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The suspect arrested this month in the investigation of four different incidents of arson had a first court appearance September 12th in Yellow Medicine County Court. According to the criminal complaint, a Granite Falls Police Officer first met with the suspect, Brenda Stang, on August 31st, and again on September 1st to speak with her about fires that were started at the Henry Hill Apartments, as well as a fire alarm being pulled with no fire being present. The first fire occurred on June 30th. Subsequent fires were set on July 1st, July 8th, July 9th, and July 17th. The fire alarm was pulled with no fire being present in the building sometime between August 19th and August 21st. The criminal complaint states that the first fire was reported to law enforcement on July 1st, when a metal garbage bin affixed to the wall in the downstairs public bathroom had a fire lit in it sometime in the night. A burnt plastic bag in the bin caused ashes to fly out of the can and spread, but minimal damage, other than smell and some minor clean-up occurred. The next fire was reported to law enforcement as smoke in the hallway of the apartment building. The criminal complaint states that when law enforcement arrived on the scene, smoke was covering the first floor and the fire was located inside of a trash can in the bathroom. The fire had been put out before the fire department arrived. The third fire, on July 9th was reported when the elevator alarm at the apartment building called into dispatch. The criminal complaint states, “When law enforcement arrived, heavy smoke was observed on the first floor. A tenant of the apartment building had put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.” That fire was started in a garbage can full of newspapers. The criminal complaint also states, “The tenant stated that after he put the fire out, he observed the Defendant was sitting outside on a bench asking what was going on.”

Canby Police Department Aarhus, Jacob Daniel, Benson; Offense date 5/26/21 Traffic - DAR (Misdemeanor); Plea 9/13/22 Guilty; Disposition 9/13/22 Convicted; Court Decision 9/13/22 Payable without appearance; $200 Fine. Olson, Eric Daniel, Canby; Offense date 9/15/21 Criminal Sexual Conduct - 2nd Degree - Contact Under 14 - Actor >36m older (Felony); Plea 5/23/22 Guilty; Disosition 9/12/22 Convicted; Court Decision 9/12/22 Stay of Imposition; $500 Fine.

Minnesota’s regular waterfowl season opens a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday, Sept. 24, with the same regulations as last year. Minnesota has three waterfowl hunting zones — north, central and south — that share the Sept. 24 season opener but have varying end dates. The central and south zones also have a mid-season closure Oct. 3-7.

Another school year is ramping up with all the hustle and excitement that comes with it. With our primary focus on getting ready for another year of educating the future generation, cyber criminals grin at the opportunity to catch us with our guard down on cyber activity. Already in this new school year, SWWC Cybersecurity has observed an uptick in cyber incidents, especially in Spear Phishing attacks against school staff. “Spearfishing?” you might ask. “How is that different from the phishing I have become so familiar with in the past and how exactly will this impact my school district?” Spear Phishing is a form of phishing used by bad cyber actors in attempt to make money. But unlike normal phishing, spear phishing takes things a step further when the bad actor directly calls out a single person or organization with the hope of increasing the number of victims.

Minnesota State Community and Technical College will again be hosting free Certified Nursing Assistant courses as part of Gov. Tim Walz’s Next Generation Nursing Assistant initiative.