>>Man Accused of Making U of M Death Threats Competent to Stand Trial
(Montevideo, MN) — A Watson man who caused concern in January when he allegedly made online death threats against University of Minnesota students has been found mentally competent to stand trial. 41-year-old Joseph Rongstad was arrested by a SWAT team at his Watson home on January 11th after he made threats on his business’s Facebook page, which caused the U of M and several area school districts to go on lockdown. A judge ordered he be tested for mental competency, and on Thursday, the results of his exam, performed by a St. Peter psychiatrist, showed he is competent to be tried. His next court appearance was set for May 13th. Rongstad once served a 2-year term as mayor of Watson and has a history of mental illness-related offenses. He remains jailed on bail of 1 million dollars.
>>Missing Mille Lacs Mother and Son Located Safely
(Mille Lacs, MN) — A missing mother and son from Mille Lacs have been located safely. 32-year-old Breanna Larsen and 3-year-old Jace Lafave were reported missing Tuesday after leaving a family residence in Hinckley, believed to have been heading to the Twin Cities area. The Mille Lacs Tribal Police Department thanks everyone who assisted in finding the pair.
>>Duluth Man Charged with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material
(Duluth, MN) — A Duluth man has been charged with two counts of possessing child pornography. Court documents say 27-year-old Josh Degelau knowingly possessed images and videos of child porn on an external hard drive and his cell phone. Officials say the images featured prepubescent and pubescent minor victims, some as young as eight years old, engaging in sexual acts. Degelau manipulated multiple images, photoshopping child pornography with other non-explicit images of minors and photoshopping what appears to be his genitalia into child porn images.
>>Man Dead After Shooting in Minneapolis
(Minneapolis, MN) — A man is dead, another injured, after a shooting in Minneapolis this morning (FRI). Around 12:12 a.m., fourth-precinct officers found a man in his 20s with potentially life-threatening gunshot wounds lying on the ground at an alley entrance. The victim was given immediate care and brought to HCMC. A second man in his 20s with life-threatening injuries arrived at HCMS in a passenger vehicle. He later died at the hospital. Preliminary information indicates the individuals involved in the shooting knew each other. No arrests have been made.
>>MN DNR Expands Open Burning Restrictions
(Undated) — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has expanded the area, subject to open burning restrictions. Additional counties include Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington, and Roseau. These counties have burn restrictions on vegetative debris as warm and dry weather spreads throughout the state to help reduce wildfire risk. Restrictions remain in place for these counties: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Carlton, Cass, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Hennepin, Hubbard, Isanti, Itasca, Kanabec, Mahnomen, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pine, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Red Lake, Sherburne, St. Louis County (southern half), Stearns, Stevens, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, Washington, Wilkin, and Wright.
