Minnesota State News Briefs: SPCO cancels more concerts

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ST. PAUL -- St. Paul Chamber Orchestra is canceling some of its shows because of the ongoing contract dispute.

In a statement issued Thursday, the SPCO said there would be no concerts through March 23rd. Musicians have been locked out since October 21st after talks between the two sides broke down over a proposed 32-percent salary cut and a reduction in the permanent size of the chamber orchestra.

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A new version of the popular "Body Worlds" exhibit opens today at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. The museum's Mike Day says the touring exhibit is "Body Worlds and the Cycle of Life". The exhibit will feature 20 full bodies, which include a ballet dancer, baseball player in mid-swing, and a man balanced upside down on one arm holding a skateboard to his feet with a free hand. Day says the exhibit offers a chance to see how the human body grows, deteriorates and ages through time. The first "Body Worlds" exhibit in 2006 broke attendance records, drawing some 750,000 visitors during an extended run.

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Those who have served time for felonies in Minnesota could soon find it harder to regain the right to own a gun. The proposed change is expected to be the first of many gun bills state lawmakers will consider this session. The bill's sponsor DFL Senator Barbara Goodwin wants those convicted of violent crimes to meet with the state Board of Pardons before they are given the legal right to again own a gun. Other proposals in the works include a plan to require background checks for all gun sales -- even private sales or those at gun shows. Lawmakers will also likely decide on an assault weapons ban and outlawing high capacity magazines, a stronger police presence in schools, and stronger penalties for armed criminals, all similar to the plans President Barrack Obama has proposed on the federal level.

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Tensions are running so high at a Twin Cities High School, after a racial incident last week caught on video, that school administrators canceled a parent meeting over safety concerns. School administrators say four students at Washburn High School hung a dark-skinned doll from a noose in a school stairwell. The students were identified by surveillance video and disciplined. Leaders at Minneapolis Public Schools say they don't accept racial intolerance and are following school policy in addressing the matter. They have also offered time with school counselors for students impacted by the incident.

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A well-known professional bow hunter from Barnesville is appealing her conviction for setting a string of fires on her family's farm -- and the court document implies Tara Andvik's husband could have been responsible. In the appeals court brief, Andvik's lawyers say Matt Andvik had a motive to burn their home to get revenge because Tara had an affair -- a claim that he denies. Matt Andvik says the house has been in his family for over a hundred years and when he was growing up, that was the place he always wanted to live. Defense lawyers say prosecutors didn't have adequate evidence to prove that Tara Andvik had the motive, means or opportunity to start the fires -- and they're asking for a new trial.

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A Rochester man accused of accidentally shooting his teenage granddaughter in early December is charged with a felony. Prosecutors say Stanley Wilkinson, the pastor of the Rochester Seventh Day Adventist Church, thought the person outside his bedroom window was an intruder so he grabbed his gun and told his wife to call police. When the person tried to come into the house Wilkinson fired his gun through the door, and hit the 16-year-old in the neck. Investigators say the girl left the house without telling her grandparents, and was trying to sneak back in. The girl has since recovered. Wilkinson is charged with intentional discharge of a firearm under circumstances that endanger the safety of another. He'll be in court again next Tuesday.

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Authorities are expected to release more information today on a high risk welfare check in North Mankato that left one person dead. Police called it called it "high-risk" call because of the possibility firearms were involved. During the course of the incident, shots were fired and one person was transported to a local hospital. It's unclear at this point who has died. Mankato radio station KTOE is reporting the property is owned by a 83-year-old man.

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A Morrison County jury has found a Hutchinson man guilty of first and second degree murder. 32-year-old Jason Dominguez was convicted of shooting and killing his former cell mate Dustin Brown in his Little Falls trailer house in October of 2011. He then started a fire to cover up the crime. According to the criminal complaint Dominguez was upset that Brown owed him money. He'll be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Two Minnesota companies have been named to Fortune magazine's list of the nation's best companies to work for in 2013. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester moved up 30 spots to number 41. Allianz Life Insurance came in at number 59. General Mills made the list in 2012, but not this year Tech Giant Google took the top spot for the second year in a row.

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The columnist known for her sometimes-saucy advice on love, marriage, and family has died in Minneapolis at the age of 94. Pauline Friedman Phillips, better known as Dear Abby, died Wednesday at her home after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Her long-running column first appeared in 1956. Her daughter Jeanne Phillips took over in 2002, when the family announced Pauline Phillips had Alzheimer's disease.

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The manager/treasurer of the Humane Society of Polk County is accused of embezzling more than $30,000. Twenty-six-year-old Tracy Janish has been charged with one count of felony theft. Investigators say she falsified records and took cash from the summer of 2009 through January of 2012. Janish is scheduled to make her first court appearance February 6th.

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