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Vikings stadium architect to talk shop tonight in Duluth
Posted by: Richard Meryhew under Vikings Updated: November 27, 2012 - 2:56 PM
Sports fans in Duluth and surrounding communities interested in weighing in on the design of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium can do so at a 5:30 p.m. public forum today at the Holiday Inn & Suites in downtown Duluth.
John Hutchings, a representative with HKS Inc., which will design the stadium, will discuss the project, along with representatives of the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which is working with the team to oversee construction of the $975 million downtown Minneapolis development.
HKS Inc. is a Dallas-based architectural and engineering firm that drew up plans for stadiums recently built for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts.
Today's meeting will take place in the Lake Superior Room of the hotel, located at 200 W. First St. in Duluth.
Brainerd novelty business challenges adult bookstore ordinance
Posted by: Richard Meryhew Updated: November 28, 2012 - 3:31 PMA new adult entertainment and bookstore ordinance in Crow Wing County is causing at least one business owner to sweat.
Ronald W. Beattie Jr., owner of Risky Business Novelties and Videos, Inc. in Brainerd, is so concerned that the ordinance, approved by county commissioners last spring, could threaten business that he has filed suit in federal court hoping to keep county officials from enforcing the measure.
Beattie’s attorney, Randall Tigue, argued in court documents that the business, which opened in 2005, is not considered “adult entertainment” or an “adult bookstore” under Brainerd city ordinance because it keeps a “substantial or significant portion” of its inventory off the main floor.
But under the county ordinance, which supercedes the city measure, a store can be seen as an “adult bookstore” if “such a building or portion of such building excludes minors by reason of age.” Risky Business does not allow minors on the premises.
Tigue said the ordinance is unconstitutional and “overbroad” and could force Beattie to make a variety of changes to the business by Dec. 5 — including blackening windows, paying licensing fees and reducing hours — or run the risk of having it closed.
“They’re basically putting on some restrictions he can’t live with, so we’re going to challenge the validity of the ordinance,” Tigue said Monday.
Earlier this year, Beattie was charged in Crow Wing County with selling illegal synthetic drugs out of his Brainerd store. The case was later dismissed.
Red Wing ponders future of scenic riverbluff course
Posted by: Richard Meryhew Updated: November 23, 2012 - 4:47 PM
Better to sell or reinvest?
That’s the question the city of Red Wing posed to citizens this week during a public hearing over the future of the financially-troubled Mississippi National Golf Links.
The city sued the operator of the scenic riverbluff course last month after he closed it up and began selling off some of its equipment. The city alleged that Wendell Pittenger violated terms of his contract with the city by failing to make due on a $1.1 million bond payment.
City officials like the idea of keeping the 36-hole course open and operating it as a recreational draw, but would prefer it be run by a private or non-profit group, the Rochester Post Bulletin reports.
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Firefighters in Bemidji were forced to put their Thanksgiving dinner plans on hold for at least a few hours Thursday after a fire broke out shortly before 11 a.m. at the Birchwood Color Center on the outskirts of town.
The fire was about 50 percent contained by about 1:45 p.m., but not before causing more than $400,000 in damages, the Grand Forks Herald reports.
No one was injured in the fire, which is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s office and the Bemidji fire and police departments.
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Getting the scoop on Kandiyohi County's most wanted criminals just got a whole lot easier.
Earlier this week, the county sheriff's office joined Facebook, according to the West Central Tribune in Willmar.
With the click of a mouse and a few keyboard strokes, county residents are now only seconds away from getting the latest updates on local criminal investigations.
A video game that encourages you to go out and play
Posted by: Pam Louwagie Updated: November 23, 2012 - 12:19 PMTired of your kids playing video games? A Winona native is building a game that they can use while running around some Minnesota parks, according to the Winona Daily News.
In the game, by JackGames.com CEO Jordan Bieber, players can go on virtual quests through the parks while a GPS tracks the player's movement, according to the story. Bieber told the newspaper he plans to release the game as a free iPhone app sometime in March.
See the newspaper's story on Bieber here.
94 year old WWII vet evicted from subsidized housing
Posted by: Karen Lundegaard Updated: November 21, 2012 - 10:55 AMHas the World War II veteran squirreled away money in a safe deposit box while living in a subsidized apartment?
That’s what Wisconsin officials fear and have used as their justification for evicting 94 year old Ken Nyreen from his Port Wing apartment.
Bayfield County Housing Authorities had sheriff’s deputies evict Nyreen earlier this month after six months of trying to get him to disclose all of his assets, including the contents of his safe-deposit box. If that had contained a lot of money, it would have made him ineligible for public assistance.
“These are taxpayers’ dollars that we are stewards of,” Carrie Linder, the county’s aging unit supervisor told Wisconsin Public Radio.
Nyreen, who’s slept on a local tavern floor as well as stayed with an elderly widow friend, is hoping the Veterans Administration takes care of him. The former B-17 bomber crew chief refused to tell the radio station the contents of the box as well, saying it’s nobody else’s business.
Here’s the full report.
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The latest example of those serving and protecting us becoming a danger: A Belle Plaine police officer was arrested early Tuesday for driving while intoxicated and at speeds of 96 miles per hour.
A breath test indicated a blood alcohol concentration of .17 --more than twice the legal limit.
Officer Bryan Michael Pasek was arrested and booked into the Scott County jail for third-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor, the Belle Plaine Herald reports.
In 2003 Pasek was charged with a gross misdemeanor DWI, which was later reduced to a misdemeanor, the paper reported.
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Sounds like something funky’s in the water. Health officials are investigating an outbreak that sickened more than 50 people at the Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato last week in two separate incidents.
A Minnesota Department of Health spokesman say the outbreak appears to be a norovirus. The virus is spread through contact with fecal matter.
More than 50 people were sickened after a Greater Mankato Growth event a week ago, attended by more than 460 people, the Associated Press reports. The health department also has received reports of people who contracted the illness after attending a civic center event for veterans last Wednesday.
Norovirus causes vomiting, nausea or diarrhea. The virus is usually not considered serious and most people recover in one or two days.
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News tip? Email us at DatelineMN@startribune.com
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