Former pastor guilty in sex sting The former pastor of a church in Prior Lake pleaded guilty Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court to soliciting sex for money.

The Rev. John K. Erbele, 35, was one of 16 men caught in a john sting on Sept. 1 after responding to an Internet ad placed by St. Paul police.

Erbele won't have to serve any jail time for the misdemeanor offense. District Judge Gail Chang Bohr sentenced him to serve probation, get counseling, do community service and attend john school.

Erbele was pastor of LifePrint Church, which meets in Prior Lake and offers podcasts of sermons on the Internet. He was relieved of his duties in September but was kept on the payroll through November, the church's website said.

PAT PHEIFER

Woman thrown from car in N.D. dies A rear tire blew out on an sport-utility vehicle on an eastern North Dakota interstate, sending the vehicle into a rollover and fatally throwing a 93-year-old northern Minnesota woman from the vehicle, authorities said.

The crash happened about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday on northbound Interstate 29, near the Oxbow exit and south of Fargo, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. The woman who was killed, an Akeley, Minn., resident, was not wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

Also in the SUV were her 62-year-old daughter, a passenger, and her 68-year-old son-in-law, who was driving. Both were wearing their seat belts and were not injured, authorities said. All identities were being withheld pending notification of relatives.

After the tire blew, the SUV ended up on its roof in a snowy ditch, the patrol said.

PAUL WALSH

Man's death deemed suspicious A man was found dead in the snow early Thursday in Minneapolis, and police characterized the death as suspicious.

The body was found shortly before 4 a.m. by police and emergency personnel who were called to the 300 block of 8th Street SE., said police Sgt. Jesse Garcia.

The circumstances leading to the man's death have yet to be determined. The man's identity and cause of death were expected to be released by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office. Police asked that anyone with information about the case call the Minneapolis Police Department Tip Line at 612-692-8477.

PAUL WALSH

Oakdale woman guilty of mail fraud A 35-year-old Oakdale woman has admitted in federal court to stealing more than $41,000 from her employer, the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District, the U.S. Attorney's office said Thursday.

Tina Marie Berlin, who was charged Dec. 7, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. She appeared before U.S. District Judge Ann D. Montgomery in Minneapolis.

In her plea agreement, Berlin admitted fraudulently obtaining $41,445 from the Gladstone Community Center and its clients, including District 622, between February 2000 and November 2006. A date for sentencing is pending.

GREGORY A. PATTERSON

Wrestling match turns deadly A wrestling match on Monday night between two men on the Red Lake Indian Reservation ended with one of them stabbed to death, according to a federal court affidavit.

On Thursday, Ryan Roy Cloud, 19, was charged in U.S. District Court with second-degree murder in the death of 27-year-old Timothy Geionety.

According to the affidavit: Indian Health Service Hospital called Red Lake police about 9:20 p.m. to say a man had been brought in with stab wounds. The man, later identified as Geionety, died about 20 minutes later.

Police went to the house where Geionety had been and found a pool of blood, a knife and a trail of blood droplets leading into the home. When police went inside, they found several people and later arrested Cloud.

Cloud told FBI agents that "everything got out of hand" during the wrestling and that he took a knife away from the other man and "used it back" because he was scared, the affidavit said.

VINCE TUSS