ALBERT LEA TOWNSHIP, Minn. – An Iowa man was injured in a one-vehicle crash on I-35 in Freeborn County during Tuesday evening rush hour. The Minnesota State Patrol says Samuel Patrick Williams, 34, skidded off the highway near Freeborn County Road 46, hit the cable barrier, and rolled into the middle of the freeway, just … Read more
ALBERT LEA, Minn. – Albert Lea public schools is beefing up security. The addition of a second school resource officer to the public school district was approved by city council on Monday. The decision was made due to an increase in school shootings. The school board will make the final decision at its next meeting, … Read more
ALBERT LEA, Minn. – A 33 year old Albert Lea man has been sentenced to a half century in prison in connection to a police standoff and shootig spree. Devin Matthew Weiland, was convicted of three counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from the November 29, … Read more
An Austin man who aided in an attempted robbery of an Austin taxi driver in 2020 has learned his fate. Jadon Dale Bentzin was convicted and sentenced recently [Thursday] to five years of supervised probation for a simple robbery charge. The 20 year old was also convicted and sentenced to five years of supervised probation … Read more
(FOX 9) – The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says the Wisconsin man who led a Minnesota State Patrol trooper on a pursuit Feb. 21 died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In a news release on Monday, the BCA identified the man as 34-year-old Kyle Bazant. They say he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound … Read more
A southern Minnesota elementary school was briefly placed on lockdown after a suspected swatting incident on Monday. Authorities said someone made a fraudulent 911 call targeting Banfield Elementary School in Austin resulting in an armed police response. Officials issued the alert for all other district buildings during the investigation and it was determined the reported … Read more
AUSTIN, Minn. – A woman caught trying to bring methamphetamine into Mower County has accepted a plea deal in the 2021 case. Rhonda Sue Nelson, 54 of Mapleton, entered a guilty plea Monday to second-degree meth possession stemming from an October 6, 2021 traffic stop on Interstate 90 in which deputies found about 29 grams … Read more
Hateful racial remarks hurled at an Office of Admissions campus tour group was quickly denounced by Carleton College President Alison Byerly. In a statement Byerly expressed regret and said that the event, in which a passerby shouted hate speech against Black and Jewish people, as well as LBGTQ+ is under investigation and security footage is … Read more
An Austin man has been charged with multiple counts of felony drug trafficking following an ongoing undercover investigation last year. Donald Alvin Bakken II was arrested on a total of eight felonies for selling “Dirty 30” pills, which contained fentanyl to a confidential informant (CI) for the Mower County Sheriff’s Department eight separate times from … Read more
A Minnesota fugitive was found dead Friday night at a Minnesota state park. Authorities issued an attempt-to-locate alert when Ralph Apmann failed to appear for his murder trial on February 13. The 58-year-old had posted bail after being charged in the August 2021 murder of Juan Rivera and he was believed to be armed with … Read more