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
Why Minnesota is projected to face a future budget deficit, and what lawmakers might do about it
Minnesota had a record surplus two years ago. Now, it’s projecting a deficit on the horizon. How did the state get here?
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Star Tribune
Change your tree ordinance or we might sue
Holly Gillis, her husband, Ethan Bassett, with one of their two children, Grant, 2, outside their Edina home. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Neal said the city began enacting tree preservation ordinances about a decade ago, after hearing from residents who worried that too many old trees were being removed during redevelopment. The latest controversy stems from a change that took effect in 2023.
When people are seeking building permits in Edina, they need to submit a tree protection plan that details which old trees will be protected and how. If the trees are being removed, the applicants need to outline how they’ll replace them.
Trees that are being removed are assigned a dollar amount based on their species and size, and applicants must place money in escrow until they can prove that comparable replacements survived. There are exceptions for some trees that are considered invasive or threatened, such as ash trees.
City officials said they have reviewed 455 permits since January 2023, of which 68 required an escrow. They estimated that 3,677 trees were preserved during that process, and 755 were removed.
“The goal is to reduce the amount of old-growth trees that are removed for development projects,” Neal said. “That’s the goal. If we can do that by cooperating and helping people site their building and their construction in a way that reduces tree damage, that’s great. That’s one way to do it. But another way to do it is to build in some financial incentives and disincentives that encourage people to preserve trees rather than remove.”
Gillis and her husband, Ethan Bassett, moved to Edina from Ohio. When they were looking for houses last year, the market was tight, and they struggled to find an existing home they liked. They decided on a sloped, heavily wooded lot that had been zoned for residential but didn’t yet have a house on the site.
Star Tribune
Veterans recall life of Charles Sehe, Mankato survivor of Pearl Harbor attack
MANKATO – A neon green sign at VFW Post 950 silently mourns one of Minnesota’s most acclaimed and well-documented wartime heroes, spelling out taps for “Charles Sehe, Pearl Harbor Vet.”
Sehe died at age 101 on Nov. 3 at his Mankato home. He was the last Minnesota survivor to have served on the USS Nevada during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
After surviving what became known as the Day of Infamy, Dec. 7, 1941, which forced the U.S. entry into World War II, Sehe served on the Nevada throughout the conflict, including on a mission that brought him within sight of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. After coming home, Sehe became a researcher and academic, eventually teaching at Minnesota State Mankato for 23 years.
“This guy’s a hero,” said James Mason, sergeant in arms at the Mankato VFW, officially Morson-Ario-Strand VFW Post 950.
Mason, a gruff former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, shared photos of Sehe at the post during a lunch in late November. He became friends with Sehe about a decade ago.
The Pearl Harbor attack left lasting psychological scars on Sehe, and he had a hard time talking about it with most people. But among other veterans, Sehe would open up, said Mason, 78. The two men would talk for hours over a beer or a breakfast at Hy-Vee, meeting several times a month. Sehe took an interest in the experiences of younger veterans, especially Marines, said Mason, and they in turn were fascinated by Sehe’s story.
Sehe grew up poor in Geneva, Ill., according to a 2015 oral history with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. His father, a former horse trainer, lost his job during the Great Depression. Sehe recalled always being hungry, eating lunches of sugar sprinkled over lard spread on bread. As a teenager he got a job at a bakery where he’d eat cake crumbs off the bottom of the pans.
When World War II started, Sehe joined the Navy, despite not knowing how to swim. When he arrived at the USS Nevada, he was awed at the sight of the battleship, as he’d never seen a vessel larger than a canoe or clam boat.