REGIONAL BRIEFS: Minnesotan made ill by peanut butter

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From the Forum Communications News Bureau

MINNESOTA

Minnesotan made ill by peanut butter

ST. PAUL -- One person in Minnesota is part of an ongoing multistate outbreak of salmonella Bredeney infections associated with Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with sea salt, state health officials said Tuesday.

The Minnesota resident reported eating Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter during the week prior to becoming ill in late July, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The case is an adult from the Twin Cities metro area who was hospitalized and recovered.

Twenty-nine people have been infected so far with the outbreak strain of salmonella Bredeney, and cases have been reported in 18 states. Four people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website will be updated as information becomes available: www.cdc.gov/salmonella/bredeney-09-12/index.html.

Trader Joe’s has issued a voluntary recall of the implicated product. That notice can be found at www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm320579.htm. The peanut butter manufacturer has also issued a recall. More information is at www.sunlandinc.com/788/html/pdfs/SunlandRecall.pdf.

Minnesota health and agriculture department officials are urging consumers to not eat Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with sea salt that they may have in their homes.

(WCT)

Man accused of having sex with teen

WOODBURY, Minn. -- A Woodbury man accused of sexually assaulting a girl since she was 5 years old was charged last week with four counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Anthony Neil Sweet, 51, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct counts.

In a criminal complaint, Sweet is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl known to him since she was 5 years old, as well as attempting to sexually assault the girl’s friend.

The allegations came to light this month after the friend of the girl told police Sweet had touched her sexually while she was staying at his home in August.

In an interview with police, Sweet admitted to sexually assaulting the girl he knew since she was 5 and that it continued through August 2012. The complaint states he also admitted to taking photos of the girl while she was naked and in sexually suggestive poses.

Sweet also admitted he attempted to sexually assault the friend, according to the complaint.

(WB)

Man charged for sex with girl

MORRIS, Minn. – A Stevens County man is facing seven counts of criminal sexual conduct after he allegedly sexually assaulted a girl repeatedly over a four-year period.

Cruz Mar Del-Angel, 39, faces five counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree for incidents that allegedly took place in Stevens County between 2007 and 2010.

According to the complaint, the girl told law enforcement that Del-Angel touched her in appropriately her on multiple occasions and forced her to have sex with him once. The girl also said Del-Angel had photographed her naked multiple times.

According to the complaint, Del-Angel admitted to law enforcement that he touched the girl on multiple occasions, but denied having sex with her.

(MST)

Man charged with felony after crash

BEMIDJI, Minn. – A 44-year-old Bemidji man faces a felony and gross misdemeanor for a Friday night crash.

Michael Douglas Perry appeared Tuesday in Beltrami County District Court on two counts of criminal vehicular operation.

A Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office news release said deputies arrived at the crash scene, about five miles north of Bemidji on U.S. Highway 71, to find Eric Nelson, 48, of Redby, trapped inside a Jeep Wrangler.

Deputies removed Nelson by tearing off the Jeep’s roof and releasing him from his seat belt. Nelson sustained several injuries and was taken to Sanford Bemidji Medical Center to be treated.

The news release said Nelson was returning home from work when his Perry’s vehicle crashed into Nelson’s Jeep. After Perry was treated for injuries, he was booked into the Beltrami County Jail.

A criminal complaint states Perry told a deputy he had drank about five beers before the crash. Another motorist reported the sedan passed him about a half mile before the crash scene and was traveling in excess of 80 mph.

(BP)

Three people burned when fuel tank explodes

BATTLE LAKE, Minn. – Authorities say three people suffered burns Monday when a fuel tank exploded as a cutting torch was being used to dismantle a John Deere combine so it could be crushed.

According to a news release from the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office:

William Litzau, 57, of Osage, and Tresten Schaefer, 36, of Frazee, were using the torch to remove straps on the fuel tank when it exploded at about 2:05 p.m. Monday.

Litzau suffered severe burns to his upper body and face. He was taken to Perham Health with life-threatening injuries and later airlifted to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Schaefer sustained a second-degree burn to his arm and first-degree burns to his neck and face. He was taken to the Perham hospital in a private vehicle.

Curt Zacharias, 35, of Richville, also was present when the tank exploded. He sustained burns to his right hand.

(FF)

NORTH DAKOTA

Absentee voting hoax reported in ND

BISMARCK – The Secretary of State’s office has been contacted by more than a dozen North Dakota residents who have received calls from anonymous individuals stating that absentee voting is illegal in the state. The calls are a hoax as absentee voting is legal in the state.

To vote by absentee ballot, voters may contact the office of their county auditor or apply for an absentee ballot on the Secretary of State’s website at www.nd.gov/sos.

(FF)

UND seeks to eliminate two degree programs

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The elimination of two bachelor’s degrees at the University of North Dakota is being considered by the State Board of Higher Education today.

The bachelor’s degree of business education in the Education Department and the bachelor’s degree of education in the Industrial Technology Department are targeted for elimination due to low demand, say university officials in both departments.

Timothy O’Keefe, chairman of the information systems and business education department, said the market for business education teachers has been soft for some time.

North Dakota had roughly five institutions that offered business education degrees, and it just became a function of “too much supply for the demand,” he said.

“Enrollment was low, and it was an expensive program to offer given student enrollment,” he said. “It was a hard decision.”

(GFH – Today refers to Wed.)

2 from Belcourt killed in crash with semi

CANDO, N.D. -- A man and a woman from Belcourt were killed in a collision with a semi-trailer Tuesday morning 13 miles west of Cando.

A total of three — a 24-year-old man, who was driving, and two 19-year-old women — were in the 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier eastbound on state Highway 17 at about 9 a.m., according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. A 1985 International semi with an empty hay trailer had entered the highway from a field and was going westbound on Highway 17.

The driver of the Cavalier was coming around a curve and entered the westbound lane. The semi, driven by Dana McIntyre, 41, Westhope, N.D., tried to avoid the car, but it struck the rear tires of the trailer, the patrol said. The semi jack-knifed and went into the north ditch. The Cavalier spun into the south ditch.

The driver of the car and one of the passengers were pronounced dead at the scene and other woman, who is also from Belcourt, was airlifted to Trinity Hospital in Minot. Her name and those of the deceased have not yet been released. McIntyre was not injured.

Tags: minnesota, crime, accidents