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Before adopting a rabbit this Easter, experts urge preparedness
Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society said around Easter, rabbits tend to flood into shelters when people realize what it takes to care for them.
MINNEAPOLIS — For some people, this time of year promises the chance for new beginnings — and it wouldn’t be a leap to say the same for our critter companions.
The rabbit recently came to the Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society (MCRS), sick and injured, after being dumped outside by his previous family and left to fend for himself. After being taken to St. Paul Animal Control as a stray, officials found he was covered in feces and urine — an early indicator to his rescuers that his previous inside life might not have been much better.
Sunny then ended up at MCRS, where doctors found he had infections and broken bones in both of his front paws, as well as other various superficial wounds. Further, they found arthritis in his spine, suggesting, again, he had not been receiving proper care.
Now, Sunny is being treated and cared for by an experienced medical foster, where MCRS volunteers said it’s likely he’ll need one or both paws amputated. According to the rescue, Sunny and his foster continue to take it one day at a time.
But Sunny’s story, sadly, is not unique, according to MCRS. The nonprofit rabbit rescue said that around the Easter holiday, rabbits just like Sunny tend to flood into shelters and rescues, as their adopters soon realize what it takes to care for them.
While some people might think leaving their pet rabbit outdoors when they’re no longer wanted is akin to “setting them free,” the staff and volunteers at MCRS work every day to dispel similar rabbit-related myths, and help unwanted rabbits find their forever homes and families.
That’s why, in anticipation for the Easter holiday and inevitable influx of unhoused rabbits, MCRS teamed up with the Animal Emergency & Referral Center of Minnesota (AERC) to share their expertise with prospective pet parents.
Here are some takeaways from their conversation Friday:
MYTH: Domesticated rabbits CAN survive on their own in the wild.
They’re very different from the rabbits you see in your backyard. In some ways, they’re like a pet cat or dog: Pet rabbits are not any better adjusted to the outside world than, say, your Pomeranian.
MYTH: Bunnies make great pets for kids. I mean, they’re adorable!
It’s certainly OK to have them as a family pet if there’s a parent or adult that’s directly supervising interactions and keeping tabs on the animals’ health.
They’re prey animals so they tend to hide their illnesses more; are a little more nervous than other pets in general; and are more delicate so they need to be handled in a certain way. They require a lot of close supervision and special care that can’t necessarily be provided by children.
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MYTH: They’re called snuggle bunnies for a reason!
The feeling isn’t always mutual. When being picked up off the ground, a rabbits’ instincts can tell them they’re being handled by a predator.
They are extremely affectionate creatures — but it’s mostly on their terms.
MYTH: Pet rabbits can be kept outdoors.
The best way to keep a pet rabbit is inside. They’re really sensitive to temperature extremes — hello, Minnesota — but especially heat. They’re also more prone to parasites, like fleas and ticks, and as prey animals, they’re automatically more vulnerable to predators like coyotes, foxes, birds of prey — and even your other pets.
Again, pet rabbits are generally companion animals. When they’re outside, they’re separated from the rest of their family.
At the end of the day, AERC and MCRS said pet owners should not adopt a rabbit if they aren’t prepared/haven’t educated themselves about their care. So before you think about making a rabbit part of your family’s new begging this spring, keep in mind they’re animals — not just an Easter novelty.
“It’s a lot of work; lots of vet bills — it’s more than just a throwaway pet.”
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Similar to coal, researchers believe the carbon product holds the key to minimizing human impact on air, soil and water.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota researchers are on the cutting edge of the fight against climate change.
The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) and the city of Minneapolis are using Biochar to clean up pollution from different angles.
“It’s a way to remove carbon from the atmosphere,” explains NRRI researcher Eric Singsaas.
Singsaas and his research team in Duluth are creating this black carbon product by collecting wood damaged by storms and invasive species like the Emerald Ash Borer. Then, they incinerate it in an oxygen-free environment.
The result: small black bricks that look like charcoal, but prevent a more harmful substance from being released into air.
“If you just take a piece of wood and it falls on the ground, it will naturally decay and turn back into carbon dioxide,” Singsaas said. “If you take a piece of wood and you convert it in this process of pyrolysis, into Biochar, it’s a stable form of carbon.
“It sequesters that carbon away from the atmosphere,” Singsaas said.
Once biochar is made, NRRI researchers are putting it to use against an ever-growing list of threats to the climate.
“Biochar is one potential material that can be useful for filtering contaminants from stormwater,” NRRI researcher Bridget Ulrich said.
Ulrich’s biochar work focuses on filtering E. coli bacteria out of water sources and streams before they reach Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. ”But we’re also interested in organic contaminants like pesticides and PFAS, so biochar can also act as an adsorbent for those contaminants as well,” Ulrich said.
NRRI is also experimenting with mixing biochar and concrete, attempting to make the construction material more environmentally friendly.
“It improves things like the setting time of the concrete,” Singsaas said.
On the Iron Range, Singsaas believes the steel industry could one day swap coal for biochar in carrying out the forging process. “Coal is responsible for a lot of carbon emissions from those industries,” Singsaas shared.
“The Swiss Army knife of climate tools,” said Jim Doten, Carbon Sequestration Program Manager for the city of Minneapolis while explaining the allure of Biochar.
Standing in a green cit plot known as Ventura Village, Doten explained to KARE 11’s Audrey Russo how biochar transformed an eyesore vacant lot into a flourishing community garden.
“We mix it with compost and it makes both of them work better. It’s the synergy,” Doten said. “It really helps hold the water, it helps with the drought resistance.”
Doten is no Johnny Come Lately to the promise of Biochar – He’s studied the science since 2012. With help from a $400,000 federal grant, he’ll take what he’s learned and scale it up near the University of Minnesota campus.
“What we’re doing there is we’re building a facility that will turn woodchips into biochar,” Doten told Russo.
The goal is to complete the facility by the end of the year, with biochar production beginning in early 2025. It’s a timeline that puts Minnesota ahead of the curve. “Right now, no city has this type of operation,” Doten said. “It’s a great place to be a leader and an innovator.”
Once the facility is complete, Doten says the biochar it produces will be used in Minneapolis and across the entire state.
“To help other governments around the area achieve their climate plans, their climate goals,” Doten said. “Restoration is what I see.”
“It’s not the answer, but it’s part of the answer. It’s a tool in a tool belt,“ he concluded.
Court documents detail the charges against 25-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh, which include second-degree murder, attempted murder and fleeing police.
WILLMAR, Minn. — A Minneapolis man is charged with second-degree murder and multiple other felonies following a multi-county shooting spree Tuesday that left a New London man dead.
Court documents filed in Kandiyohi County Thursday break down the charges against 25-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh, which also include attempted murder, first-degree assault and fleeing police.
Prosecutors say the crime spree began in Minneapolis around 12:30 p.m. that day when Matariyeh fired several rounds from the top floor of an Uptown apartment building at his estranged girlfriend and her new partner. It would continue through several counties as the defendant was pursued west at high speed by Minneapolis police, eventually entering Kandiyohi County.
The criminal complaint filed against Matariyeh says Kandiyohi County law enforcement was informed shortly after 1:50 p.m. that a man was headed their way in a stolen vehicle on Highway 7, being followed by members of a multi-county drug task force.
Shortly after 2 p.m., a 911 call came in from a Kandiyohi County farmstead in Lake Lillian reporting that a man had been shot in the chest. The wife of the victim, 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak, told investigators he was out doing some work in the shed when she heard a pop, then looked out the window and saw her husband and another man yelling at each other. Mayerchak then ran into the house and she saw he had been shot.
Investigators later discovered multiple bullet holes in the home’s windows and walls.
Prosecutors say Matariyeh continued to flee west on Highway 7, and then on a county road at speeds reaching up to 130 mph. Eventually, law enforcement said, the defendant looped back to State Highway 23 and headed towards Willmar. Local law enforcement was informed that a Minneapolis PD crisis negotiator was on the phone with Natariyeh and that he was threatening to commit suicide by cop. Multiple squads, including one driven by Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson, were pursuing the suspect’s vehicle.
At 2:25 p.m., court documents say, law enforcement had OnStar disable the engine of the stolen car Natariyeh was driving, and one officer saw the suspect vehicle rear-end a green pickup near the Highway 7/23 bypass. That same officer said he saw Natariyeh jump out of the stolen Chevy, open the driver’s side door of the green pickup, and then noted that the defendant’s arm pointed and recoiled as if he fired a shot before running into traffic.
The criminal complaint says at that point, Sheriff Tollefson and another officer ran up to the pickup and discovered that the driver, identified as 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London, had been shot in the head. Responding officers attempted life-saving measures but Skluzacek was declared dead on the scene.
Multiple officers eventually caught up with Natariyeh, who raised his hands above his head and was taken into custody without incident. The firearms he allegedly used in the shootings were recovered near the highway median. While in the back seat of a squad car, Natariyeh reportedly said he wanted to die, and that he threw his life away because his girl had cheated on him.
Additional charges could be filed against Natariyeh in Hennepin County in connection with the shooting incident in Minneapolis.
Hunter Buckentine was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation.
CLEAR LAKE, Minn. — An Avon man will serve a prison sentence of nearly 10 years after pleading guilty in a 2023 crash that left one person dead and another badly injured.
The Sherburne County Attorney’s Office shared Thursday that 24-year-old Hunter Buckentine was sentenced to nine years and eight months in the fatal crash, which took place around 1 a.m. on Aug. 19. The Minnesota State Patrol said a vehicle driven by Buckentine was clocked at 132 mph on Highway 10 in Becker before it slammed into a second vehicle, killing 34-year-old Jordan Kramer of Clarissa. Another person in the car, 38-year-old Candice Pooler of Clarissa, was taken to a nearby hospital by air ambulance with life-threatening injuries while another woman was found in the ditch with minor injuries.
Buckentine would be charged with third-degree murder but eventually pleaded guilty to one count of criminal vehicular homicide and another of criminal vehicular operation.
“This level of recklessness on our roads led to senseless injuries and loss of life,” said County Attorney Kathleen Heaney. “The only measure of justice that the system can give to the families and friends impacted is that of holding the defendant accountable for his deeds. With this accountability, it is our hope that the families and friends may begin their journey of healing
A witness told investigators he had been drinking with Buckentine in a Becker bar before the crash. Prosecutors say shortly before hitting the other vehicle Buckentine took a Snapchat of his speedometer reading 150 mph and posted it with a caption that read “a new record.”
Crash reconstruction by the Minnesota State Patrol said Buckentine’s Infiniti was moving at 133 mph when it rear-ended the victim’s vehicle.
