State briefs: Man struck and killed by train in Winona
Published 10:22 am Friday, February 19, 2016
WINONA — A man who walked across some railroad tracks in Winona was killed when a stationary train started moving again and struck him.
Police say the Canadian Pacific train was dropping off some cars and the traffic safety arms were down when 63-year-old Randolph Tofstad crossed the tracks about 2 a.m. Friday near his home. Authorities say the man’s death was accidental.
Tofstad is the second person killed at a Winona train crossing since last month. A 25-year-old man tripped and fell on some tracks Jan. 17 and was hit by a train.
Former teacher accused of stalking 12-year-old
HASTINGS — A former teacher is charged in Dakota County with stalking a 12-year-old female student.
Prosecutors say 25-year-old Cody Woodrow Hansen sent numerous suggestive messages to the girl on social media from November to January. Hansen was a teacher at an Eagan middle school and has since resigned.
The Star Tribune says a criminal complaint charges Hansen with two counts of stalking. Authorities say the girl had screen shots of some of the messages and told investigators she “felt creepy and unsafe” in Hansen’s classroom.
Hansen has not yet appeared in court and it was unclear whether he has an attorney.
Fire causes $900,000 in damage to church
DULUTH — Firefighters say an early morning blaze caused an estimated $900,000 in damage to a church in Duluth.
Crews responded to the fire at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church early Thursday. Thick smoke billowed from the church and flames were visible inside as firefighters working in freezing temperatures.
Firefighters found no indications that anyone was inside at the time of the fire. The cause remains under investigation.
The church says on its website that the sanctuary is a complete loss. The church is working to find an alternate location for services.
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church was founded in 1870 by Swedish immigrants and has been at its current location since 1906.
The church is taking donations for rebuilding.
Woman sentenced to jail for threatening Muslim couple
MINNEAPOLIS — A woman who pleaded guilty to terroristic threats after pointing a gun at a Muslim couple has been sentenced to 45 days in jail.
Hennepin County Judge William Koch told 49-year-old Nancy Knoble, of Brooklyn Park, on Thursday that her actions affected an entire community.
Minnesota Public Radio reportsshe’ll be eligible for electronic monitoring after 15 days. The sentence also includes a three-year probation that requires her to participate in a cultural awareness program about Islam.
Knoble confronted the Maple Grove couple with a pellet gun as they sat in their car in Brooklyn Park to pick up their son at a friend’s home last May. The woman was wearing a Muslim headscarf.
Knoble apologized in court and broke down in tears after she left the courtroom.
Grand jury declines to indict police in St. Paul man’s death
ST. PAUL — A grand jury has declined to indict two St. Paul police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a mentally ill man, concluding that they were justified in using deadly force, officials announced Thursday.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith announced the decision at a news conference Thursday, one day after the jury cleared the officers in the shooting death of Philip Quinn, 30, last fall.
“This was a tragic event” for Quinn’s family and for the officers involved, Smith said, but the officers did exactly what they were trained to do.