News

The New Brighton City Council unanimously authorized execution of a contract for private redevelopment with Pulte Homes at its Tuesday, June 11 council meeting.
Pulte has plans to build 86 single-family homes and 34 town homes at the 27-acre site once occupied by the former Midwest Asphalt and Beisswenger’s properties.
Pulte Homes is a Michigan based company that has built several developments in Minnesota, including Arden Hills and Roseville.

Dan Nordstrom knows a thing or two about the year 1913. He can tell you who the president was, what the average salary was and how many states there were.
He even knows what kind of car people drove a century ago. Why? Because he drives one himself.
Nordstrom, who lives in Plymouth, will be showing off his 100-year-old Ford Model T at this year’s Ramsey County Fair July 10-14. This year marks the fair’s centennial anniversary; the first one was held in White Bear Lake in 1913.

The Shoreview City Council accepted a bid from North Valley, Inc. for the city’s 2013 Street Rehabilitation Project at its Monday, June 17 council meeting.
North Valley’s bid of just over $3.3 million was the lowest of the five bids Shoreview received for the project.
The project will rehab several streets scattered throughout the city (see map) and will include extending the water main on Gaston and Grove Avenues and St. Albans Street.

On June 25, Anthony J. Mitchell, 17, of Maplewood was sentenced to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of second-degree murder in the stabbing of Anna Hurd, 16, in February.
At a plea hearing May 10, Mitchell waived his right to contest being certified as an adult to stand trial. His prison sentence is part of a plea agreement with the Ramsey County attorney's office.
During the hearing, Mitchell told Judge Chang Bohr that he and Hurd were walking near Hillside Park in Maplewood Feb. 23 when they had an argument about whether or not he would be joining Hurd when she returned to Texas to live with her mother the next day.

At his last city council meeting June 24, retiring city manager Jim Antonen announced the city's new police chief. Current Hastings Police Chief Paul Schnell was chosen to fill the position, which has been temporarily occupied by Deputy Chief Dave Kvam since long-time Chief Dave Thomalla retired in December.
Schnell, 51, has been the Hastings chief of police since 2010, and has worked in the past with Carver County as a sheriff's deputy and St. Paul Police Department as a public information officer and sergeant.
He earned his bachelor's degree in social work from the University of St. Thomas and his master's degree in organizational leadership from St. Catherine University. He is certified in Minnesota as both a peace officer and social worker.

Dressed in his Army gear and surrounded by family and friends, Leo Severson celebrated two occasions on June 18 - his 21st birthday and his deployment to Afghanistan.
Severson was one of 103 Minnesota soldiers from the 203rd Transportation Company of the U.S. Army Reserves being deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The soldiers said farewell to families and friends June 18 at a ceremony at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

Is it possible that Roseville has gotten such a bad name -- among pimps and prostitutes, that is -- that these entrepreneurs are simply not venturing across the city’s borders?
The Roseville Police Department says that’s what’s happening. A recent study showed prostitution-related arrests in the city have decreased by 76 percent in the first half of this year compared to arrests at the same time last year.
Neighboring cities could soon see similar results. The Roseville department cites its participation in a countywide campaign to stop prostitution as the main contributing factor for the decline.

Dr. Franz Halberg of Roseville, the man who coined the term “circadian rhythms” and studied their effects on the delivery of chemotherapy and the diagnosis of hypertension, died June 9, just short of his 94th birthday.
Halberg was considered the father of modern chronobiology, a term he coined for using science in tune with the daily, weekly and other rhythms of the body. He also founded the Halberg Chronobiology Center at the University of Minnesota.
At an international symposium held in Shoreview to mark his 90th birthday, he discussed his life’s work and said each person has a built-in, 24-hour rhythm that can make the difference between the success and failure of a certain treatment.

A South St. Paul police sergeant who was arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of drunk driving while off duty has been charged with a felony count of fleeing police for allegedly leading a Rosemount officer on a chase that damaged gas pumps and numerous vehicles.
Dakota County prosecutors also charged Cory Slifko, 37, of Farmington, with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and one misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property. Slifko, a 13-year veteran of the South St. Paul Police Department, was promoted to the rank of sergeant in January. He is currently on paid administrative leave.

The Eastern District of the St. Paul Police Department has been beefing up its presence on Payne Avenue in recent weeks.
Eastern District Commander Kevin Casper said the new presence along the commercial corridor is partially due to a recent shooting near the intersection of Case and Payne avenues. On Monday, June 3, police responded to reports of gunshots at the intersection. Upon arriving, police saw a man fleeing the seen and chased him down. They found a gun on him and arrested him on a warrant for a prior robbery charge.