Star Tribune
Reverse osmosis systems will remove nitrate contamination in karst region
If you live in southeastern Minnesota, did you happen to get a letter from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture last May?
If you did, did you open it?
The state sent out 1,186 letters in May to residents of Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha, and Winona counties, and only heard back from about 320 of you.
If you got a letter, that means the nitrate level in your well water is too high. The state was offering to purify your water for free or at a reduced cost, especially if you’re pregnant or if you have an infant in your home. They’re starting to install treatment systems in October.
Even a tiny amount of nitrate in drinking water can prevent a baby from absorbing oxygen, a condition called “blue baby syndrome.” Scientists are starting to discover risks for adults, too, such as faster heart rate and nausea. Some studies have found a connection with higher cancer rates, especially gastric cancer, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, but scientists just don’t know enough yet to understand that connection.
The southeastern counties are by no means the only region of Minnesota where wells contain harmful nitrate levels. Wells in southwest and central Minnesota are also at risk. But in 2023, environmental groups asked the U.S. EPA to intervene in the southeastern region, calling nitrate an “imminent” danger to human health given the region’s unique geology. In several townships, more than four out of 10 private wells tested positive for nitrates.
Last spring, the Minnesota Legislature allocated funding for 800 to 1000 reverse osmosis systems in southeastern Minnesota as part of a $16 million package to address contaminated wells.
Some homes with high nitrate levels have already installed treatment systems on their own, said Margaret Wagner, in charge of pesticide and fertilizer management with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, which has contracted with Olmsted County to administer the grant for the eight counties.
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A: Frankly, it’s to run into people in the community that listen to the show. Because when you start anything new, you don’t have a name. I had to beg people to come on the show when I first started, just because it wasn’t a known commodity. Now, with people listening, my guests come back and tell me that they ran into somebody who heard them on the show. I got about 200,000 listeners a week.
Q: What is the most interesting issue you’re following now?
A: The presidential election, because we could be having the first Native American governor [Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, if Harris and Walz win].
Q: And you’re looking at starting an ad agency?
A: Yeah. We’re going to be opening up an ad agency, to be able to produce stuff and expand slowly. Because there is a need out there. Some of my advertising comes from BIPOC ad agencies. And there is no Native ad agency out there that people can go directly to. And my wife and I have started this [pop-up] store at Dayton’s [Native Roots Trading Post].
A 14-year-old boy fatally shot a 13-year-old boy on accident early Tuesday in a Minneapolis home occupied by several other people, officials said.
The “apparent accidental” gunfire occurred about 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of N. 24th and Sheridan avenues in the 2400 block of N. Ferrant Place, a statement from police read.
Officers arrived, saw that the 13-year-old had been shot once and provided immediate aid to the teen before he died at the scene, according to police.
“Preliminary information indicates that a 14-year-old boy was handling a gun when the 13-year-old boy was shot,” the police statement continued. Police did not disclose the teens’ identities.
The 14-year-old remained at the scene, and was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center.
There were two adult women and other juveniles in the home at the time of the shooting, police said.
“The death of a child is always incredibly troubling and tragic,” said Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “Our investigators will work diligently to answer the many questions we have. In addition to supporting the families that are impacted by this tragedy, everyone must make every effort to ensure that every gun is securely stored.”
The shooting comes about two weeks after a 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself to death in northeast Minneapolis. Jajuan Robinson was critically wounded at the Hook and Ladder Apartments in the 2300 block of Jefferson Street NE. on Oct, 21, said his aunt, Meshia Woods. The toddler died at HCMC a short time later.
A man has received a prison term topping 33 years for a killing outside a Wright County business where the shooter, his wife and the victim worked.
Kevin Uriel Zelaya Asencio, 24, of Glencoe, Minn., was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault in connection with the March 2023 shooting of Adrian Montano Medina in the parking lot of the Dura Supreme cabinet manufacturing company in Howard Lake.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Zelaya Asencio is expected to serve the first 21 years of his 33-year term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
The County Attorney’s Office said it based its criminal complaint on interviews with witnesses and Zelaya Asencio, along with physical evidence and surveillance video.
Numerous calls to 911 reported the shooting, including one from a woman screaming. One caller gave law enforcement the license plate of a pickup truck that Zelaya Asencio drove from the parking lot.
Police arrived and found Medina in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck with a fatal gunshot wound to his head.
Minutes later, a sheriff’s deputy spotted Zelaya Asencio’s pickup traveling on Hwy. 12 in Waverly. Zelaya Asencio was arrested, and the deputy found an AR-15 assault-style rifle in the pickup.
