Duluth man charged with killing St. Cloud professor

by MinnPost staff 06/22/202102/06/2024

police tapes — Credit: Photo by David von Diemar on Unsplash

More details on this sad story. The Star Tribune’s Jenny Berg reports: “A 45-year-old Duluth man is facing felony charges for reportedly shooting a St. Cloud man after crashing a stolen vehicle in the St. Cloud man’s front yard. … The Duluth man, Jason R. Beckman, told investigators he got lost while driving in south St. Cloud, swerved to avoid a branch and lost control, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Stearns County District Court. … Beckman said he then knocked on the front door of the house and thought the man who answered — 68-year-old St. Cloud University Prof. Ed Ward — was a man ‘who had pointed [a] tan rifle at him earlier’ at a grocery store in Waite Park, according to court documents.”

… And this one. WCCO reports: “More human remains related to the death of Adam Richard Johnson were found Tuesday morning in Minneapolis. … City police say the remains were found shortly before 7 a.m. in the area of West River Parkway and Franklin Avenue, in the Seward neighborhood. … Responding officers identified the remains as being related to the death of the 36-year-old Minneapolis man.”

Not the kind of thing you want to be best known for! The Star Tribune’s Zekriah Chaudhry reports: “Prodded by a petition drive, Minneapolis may rename a street that memorializes a former council member best known for championing eugenics and Adolf Hitler. … The petition to rename Dight Avenue has gathered 750 signatures since June 1 and has the support of City Council Member Andrew Johnson, whose south Minneapolis ward includes the street. … The avenue was named for Charles F. Dight, a physician who served four years on the City Council, shortly after he left office in 1918.”

Mayo trying to get that bread. The Forum’s Paul John Scott reports (via the PiPress): “Between January of 2018 and the end of July in 2020, Mayo Clinic took over 900 patients to court for unpaid medical bills. That’s according to a new analysis of America’s largest 100 hospitals titled ‘How America’s Top Hospitals Hound Patients with Predatory Billing.’ . … Those actions led Mayo to be included on the publication’s list of just 10 hospitals responsible for 97 percent of all U.S. court actions against patients in the analysis, according to Michelle McGhee, a reporter at Axios.”

Might’ve expected this to decline more. The Star Tribune’s Jeremy Olson reports: “Sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infections declined 2% in Minnesota last year, but state health officials are uncertain whether that is because of underreporting amid the COVID-19 pandemic or an actual drop related to reduced sexual activity or other factor.”

Back to normal. KSTP reports: “Gopher Athletics announced on Tuesday that it plans to operate at full capacity for live sporting events when teams return to competition for the 2021-22 academic year. … The first ticketed sports slated to welcome full capacity at its venues are soccer, volleyball and football.”