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A man was shot and killed by two Shakopee police officers Saturday in a confrontation.

The man, whose name had not been released, was armed and wanted for second-degree assault, second-degree domestic assault and voilating an order of protection, the Shakopee Police Department told the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press.

The man was critically wounded and died at a hospital, according to the Pioneer Press.

The officers involved will be on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

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An off-duty Minneapolis police officer's gun accidentally discharged Saturday, injuring a retired St. Paul police officer.

The Minneapolis officer was sitting in a chair when the gun holster caught on the chair, Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia told the Star Tribune.

Both men were working at the Minneapolis Gun Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center, Garcia said.

One round hit the floor after the pistol discharged and the bullet fragmented, hitting the St. Paul officer in the left leg and hand. Garcia also said the retired St. Paul officer, 61, had minor injuries and was treated and released Saturday.

Fragments also grazed the Minneapolis officer, but no medical attention was needed. The officer will not be placed on paid leave pending investigation because the accident was not a critical incident, said Garcia.

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The body of a man who was struck by a train was found Saturday in East St. Paul.

According to the Pioneer Press, a Union Pacific Railroad worker notified authorities of the body of a 33-year-old man whose name has not been released.

St. Paul police Cmdr. Kevin Casper said it is not known when the man was struck.

The Star Tribune reported police told KSTP-TV the man apparently fell asleep or passed out on the tracks.

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In honor of national Freedom to Marry Week, Minnesotans gathered to rally at the state Capitol.

According to the Star Tribune, legislators said they would push a bill that would allow gay couples to marry. Already introduced to the Senate, the House plans to introduce it in their chamber soon.

Many people stood holding signs and banners in support of the bill, but some signs said marriage should be between only a man and a woman.

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Minnesota legislatures introduced a bill Monday that would help high school students pass the new math test required for graduation.

According to the Star Tribune, the state’s graduation rate could plunge because of the new set of tests needed to get diplomas. The math questions are the main cause of concern.

The Pioneer Press reported two-thirds of juniors failed to meet the standards on the math portion of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, the tests that this year’s juniors must pass in order to graduate.

The bill introduced would allow students who fail the new math and reading graduation tests to get their diplomas if they complete all other state and district graduation requirements, participate in the district’s remediation program for the subject the failed, and try to pass the test two more times.

An alternate suggestion brought to the policymakers is substituting the tests for end-of-course exams, which students would take after completing a course instead of having to demonstrate how much they learned over the course of several years.

Supporters argue end-of-course exams motivate students more and are better at determining whether or not a student has mastered the subject, according to the Pioneer Press.

Posted by vangx570 at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Minneapolis man was charged on two accounts of groping after being arrested on Tuesday by Minneapolis police.

Phillip William Acosta, 41, was taken into custody after groping two females Tuesday on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities’ West Bank campus. In addition to the two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree, he also admitted to eight earlier incidents on campus, charging documents said.

He told police he was attracted to female buttocks, the Pioneer Press reported.

According to the Star Tribune, police said Acosta had inappropriately touched a woman in front of the McNamara Alumni Center. Officers on the West Bank campus spotted a man matching the description given to police.

Another incident had occurred about 20 minutes earlier in front of Moos Tower, and the two most-recent victims identified Acosta as their attacker while he was in custody.

Posted by vangx570 at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A former St. Paul police officer was charged by Minnesota prosecutors with stabbing an acquaintance he accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of marijuana from.

The Ramsey County District Court charged Norman Wesley Berry, 52, with second-degree assault and fifth-degree possession of marijuana.

According to the Pioneer Press, Berry confronted Courtney Allen Bivens, then 26, on Dec. 3 at the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center. Berry believed Bivens stole $3,200 worth of marijuana from his home on Nov. 28. When Bivens refused to get into Berry’s vehicle and punched Berry, Berry slashed his arm several times with a kitchen knife.

Bivens later identified Berry in a photo lineup and denied breaking into his home, but told police he knew Berry ran a marijuana-growing operation in his basement.

When police searched Berry’s home on Dec. 11, they found marijuana and remnants of the grow operation.

According to the Star Tribune, police believed he fled from St. Paul to Iowa to Stockton, Calif. A warrant was released for his arrest when he was charged, and police in Stockton arrested him on Wednesday. Berry is being held in the San Joaquin County Jail.

Posted by vangx570 at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

State officials released a preliminary report on Friday regarding health care resource distribution if an influenza pandemic occurs.

The report, called "For the Good of Us All: Ethically Rationing Health Resources in Minnesota in a Severe Influenza Pandemic," states one in three Minnesotans might become sick if the pandemic does occur. 175,000 might be hospitalized and 32,000 might die. The pandemic could last up to two years, according to a panel of health officials and ethicists.

"Many people have a false sense of security because we haven't had a pandemic yet, after all the publicity about 'bird flu,' '' Minnesota Health Commissioner Sanne Magnan told the Star Tribune. "However, that same avian strain of influenza is still making people sick and causing deaths in Asia and Africa, and it could still cause a pandemic.''

The Star Tribune reports that Minnesota has enough medicine to treat 21 percent of the population in a first wave of the flu. The 2.4 million masks for public health workers will not last three weeks.

The Star Tribune also includes a list of possible priorities in the distribution of supplies, with those who are critical to preventing the flu and those who are at a high risk of contracting the flu at the top of the list and those who are moderately at risk at the bottom.

Officials will release the protocols for the rationing of what medical supplies Minnesota has collected later, but want to raise the ethical issues that surround the rationing.

The report brings up the issue of age discrimination. It notes that the antiviral medication will be less effective on the elderly and infants, and that providing these to their caretakers might better protect them from the flu. It also warns that steps should be taken so there is no discrimination based on economic status, illegal immigrants are not turned away, and the terminally ill are not treated unfairly.

The Pioneer Press reports around 12,900 people suffering from the flu could suffer from respiratory failure during the pandemic, but only 1,200 mechanical ventilators are available in the state. 85 percent of them are currently in use, some by terminally ill patients, and the pandemic might take these machines away from them.

The panel told the Star Tribune the top priorities of rationing should be, “Protect the population’s health, protect public safety and civil order, and treat people fairly.�

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