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
Red Lake police officer Jesse Branch remembered as public servant, cowboy, lover of pranks
“At that age, you would think that people would be a little bit more open to what they wanted to do. But Jesse, I think he had a pretty good idea,” Riggs said.
“He was one of those kind of kids that was just involved in a lot of different stuff — one of which being the rodeo — and wanting to be a part of this [law enforcement] community for so long, and then he finally got his dream to come true.”
Branch joined the sheriff’s posse, following in the footsteps and gallops of his father, Leonard Branch, and served North Country First Responders in Bemidji. The law enforcement agencies of Red Lake, Bemidji and Beltrami County work closely together, Riggs said, so a loss like this impacts many first responders.
“Officer Branch was a member of our community,” Riggs said. “He was truly a servant with a servant’s heart, and served in the capacity of so many things, you know, someone who volunteers that kind of time for their community, for the betterment of public safety, is truly a servant.”
Loved ones told stories during services Saturday for Red Lake police officer Jesse Branch, who died in a car crash when responding to a call the day before Thanksgiving. The funeral was held at the Red Lake Nation Tribal College’s Humanities Center in Red Lake, Minn. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Kingbird said he grew up in Red Lake but that Branch “knew more people here than I did.” It was reflected in the crowd that gathered in the campus humanities building and the long procession that traveled from Red Lake to Bemidji for Branch’s burial at Holy Cross Cemetery.
“It’s a tragic day for law enforcement,” said Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson. “Anytime we lose somebody who serves on public safety, police officers, firefighters, we want to be present to honor the sacrifice that they made. Be here for their fellow law enforcement officers, for their families that are grieving. It just takes a toll on the whole community, and we want to be here to honor them.”
Star Tribune
Here is the 2025 St. Paul Winter Carnival button
St. Paul Winter Carnival legendary characters King Boreas, Vulcanus Rex, the Queen of the Snows and Klondike Kate unveiled buttons featuring scenes from some of the midwinter festival’s most popular events during kickoff Saturday at Union Depot.
Button sales also commenced as part of a run-up to the 139th edition of the “Coolest Celebration on Earth,” which runs from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2 at sites across the Capital City.
Carnival officials tapped local artist Heather Friedli to create four designs featuring ice carving, snow sculpting, the puzzle competition and the Grande Day Parade, which this year moves from downtown to Grand Avenue.
“It’s a great honor to be a part of this,” said Friedli, who has participated in the snow sculpting competition 14 out of the past 15 years and regularly takes her two sons, Orion and Sirius, to carnival events. The buttons are “the heart and soul of what the Winter Carnival means in my life.”
Though Friedli said she does not have a favorite among the four 2025 button designs, the image featuring the jingle dress dancer she and her team members made for the 2021 snow sculpting competition may get the nod. The creation, which won the People’s Choice Award that year, was aimed at bringing healing during the pandemic, she said.
The button design, she hopes, also will bring more attention to the medium, which does not get as much as ice carving, perhaps because the events take place on the State Fairgrounds and not downtown.
Friedli, who runs an art gallery on W. 7th Street and is an oil painter, is also fond of her image highlighting the parades, complete with ticker tape and the diversity of people who take in the spectacle.
“It brings the community together,” she said.
Star Tribune
Ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “Oz,” stolen and missing for years, are sold at auction for $28M
A bidder paid $28 million for the storied pair of ruby slippers worn by actor Judy Garland and featured prominently in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz,” during Heritage Auctions’ live event Saturday in Dallas.
It was not immediately clear who won the slippers, but whoever it was paid a total of $32.5 million when you count the buyer’s premium and the extra fees going to the auction house.
The slippers, creating a buzz that went beyond the Yellow Brick Road, were discovered among vintage Hollywood costumes decades ago and purchased by a collector. They were then stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., while on loan there, in a late-night smash-and-grab that went unsolved for more than a decade.
Since then, two Minnesota men with criminal histories have been tied to the crime: Terry Jon Martin, of Grand Rapids, who admitted he stole them, and Jerry Hal Saliterman, who is accused of burying them in a container in the backyard of his Crystal home. Martin pleaded guilty this year, and Saliterman’s trial starts in January in federal court.
Staffers from the Garland Museum planned to attend the Texas auction, backed in part by $100,000 from the Legislature and fundraising efforts. Janie Heitz, the museum’s executive director, said earlier this week that they were traveling with documentary filmmakers who have been following the story.
If the shoes weren’t within the museum’s budget, there were plenty of other pieces of “Oz” history for the museum’s keepers to consider. Thirty-two lots in the auction had ties to the movie, including photographs, a script, books and the witch’s hat.
But the auction’s centerpiece was the ruby slippers — an unmatched pair made by Innes Shoe Co. The slippers — red silk faille heels with hand-sequined silk and rhinestone rimmed bows — have Judy Garland’s name written on them. They’re actually mismatched; the right slipper matches the left slipper, and vice versa, for the pair displayed by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, according to expert Rhys Thomas.