(Update) Minnesota News Briefs: Monticello man to receive Purple Heart today

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(Monticello, MN) -- A Minnesota soldier who suffered a traumatic brain injury serving in Iraq will receive his Purple Heart award this morning (10am) in St. Paul.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (DFL-Plymouth) will present the medal to Sergeant Eric Phinney of Monticello on the state Capitol Mall. Phinney was deployed with the Minnesota National Guard in 2007 but traumatic brain injuries did not qualify for the Purple Heart at that time. Klobuchar worked with Sergeant Phinney after the Department of Defense changed its policy to ensure he received the honor he deserved.

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Locked-out American Crystal Sugar workers demonstrated outside company headquarters today in Moorhead. They set up a picket line so they would be seen by the board of directors which is holding meetings inside. Pat Sanger has been a Crystal employee for ten years and say many are running unemployment benefits and are still not getting any response from the company on any movement at all. Sanger says American Crystal has offered one contract "take it or leave it" and it's not takeable. Thirty-seven members of Congress wrote a letter this week urging both sides to resume negotiations. Union workers have been locked out since August 2011.

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It appears the worst of the West Nile season is behind Minnesotans. State Health Department Epidemiologist Dave Neitzel says there have been 61 cases of the mosquito-borne illness this year in the state and one death. He says the majority of people that are going to be infected with West Nile this year have probably been infected already. He says any additional cases we hear about over the next couple of weeks are likely people who were infected two or three weeks ago. This year's outbreak was the worst Minnesota has seen since 2007, when 101 cases were reported.

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A Kimball nurse has pleaded guilty to stealing pain killing drugs while working at St. Cloud Hospital. Forty-two-year-old Blake Zenner admitted he accessed lock boxes while working as a registered nurse and used syringes to remove the painkilling drug from intravenous bags. In some cases, Zenner injected saline into the bags to replace the missing drug. Authorities say as a result, 25 hospital patients were infected with bacteria. The crimes took place from November 2010 to March 2011. Zenner faces up to four-years in a federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been set.

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A northern Minnesota fuel heist case has come to an end. The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office says a second man has been arrested and charged after the theft of more than 250 gallons on diesel fuel this past summer. Authorities caught up with 30-year-old Paul Mix over the border in Fargo, following the earlier capture of David Keiser. Both men are from Bemidji.

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A former U.S. postal carrier has pleaded guilty to stealing mail while employed at the Duluth Post Office. Forty-eight-year-old Giang Nguyen (win) of Superior, Wisconsin removed Menards rebate checks and Big Game Money Cards from mail he was supposed to deliver between March of 2010 and January of 2011. As a result, Nguyen received nearly 15-hundred dollars intended for residents on his route. He faces five years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

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St. Cloud fire officials believe a fire at Northern Metal Tuesday night was intentionally set. Investigators are certain the fire originated from a stack of 12 cars -- three high and four wide. It's still unclear however what exactly sparked it. There is a reward of up to 25-hundred dollars for anyone who can help solve this crime. The arson hotline at 1-800-723-2020.

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Two employees of the St. Louis County Sheriff's office have been recognized as the best in the state by the Minnesota Sheriff's Association. Mary Roling, program coordinator for the St. Louis County Jail was named Programmer of the Year. Jessica Pete, a corrections sergeant and field training officer commander, received the Tom Reid Excellence in Training award. The honors were announced at the 30th annual Jail Administrators' Conference in Brainerd.

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Voting absentee goes way back in Minnesota. In fact, it was on this day in 1862 that the state legislature passed a law allowing Civil War soldiers fighting in the fields and at forts to vote for their favorite politicians. Absentee ballots are being filled out as we speak, with the latest elections just over a month away.

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A scan of counties throughout Minnesota shows August unemployment numbers the highest in the northern half of the state -- while there are lower jobless rates along the state's western edge. Minnesota's most stark unemployment areas continue to be in Clearwater, Cass, Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties but their rates are no longer double-digit. Clearwater County has the state's highest rate at nine-percent. Along the North Dakota border, Clay County sports the state's lowest jobless rate at three-point-nine-percent, while a group of southwestern counties hovers a little higher at around four-percent unemployment. Minnesota's statewide rate rose to five-point-nine-percent in August.

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A failure to yield the right-of-way led to a fatal crash involving a car and motorcycle in Beltrami County last night. Authorities say 38-year-old Michelle Sugar of Bemidji died from her injuries after a car turned in front of the bike she was riding on. The driver of the motorcycle, 42-yearold Bradley Mordini of Bemidji was seriously injured. Both occupants of the car were not hurt. The car's driver could face a charge of criminal vehicular operation pending the outcome of drug testing.

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Hunger Free Minnesota is working closely with school districts in the state in getting families educated on the federally-funded school breakfast programs. Studies show hungry children are twice as likely to repeat a grade and three times more likely to be suspended from school. Hunger Free Minnesota's Jason Reed says each school year, low-income Minnesota children are missing 29-million breakfasts that they could be getting through the breakfast programs.

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Visitation for Happy Chef restaurant founder and former state Representative Marcel "Sal" Frederick begins this afternoon in Mankato. The 86-year-old died Monday morning in Mankato with his daughters by his side. Frederick served in the U.S. Army in World War Two, married wife Rose in 1949 and opened the original Happy Chef location in 1963. Frederick represented the Mankato area in the Minnesota Legislature from 1985 through 1992. Funeral services are scheduled for 11am Friday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Mankato.

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Wright County authorities are looking for a man they believe vandalized five or six churches in the city of Buffalo over the weekend. Posters with vile language describing Jesus and anti-homosexual messages were found at least four churches and three had broken doors, stained-glass windows and other damage. Police say they have surveillance photos of the suspect. He's a five-foot-ten white male between 22 and 30 years old with reddish brown/blond hair, a full short beard and weighs 200 to 220 pounds. Investigators think he was driving a two-tone dark minivan.

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Fire officials in St. Cloud are trying to determine what caused a fire Tuesday at Northern Metal Recycling. Crews battled the flames as thick plumes of black smoke were coming from the metal yard. Witnesses reported charred flakes falling from the sky and loud popping noises. Area streets were re-opened about two hours later. No injuries were reported.

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Minnesota voters polled on the federal health care law are split on whether it should stay in place or be repealed. The new poll from the Star Tribune shows 46-percent of likely voters support keeping the Affordable Care Act, while 47-percent believe the law should be rescinded. The split on the health care law falls mainly along partisan lines with Democrats wanting it to stand and Republicans wanting repeal. About one in five voters say health care is the most important issue in determining their vote for president.

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Authorities are asking for the public's help locating the body of a Falcon Heights man missing since February of 2009. A 50-thousand-dollar reward is offered for information about the death of 57-year-old Hal Schroetter. St. Anthony Police Detective Tim Briski says the only sign of him was blood found in the trunk of his girlfriend's car. Briski says Schroetter was kicking Jackie Dubay out of his house at the time of his disappearance and removing her from his will Dubay and her brother Jay are both persons of interest in the case. Schroetter's family is looking for closure so they can bury the 20-year Navy veteran at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

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The central Minnesota woman accused of killing her ex-husband in his Sauk Rapids apartment last November is scheduled to stand trial November 5th. Angelina O'Mara of Rice is charged with first- and second-degree murder for allegedly shooting James O'Mara in the head. She's also charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, Michael Pies of Blaine, the next day in Ashland, Wisconsin. O'Mara was arrested a few days later in South Dakota. Her attorney told the judge last winter that O'Mara had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had little time left.

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A jury has found a 33-year-old St.Michael man guilty after a fatal fight outside a bar in northeastern Minnesota. The jury deliberated for three hours before convicting Paul Welle for manslaughter and murder. Prosecutors say Welle punched Duluth native Dale Anderson outside the Powerhouse Bar in Proctor last November. Sixty-year-old Anderson fell backward, hit his head on concrete and died three days later from a brain hemorrhage. Welle had claimed self defense. His sentencing is set for November 15th.

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The Orono Police Department is offering a four-thousand-dollar reward to help find the suspects who set squad cars on fire in the parking lot. Two police vehicles were destroyed and one was damaged in the September 14th blaze west of the Twin Cities. The damage is esimated at $100,000. Investigators found evidence that could be considered a fire accelerant. No one was hurt in the early morning fire.

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Cooling temperatures and shorter days have allowed the U.S. Forest Service to lift campfire restrictions in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Visitors to the BWCAW may now use campfires, charcoal and wood-burning stoves at all hours of the day. The Knife Lake area and other locations along the Canadian border where wildfires burned have been re-opened. Officials are asking everyone to be careful with open fires because conditions are still dry in the woods.

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Minnesota-based General Mills is recalling some packages of granola bars that were mislabeled. The products packaged incorrectly may contain allergens not listed on the box, specifically peanuts. The company says some "Peanut Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Granola Bars" may have been inserted into six-count boxes of "Almond Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars." Peanuts can cause severe allergic reactions in some people. General Mills says there have been no reported allergic reactions. The voluntary recall is for six-count boxes with a use-by date of Feb. 26.

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