REGIONAL BRIEFS: Man accused of assault with a cane

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From the Forum Communications News Bureau

Red Cross mobilizing to assist with hurricane (FF)

FARGO – American Red Cross Minn-Kota Region emergency response vehicles based in Fargo and East Grand Forks, Minn., will deploy this week to assist with Red Cross efforts in Louisiana with Hurricane Isaac.

The Red Cross has opened shelters in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana in response to and further preparation for widespread flooding and sheltering throughout the Gulf Region.

Currently there are more than 1,500 disaster workers in Florida and Alabama, and the Red Cross has deployed or put on alert half of the nationwide Red Cross fleet due to weather forecasts throughout the Gulf Region.

North Dakota

Coats for Kids gets new sponsor, longer name (FF)

FARGO – The group of local radio stations that includes KFGO 790 AM, Radio Fargo-Moorhead, will take over the former Coats for Kids program.

Joel Heitkamp, operations manager for KFGO, said the radio stations will partner with Sanford Health and Camelot Cleaners to collect and distribute warm clothing for families across the region.

The program will be renamed Coats for Kids and Families Too.

“Obviously there is a need there, and we just thought with the personnel we have we could make this work,” Heitkamp said.

The program was recently dropped by Valley News Live after 25 years of sponsorship.

Last year, Valley News Live reportedly distributed more than 12,000 coats and warm clothing items across North Dakota.

The campaign will kick off Saturday during tailgating at the Fargodome before the first North Dakota State University football game of the season.

Police probe stabbing outside Fargo bar (FF)

FARGO – Police are investigating a stabbing that occurred at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday outside a downtown Fargo bar.

Sgt. Jared Crane said an argument escalated into a fight and one of the parties pulled a knife outside the Bismarck Tavern at 522 Broadway.

The 23-year-old victim was able to walk to the nearby emergency room at Sanford Medical Center. He’s expected to survive, “but he did have some significant injuries as a result of being slashed with the knife,” Crane said.

The suspect reportedly left the area in a vehicle with two other people before officers arrived. Based on descriptions of the vehicle from witnesses at the bar, police were able to locate the vehicle in Moorhead and identify its driver, Fargo Lt. Joel Vettel said.

Moorhead police also assisted by executing a search warrant at an undisclosed location in Moorhead, he said. No arrests had been made, he said.

Horticulture farm to host tour Sept. 5 (FF)

ABSARAKA, N.D. – North Dakota State University Absaraka Horticulture Research Farm will hold a field tour at 4 p.m. Sept. 5.

The tour will include NDSU tree and shrub selections, numerous introductions, common and exotic species, and the dwarf conifer collection.

Research trials on Juneberries and grapes will be featured, along with information on emerald ash borer and pine/spruce diseases.

Beverages and cookies will be served.

To reach the farm from the west, take Interstate 94 to the Buffalo exit 314. Turn north on Dakota Highway 38 for seven miles. Turn east on a gravel road near a dairy farm with grain silos. Travel through Absaraka to Cass County Road 5. Turn north and travel ¾ of a mile. Turn east on the field road and proceed ½ mile to the farm, which is bordered by trees.

For more information or to register, email todd.p.west@ndsu.edu.

Minn.-Wis.

Victims in head-on crash identified (RE, from weekend)

ELLSWORTH, Wis. – Two Red Wing, Minn., residents have been identified as those who died in a head-on crash and subsequent fire that occurred late Saturday night on U.S. Highway 63 in western Wisconsin.

Traci Lee Nannette Hardy, 30, and Scott Mikael Kull, 22, were pronounced dead at the scene of the 9:53 p.m. crash, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Hardy was a passenger in a 2003 Ford F-150 driven by Trent B. Wentlandt, 25, of Bay City, Wis., that collided with a 2003 Lincoln Aviator being driven by Kull.

A Pierce County Sheriff's Department news release said both vehicles were on fire when the first officer arrived on the scene.

Highway 63 was closed for nearly five hours as officials investigated the crash and cleared the wreckage.

Minnesota

Man accused of assault with a cane (DNT)

DULUTH -- A Duluth man had to be subdued with a Taser as police tried to arrest him for reportedly assaulting someone with a cane.

The victim of the assault told police the man entered his apartment about 10 p.m. Sunday to use the bathroom but then attempted to steal several items, according to a report from the Duluth Police Department. When he was confronted, the man allegedly hit the resident of the apartment repeatedly with a cane. The victim called 911.

“Officers arrived on scene and encountered the assaulting male, who was belligerent and disregarding police orders,” the police report said.

Police used a Taser to subdue the 31-year-old man and took him into custody. He was held on charges of second- and fifth-degree assault and theft.

Woman found dead in apparent homicide (GFH)

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. -- A Thief River Falls woman missing since Saturday morning was found dead Sunday, according to law enforcement officials.

The body Tanya Kazmierczak, 40, was discovered Sunday by a resident near the Red Lake River in rural Pennington County.

Volunteers searched Saturday and Sunday for Kazmierczak — who went missing early Saturday morning. The preliminary report of the Ramsey County medical examiner lists homicide as the cause of death. Kazmierczak’s body was identified Monday.

Authorities say no arrests have been made in the case. Anyone with information about the disappearance or death of Tanya Kazmierczak is asked to contact the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office at (218) 681-6161.

Tags: news, crime, minnesota, wisconsin