‘Cold-case review’ leads to new developments in Jacob Wetterling case

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Very few other names send newsrooms into a pitch of commotion like “Jacob Wetterling.” Even then, yesterday was a big deal. For MPR, Curtis Gilbert and Madeleine Baran say, “Authorities also said DNA evidence links [Daniel] Heinrich to another central Minnesota child abduction case in the Cold Spring area that occurred less than one year before Wetterling’s abduction. Despite that DNA match, Heinrich is not being charged in the Cold Spring case because it’s beyond the statute of limitations, U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Andy Luger said.”

A trio of Stribbers write, “Authorities were careful Thursday to identify Heinrich as only a person of interest in the Wetterling case. Nonetheless, it was clear that at least some suspect he could be the abductor. Included in the appendix to the search warrant filed for Heinrich’s Annandale house was an artist’s rendering of Jacob’s kidnapper. Next to it was a 1990 photo of Heinrich, which resembled the rendering.”

KMSP-TV says: “According to the criminal complaint, recordings of news reports concerning the abduction of Jacob Wetterling and other missing children were found in Heinrich’s home. Investigators recovered 19 different 3-ring binders ‘filled with images of children including naked pubescent boys’ at Heinrich’s home in Annandale.  Photos included known children of sexual exploitation based on a national database — Wetterling was not among the images found in the photo collection recovered from the home. Hours of video of young boys engaged in routine activities like playing on the playground, riding bikes, and participating in sports were also found in the residence. U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said the videos appear to have been filmed by Heinrich, and some appear to have been shot by a hidden camera. In addition to photos and videos, several bins of boys’ sized clothing were also found in the home.”

In the New York Times Richard Perez Pena reports, “Law enforcement officials said Thursday that they had met privately with the Wetterlings, who released a statement saying they were not ready to comment on the developments. Investigators decided last year ‘to conduct an updated, full cold-case review’ of Jacob’s disappearance and a string of unsolved sexual assaults in central Minnesota in the late 1980s that were believed to be related, Mr. Thornton said. Using technology that was not available at the time, he said, investigators tested clothes that had been collected as evidence in one of the assaults, against another boy in January 1989 in Cold Spring, Minn., and found Mr. Heinrich’s DNA.”

No, it’s not our millionaires fleeing our Draconian tax environment. It’s loons. In the Strib, C.B. Bylander says, “New satellite telemetry research has surprisingly shown that three Minnesota loons have spent much of the past year in the Atlantic Ocean near or north of Nova Scotia. In addition, some birds even tell wildlife biologists how deep and often they dive, which is up to 150 feet deep in the south end of Lake Michigan. Deeper still — and worrisome — is what researchers are learning about the effects of the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 on some of the loons that spend winter in the Gulf of Mexico.”

What Would Wisconsin Do? Brian Bakst of the AP says, “New labor contracts containing raises for thousands of Minnesota state government employees got thrown into limbo Thursday after a legislative panel reviewing the agreements failed to ratify them. A joint House and Senate committee deadlocked on contracts Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration negotiated with public employee unions. The panel’s DFLers moved to endorse them while Republicans unified against them, resulting in a series of 5-5 votes.” Gummint, doing what it does best.

Speaking of our fine neighbors next door, this story from Molly Beck of the Wisconsin State Journal requires careful reading. But basically, it’s another case of over-mongered outrage. “Gov. Scott Walker’s administration says it can’t find any documents, including a resume, to show that a short-order cook scored high enough on a hiring exam to be considered for a financial examiner job. Walker and other Republican lawmakers have made the anecdote central to their arguments calling for changes to the state’s civil service system. They argue it shows that hiring exams don’t always produce qualified candidates.” 

Kind of a gaping hole. MPR reports, “Only 40 percent of Minnesota youth received a mental health screening as part of their preventive checkups last year. Of those, 1 in 10 showed signs of depression or other mental health concerns, state officials said Thursday. The results come from a first-ever analysis of Minnesota health clinics. The study shows clinics are doing well in counseling children on obesity but suggests they’re falling short on mental health evaluation.” 

Not to be mentioned in the Mayor’s campaign literature next election. Frederick Melo of the PiPress reports, “On Thursday, Ward 2 City Council Member Dave Thune held a press conference in the lobby of the downtown Ramsey County Courthouse to declare the mayor’s parking meter proposal all but dead. Little more than an hour later, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman announced that in light of the lack of council backing, the meter issue was dead and not likely to return soon. Certainly not in his soon-to-be-revised 2016 budget proposal.”

Me, I’m going as a zombie, again. Because it requires no makeup. But at City Pages, Tatiana Craine has suggestions, based on the past year in pop culture. Consider for example, “Mad Men”: “The retro critical darling finished off its seven season run not with a bang… but a pop. Coca-Cola to be exact. Throughout Mad Men, there were plenty of incredible looks, but there were two iconic ones from the last episode that showed just how far Don and Peggy have come, baby. Peggy Olson: Peggy strutting her hungover self down the hallways of McCann-Erickson after a bender with Roger is arguably one of the most satisfying moments of the series finale. And you, too, can channel her greatness in a retro tee, an a-line skirt, a swipe of red lipstick, and wayfarers. Put your hair in curlers for an hour and then brush ’em out so you get Peggy’s new swoopy hairstyle. Feel free to tote around a box all night, or print off your own replica of that sexy octopus painting (Katsushika Hokusai’s The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife if you wanna Google it). Bonus: You can hang that in your own office after Halloween’s over!” OK. Zombie Peggy it is.