Star Tribune
Some Minnesota cows are getting bird flu, but the show must go on at the Minnesota State Fair
RURAL ALBANY, MINN. — Down a dirt road this week, past the cattle wading in the creek, and up next to a grey barn, a white cow with brown spots calmly submitted to her gussying-up on the eve of a trip down to the Minnesota State Fair.
Isabella “Bella” Schiffler, who will be a junior this fall at Albany High School, along with her older sister, Sophia, expertly ran hair-clippers over the champion cow’s wide belly, as flecks of fur fell to the ground.
“If it’s a cow, you look at their udder the most,” Bella said, explaining judging criteria by pointing to a Red and White Holstein, who stared demurely back. “You want it full, with lots of venation.”
Against odds that have upended the dairy community, Bella is bringing cows, including a Brown Swiss named Dangerous, to the Minnesota State Fair, which opens Thursday.
Earlier this year, U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers found H5N1, better known as bird flu, had jumped into a cow in Texas. Since then, the virus has been documented in hundreds of dairy herds across the country, including nine herds in Minnesota, comprising 8,000 cattle. And many farmers aren’t testing.
The disease isn’t deadly in cows, and human impact is incredibly rare; the milk of infected cattle remains safe to drink, so long as it’s pasteurized. But the virus can dramatically slow down milk production for a month or more, upending finances for a dairy community already wracked by low milk prices.
The fair exists to promote agriculture, with animal shows the heartbeat of this tradition. And the battle against infectious disease has raised specters of the past: In 2009, the swine flu sent more than 100 4H kids home early from Falcon Heights after four teens contracted the H1N1 virus. The bird flu of 2015 led to the cancellation of the poultry shows.
This year, Minnesota’s dairy families had difficult decisions to make. Some of the state’s leading veterinarians, including Dr. Joe Armstrong, at the University of Minnesota Extension, sounded the alarm earlier this summer, asking for a closure to exhibitions.
Star Tribune
Investigators searching for additional victims as Hastings man faces child porn charges
A 27-year-old Hastings man has been accused in federal court of producing child pornography over a roughly two-year span, and investigators are trying to identify additional potential victims.
Hunter James Geidlwas charged with four counts of either production or possession of child pornography in federal court Dec. 10. He has pleaded not guilty.
According to the charges, Geidl employed and used minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for producing explicit videos from July 2022 to March 2024. He is also accused of possessing a video file of pornographic material involving a minor in 2022.
Geidl made his initial appearance in court Friday and remains in custody, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.
Investigators believe other minors may have been victimized and ask that if anyone believes their child has been in contact with Geidl to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.
“She was really into the Replacements. So for her to have her dad suddenly playing in the band, it would be like my dad joining the Rolling Stones.”
Slim Dunlap, right, with Paul Westerberg during a 1987 Replacements concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis. (Brian Peterson, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Dunlap played guitar on the final two Replacements studio albums, also including 1991’s “All Shook Down.” Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson later credited him for sparking a new spirit in the band and extending their run during their waning years.
After the break-up in 1991, Dunlap toured with Dan Baird of the Georgia Satellites, who led the first fundraising campaign on Dunlap’s behalf in the days after his stroke.
Finally, in 1993, Dunlap got his own chance to shine as a singer/songwriter.
He channeled his love for Hank Williams, Chuck Berry and vintage blues alongside the Replacements’ Stones and Faces influences on his debut album, “The Old New Me,” issued by former ‘Mats manager and Twin/Tone Records co-founder Peter Jesperson on the Medium Cool record label. A second solo album came three years later, “Times Like This,” similarly earning a cult-loved status — especially among fellow musicians.
Springsteen publicly raved about those records numerous times, including in a 2014 interview with NPR’s Ann Powers: “I hope I get a chance to cut one of his songs,” said the Boss. “Check out the two Slim Dunlap records, because they’re just beautiful rock ‘n’ roll records. I found them to be deeply touching and emotional.”
A 59-year-old utility worker died Tuesday after falling from the bucket of a boom truck at a job site north of Big Lake, according to Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Ben Zawacki.
Thomas L. Stewart of Dayton fell about six to eight feet and suffered significant head injuries while working in the ditch on the north side of 241st Avenue NW, just west of 185th Street in Orrock Township.
First responders performed life-saving efforts at the scene before Stewart was transported to St. Cloud Hospital, where he was pronounced dead late Tuesday.
Stewart worked for the Minnesota-based utility company Connexus Energy. In a response to a Facebook post about the incident, a representative from Connexus thanked people for their thoughts and prayers, and clarified the utility worker was not electrocuted in the incident.
“We’re heartbroken over the passing of our friend and colleague but we are waiting for family and friends to be notified so we cannot share additional information,” Stacy Downs, communications specialist at Connexus, said Wednesday.
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