Bemidji Post Office Audit Finds Significant Problems; New Trial Granted In Cold Case Killing; Want Wolves Tix? Prepare To Pay Plenty
(Inspector General Report Makes Recommendations)
BEMIDJI –An audit this week revealed the understaffed and overworked Bemidji post office delayed the delivery of 79,000 pieces of mail during a three-day inspection in December. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General released the report identifying the insufficient staffing and delivery operations.
According to the Star Tribune, the 16 page report stated poor management and Amazon are to blame for the delivery delays and backlogs. USPS officials gave Bemidji an eight-day heads-up in October that Amazon shipments would fold into operations. Management estimated 2,400 Amazon packages daily. That estimate was a lowball. The report said the total package volume peaked in the first week of December 2023, with over 27,000 packages for the week. The Bemidji post office and six surrounding ones in Bagley, Shevlin, Solway, Northome, Kelliher and Blackduck serve about 46,000 people.
Resignations and retirements spiked with the increased work hours and workloads, which put a strain on remaining carriers who suffered with low morale. By January of this year, the post office was down 15 carriers. (Star Tribune)
(Gould Announces Re-election Candidacy)
(Bemidji) Beltrami County Commissioner Joe Gould has announced candidacy for re-election for the District 2 Beltrami County Commissioner seat. Gould is 37 years old and a teacher of Social Studies for Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools. The 2010 graduate of Bemidji State University says his priorities include childcare, housing, and mental health services improvements, as well as low property taxes, and securing State bonding dollars for a new regional waste management site.
(Supreme Court Grant New Trial)
DULUTH – The Minnesota Supreme Court has determined Michael Carbo Jr., will get another chance to plead his case, Carbo was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in 2022 in St. Louis County District Court, closing a cold case from 1986 that had never seen an arrest before Carbo. He was sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole in 17 years for the death of 38-year-old Nancy Daugherty, a mother of two and well-liked aide at an Iron Range nursing home.
The state high court said the District Court erred in not allowing Carbo an alternate perpetrator defense .The case will be sent back to Hibbing, where it was originally tried with Judge Robert C. Friday presiding. The trial date has not been scheduled. (Star Tribune)
Guilty Plea In Double Murder In Babbitt
DULUTH — An Iron Range man has pleaded guilty to killing a married couple in their late 70s in their Babbitt home, before driving their SUV to Duluth and confessing to a local police officer that he had done “really bad things” and wanted to go to jail.
54-year-old Roger A. Beldo, admitted in St. Louis County District Court to two counts of intentional second-degree murder in the October 2023 deaths of 78-year-old Clifford Johnson, and 79-year-old Christine Johnson. He told law enforcement officials that the Johnsons wanted his low-income housing voucher and were stealing his food stamps.
His sentencing is Aug. 5. (Star Tribune)
>>Wolves Tickets Will Cost You
(Minneapolis, MN) — The demand for Timberwolves playoff tickets in Minneapolis has reached unprecedented levels, with prices skyrocketing to astonishing figures. According to Michael Nowakowski, owner of Ticket King in Minneapolis, the demand for tickets to the Friday and Sunday games against the Denver Nuggets has been relentless, leading to non-stop sales and staggering price increases. Even the worst seats in the house are now fetching prices as high as 350, while lower-level seats are commanding prices of up to 25-hundred-dollars per ticket. Season ticket sales have also surged, with hundreds of new full-season tickets already sold for the 2024-25 season, as fans look to secure face-value tickets for this weekend’s games by committing to complete or half-season ticket plans. (24/7 News Source)
>>Thousands Of Turkeys Die In Fire In Stearns County
(Stearns County, MN) — Thousands of turkeys are dead after a fire in a barn in Stearns County. The county sheriff’s office says the fire happened in Sauk Center Township on April 30th. The fire was traced to the barn’s mechanical room, though the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The barn was destroyed and seven-thousand turkeys died in the fire.
(24/7 News Source)
>>New Food Storage Rules Announced For Boundary Waters Canoe Area
(Ely, MN) — The U.S. Forest Service is implementing new rules for storing food in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Anyone traveling in that area must now store their food in approved bear-proof containers or hang their food bags in a tree at least 12 feet above the ground and six feet away from the trunk. Violations of the new rule can lead to fines, with a standard citation of around 50 dollars. Repeat offenders could be fined up to five-thousand dollars. The new rules will remain in effect until April of 2026.(24/7 News Source)
>>Remains Found In AZ Identified As Minnesota Veteran
(Flagstaff, AZ) — Authorities in Arizona have identified the remains of a Minnesota man found nearly 50 years ago. The skeletal remains were found about 40 miles east of Flagstaff in 1975 by farmers chasing a runaway pig. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that DNA was used to develop a genealogical profile that led to the identification of Gerald Francis Long. The Vietnam veteran left Minnesota in 1972 and his family never heard from him again. Investigators have been unable to determine what led to Long’s death.(24/7 News Source)
>>Plug Your Nose – Corpse Flower Set To Bloom At Como Park Zoo
(St. Paul, MN) — Brace yourselves for a rare and stinky spectacle at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory as one of its most unusual residents, affectionately named “Horace,” is preparing to bloom. Horace, a corpse flower, is poised to bloom for the first time since arriving at Como in 2019. Known for their foul odor resembling rotting flesh, corpse flowers are exceptionally rare, with fewer than one-thousand individual plants remaining in the wild. Brave visitors can catch a glimpse – and a whiff – of Horace at Como’s Exhibit Gallery daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. At the same time, a live stream is also available on the Como website.(24/7 News Source)
>>Pequot Lakes High School Prom Cut Short Due To Unsafe Dance Floor
(Pequot Lakes, MN) — The 2024 prom for Pequot Lakes High School took an unexpected turn when part of the dance floor was deemed unsafe, forcing the event to end prematurely. Held at the Breezy Point Resort Convention Center last month, students noticed the floor sinking as the night progressed, prompting staff to clear the area and conclude the festivities early. Despite the disappointment of the shortened prom, attendees are left with a memorable story to share, with plans already underway for permanent repairs at the convention center.
(24/7 News Source)
>>Minnesota Ranked Fourth Best State To Live In US
(Undated) — Minnesota has a lot to brag about when it comes to being one of the places to live in the United States. U.S. News and World Report has placed the state fourth in its annual “Best States” ranking released this week. The state places second overall for its natural environment, and seventh for fiscal stability. It also placed ninth in infrastructure and 12th for opportunity. Utah was ranked first overall, followed by New Hampshire and Nebraska.
(24/7 News Source)
