Saturday, February 23, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 23

February 23, 1999 – A guest on The Late Show with David Letterman this evening, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura angered many St. Paulites by discussing the “idiosyncratic layout of the city of St. Paul.” He told the host, "Whoever designed the streets must have been drunk....I think it was those Irish guys." He later apologized.

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20128369,00.html


Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura

http://www.peoplequiz.com/biographies-35432-Jesse_Ventura.html


Friday, February 22, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 22

February 22, 1980 – The Miracle on Ice Olympic hockey game was played on this date at Lake Placid, NY. Team USA led by coach Herb Brooks won a 4-3 victory over the Russians, who were considered the best hockey team in the world at the time. Team USA was comprised of college hockey players brought together to play in the Olympics, a significant number of them from Minnesota. The Red Army Team of the Soviet Union had six players in their third Olympics, and the Russians had not been beaten in Olympic competition since they lost to Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Minneapolis Tribune; “It was U-S-A day on the Olympic ice”; February 23, 1980; p. 1A.




Herb Brooks, Minnesota Gophers Hockey Coach, coached Team USA

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/c6/ed/c6ed704294c9e16c18375d83f87bc2e3.jpg


Thursday, February 21, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 21

February 21, 1970 – Five Stillwater prison inmates attempted to break out of the prison, and “held three guards hostage for eight hours.” The prisoners lured the guards into an honor area by saying that a prisoner was ill, then used a .22 caliber revolver that had been smuggled into the prison and a dagger to take them hostage. Two of the prisoners “put on the uniforms of two of the guards and pretended to lead the other three convicts out the front door.” They managed to get through “the first of four iron-bar doors, but retreated back into the cell-block when another guard refused to give orders to open the other three doors.”
The Minneapolis Star; “5 to be charged in Stillwater ‘break’ try”; February 2, 1970, p. 9A





Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Feb. 21, 2013,
 as long as acknowledgement included.
 




Wednesday, February 20, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 20


February 20, 1967 – A complaint charging him with the first degree stabbing murder of Kathleen Bodie was issued against James M. Savage, 15, a sophomore at Cloquet High School. As a juvenile, his name had been protected until the charge was announced.

Duluth News-Tribune; “Youth Charged In Cloquet Slaying”; February 21, 1967; p. 6.


Murder of Kathleen Bodie; see Nov. 17, 2012 blog


Suspect arrested: see Nov. 23, 2012 blog

Indictment; see March 7, 2013 blog

Savage pleads guilty, sentenced; see March 14, 2013 blog

Death of James M. Savage; see July 10, 2013 blog

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 19

February 19, 2008 – “In southwestern Minnesota [the driver of] a van crashed into a school bus, killing four students. Olga Marina Franco del Cid (24) of Minneota, was later charged in state court with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Federal prosecutors later filed identity theft charges against the woman, who had identified herself as Alianiss Nunez-Morales. Immigration investigators said they found the real Nunez-Morales in Connecticut.”1

“Franco has said that her boyfriend was driving the van that crashed into the school bus. Her attorney claims the impact thrust her into the driver's seat, from which she was extracted by rescue workers.”2

1http://timelines.ws/states/MINNESOTA.HTML
2http://www.alipac.us/f12/update-mn-witnesses-say-van-driver-bus-crash-not-alone-108833/




Olga Marina Franco del Cid 

http://www.kttc.com/story/8744983/jury-selection-underway-in-cottonwood-bus-crash-trial

Monday, February 18, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 18


February 18, 1931 – “A federal grand jury indicted Wilbur Foshay, Henry Henley (Executive Vice-President), Harry McGinty (Secretary-Treasurer), Clarence Salisbury (Vice-President), Palmer Mabry and Herbert Welch (Assistant Secretaries), and Raymond Andrus (President of PUCC) on 17 criminal counts of violating the U. S. Postal laws for using the mail as a means of carrying out their scheme to defraud persons of money and property. (18 U.S.C.A. 338)”
http://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/History/Foshay/Foshay02.pdf




Wilbur Foshay

http://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+Wilbur+Foshay&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=V-EVUc72IOW-yQHxo4DQBg&sqi=2&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1166&bih=554#imgrc=fRMoAgE8FcJA7M%3A%3BHxcsH60vWFfHcM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fs3.amazonaws.com%252Fproduction.mediajoint.prx.org%252Fpublic%252Fpiece_images%252F123753%252FFoshay_Mug_Shot_LEAVENWORTH_PRISON.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.prx.org%252Fpieces%252F60130-wilbur-b-foshay-the-man-his-tower-part-i%3B1806%3B1108



Sunday, February 17, 2013

On This Date in Minnesota History: February 17

February 17, 1991 – NWA “flight attendant Nancy Ludwig was bound, gagged, raped and her throat slashed in a room at the Hilton Airport Inn near Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, [Mich.].” Ludwig lived in Minnetonka, Minn., and “had worked for the airline since 1976.”1

Jeffrey Wayne Gorton was convicted in 2002 of Ludwig’s murder. “He later pled no contest to charges that he raped and murdered a professor and provost of the University of Michigan-Flint, Margarette Eby, on November 9, 1986.

Gorton was tracked down through the matching of a semen sample taken from the Ludwig crime scene with a semen sample taken from the Eby crime scene. Gorton had left latent fingerprints at the Eby crime scene, and these fingerprints eventually were matched with Gorton, which enabled the Michigan State Police to learn the killer's identity.”2

1
http://www.airlinecrew.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?163459-NANCY-LUDWIG-murder-quot-suspect-quot-ARRESTED!
2http://www.serialkillercalendar.com/Brief-Bio-of-JEFFREY-GORTON.html




Jeffrey Wayne Gorton

http://www.murderpedia.org/male.G/g/gorton-jeffrey.htm