Minnesota News Briefs: Winona State student found dead in dorm room

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WINONA - A student was found dead in his dorm at Winona State University yesterday.

The Vice President for Student Life and Development Connie Gores says the cause of Mitchell Grierson's death has not been determined, but there are no signs of suspicious circumstances. Gores also says the situation does not present a safety concern for others on campus Grierson was a freshman from Dassel, Minnesota. Funeral arrangements are pending.

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It was a deadly weekend for snowmobilers in Minnesota. On Saturday a 22-year-old Stillwater man died after the sled he was riding went through the ice on the St. Croix River near Bayport. Further north along the same river in Pine County, a snowmobiler was thrown from a sled when it hit open water. Crews spent part of Saturday evening and Sunday searching for the victim, who they believe was swept away by the river current downstream and under the ice. Hazardous conditions caused the search to be suspended Sunday night. A third rider on Pokegama Lake sustained life-threatening injuries when his sled hit a partially submerged island. Officials are reminding riders that snowmobiling on any river is dangerous.

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A St. Cloud man is in jail after police say he assaulted a woman and threatened to shoot her with a crossbow. 44-year-old Thomas Mitchell was arrested at the scene, and was in even more trouble after a search of his home uncovered marijuana, other drugs, and drug paraphernalia. Mitchell is charged with 2nd degree assault, making terroristic threats, and two drug possession counts.

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A bill introduced by Minnesota lawmakers from both chambers would give victims of child sexual abuse an unlimited amount of time to sue their abusers, or any institution that may have played a role in perpetuating or covering up that abuse. DFL Representative Steve Simon of St. Louis Park says the legislation would remove the current statute of limitations that requires victims to file lawsuits within 6 years of becoming an adult, in other words age 24. He says the proposed new law could encourage more victims to come forward, and possibly identify abusers who have never been caught and may still be abusing children.

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In what could set a precedent for future frac sand mining across Minnesota, the Winona County Board will soon decide whether to order an Environmental Impact Statement on two proposed local mines. Frac sand is used in the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and gas well drilling. The Yoder and Dabelstein mines would be in Saratoga Township, and area landowner and farmer Vince Ready is urging the board to order the in-depth review. He says the concern a lot of people have is the mines are going to turn the countryside into an industrial area, from all the truck traffic, noise and silica dust. A public hearing on the matter is set for this Thursday. A state Senate committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on frac sand mining in southeastern Minnesota.

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Driving conditions are hazardous in northwest Minnesota today due to fresh snow and strong winds. U.S. Highway 2 from Crookston to East Grand Forks is closed until further notice. MnDOT is advising no travel on some highways because of blowing snow and white-out conditions. Those who need to travel should check the current road conditions before heading out (call 5-1-1 or online www.511mn.org). Snowplow operators are out trying to clear the roadways.

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The State Patrol is investigating a fatal head-on crash in Yellow Medicine County. The accident occurred this morning at around 7:30 on Highway 23 south of Granite Falls. The State Patrol says the roads were icy at the time of the crash. At this time it's not clear how many fatalities there were, but according to the State Patrol, at least two people were involved in the collision.

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A Minnesota man is dead after a two-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on Interstate 29 near Hillsboro, North Dakota. Sixty-three-year-old Dennis L. Johnson of Cedar lost control of his S-U-V and struck a semi. Johnson was thrown from his vehicle when it hit the median and rolled. He died at an area hospital.

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A St. Louis County woman is recovering from injuries suffered in a snowmobile accident last night near Brookston. Deputies say the 49-year-old rider was on a state snowmobile trail when she lost control on a corner and struck a tree. She was treated by first responders and transported to a hospital in Cloquet. Her name has not been released.

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A Gull Lake man is suing Central Lakes College in Brainerd after he claims he was kicked out of college over Facebook posts. Craig Keefe's federal lawsuit asks that he be reinstated to the nursing program, and for a financial award for damages from the defendants, including the school's president Larry Lundblad. Keefe's lawyer says school officials never gave him a specific reason for his expulsion in December, and the move violated the college's rules by denying him an appeal. The lawsuit also claims that school officials confronted Keefe over two Facebook posts, one they say used a derogatory term and the other saying there was, "Not enough whiskey for anger management."

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Prosecutors in California have dismissed a child pornography case that was filed against a former Faribault teacher in August -- but that doesn't signal the end of the legal battles for former Shattuck-St. Mary's drama teacher Lynn Seibel. He's expected to be back in a Rice County courtroom to face charges of second- and fourth-degree criminal sexual misconduct with a victim between the ages of 15-17, and abusing a position of authority to do so. Prosecutors have also charged him with using minors in pornographic work and possessing pornographic material on a work computer. All 17 charges Seibel faces are felonies. Faribault Police began investigating Seibel last summer, after a man filed a report about alleged private masturbation sessions that occurred on the S-SM campus while Seibel taught there.

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The funeral for the Oakdale fourth-grader killed in a shooting rampage a week ago will be held at 11 a.m. this morning. Nine-year-old Devin Aryal died after being shot while sitting in the backseat of a minivan as he and his mother were on their way home from day care. Melissa Aryal was wounded in the random shooting in Oakdale, which involved at least four other passing vehicles. Karen Knoblach was driving with her three grandchildren, and lost part of a finger when she was shot in the attack. 34-year-old Nhan Tran is charged with attempted second-degree murder and other counts A memorial fund for the boy's family has been established at U.S. Bank.

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The man charged with slapping a Minnesota toddler on a Minneapolis-to-Atlanta flight is out of a job. 60-year-old Joe Hundley of Hayden, Idaho is no longer an employee of AGC Aerospace and Defense, Composites Group. President Al Haase issued a statement that didn't refer to Hundley by name, but did call reports of behavior by one of its executives on recent personal travel "offensive and disturbing" and said he "is no longer employed with the company." Officials would not say whether Hundley was fired or resigned. Hundley is charged in federal court in Atlanta with simple assault after he was accused of slapping the 2-year-old boy during the Feb. 8 flight because the toddler was crying.

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President Obama's new Chief of Staff is a Minnesota native. Denis McDonough appeared on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday to discuss a variety of key issues facing the administration--including the possibility of raising the retirement age to help bolster Medicare. He says that would only shift costs to seniors, instead of reducing them. McDonough says reducing subsidies to prescription drug companies is a more common-sense solution.

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If lawmakers in Washington can't hammer out a deal by March first, $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts will go into effect. The sequester was enacted during the bitter debt ceiling negotiations. Minnesota DFL Congressman Keith Ellison says the sequester would be devastating to the economy--potentially causing layoffs of about 600,000 people--including police officers, teachers, and people who monitor our water and meat. If no deal is reached, then automatic across-the-board cuts of 10-percent will go into effect. The U.S. House adjourned for nine days last Friday leaving only four more legislative days to reach a deal.

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A foot chase led to a heart attack and the untimely death of a St. Paul police officer. The department says 30-year-old Josh Lynaugh chased and caught a teenager suspected of violating curfew and running from officers of February 8, but after the arrest the patrolman felt ill and was taken to the hospital. Lynaugh was being treated for a heart attack, but died on Saturday. He joined the department in 2007, won the St. Paul Police Department's Life Saving Award Twice, and received 16 commendations. His father is retired police Sgt. Tim Lynaugh. Services have not yet been finalized.

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The death of an inmate at the St. Louis County Jail in Hibbing is being investigated as a probable suicide. Sheriff's officers say 30-year-old Shane Fischer of Duluth was taken to jail Sunday morning on suspicion of drunken driving, running from police, and assault for attempting to disarm a state trooper. He was found unresponsive in a cell less than five hours later, and officials say Fischer died of apparent asphyxiation and that no foul play is suspected. Sheriff's deputies believe Fischer harmed himself just minutes after a required and routine check on his welfare.

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A good start for Allegiant Airlines air service between St. Cloud and Mesa, Arizona. St. Cloud Regional Airport Director Bill Towle says in the month January, they nearly filled all of the planes and February is off to an equally good start. Towle says Allegiant and airport officials were hoping for a 90-percent "load factor." Towle says they'll use the positive numbers to try to convince the airline to offer direct flights to other destinations like Florida, Las Vegas or Texas.

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The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota is co-sponsoring the second annual Business Ethics Summit in St. Paul Wednesday. The BBB's Dan Hendrickson says last year a larger Minnesota company shared a story about how a new product they launched had some isolated issues. He says instead of letting it fly under the radar -- they pulled the product. Hendrickson says the format is a free-flowing dialogue about the critical role business ethics plays in today's work place. For more information on the event, go to the BBB's website.

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