Judge Reduces Penalty in Downloading Case

A federal judge in Minnesota has reduced the penalty imposed on a Brainerd woman for illegally sharing 24 songs online from $1.5 million to $54,000.  U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis says in a ruling on Friday that the penalty of $62,500 per song imposed by a jury last year was appalling and unreasonable.  He reduced the penalty to $2,250 per song.

Attorneys for Jammie Thomas-Rasset had argued the $1.5 million judgement violated the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution because the penalty had no reasonable relationship to the damage caused.

The recording industry sued Thomas-Rasset in 2006 for illegally sharing music on the file-sharing site Kazaa.  Three juries have ruled against her, but the case has seen multiple appeals.

Charges Upgraded For Cass Lake Man In Killing

A Cass County grand jury has upgraded the charges against a Cass Lake man accused in the killing of his ex-girlfriend to first-degree premeditated murder.

County prosecuters announced the new charges on Friday against 27-year old Ross Z. Littlewolf.  He had previously been charged with 2nd degree murder, but because a conviction for first-degree premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole, it can only be charged by a grand jury.

Prosecutors allege that Littlewolf fire a shotgun blast through a sliding glass door to enter the Cass Lake home of 22-year old Kandace Blaine Dunn and then shot her in the head on June 26.

Dunn was sharing a room with her two children - one of whom is also Littlewolf's child.

Leech Lake tribal police arrested Littlewolf a short time later. 

State Parks Prepare to Reopen

Some Minnesota state parks will open for day and overnight use as soon as Friday, July 22, but other facilities will not be open until the weekend.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources employees returned to work today after the agency and state government was shut down July 1. For state parks and trails employees, the first day of work will be focused on making sure parks and trails are safe for public use.
For some parks, a best-case scenario means they will reopen for day and some overnight use within 24 hours of staff returning to work. For overnight use, it may take two days or longer for staff to make campgrounds and facilities suitable for customers, which includes clearing away storm debris, turning on utility systems and cleaning restrooms.

MnDOT Begins Anew

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will begin restarting its operations today, following a 20-day state government shutdown. Brainerd MnDOT spokesperson Judy Jacobs says the process may take some time.

MnDOT employees began returning to work at 7 a.m. today.

MnDOT will come out of the shutdown in stages.  Some services, such as MnPASS, traffic cameras and freeway incident response trucks, will be up and running fairly quickly. Other services may take more time to bring fully on line.

Brainerd Man Dies In Paraglider Accident

A Brainerd man has died in a paraglider accident.  The Sherburne County Sheriff's Office says Michael Rademacher was at a family gathering near Clear Lake when the parachute on his paraglider got tangled in a tree branch and he crashed into a parked vehicle below on Saturday.

Sheriff Joel Brott said Tuesday that the 54-year old had been flying for about 10 minutes before he crashed just before 5:00pm on Saturday.

Family and rescue workers performed CPR, but weren't able to revive him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation. 

Franken Supports Emergency Funding of Brainerd Airport

Minnesota Senator Al Franken is asking leading Senate negotiators not to cut funding that supports air service to several important Minnesota communities including Brainerd because it would damage economic development and job creation efforts in those regions.

In a letter to Senate members of a conference committee who are currently finalizing funding for Essential Air Service which supports carriers that fly into smaller airports. He told negotiators that air service is critical to each of the communities’ efforts to create jobs and economic development.

The Minnesota DFLer says reliable air service for communities in Minnesota and across the country is critical to efforts to attract and create jobs, not only in those communities, but also in the entire surrounding region.

Sen. Franken said EAS funding is now more important than ever to preserve air service in Minnesota communities served by Delta Airlines, which has indicated a desire to pull out of Bemidji, Thief River Falls, Brainerd, Hibbing, and International Falls. Delta currently receives EAS funds to serve Hibbing, Thief River Falls, and International Falls. Sen. Franken said Bemidji and Brainerd will likely become EAS airports in the future.

Klobuchar Presses to Keep Local Delta Service

Senator Amy Klobuchar pressed Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson in a letter to continue service to greater Minnesota airports.

Klobuchar asked Anderson to reconsider Delta’s plans to potentially reduce or eliminate service or find alternative carriers to Thief River Falls, Hibbing, International Falls, Brainerd, and Bemidji since these areas rely on Delta for commercial airline service. Klobuchar has been in contact with all five communities and pledged her support to keep Delta service or make sure alternative carriers are found.

The senior Senator says, “Commercial airline service to these impacted communities has been a lifeline for tourists and businesses alike.”
Klobuchar continued, “This service has helped families connect with one another and enabled Minnesota businesses, particularly from our state's rural communities, to find opportunities and partners in other parts of the country, and even internationally.”

Klobuchar serves on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Aviation, which has jurisdiction over the nation’s aviation system and all U.S. airline carriers. 

Congressman Chip Cravaack serves as a junior member of the Transportation Committee.  He unseated long-time Congressman Jim Oberstar who was chairman of the powerful committee.

Cravaack Supports Dredging

Eighth District Congressman Chip Cravaack successfully introduced a dredging amendment.

The Freshman Republican attached the amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations Act. It would prevent the administration from diverting dredging funding to other federal programs. Cravaack says only 1/3 of the nation’s channels are dredged to their authorized depths and widths.

Cravaack has been a vocal opponent of spending by the administration, urging huge cuts to reduce the federal deficit.

Cravaack Is Focusing on Re-election

(AP)  Freshman Congressman Chip Cravaack says he is beginning his re-election effort early because he has been targeted by Democrats.

The 8th Distrcit Republican, who has served less than a year in office, says he has assembled his team, and claims to have pocketed $350 thousand for the 2012 campaign.