Star Tribune
St. Paul police connect remains in Coon Rapids storage locker to man charged in another killing
A missing 33-year-old woman’s body has been found in a Coon Rapids storage unit, and St. Paul police said Friday the discovery is connected to a man charged last week in a separate murder.
Fanta Xayavong’s remains were found Thursday, a week after Joseph Jorgenson was charged with the murder of Manijeh “Mani” Starren, 33, whose dismembered body was found in a different storage unit in Woodbury. Starren and Jorgenson had previously been in a relationship.
Family and friends last heard from Xayavong in July 2021. On May 25 of this year, a caller reported her disappearance to the human trafficking tip line of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), police Sgt. Mike Ernster said at a Friday news conference.
He said the caller was worried Xayavong was being trafficked and said she was in an abusive relationship with Jorgenson before her disappearance. Her last known residence was in Lakeville.
Investigators connected Jorgenson to a storage unit in the 9100 block of University Avenue NW. in Coon Rapids, where they found a person’s remains Thursday. On Friday, they were confirmed to be Xayavong.
“It’s nothing short of horrific,” Ernster said.
Her death has been ruled a homicide. Jorgenson is considered a “person of interest” but is not considered a suspect at this point. No charges have been filed.
On Friday, investigators searched a home in Shoreview where Jorgenson was living until September 2022, but Ernster did not disclose findings.
The case remains under investigation. Police have not determined where or when Xayavong was killed, Ernster said. He confirmed that Xayavong had been in a relationship with Jorgenson but did not say when they first met.
Police are now trying to determine if there are additional missing people or deaths possibly connected to Jorgenson.
Ernster and Chief Axel Henry urged anyone who knows missing people who may have known Jorgenson to call the BCA tip line at 877-996-6222 or email bca.tips@state.mn.us.
“We’re looking for people with any information to call us,” Ernster said. “If there is anything else out there, we want to know and try to make a difference for some other family that might be out there.”
Jorgenson is not currently connected to other missing person’s cases, Ernster said.
Jorgenson, 40, of Maplewood, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Starren, a St. Paul resident. On June 26, police arrested him after he reportedly barricaded himself in his apartment, started a fire inside and fought with police officers. His attorney did not return a call seeking comment Friday afternoon.
Starren’s family members first reported her disappearance May 1. They said she was last heard from April 18.
Video cameras at Starren’s apartment showed her on April 21 apparently running from Jorgenson before he caught up and pushed her back into the apartment. According to charges, he dismembered her body and carried the remains out in duffel bags.
A review of Jorgenson’s phone pinged activity at a different storage unit in Woodbury. Starren’s remains were found inside.
Henry offered his condolences to the victim’s families at the news conference. He added that “cases like this are extremely rare, but they are reminders to all of us that monsters can be real.”
Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will auction off state lands in popular northern counties next month.
The public land — in Aitkin, Cook, Itasca, and St. Louis counties — will go up for sale during the Department of Natural Resource’s annual online public land sale from Nov. 7 to 21.
“These rural and lakeshore properties may appeal to adjacent landowners or offer recreational opportunities such as space for a small cabin or camping,” the DNR said in a statement.
Properties will be available for bidding Nov. 7 through Nov. 21.
This all can trim for print: The properties include:
40 acres in Aitkin County, with a minimum bid of $85,000
44 acres in Cook County, minimum bid $138,000
1.9 acres in Itasca County, minimum bid $114,000
Minneapolis city officials say razor wire, concrete barriers and fencing will be removed from around the former Third Precinct police station – which was set ablaze by protesters after George Floyd’s police killing – in the next three weeks. The burned-out vestibule will be removed within three months with construction fencing to be erected closer to the building.
This week, Minneapolis City Council members have expressed frustration that four years after the protests culminated in a fire at the police station, the charred building still stands and has become a “prop” some conservatives use to rail against city leadership. Most recently, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a stop outside the building and criticized Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the 2020 riots.
On Thursday, the council voted 8-3 to approve a resolution calling for “immediate cleanup, remediation, and beautification of the 3000 Minnehaha site including but not limited to the removal of fencing, jersey barriers, barbed wire, and all other exterior blight.”
Council Member Robin Wonsley said the city needs to acknowledge that many police officers stationed in the Third Precinct “waged racist and violent actions” against residents for decades.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said the council wants the building cleaned up and beautified “immediately.”
“We cannot allow for this corner to be a backdrop for those who wish to manipulate the trauma of our city for political gain,” Chowdhury said.
Council Member Katie Cashman said the council shouldn’t be divided by “right-wing figures posing in front of the Third Precinct and pandering to conservative interests.”
“It’s really important for us to stay united in our goal, to achieve rehabilitation of this site in a way that advances racial healing and acknowledgement of the past trauma in this community, and to not let those figures divide us here,” she said.
It’s MEA weekend — the four-day stretch in mid-October when educators traditionally flock to St. Paul RiverCentre for a conference organized by the statewide teachers union as students and their families take an extended break.
Some orchards offer visitors the opportunity to pick their own fruit, while others operate sprawling general stores that sell a variety of apple-themed goodies.
Tiger cub twins Amaliya (female), left, and Andrei (male), right, who were born in May, hang out with their mother, Amur tiger Sundari, after making their debut in their new public habitat at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. ] LEILA NAVIDI • leila.navidi@startribune.com (Leila Navidi)
October is usually a happenin’ month at the Minnesota Zoo. The annual Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular is chock-full of meticulously decorated gourds, and this year’s event runs until Nov. 2. Tickets start at $18 for adults and $14 for children (kids younger than 2 get in free but must still register for tickets). The Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular begins at 6 p.m.
But there’s another new attraction at the zoo these days: the pair of Amur tiger cubs born to 7-year-old mom Bernadette just a couple of months ago. This week, zoo officials named the young felines Marisa and Maks. The zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
Patrons enjoy drinks and dinner on the patio Thursday evening, July 18, 2024 at Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia. Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia features a large back deck/patio area with views of Lake Waconia. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
With so many people out of town, there’s no better time to visit some of the Twin Cities’ most popular eateries.
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