>>Owatonna Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Producing Child Pornography, Sending Graphic Murder Threats to Minor Victim

(Minneapolis, MN) — An Owatonna man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography and sending graphic murder threats to his former victim’s family. 31-year-old Michael Kurkowski pleaded guilty on February 26th to one count of threatening interstate communication and one count of production of child pornography. Kurkowski spent five months in a Pennsylvania prison in 2021 after being convicted of corruption of a minor and sexually exploiting a boy. He had come to the state to continue his relationship with the boy before his arrest. Kurkowski was released and ordered not to contact the victim. Later that year, investigators found several messages from Kurkowski describing a plan to another minor, where he would come to Pennsylvania, murder the victim’s parents, rape the victim’s sister, and then kill her in front of him. Kurkowski was arrested at a bus stop in Toledo, Ohio, after he bought a bus ticket to Harrisburg, PA, where the first victim lived. Officials seized handcuffs, tape, a taser, a knife, rubber gloves, and facemasks from Kurkowski. His phone had Google search terms including “man kills family of five,” “countries that don’t extradite to the U.S.,” “how to subdue a person,” “best knives to kill,” and murder penalties in Pennsylvania.

 

>>Man Charged in Connection with Attack on St. Anne’s Place in Minneapolis

(Minneapolis, MN) — A 30-year-old man faces assault and riot charges in the September 5th attack on St. Anne’s Place. Travin Merritt was arrested Tuesday in connection with the attack on the Minneapolis shelter for unhoused families. This comes after police mistakenly arrested another man with a similar description to Merrit, who was let go. Police say surveillance video of the night shows Merritt pointing a firearm at the front door where two shelter residents, one holding a baby, were standing inside. He then fired at an unoccupied car owned by one of the victims. A victim told officers Merritt hit one of them in the face and back of the head with a black handgun during an earlier altercation that night with a group of women from across the street. Merritt has a known relationship with his co-defendant, Eureka Riser.

 

>>Fire Destroys Hawley Business

(Hawley, MN) — Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting says the State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a blaze that damaged Taracon Precast near Hawley. The fire broke out late Wednesday afternoon. More than a dozen fire departments responded and controlled the blaze within about two hours. Taracon Precast, owned by the Spring Prairie Hutterite Colony, manufactures concrete panels and related materials used in commercial and residential projects in several states. Gasoline and other flammable materials were inside the building, and it’s believed there was at least one explosion. Empting says a section of the roof collapsed, and he estimates that there was fire and smoke damage to about half of the large building.

 

>>18 Minnesota Electric Cooperatives Send 80 Lineworkers to South Carolina

(Undated) – Lineworkers from Minnesota are in the southeastern U.S. helping to restore power and repair damage from Hurricane Helene. Joe Miller of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association says crews and trucks left the state Wednesday with “a count of 18 electric cooperatives that have sent 80 lineworkers down to South Carolina. They’re going to be working with three electric cooperatives down there.” Miller says the Minnesota crews are working in a mountainous region in northwest South Carolina that has a lot of power outages. One of the local co-ops reported 98 percent of its system was down.

 

>>AG Ellison Settles with Evergreen Acres Dairy, Operation to Pay $250K in Back Wages

(St. Paul, MN) — Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that his Office has won protections for dairy workers in a major wage theft lawsuit involving Evergreen Acres Dairy, Evergreen Estates, Morgan Feedlots, and the dairy operation’s owners. The settlement ensures Evergreen complies with Minnesota housing-habitability and employment law after dozens of workers complained of wage theft and abysmal housing. Evergreen will pay $250,000 in back wages and will be monitored by Ellison for three years, subject to employee housing inspections.

 

>>Glamour Magazine Names St. Paul’s Suni Lee Woman of the Year

(St. Paul, MN) — Olympic gold medal winner and St. Paul native Suni Lee has been named one of Glamour Magazine’s Woman of the Year. A social media post shows the gymnast dazzling in gold and black on a balance beam. Glamour has honored female “trailblazers, rule breakers, visionaries, and champions who have defined” each year since 1990. The article talks about Lee’s battle with kidney disease that ended her college career, winning three medals at the Paris Olympics this year, and what she plans to do next.

 

>>Vikings QB Darnold Named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September 

(Eagan, MN) — Sam Darnold of the Minnesota Vikings is the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. Minnesota’s new quarterback leads the NFL with 11 touchdown passes in four straight victories. Darnold has completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 932 yards and three interceptions. The Vikings and Chiefs are the last undefeated teams in the league this season. The Purple play Aaron Rodgers and the Jets on Sunday in London.

 

>>MN Timberwolves Introduce Newest Players from the NY Knicks

(Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN) – The newest big-name Timberwolves player was introduced in Minneapolis today. All-star forward Julius Randle was part of a trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks. Randle says after the initial shock of the trade hit him on Friday night, he woke up on Saturday “really excited, saying, “My only thing here is I just want to help. I want to help Ant, I want to help Rudy, Naz, all of those guys. You know, I want to help win a championship, so that’s the only thing that matters.” Two other players and a draft pick also came to Minnesota in the deal. The Wolves open the NBA preseason slate with a game tomorrow night against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

 

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