A vandalism spree that sickened visitors to a Faribault cemetery turned out to be the handiwork of two girls ages 10 and 11 who were apparently trying to hurt a teenage boy.

Faribault police Capt. Neal Pederson said the girls painted vulgar words and the boy's phone number on about a dozen markers. Visitors to the cemetery on Monday were the first to notice the graffiti and call police.

A detective followed up on the phone number and spoke to the boy, who said he suspected two girls who have been bullying him were trying to get him in trouble.

The girls admitted the damage; they didn't give any indication of where they got the idea to vandalize grave markers, said Pederson. "We were all kind of trying to wrap our head around that," he said. The Rice County attorney's office will determine if the girls are petitioned into juvenile court or sent through a diversion program.

The defaced markers included that of Evelynn Bauernfeind, a 6-year-old girl who died two years ago of lifelong heart complications. Her family has set up a website to help pay for restoration of her grave marker.

Matt McKinney @_mattmckinney

Cass Lake

U.S. Capitol Christmas tree to come from Minnesota

This year's U.S. Capitol Christmas tree is coming from the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota, and officials are prepping the fanfare for its long journey eastward.

The approximately 80-foot white spruce will be ceremoniously cut down Oct. 29 and gingerly wrapped and placed on a 100-foot trailer. Planned stops in Minnesota include Itasca State Park, Bemidji, Walker, Cass Lake, Blackduck, Marcell, Deer River, Cohasset, Grand Rapids, Duluth, West St. Paul, Eden Prairie, Rochester, Red Wing, Owatonna and Fort Snelling.

Organizers will also send 10,000 ornaments that schoolchildren and other Minnesotans created and 70 companion trees to decorate other sites in Washington. Branches from another white spruce will be delivered to fill in any gaps in the Capitol tree's fullness.

"It'll be really fun to be able to see the tree on the lawn and know that it's coming from the North Star state," said Ann Long Voelkner, public services team leader for the Chippewa National Forest.

Pam Louwagie @pamlouwagie

Duluth

Ark rescued after sinking

The "Ark of the Anthropocene," a big, white, concrete sphere holding plants in its belly, bobbed in the Lake Superior harbor for 38 hours.

Then it sunk.

The sphere — now dubbed "The Wreck of the Anthropocene" — sits on shore, attracting passers-by. A more formal exhibition by the artist behind the project, Sean Connaughty, started Thursday at the Duluth Art Institute. It features smaller terrariums Connaughty created as prototypes for the 4,000-pound ark launched in the lake Sept. 2 with the help of a Kickstarter campaign, advice from scientists and volunteers.

Quickly after its launch, the ark began to float lower and lower. After it sank, a crane and scuba divers came to the rescue. Connaughty, who teaches at the University of Minnesota, pins the wreck on a small air leak.

The sphere will float again, he pledged, perhaps on Lake Hiawatha in Minneapolis. "I have one crane trip left in my budget," he said.

Jenna Ross @ByJenna

Fargo

Fargo mayor battles cancer

Barely a month after he won a third term as mayor of Fargo, Dennis Walaker faced a far more serious fight.

Diagnosed with kidney cancer in July, Walaker issued a statement this week to announce that he is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments that weakened him to the point of hospitalization. He said he was unaware of his condition until after the June election.

"I continue to improve every day and will continue my course of treatment very soon," he wrote. "I speak daily with Deputy Mayor [Tim] Mahoney and am briefed daily."

Mahoney, meanwhile, announced he has quit his job as a heart surgeon at Essentia Health to devote more time to his work with the city while Walaker is in treatment.

Jennifer Brooks @stribrooks