>>Moorhead Police Search for Man Missing Since November
(Moorhead, MN) — Moorhead Police ask for the public’s help finding a missing man. 51-year-old Leroy Schmidt was reported missing on Tuesday but hasn’t been seen nor heard from since November 2nd (2024). Schmidt was last believed to be in Las Vegas, Nevada, or Omaha, Nebraska. He is described as white, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, with brown hair and eyes.
>>RPD Investigates 2 Bodies
(Rochester, MN) — Rochester police and the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating two deaths. Officers responded to southeast Rochester around 4:15 this morning on a report of two bodies lying outside a vehicle. They say there was no obvious cause of trauma or death.
>>New Details Released in Unsolved Maplewood Homicide
(Maplewood, MN) — New details about an August homicide in Maplewood. Police responded to the report of a man found dead on August 15th. The victim, 38-year-old Lee Vong Lee, died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. An August search warrant of the area turned up a discharged 9mm cartridge casing. Court documents say Lee’s brother loaned an SUV to the suspect but couldn’t find the vehicle. The car’s license plates were registered near the area and time of the murder. Another search on October 1st found a 9mm handgun and magazine in nearby woods that matched the murder weapon. No other updates are available.
>>Man Sentenced to 3-Year Probation in 2023 Fatal OD
(Hennepin County, MN) — A man will spend three years on probation after pleading guilty in the 2023 overdose of a Crystal woman. 29-year-old Terrell Mitchem was arrested in September (2024), which involved a woman dying after using crack cocaine Mitchem provided her under the alias BD. Mitchem entered a guilty plea in December to a felony drug-selling charge after facing the initial charge of third-degree murder.
>>AG Ellison Charged with $7.3M in Medicaid Fraud Prosecution
(St. Paul, MN) — Attorney General Keith Ellison is charging one man with racketeering and felony theft by swindle of $7.3 million in Medicaid fraud. Former felon Chavis Willis was previously convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, barring him from owning, managing, or operating any Medicaid-funded business. Ellison alleges that Willis took control of his mother Raynell Finn’s business, 1-0 Granny’s Helpful Hands LLC. Finn lives in California and was minimally involved. Willis repeatedly and falsely represented to Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS) that his mother was signing documents and making decisions. Willis hired a woman as a biller, also a former felon, to bill Medicaid for services not provided. The biller has since pled guilty to felony theft by false representation.
>>Union Homecare Workers Rally Outside MN Capitol
(St. Paul, MN) — Union homecare workers and their senior and disabled patients rallied outside Minnesota’s Capitol this morning, just days before a union bargaining deadline. Come Friday, the group and the state of Minnesota must reach a tentative agreement to be included in the 2025 legislative budget. Workers are focusing on wages, retirement security, and healthcare costs.
>>Social Harms, Sports Betting Hearing at MN Capitol
(St. Paul, MN) – Sports betting is front and center at the state capitol today. The Senate Financing Committee is holding a hearing on the social harms linked to gambling. DFL Senator John Marty from Roseville says more discussion is needed about the possible negative effects, not “who’s going to profit.” Marty argues, “None of that has been heard after 30-some hearings in the legislature.” The author of the sports betting bill, Senator Matt Klein from Mendota Heights, says his bill includes safeguards to protect Minnesota families from these social harms. He plans to introduce the legislation early in the session, which begins on Tuesday, January 14th.
