The 10 weirdest news stories of 2015
As we prepare to throw out our muscly firemen calendars, we look back at the year that was. Things got weird in 2015. While important people were off doing important things, these petty thieves,...
View ArticleWhy you shouldn't rob the most badass bartender in Duluth
Criminals aren’t usually the smartest bunch. Some are flat-out lazy. Clearly, Randy Wosmek didn’t do enough pre-caper homework to realize he was about to rob Duluth’s toughest bartender. On December...
View ArticleMark Kulda has a front row seat to Minnesota's most creative fraudsters
Now and then Mark Kulda will come across a handful of people who say they were all injured in the same car accident. They complain of serious — though undetectable — pain. The kind that takes months of...
View ArticleReal-life Grinch robbed St. Paul homeless aid group on Christmas
Only the very desperate or the truly cruel would even consider stealing from a facility that exists to help the homeless. Do it on Christmas, and you've revealed a side of yourself that might be...
View ArticleVA official Kimberly Graves is allowed to skate after scamming the government
Kimberly Graves wore a funeral black dress when holiday business casual would've been just fine. Graves, the beleaguered Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs official who pleaded the fifth before a...
View ArticleRoland Sterling grabs deputy's junk, foiling return to trailer park
The holidays tend to bring out the best or worst in people. For Roland Sterling, 2015 definitely brought out the latter. Around 10:30 p.m. on December 23, a Crow Wing County deputy sheriff was...
View ArticleDavid Butenhoff, Father of the Year, thwarted by ice in attempted getaway
As the barrage of year-end awards winds down, a late candidate for 2015 Father of the Year has emerged. Fortunately, David Edward Butenhoff’s 19-month-old probably won’t remember that pop spent one of...
View ArticleThomas Carey, hockey player in underage sex video, gets deal for just 30 days
A junior hockey player filmed having sex with a Moorhead high schooler had his plea deal finalized this week. The deal, approved by a Clay County District Court judge Monday, keeps Thomas Ryan Carey...
View ArticleSisyphus Brewing’s sweet mural ruined by uninspired vandal
Sam Harriman is a brewer and a comedian — two talents that spread mirth. But on Sunday afternoon he was understandably pissed. Sometime after closing the night before, a vandal paid Harriman’s Sisyphus...
View ArticleThe mystery of a dead man, ten pounds of pot, and a human skull
Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze's life got a lot more complicated earlier this week. First responders were summoned to a rural residence Tuesday morning in Forest City Township, a hamlet of about 700...
View ArticleMaking a Murderer’s Dean Strang sells out before daybreak in Minneapolis
Making a Murderer hysteria is in full effect, with every other tweet and water cooler convo revolving around the smash documentary series. In case you’ve been Rip Van Winkling for the last month, the...
View ArticleThe most intense game of beer pong ever. Like, assault intense.
Beer pong usually has a way of bringing together besotted friends. But some people take it way too seriously. Last month a couple guys were playing the convivial drinking game at a Fargo house party....
View ArticleGunman tries to rob up to 20 people at Sporty's Pub
Late Monday night Chris Christopherson got a call no bar owner wants to receive. One of his bartenders at Sporty’s Pub & Grill was on the other end, her voicing shaking. Around 11:30 p.m., armed...
View ArticleIvory smuggling St. Cloud professor Yiwei Zheng pleads guilty
Yiwei “Steve” Zheng isn’t only a St. Cloud State University philosophy professor. He’s also an entrepreneurial importer/exporter. Unfortunately, that side gig could stick him with plenty of time to...
View ArticleNo-show carnival operator Edwin Reinke sued by state for making kids sad
Each year the Jackson County Fair draws 20,000 people. The five-day summer bash features all the Americana awesomeness a good fair needs — horse shows, corn dogs, live music, a beer garden. The...
View ArticleNick Rod is doing 5 years for a crime he can't remember
Amateur musician and professional pizza delivery guy Eric Bolen rolled into 22nd Avenue Station in northeast Minneapolis late. It was early April 2013. Bolen doesn't remember the exact hour, but it was...
View ArticleNick Rod is doing five years for a crime he can't remember
Amateur musician and professional pizza delivery guy Eric Bolen rolled into 22nd Avenue Station in northeast Minneapolis late. It was early April 2013. Bolen doesn't remember the exact hour, but it was...
View ArticleWhy the hell would you hire Archbishop John Nienstedt?
It's hard enough getting a job out there. Here's a tip: You don't have to include all of your job experience, especially if you're not sure listing a previous gig will help you get the new job. Say,...
View ArticleJeff Rothecker: The unflattering history of the cop who'd run over black people
Sgt. Jeffrey Rothecker is very, very sorry about a recent Facebook post advising Twin Cities residents to run over Black Lives Matter protesters demonstrating on Martin Luther King Day. We know this...
View ArticleEden Prairie cop accidentally shoots guy [VIDEO]
Outside the rare gunfight, a high-speed chase is as intense as any bit of police work. Several high-profile incidents of police brutality have followed police pursuit of someone fleeing. (See: Rodney...
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