Memorial for fallen officers this morning
KROC AM News
May 17, 2012
The public is invited to the annual memorial service being held today by the Rochester Police Department and Olmsted County Sheriff's Department to honor fallen law enforcement officers from this area. The event will be held at the Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial, beginning at 10 a.m.
No strike at Twin Cities hospitals
Minnesota News Network
May 17, 2012
A strike against eight hospitals in the Twin Cities will not happen. A tentative agreement was reached between the union and the hospitals after an all-day session yesterday. Details are not being released until union members can review the contract and take a vote next week. The 3500 workers include nursing assistants, ER technicians, maintenance and food service personnel, clerks, warehouse staff and others.
Rochester man indicted on child porn charges
Andy Brownell KROC-AM NEWS
May 16, 2012
A Rochester man is facing federal child pornography charges. Officials say a grand jury has indicted 27-year-old Nathan Severson on three counts for receipt , distribution and possession of child pornography. Two of the charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of five years in prison. The indictment alleges Severson received and distributed sexually explicit images of minors via the internet in January, and a search of his computers later uncovered about 11,000 images of similar pornography.
Area man charged with trying to hire a hit man
Andy Brownell KROC-AM NEWS
May 16, 2012
A Kenyon man has been charged in connection with with a murder-for-hire plot. Rice County prosecutors say 26-year-old Jesse Helgeson is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend and is facing a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder charge. The criminal complaint says authorities were tipped off by a person who had received text messages from Helgeson that indicated he was looking to have the other man killed. A meeting was then arranged between Helgeson and an undercover officer posing as a hit man. Authorities say Helgeson offered to compensate the "hit man" by giving him an ATV and a golf cart. Conditional bail for Helgeson was set at $250,000 dollars.
Mayo Clinic releases new app
Andy Brownell KROC-AM NEWS
May 16, 2012
The Mayo Clinic has released a new app for the iPhone and other Apple mobile devices that provides Mayo patients with easy and secure access to a wide array of resources, including their own medical records. The new app also offers users the ability to schedule appointments, access health information and tips from Mayo's website and on-line publications, and navigation to amenities on Mayo's campuses and in the community.
Central Minnesota man given 10-years in prison for deadly traffic crash
Minnesota News Network
May 16, 2012
A Big Lake man has been sentenced to a maximum ten years in prison after being convicted of criminal vehicular homicide. Forty-four-year-old Eugene Rivetts crashed his SUV into a car near Opole in August of 2009, killing 19-year-old Ryan DeZurik. Rivetts initially claimed his passenger was driving, but forensic evidence showed Rivetts was the one behind the wheel. He also admitted that he had been drinking throughout the day.
Twin Cities man given probation for abandoning his son
Minnesota News Network
May 16, 2012
A judge has ordered two years probation for a Lakeville man who abandoned his eleven-year-old son last year and took off for California. Sixty-year-old Steven Cross was found 43 days later. Dakota County Attorney Jim Backstrom says child welfare officials are looking out for the boy and he's had a surprise reunion with his mother. Backstrom says the boy thought his mother was dead, based on what his father told him for many years. When he disappeared last July, Cross left a note telling his son he was going away - apparently forever - and instructing the boy to go to a neighbor's house.
National Guard airmen welcomed home
Minnesota News Network
May 16, 2012
Family and friends welcomed home 33 Minnesota National Guard airmen in Saint Paul this afternoon. Members of the 133rd Airlift Wing returned from a two-month deployment to Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Carl Lojovich says they departed from Bagram Air Base with the last Air National Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft. The 1-33rd flew more than 360 missions and also provided emergency airlift of wounded service members.
Bill benefiting Minnesota National Guard soldiers clears the U.S. House
Minnesota News Network
May 16, 2012
The US House has passed a bill to ensure Minnesota National Guard soldiers receive full benefits and paid time off. The legislation sponsored by Congressman John Kline would grandfather members affected by a recent change in a post deployment program. Kline says last year after more than two-thousand Minnesota soldiers were deployed, the Pentagon changed the program significantly, reducing leave available to Red Bulls and many others across the nation. Kline says many troops and their families were forced to cope with unexpected financial challenges, less time at home with loved ones, and increased urgency to find employment. Some of the Red Bulls would have lost 27 days of leave. The U.S. Senate is also expected to pass the bill.
Bear gives fisherman a scare in Duluth
Minnesota News Network
May 16, 2012
A fisherman near downtown Duluth got the surprise of his life Tuesday morning. A 250-pound bear came ambling toward him as he fished from a Duluth ship canal pier. The angler didn't see the bear but an operator on the nearby aerial bridge alerted him on the PA. Aerial bridge supervisor Ryan Beamer called the Coast Guard for a boat to get the fisherman off the pier. But the bear headed for land and a rescue wasn't needed. Police officers said the bear wasn't bothering anyone, so they let it mosey on down the beach