| 07/24/2008 - GUILTY PLEAS IN DOVER HOME INVASION CASE |
| Andy Brownell KROC-AM NEWS |
| Two teenagers entered guilty pleas today in Olmsted County Court to charges stemming from their involvement in a violent home invasion in Dover earlier this year. 17-year-old Thomas Vilai of Rochester and 19-year-old Mark Conrad of Millville both admitted to four counts of first degree aggravated robbery. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed eight other charges against Vilai and six counts against Conrad, including multiple counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. They were among the five people charged with storming into a home and threatening the four occupants with a sawed-off shotgun, knifes and bats. Vilai admitted he was the person who brandished the shotgun as the intruders made off with a TV set, cellphones, cash and other property. Pre-sentence investigations have been ordered for both Vilai and Conrad. |
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| 07/24/2008 - MAN CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ASSAULTING VULNERABLE WOMAN |
| Kim David KROC-AM NEWS |
| A Rochester man has been charged with having sexual contact with a mentally impaired and vulnerable woman. Facing 2 counts of criminal sexual conduct is 58-year old Roger Schmiedeberg, whose conditional bail was set at $20,000 when he was arraigned yesterday. One of the charges is a felony, accusing him of using force against the woman. The 61-year old victim says she waved at Schmiedeberg when he drove by her bus stop on July 5th and he eventually went to her apartment where he had sexual contact with her. The woman called police after Schmiedeberg came back 2 other times and was told to go away. Police were a able to locate Schmiedeberg based on the description of his truck.
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| 07/24/2008 - FATAL CRASH LEADS TO FELONY CHARGES |
| Kim David KROC-AM NEWS |
| Two counts of criminal vehicular homicide have been filed against the driver of a pickup truck that crashed on I-90 last Sunday afternoon, killing his passenger. The truck rolled near the Highway 52 interchange and witnesses report the vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed just before the wreck, perhaps as fast as 90-miles per hour. The driver - 41-year old Nelson Dion of Acteon, Maine - told investigators he crashed after swerving to avoid hitting a deer. But witnesses told investigators Dion overcorrected after his truck swerved into the median and they did not see any deer on the road. One witness told investigators that Dion said " tell the cops my girlfriend was driving " the truck. His girlfriend was the dead passenger. Investigators suspect Dion had been drinking.
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| 07/24/2008 - THOUSANDS OF CATTLE FROM NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA TO BE DESTROYED |
| Andy Brownell KROC-AM NEWS |
| State officials are preparing to destroy about 6800 cattle from herds in northwestern Minnesota as part of a program aimed at eradicating bovine tuberculosis. The livestock are from 45 herds in an area where the lung disease has infected almost a dozen herds in the past several years, which has resulted in restrictions on shipments of live cattle from Minnesota. The owners of the cows will be compensated through a special fund set-up by the State Legislature this year. |
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| 07/24/2008 - NEW POLL SHOWS MCCAIN GAINING IN MINNESOTA |
| MetroSource |
| A new poll by Quinnipiac University shows John McCain is gaining ground on Barack Obama with Minnesota voters. The poll showed that McCain had pulled to within two points of his rival by claiming 44-percent of likely voters. That's a full 15-percent gain from a poll the university had taken last month. Quinnipiac also found Norm Coleman leading Al Franken in Minnesota's Senate race by a margin of 53-percent to 38-percent. |
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| 07/24/2008 - 5TH ARREST IN CLAREMONT MURDER CASE |
| Andy Brownell/KROC AM News |
| Dodge County authorities are reporting another arrest in connection with the beating death of a 42-year-old Claremont man in February. Dodge County Sheriff Gary Thompson says 19-year-old Marissa Lane was taken into custody this morning in Austin on a felony count of Aiding an Offender-Obstructing an Investigation. She is expected to be formally charged in Dodge County Court tomorrow. Lane is the fifth person arrested in connection with the murder of Troy Ulrich, who was found dead in a hallway of a Claremont apartment building. A father and son, 42-year-old Danny Ortega and 20-year-old Danny Ortega Junior, are charged with 2nd degree murder for allegedly attacking Ulrich with a knife and a bolt cutter during a confrontation in a garage at the apartment complex. Two brothers, 22-year-old Anthony and 20-year-old Eric Bermea, were previously charged with Aiding an Offender for allegedly misleading investigators.
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| 07/24/2008 - UNATTENDED CANDLE STARTS FIRE AT ROCH HOUSE |
| Kim David/KROC AM News |
| The owners of a northwest Rochester residence can thank a neighbor for helping contain the damage to their home after a fire broke out yesterday. A Fire Department spokesman says a 13-year old child who had been house sitting the home owned by Ben and Rhonda Graham lit a candle in the patio area and forgot to put it out when he left. The candle then started the fire and it burned for an unknown amount of time until a 6-year old neighbor spotted smoke. He told his father, who grabbed a garden hose and had the blaze under control when fire crews arrived around 11 a.m. The residence - located at 2106 13th avenue northwest - sustained fire, smoke, water and other damage estimated at $15,000.
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| 07/24/2008 - CONVENIENCE STORE ROBBED BY BICYCLIST |
| Kim David/KROC AM News |
| The Olmsted County Sheriff's Department is investigating a convenience store robbery. A man held up the Pump'n'Munch in Chester around 5:30 yesterday afternoon. A spokesman says although the thief did not display a weapon, he indicated he had one in his pocket. The masked man made off with an unknown amount of cash and was last seen heading north - on a purple bicycle. He was described as white, in his 20's, 5-7, 150 pounds with blonde hair and muscular build.
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| 07/24/2008 - U of M ( MINNESOTA, NOT MICHIGAN ) SOLAR CAR FINISHES 5TH |
| Minnesota News Network |
| A solar-powered car built by a group of students from the University of Minnesota came in 5th in the 2008 North America Solar Challenge. The 2400 miles race began Sunday in Plano, Texas and ended in Calgary. The U's car finished with a time of just under 66 hours. A car built by students at the University of Michigan came in first with a time of just over 51 hours. A total of 26 colleges from the U.S., Canada and Germany took part this year. |
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| 07/24/2008 - " THEY'RE REALLY GOING TO LIKE PAWLENTY " |
| Metro News |
| John McCain is said to be leaning toward picking Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty as his running mate. CNN reports that a Republican source who attended a private meeting with the Arizona senator yesterday said McCain dropped a serious hint. The source said that "out of the blue" McCain said that people are, quote, "really going to like Pawlenty." |
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| 07/24/2008 - BUSH TO ATTEND CONVENTION SEPT 1ST |
| Minnesota News Network |
| It could be his final stop in Minnesota as President. Republican Party officials say President Bush has scheduled to address the national convention in St. Paul on opening day, September 1st. The highlight of the convention is the expected presidential nomination of Senator McCain.
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| 07/24/2008 - BLAINE MAN DID NOT PLAN ON KILLING HIS WIFE |
| Minnesota News Network |
| The attorney for a Blaine man who is on trial for the murder of his wife told the jury he did kill his wife. The attorney told an Anoka County jury yesterday that Gary Tomassoni shot his wife in their bedroom last year - but the killing wasn't premeditated. The attorney said Tomassoni had diabetes and past kidney and pancreas transplants that left him with emotional pressures, as well as financial problems because of gambling debts. Prosecutors say Tomassoni planned the killing in order to collect a $500,000 life insurance policy. |
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| 07/24/2008 - ST PAUL FORD PLANT GETS 2 MORE YEARS |
| Kim David/KROC AM News & Wire Services |
| Good news for St. Paul and the several hundred workers still employed at the Ford truck assembly plant. The Ford Motor Company has announced the plant will remain open through 2011, producing the Ranger trucks. The plant had been scheduled to close by next fall but sales of the smaller trucks have been consistent. The plant once employed about 2000 workers but its payroll is now half that size, mostly hourly employees. |
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| 07/24/2008 - GAS PRICES FALL AGAIN |
| Kim David/KROC AM News |
| Another drop in gasoline prices in Rochester as the cost of regular fell to $3.80 yesterday. Just last week, it was the highest ever at $3.97. The current figure matches the statewide average. Some stations in the Twin Cities are now selling gas as low as $3.65 per gallon.
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| 07/24/2008 - POWERBALL DRAWING FROM 7/23/08 |
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Powerball numbers for 07/23/2008 are:
11 14 35 41 52 Powerball 2
Powerplay 4
The estimated Grand Prize was $54,100,000 ($26,200,000 cash).
There was no Grand Prize Winner.
The next Powerball drawing will be on Saturday, July 26th, 2008 with an estimated Grand Prize of $64,000,000 ($31,200,000 cash.
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