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Duluth man pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct with girls

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DULUTH – With freshly selected jurors waiting nearby for the start of an expected days-long trial, a Duluth man facing criminal sexual conduct charges took a last-minute plea deal instead of facing the women he abused when they were children.

Clint Franklin Massie, 49, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning at the St. Louis County Courthouse to the four counts from incidents dating back to 2008-09 when two of his victims were young girls. The deal dismissed one of the counts against him. His sentencing is scheduled for March 20, and he could end up with more than nine years in prison. Massie, who was initially charged in February 2023 and has been out on $300,000 bail, was released until his sentencing.

In each case, the victim was known to Massie — whether they were related or through their shared membership at Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. He was friends with their parents and regarded as a fun, child-free uncle, according to reports from the investigation.

Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Michael Ryan told the court that the victims were satisfied with the deal.

“They have been involved in talking this through,” he said to Judge Dale Harris.

After Massie pleaded guilty, would-be witnesses and their supporters filed into the courtroom filling rows. Massie, dressed in a dark suit coat and khaki pants, turned to look. Ryan questioned him on the victims’ accusations — four specific scenarios where he had touched girls: during a sleepover at his house, when alone on a tractor, or beneath a blanket while others were in the room.

Massie said in court there were a lot of big gatherings and shared meals within this the group. It wasn’t unusual for one of the many children to sit on his lap.

At times Massie paused and said he couldn’t remember exact details or motives. At other times he deferred to what he told investigating officers last year. In each instance he ultimately agreed with the scenario presented by the prosecution.



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‘Wicked’ singalong screenings held Mondays at Minneapolis’ Main Cinema

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Hoping to sing along to the music of “Wicked” at the movie theater? The Main Cinema along Saint Anthony Main in Minneapolis is reserving Monday showtimes of the blockbuster movie for fans who want to break out in song.

Some theaters have cracked down on audiences singing since the musical movie was released in late November. When asked for her take on fans belting out the songs in cinemas, Cynthia Erivo who stars in the movie as the misunderstood protagonist Elphaba, gave it a green light.

“I’m OK with it. We spent this long singing it ourselves, it’s time for everyone to sing,” Erivo said during an appearance on “Good Morning America” last week.

Shortly after the star’s comments, The Main Cinema announced its Monday “Sing Your Heart Out” screenings in an Instagram post.

“Go ahead and let your lungs defy gravity (on Mondays only, please),” the theater wrote.

Anjali Moore, a box officer supervisor at The Main Cinema, said it was a way for the community to have fun while being respectful to those who would find the singing distracting.

“We didn’t get any complaints,” Moore said Friday. “I haven’t heard anyone come up before they did that promotion and say that they’re annoyed that people are singing,”

It’s also a way to potentially boost sales on Monday nights, typically the quietest day for the theater, she said.





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Minnesota State Fair announces ’90s pair for its first grandstand concert for 2025

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After ‘90s music dominated the Twin Cities concert calendar this past summer, the Minnesota State Fair has offered up two of the decade’s biggest folk-rock acts for its first announced grandstand concert of 2025.

Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls are pairing up for a 48-city trek next summer that will land at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Aug. 24, the first Sunday of the fair’s 12-day run. Tickets priced $56-$124will go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. via eTix.com or by calling 800-514-3849, with pre-sale options beginning Tuesday.

Dubbed the Yes We Are Tour, the outing is a continuation of dates Etheridge and the IGs began playing together this past summer. The shows saw the two Grammy-winning co-headliners join each other in their respective sets while offering up their own full-length set lists laced with radio and MTV hits — including “I’m the Only One” and “Come to My Window” from Kansas native Etheridge and “Galileo” and “Closer to Fine” from Georgia duo Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, the latter song popularized again by last year’s “Barbie” movie.

The Indigo Girls easily sold out Plymouth’s Hilde Amphitheater the summer before last and then packed Orchestra Hall in March. Etheridge was last seen in the area performing with Jewel at the Ledge Amphitheater near St. Cloud this past August.



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Biden proposes end to subminimum wage for workers with disabilities

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Even without a mandated change, some employers here have been shifting away from the practice in recent years.

Meanwhile, parents of some adults with more severe disabilities staunchly oppose the move and have asked lawmakers to keep the subminimum wage. Larry and Liz Alexander, who live near Hampton, are among those who are wary of the new Biden administration proposal.

Their 34-year-old daughter, Anne, has autism and is largely nonverbal. After high school, Anne started doing subminimum wage work. She occasionally made $300 or $400 every two weeks doing “piecework,” such as assembling items for Menards, which her mom said she was good at and was an outlet for nervous energy. A year and a half ago, the subminimum wage work she participated in stopped.

“She was actually filling a very real need in society. But now she can’t work for any less than minimum wage and there’s no way she can function at a level to make minimum wage,” Liz Alexander said.

Her daughter feels the loss of no longer doing a “real job” and instead spends hours at classes through her day program. They do music, yoga, coloring and crafts, Alexander said, but “you can only do so much of that a day.”



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