St. Paul Police release two surveillance videos of skyway incident

St. Paul Police release more extensive footage of the Christopher Lollie skyway incident. Nicole Norfleet writes in the Strib, “Sgt. Paul Paulos, a police spokesman, who has 10 years of experience working downtown, played the video and explained some general details to give ‘a broader perspective.’ ” The two videos are surveillance footage from First National Bank and the Securian building.

Definitely from the “You Can’t Make it Up Dept.” Says Paul Walsh in the Strib, “Police in Roseville say two of their marked squad cars in the shop for repairs were taken out for an unauthorized spin, racing along a busy street in town to the amazement of witnesses. … At least the two joy riding employees waited until after morning traffic eased up last Thursday before getting behind the wheels of the Dodge Chargers — yes, they had a hemi — and roaring along County Road C at ‘excessive speeds’ for more than a mile from Victoria Street east to Western Avenue … .”

Those bridges can’t go away fast enough. Buoa Xiong of KARE-TV reports, “Work on the 36th Street bridge over Highway 100 will undergo an expected closure Wednesday after a piece of concrete fell onto a car below. A Bloomington couple was on their way home Tuesday, southbound on Highway 100, when a five pound slab of concrete crashed through their windshield. It shattered the front and passenger windows. The couple did not want to be identified but told KARE 11 they are lucky to have escaped with only minor scratches.”

Rolling Stone has served up a “What We Learned” list from that new book on Bob Dylan. Among the revelations writes Andy Greene: “Dylan quit drinking in 1994. ‘He just stopped on a dime,’ [Victor] Maymudes says. ‘He didn’t talk as much once he stopped and he didn’t laugh as loud either. It was a really big deal for him and really showed his commitment to changing his behavior. He was capable of dealing with a broader range of personalities when he was drinking and after stopping, his tolerance for certain types of behavior diminished. Bob lost a bit of self-esteem when he sobered up, became a little more introverted and a little less social.’ ” Right. Just a little less … .

With the season opener clearly indicating a Super Bowl championship, Vikings ticket sales are strong at the much smaller TCF Bank stadium. Says Ben Goessling at ESPN, “Sunday’s home opener against the New England Patriots is sold out, and only single seats remain for the Vikings’ Sept. 28 home game against the Atlanta Falcons and their Oct. 12 game against the Detroit Lions. The next home game with ticket availability, according to team spokesman Jeff Anderson, is Nov. 2 against the Washington Redskins.”

While that goes on “The Bird Killer” rises: At Wired, Gwen Pearson tells her readers, “The Minnesota Vikings stadium currently under construction is a gleaming structure of light and glass. Its 200,000 square feet of glass will allow those outside the stadium to see inside and will let in natural light. But this shiny cathedral for football is also expected to be a death trap for migratory birds. The Minneapolis stadium is on the Mississippi Flyway, the major migratory route for songbirds and waterfowl in the US. … The new stadium (and future Super Bowl Venue of 2018) is built on a spot that, by some estimates, 50% of North America’s migratory birds pass over during spring and fall migration.” Imagine how much attention the first dead sparrow is going to get.

This just in from FoxNews. Al Franken isn’t funny. Matt Schlapp writes, “So what gives? Why would an outsized personality like Franken be such a dud in the Senate when the cameras are rolling and where everything is a show? Perhaps his handlers are to blame. The theory goes something like this: Al Franken would never be taken seriously if he were thought of as a star hanging out with the jet set. So, instead, he tries to look and act like an insurance adjuster, just studying the case and getting his paperwork together.”

Well, the insurance adjuster and the hedge fund manager agree on what to do about ISIS. Says Mark Zdechlik at MPR: “ … Franken and his Republican opponent Mike McFadden are largely in agreement on what the U.S. response should be to the group known as ISIS or the Islamic State. Franken said when President Obama addresses the nation tonight he needs to lay out a clear plan to stop ISIS that includes other nations, is limited in scope and does not involve U.S. troops in Syria. McFadden is calling for much the same. Both Franken and McFadden say they would be open to air strikes on Islamic State positions in Syria.”

Meanwhile, Amy Klobuchar wants the president to make a “national security case” in his speech tonight. The Washington Post story, by Robert Costa and Ed O’Keefe says, “ … Klobuchar (D-Minn.) described the Islamic State as “pure evil” but she — like many lawmakers — said that Obama would need to use his speech on Wednesday to clearly dictate a strategy and address the nation’s war-weariness. The threat of Islamic fundamentalism is an especially urgent subject Minnesota, she said, noting that at least a few residents are known to have traveled to the Middle East to join up with the Islamic State.”

Will the entire “team” perform mass calisthenics? The Strib’s Kavita Kumar reports on Target’s annual managers’ meeting. “Red-and-khaki nation will blanket downtown Minneapolis this afternoon. About 14,000 Target Corp. employees clad in the retailer’s signature colors will pour into the Target Center this afternoon for the company’s annual fall meeting. And there will be added intrigue this year: hearing from the company’s newly-minted CEO. The fall meeting is always a big day for the Minneapolis-based retailer, which flies in all of its nearly 1,800 store managers from across the U.S. and Canada in order to get them pumped up for the upcoming holiday season.”