Star Tribune
Chronically violent felon given 18-plus years for beating staffer at sex offender treatment facility
A chronically violent felon has received a term topping 18 years for the beating of a security staffer working in the state’s sex offender treatment facility in Moose Lake.
Nicolas L. Aron-Jones, 29, was sentenced Tuesday in Carlton County District Court after pleading guilty to second-degree attempted murder in connection with the unprovoked attack on May 1 at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) site.
With credit for time in custody since his arrest, Aron-Jones is expected to serve the first 12 years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
The victim, a 53-year-old security counselor who was making his scheduled rounds at the time, suffered bleeding on the brain and a cut near his right eye during the ambush, the charges read. He was taken by air ambulance to a hospital for treatment. The MSOP has not release his identity.
Aron-Jones was committed as a client to the program in 2015 as a sexually dangerous person and was being housed in Omega 2, one of Moose Lake’s more restrictive units.
Court records show that Aron-Jones has numerous convictions for violent outbursts at the Moose Lake facility: In June 2020, he was handcuffed while he kneed and bit a staff member; in March 2019, he put a hairbrush in a sock and swung it at things, damaging windows and yelling death threats at staff during a 20-minute tirade; in June 2017, he punched and kicked a security counselor into unconsciousness; in May 2016, he spit at and attacked a security counselor, broke a table and threw a chair at a television.
According to the charges involving his latest violent act:
Aron-Jones swung a pillowcase holding a motor for a fan and hit the counselor in the back of the head. The man fell to the floor and was struck with the motor several more times to the head and elsewhere. Aron-Jones then kicked and stomped on his victim’s head.
Other staff intervened, sprayed a chemical irritant at Aron-Jones, who retreated to his room and closed the door.
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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Hundreds learn English through free ESL program created by New Jersey high schoolers
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