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Wayzata residents want their static ‘no turn on red’ sign back

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When Austin Ditzler leaves his Wayzata neighborhood, he takes Hollybrook Road to Central Avenue, where he often sits and waits … and waits … and waits for a break in traffic to make a left or right turn.

It’s been that way for the past four years since the Minnesota Department of Transportation took down a static “No Turn on Red” sign that prevented drivers on the ramp from eastbound Hwy. 12 from turning right onto Central Avenue, also known as County Road 101. The agency replaced the static sign with an electronic version that illuminates a couple of hours in the mornings and for 45 minutes during the evening rush.

The problem, Ditzler says, is that Hollybrook Road is only a few thousand feet north and slightly downhill from the busy Central Avenue/Hwy. 12 interchange. Hollybrook serves as the only way in and out of a neighborhood of several townhouses, apartment buildings and residences.

When the electronic “No Turn on Red” sign is off, traffic pours off the freeway, Ditzler said. That compounded with incessant southbound traffic on County 101 “makes it dangerous and difficult for us to exit Hollybrook.”

The electronic sign operates from 7 to 9:15 a.m. and 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. The sign also illuminates if a pedestrian pushes a button to activate it, said MnDOT spokesman Jesse Johnson.

Ditzler said he and others in his neighborhood want the old static sign back, but at the very least they want the electronic sign activated from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. He has the support of Wayzata Police Chief Mark Schultz.

“Our agency does recognize that this is a challenging area to safely enter 101 from Hollybrook,” the chief said. While his department does traffic enforcement when the sign is activated, “I would support the installation of a permanent ‘No turn on red’ sign,” Schultz said.

That’s not likely to happen, Johnson said.

In 2019, MnDOT teamed with Hennepin County to replace the Central Avenue bridge over Hwy. 12 in Wayzata. The agencies widened the bridge deck and added a center turn lane for motorists turning left from Central Avenue onto Hwy. 12 a place to queue up. A new signal system also went in, which included the electronic “No Turn on Red” sign.

The electronic sign operates based on existing traffic conditions, Johnson said. Traffic volumes on County 101, about 16,500 vehicles a day, has declined in the past 20 years “and the lower PM peak-hour right turns support maintaining the current hours of operation,” Johnson said.

There have been no crashes involving drivers turning from Hollybrook on to Central Avenue since the electronic sign went in, Johnson said.

Overnight closures on I-694 this week

Motorists planning to use southbound I-694 in the east metro during overnight hours will need to find an alternate route.

MnDOT will shut down the southbound lanes between Hwy. 36 in Pine Springs and the I-494/694 interchange in Woodbury nightly between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Monday through Friday. Lanes will be open during the day, MnDOT said.



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Former Medtronic consultant gets 18 months federal prison for insider trading

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A former Medtronic consultant received an 18-month prison sentence this week for his role in a scheme linked to the $1.6 billion acquisition of an Israeli medical device company in 2018.

A federal jury in February convicted Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, of one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading and 10 additional counts related to securities fraud. That same jury found David Jay Gantman, 58, of Mendota Heights, not guilty of all charges against him. A third defendant — Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 57, of Los Angeles — pleaded guilty in 2022 and has yet to be sentenced.

“His crime was cynical and brazen. It was also reckless,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ebert wrote in a memo calling for a 3-year prison term. “Tavlin’s conduct had the potential to blow up a deal that a team of executives and financial advisers had been diligently negotiating for months.”

Tavlin is now scheduled to self-surrender Jan. 5 to begin his prison term, which will be followed by 320 hours of community service.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Tavlin learned about a secret, pending acquisition by Medtronic of Mazor Robotics, where he worked as vice president of business development, in 2018. Tavlin also previously worked as a consultant to the Ireland-based Medtronic, which also has a headquarters in Fridley.

Tavlin illegally tipped off Farahan, his friend, about news of the imminent acquisition and told him to keep the news secret. Farahan knew the deal would likely result in a boost to Mazor’s stock price and quickly bought more than $1 million of the company’s stock throughout August and September 2018. Medtronic announced plans to acquire Mazor, which specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, in September 2018 and the deal closed three months later.

Prosecutors said Farahan netted more than $245,000, and Gantman made $255,000 in profit by selling the securities quickly after the deal was publicized. Farahan paid Tavlin for the secret information about the pending deal — including a $25,000 kickback about a year later —according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, who sentenced Tavlin Monday, also ordered Tavlin to pay a special assessment fee of $1,100 – or $100 per each count. Frank did not impose a fine.



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Charges detail assault in Minneapolis that led to shooting rampage, killing one in Kandiyohi County

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Another friend of the ex-girlfriend arrived to help. He pulled up in a car as the group exited the apartment and Matariyeh immediately pointed a gun at him before pounding on the windshield with the gun. Everyone fled as Matariyeh ran back inside the apartment.

The two men met in a parking lot before attempting to return to the apartment. That’s when they looked up and saw Matariyeh on the balcony. Matariyeh immediately began firing multiple shots at them as they took cover behind parked cars.

It was around this time that Minneapolis police officers arrived and made contact with Matariyeh’s ex-girlfriend. She believed he was still inside the apartment, but officers later learned that he had fled. They reached him on the phone. He told officers he was going to kill innocent people if he couldn’t speak with his ex-girlfriend or see his daughter, who was at daycare at the time. He later told police negotiators that “he wanted to go out by ‘suicide by cop.’”

All the while, Matariyeh was speeding westbound.

Police officers pursued him near Cosmos in Meeker County after being alerted that Matariyeh might have stolen another vehicle at gunpoint in Carver County.

Around 2 p.m. he pulled into the rural driveway of Peter Mayerchak in Lake Lillian. Mayerchak, who was in his yard placing hay over his septic mound, went and greeted Matariyeh, who shot him in the chest.



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DFL’s last-minute push to keep their trifecta

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Mixing progressive dreams with dire warnings, a group of DFL leaders riled up a group of volunteers in St. Paul on Thursday morning, urging them to push on through the day’s freezing rain and fatigue in the remaining days before the election.

Several elected officials including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar told the group of about 150 campaign staffers, volunteers and union members about how meaningful their work is to keeping DFL control of the Legislature, as the electeds start a statewide bus tour to turn out votes.

“We are here to keep our trifecta here in Minnesota,” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar told volunteers on Thursday. “We’ve got five days, people!”

On the Republican side, House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said earlier this month that the House Republican Campaign Committee had raised a record $2.7 million ahead of the election and she said Republicans have also set records in volunteering and door-knocking as they work to break DFL control.

Minnesota Democrats hold a rally before starting a bus tour around the state to get voters excited, including Rep Ilhan Omar, Sen Amy Klobuchar, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Rep Betty McCollum and Sen Tina Smith on Thursday. (Glen Stubbe/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

“Republicans have the momentum and resources heading into the final stretch to win the majority and restore balance to Minnesota,” Demuth said in a statement. “Minnesotans are ready to move on from the expensive two years of Democrat one-party rule.”

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said she thought voters preferred action to the gridlock of divided government. “They’re looking for people who can get things done,” she said.

These last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts come as Democrats around the country push to keep control of state legislative chambers and try to flip a few statehouses that Republicans hold by just a few seats.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the arm of the national Democratic party that works on statehouse races across the country, has spent $500,000 on Minnesota races this year, including House races and the state Senate contest.



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