Minnesota News Briefs: Alert out for missing boy abducted in NE Minnesota

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DULUTH -- Authorities continue to search for a missing seven-year-old boy from northeastern Minnesota. The St.Louis County Sheriff's Office believes seven-year-old Wyatt Nordrum was abducted by his father, 41-year-old James Nordrum Junior of Brookston.

Nordrum was supposed to return Wyatt to court Tuesday afternoon. A search of Nordrum's home found no signs of the two but it did appear Nordstrum took clothing and fled. It was also believed the two were with Nordstrum's father, but he has since been located. And his son's whereabouts are still unknown. Authorities say Nordstrum has past mental health issues and has indicated he would harm Wyatt if he lost custody.

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A Greenfield man faces felony charges for the alleged assault of his live-in girlfriend last weekend. Matthew Sorensen is charged with one count of domestic assault by strangulation. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says the victim reported that Sorensen punched her multiple times and choked her which caused breathing difficulties. Sorensen is jailed on $40,0000 bail.

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Construction is under way on the seventh station along the 41-mile Northstar Commuter Rail Line. A groundbreaking was held Tuesday for the $13-million-dollar Ramsey station which is located between the Elk River and Anoka stations. Ramsey is scheduled to open in November. Northstar officials hope to double the number of rides per day before extending the line from Big Lake to St.Cloud. The Ramsey station is expected to boost the city's development and accomodate patients going to the new Ramsey VA clinic.

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Minnesota-based Pentair Inc. is merging with the flow control division of Switzerland-based Tyco International. The all-stock merger is valued at nearly five-billion dollars. Pentair CEO Randall Hogan will lead the new company at its headquarters in Golden Valley. The new Pentair is expected to have about 30-thousand employees worldwide. A Pentair spokeswoman says they expect job growth in Minnesota but could not provide specific numbers. Pentair is a leading provider of innovative water and fluid processing products. The deal is expected to close in September.

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A map of Minnesota's fire risk resembles how current weather is moving through the state. Most of our systems are coming up through southwestern counties where the fire danger rating is considered very high. From there, the fire danger remains elevated through much of central Minnesota. To the north, the DNR says the fire danger rating is low to moderate.

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The Savage police officer seriously injured in a January squad car crash is out of the hospital and recovering at home. Thirty-nine-year-old Frank Mackall was released from North Memorial Tuesday -- 84 days after suffering a traumatic brain injury. Mackall's wife, Lisabeth, issued a statement saying "Frank has made tremendous progress in the last few months, and we pray that he continues to recover from the head injury he sustained." She thanked everyone for their continued prayers and support.

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A Cass Lake man will spend up to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend. Twenty-eight-year-old Ross Littlewolf pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree assault with a firearm in the death of 22-year-old Kandace Dunn last June. The criminal complaint says Littlewolf shot Dunn in the head while she was sleeping in a room with her two small children. Littlewolf then entered another bedroom where an adult couple were sleeping and threatened to kill them. Sentencing is scheduled for April 30th.

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Voters in several southwestern Minnesota counties have picked DFL Representative Lyle Koenen to advance in the race for the seat formerly held by the late Senator Gary Kubly. Koenen unofficially received about twice the votes of DFLer John Schultz. The Clara City Democrat now goes up against Independence Party candidate Leon Greenslit and Republican Gregg Kulberg in the April 10th District-20 special election. Kubly died earlier this month after a battle with ALS.

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Lake ice could be all but gone in Minnesota by the end of this week - even in northern Minnesota. Early ice-out records are being set all across the state this month. State climatologist Pete Boulay says 1878 still has the ultimate ice-out records for how early they were - but this year is going to be right up therewith how early things are progressing. Boulay says the second week in March is when lake ice vanished in 1878. He says many lakes had lost their ice cover this month by the second week.

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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is offering long-haul truckers low-interest loans to help them purchase auxiliary power units. The MPCA's Mike Nelson says these devices will not only help reduce pollution, but help truckers save on their monthly fuel bills. He says the four-percent loans will help buy "idle reduction devices" which are smaller units on the side of the truck that provide heat, cooling and electricity in the cabs. Nelson says long-haul trucks consume about one gallon of fuel per hour while idling, but a diesel APU uses only one-fifth as much.

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Western Minnesota felt itself in the teeth of the wind as Monday and Tuesday's volatile weather system made its way through the state. The National Weather Service reports a gust up to 57-miles-an-hour in Hanley Falls while the wind sock went horizontal at 51-miles-an-hour at Alexandria's Chandler Field Airport. The winds have died down in recent hours, leaving cooler temperatures and the chance of some late march frost in some areas.

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Does an unusually warm March mean an unusually early end to the frost season? That's a question farmers and home gardeners might be asking. State climatologist Pete Boulay says common sense dictates people wait until sometime in May before they really get serious about planting things outside. Boulay says state weather records show that a final seasonal frost does not come until after March -- no matter how warm March was. Boulay says it would be a "first" for Minnesota if the last frost came this month.

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The mild winter and warm spring have moved up the calendar on lots of things, including wood ticks and deer ticks. The pests have arrived about two months early and there are places you should avoid: tall grass, shrubs, leaf litter and the border of wooded areas where ticks are more likely to be found. The Mayo Clinic's Doctor Bobbi Pritt says tick season normally moves into high gear in May and lasts into July. Then a second wave rolls in around hunting season. But this year all bets are off because of the unusual weather.

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Charges have been filed against a central Minnesota man accused in a case of road rage. Thirty-two-year old Ryan Storms of Richmond faces a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon after an incident on Sunday on Highway 23. Storms allegedly used a gun to threaten the three people in a car which he said wouldn't let him pass. Storms is being held in the Stearns County Jail.

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Here are the winning numbers from the Minnesota State Lottery for Tuesday, March 27th, 2012. The Daily Three: 0-5-9. Northstar Cash: 8-12-16-23-26.

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