In an appeal filing, Senser's attorney argues the jury was confused when convicting her of two felonies.

Amy Senser's jurors may have misunderstood their instructions when convicting her of two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, prompting defense attorney Eric Nelson to ask that the convictions be thrown out.

At the heart of Nelson's contention is a note jurors sent to Hennepin County Judge Daniel Mabley just before her verdict was read on May 3. That note, which wasn't read in court, said, "We believe, [Senser] believed she hit a car or vehicle and not a person."

The glaring problem with the note is that during the trial, no evidence was presented that Senser hit a car. Senser didn't deny that she ran over and killed Anousone Phanthavong last August, but said she initially thought she'd struck a construction barricade, not a person. So why in God's name would jurors write a note stating they believe she thought she struck a vehicle if they were paying attention to the trial?
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Albert Lea Tribune

Skov was behind the wheel with a near-fatal BAL when he drove into a head-on wreck and died.

Bar owner Michael Skov was behind the wheel and more than four times over the legal blood-alcohol limit when he drove into a fatal head-on collision on Minnesota Highway 13 just north of Albert Lea, a State Patrol spokeswoman said today.

On the rainy night on April 14, Skov was driving a 1993 Buick LeSabre northbound just after 10:30 p.m. when he crossed into the southbound lane and crashed into a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The driver and two passengers in the Cadillac were all treated at the hospital and released the next day.

Though the State Patrol had previously announced that Skov, 47, had "acute alcohol intoxication" at the time of the crash, his BAL hadn't been disclosed until today. Skov owned the Bend in the Road bar in Manchester, Minnesota.

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WCCO

Toni Bachman went missing 15 years ago. Husband Norman Bachman has denied foul play.

Toni Bachman disappeared 15 years ago, her last communications recorded via email April 25, 1997.

"I think Norm [her husband] is coming home to fight again," Toni wrote to a listserv. "Only this time I mean FIGHT in a much bigger way. He is threatening me with stuff."

Forty minutes later, she sent out another message advising that she couldn't chat because her husband was home. "Love You! Toni. P.S. He's staring at the screen too! I LOVE YOU!!!!"

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Courtesy The Cultural Landscape Foundation.

M. Paul Friedberg's vision to revamp his original design.

The city's appeal to demolish Peavey Plaza in Nicollet Mall was approved by a City Council committee Thursday, meaning the 37-year-old park is one step closer to destruction.

Designed in the 1970s by landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg, the city's plan to completely replace Peavey with a slick, new concept has caused plenty of controversy. The city says demolition is the most viable course of action, but the resistance argues Peavey is a historical piece of Minneapolis' heritage, and options to simply remodel the existing park have been overlooked.

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The city ordered Hensel to remove her pro-Occupy, anti-Republican yard signs.

Robin Hensel, a 58-year-old grandmother, filed a lawsuit this week against the city of Little Falls alleging the city is unfairly enforcing its yard-sign ordinance because it disagrees with her political views.

Last fall, the city received a complaint about the pro-Occupy, anti-Republican yard signs in Hensel's yard. The city's complaint-driven, yard-sign ordinance forbids residents from having numerous political signs in their yard.

In February, to retaliate, Hensel pointed out that a number of other signs around the city -- including a prominent "We Support Our Troops" banner on a bank downtown that requires but hadn't received approval by the city's historic preservation commission -- also violated city ordinance. In her federal lawsuit, she alleges the city is selectively enforcing its ordinance and violating her constitutional right to free speech.

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Jaime Hokanson, Indymedia

Thomas planned to drive an inferno-on-wheels into St. Paul's Mexican consulate.

Joseph Thomas, a 42-year-old Mendota Heights resident, had a sick notion of how he could get America talking about immigration issues.

According to a federal affidavit obtained yesterday by the Associated Press, Thomas told an undercover agent he wanted to steal a pickup truck, fill it with oil and gas, drive it into St. Paul's Mexican consulate, then set the inferno-on-wheels ablaze with a road flare. His hope was that the dramatic attack would get the country talking about immigration and amnesty issues ahead of November's presidential election.

Last month, Thomas and Sam Johnson, a 31-year-old Austin resident, were indicted on drugs and gun charges, respectively, and the FBI revealed that the two stockpiled weapons and ammunition while making plans to attack the government and minorities.

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Smith is allegedly a meth-fueled wannabe samurai.

Glenn Smith went a little bit crazy on Monday when his girlfriend deleted his meth dealers' numbers from his cell phone, police say.

At one point during a possibly meth-fueled rampage, Smith's girlfriend found him sharpening his samurai sword on a grinder in their Vadnais Heights garage. "Want me to cut your head off?" Smith said, according to his girlfriend's account of the incident.

During a 17-minute 911 call, the police dispatcher could hear Smith, 50, screaming and using a baseball bat to smash things in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend.

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The public health building is making workers sick.

Well, this is ironic.

Workers have been moved out of the Goodhue County public health building in Red Wing after workers complained to the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division that the building has a "very strong" shit odor, a leaky ceiling with visible mold, and is causing employees to develop headaches and nausea.

OSHA sent a letter detailing the complaints to the county earlier this month, and Goodhue County administrators immediately began moving affected workers out of the building. The entire structure should be evacuated by June 1.

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Bachmann's survey isn't exactly fair and balanced.

Michele Bachmann is really concerned about where her supporters stand on the important issues. She's so concerned, in fact, that she recently posted a "Conservative Priorities Survey" to her website in order to get a clearer idea of what her backers think.

But let's just put it this way -- Bachmann has no future as a political pollster. The survey questions are so absurdly question-begging that it's impossible not to see the whole exercise as a cynical fundraising ploy.

Of course, Bachmann doesn't hide the fact that she's trying to raise money with the survey. As she notes just above a series of boxes where respondents are asked to enter their contact information, "Please take a moment to complete the survey below, and afterwards make your most generous contribution to my campaign to ensure our voice is still heard loud and clear in Washington."

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Two state patrol pilots reportedly rescued a freezing man from a dark, northern Minnesota bog.

Thanks to the DRE drug scandal, the State Patrol has been receiving a lot of bad PR lately. So consider this story a reminder that troopers are capable of saving lives, as well.

According to a post on the State Patrol's Facebook page, last Friday, two State Patrol pilots daringly rescued a 27-year-old man who was partially submerged in a frigid bog.

By the time the pilots arrived on the scene, the man was already displaying symptoms of hypothermia, meaning he probably would've died if it hadn't been for the dramatic helicopter rescue.

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