Star Tribune
Duluth man pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct with girls
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.
Star Tribune
St. Paul offering free co-working space, parking to repopulate downtown
The city of St. Paul is helping fund a lottery early next year.
The jackpot: Free downtown co-working space and parking for six months.
This small effort is part of a larger push to revitalize downtown St. Paul after the pandemic and subsequent rise of remote and hybrid work drained the commuter crowd. Like downtowns across the country, St. Paul’s urban core struggled to recover foot traffic as it grappled with high office vacancies, the loss of some long-tenured businesses and a rise in homelessness and addiction.
The city is chipping in a few thousand dollars to help subsidize the program and its marketing.
“In the past, we knew that if we could attract companies to a city, they would bring their workers with them,” said City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represents downtown. “I started wondering if, in a time of hybrid and remote work, maybe what we need to do is attract people themselves and take advantage of the fact that we have something that very other few places can boast of, which is this incredible downtown.”
From now until the end of the month, people can fill out an online form for a shot at free access to Wellworth, a community-centric co-working space with internet and printers, conference rooms, rooftop patios and mail service. Wellworth will then reach out to schedule a short tour of the space, a requirement for entry into the lottery.
In early January, ten winners will receive a six-month membership that would otherwise cost $1,650, plus free access to a city-owned parking ramp nearby. Ten others will be offered a highly discounted $50-a-month memberships.
Beyond this, public and private officials are also uniting around a downtown investment strategy that aims to convert empty offices to housing, improve the pedestrian experience and move forward key redevelopment projects, like the Xcel Energy Center and Central Station light rail stop. That vision would take several years — and millions of dollars — to bring to fruition.
Star Tribune
Bryn Mawr salon bomber gets 5 years in prison and a hefty restitution bill
A man who set off a bomb at a Minneapolis hair salon in 2022 and returned a year later to lob a brick through the shop’s window was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison.
Michael Allen Francisco, 59, of Minneapolis, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis after pleading guilty to malicious use of explosive materials following a lengthy federal investigation that included forensic analysis and an eventual admission during a search of his home in March.
Along with his time in prison, Francisco’s sentence includes three years’ supervised release and an order to pay more than $172,000 in restitution to his victims for the damage he inflicted on the Bryn Mawr neighborhood shop.
Video images from a Ring device on Nov. 20, 2022, showed Francisco placing an explosive on the window of the Studio 411 Salon, at 411 S. Cedar Lake Road, and fleeing in a vehicle before it detonated about 2:50 a.m.
He was also identified in video images throwing a landscaping brick through a window at the salon around 1:25 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2023.
In late March, the FBI and Minneapolis police searched Francisco’s home and seized a black jacket suspected to have been worn by Francisco during the brick-throwing incident. Agents also found multiple explosive components, including suspected “energetic powders and fuses,” a .32-caliber revolver with ammunition and suspected methamphetamine.
Francisco has a prior bank robbery conviction from 2001 for which he was sentenced to 12½ years in federal prison, making him ineligible to possess a firearm.
Star Tribune
Earthquake strikes off California; tsunami warning issued
EUREKA, Calif. — A strong earthquake was felt widely across Northern California on Thursday, and some residents along its coast were urged to evacuate inland due to the threat of a possible tsunami.
The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale, a small city in coastal Humboldt County near the Oregon border, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
It was felt as far south as San Francisco, where residents felt a rolling motion for several seconds. It was followed by smaller aftershocks.
The National Weather Service urged residents along the Northern California coastline, including in the San Francisco Bay Area, to move inland due to the threat of a possible tsunami. A wave could reach the San Francisco coastline as early as 12:10 p.m., according to Rachel Kennedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office that covers the Bay Area.
Kennedy said forecasters are waiting to get a report on how high potential waves could be. She called it ‘’a pretty dangerous situation.‘’
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, known as BART, has stopped traffic in all directions through the underwater tunnel between San Francisco and Oakland.
The San Francisco Zoo’s visitors have been evacuated as a result of the earthquake, the zoo said in a post on the social media platform X. The animals have been secured and staff has been moved to higher ground.
Throughout Northern California phones buzzed with a tsunami warning from the National Weather Service that said: ‘’A series of powerful waves and strong currents may impact coasts near you. You are in danger. Get away from coastal waters. Move to high ground or inland now. Keep away from the coast until local officials say it is safe to return.‘’