Tad Vezner on Twitter

In the caption to this photo, the PiPress's Tad Vezner writes that authorities "found the guy here, about 100-200 yards from bottom/river."

Two hikers out yesterday evening in St. Paul's Lilydale/Harriet Island Regional Park got an extremely grisly surprise when they came across a man engulfed in flames.

SEE ALSO: White Bear Lake's sudden shrinkage: DNR sued by group demanding less water pumping

Despite their efforts to save the man, including placing a water-soaked coat on his body, he ended up dying of his injuries.

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Kim Insley on Twitter

The dramatic blaze, which is now under control, resulted in a couple blocks of Chicago Avenue being closed this morning.

The Chicago Avenue Deli, located at 25th Street and Chicago Avenue in south Minneapolis, went up in flames overnight.

SEE ALSO: Massive Uptown fire engulfs building near Lake Street and Irving Avenue [PHOTOS] [VIDEO]

A fire at the building was first reported at about 3:30 a.m., with the blaze intensifying a couple of hours later. Though the precise extent of the damage isn't clear at this point, it certainly looks as though the building is a complete loss.

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Not only did the Postal Service not deliver her letter, but they incorrectly told Najbar her son was dead to boot.

In September 2006, Duluth resident Joan Najbar sent a letter to her son, Sam Eininger, a National Guard solider who was stationed in Iraq. The next month, her letter was returned, unopened, but adorned with this stamp: "DECEASED"

SEE ALSO: Downtown Minneapolis invaded by Black Hawk helicopters [PHOTOS]

Fortunately, Najbar had been in touch regularly with her son, including a phone conversation the night before the letter was returned. But still, considering Eininger was still alive, that's a pretty outrageous and traumatic fuck-up.

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Who would do such a thing?

Some jerk is reportedly making a late bid for Biggest Ass of the Year by leaving dog treats laced with broken glass in the Three Rivers Park District's Crown Hassan off-leash dog park.

SEE ALSO: Southwest Mpls dog park that was originally supposed to cost $45,000 now costs $215,000

Park officials say they haven't been able to confirm anything, but have heard reports of glass-laced treats in September, October, and December 17.

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YouTube screengrab

Tukua had a bad feeling a day before he died while dredging a pond.

Sometimes, following your instincts can be a matter of life or death.

SEE ALSO: Highway suicide: Why do people keep lying down in Minnesota traffic?

On October 21, Jeffery Tukua, a 46-year-old construction worker from Hastings, told his wife he "had a bad feeling" about a pond-dredging job he was to begin the next day in Fort Snelling State Park near MSP airport and didn't want to report to work. Tragically, on October 22 he was crushed to death by a backhoe.

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Duluth News Tribune/Clint Austin

This raccoon's afterlife isn't very pleasant.

SEE ALSO:
-- Gauthier decides not to seek reelection after DFL Rep. Huntley calls him a "child molester"
-- Duluth's Last Place on Earth raided as new synthetic drug crackdown goes into effect
-- Duluth flooding sets zoo seal free downtown [PHOTOS]

In his last life, he was a raccoon. Now, he demarcates the edge of a Duluth-area road.

A sadly lazy road-striping crew decided not to remove a deceased raccoon from the side of Howard Gnesen Road before going to work. Instead, they painted right over it.


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Knoblauch during happier, more sober days.

Second baseman Chuck Knoblauch was a four-time All-Star for the Minnesota Twins, winning both a World Series and Rookie of the Year honors during his 1991 campaign. A little less than 10 years later, he mysteriously forgot how to throw to first base and ended up washing out of pro baseball in 2002 at the relatively young age of 34.

So what's Knobby up to these days? If a post on the NYC-based You Taste Like Nachos blog can be believed, he apparently spends at least some of his time drunkenly riding NYC subways, making passes at young chicks and mega-failing.

The blog, written by a young, female librarian, recounts a surreal encounter the author and a female friend of hers name Tara had while riding the G train home last night.

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Prosper's life came to a tragic, flukey end yesterday.

What a tragedy.

Medard Prosper, 19, lived through more than most of us could ever imagine -- he parents were killed in 2007 during the Democratic Republic of Congo's bloody civil war. His parents dead, Prosper and his six siblings embarked on a 500-mile journey to a refugee camp in Tanzania. Two younger sisters and a younger brother died in the process.

Thanks to the United Nations, Prosper and his surviving siblings ended up relocating to Minnesota. Prosper emerged as a standout, scholarship-winning student at St. Paul's Highland Park High School, where he was set to graduate this June. But yesterday, his promising life was cut short when he ran himself over with his own car and died.

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The fire was most likely caused by an electrical malfunction.

After a weekend-long investigation, the Minneapolis Fire Department has ruled the cause of an apartment fire in Stevens Square "undetermined."

According to the department's arson unit, the fire most likely started in the electrical room on the Northwest corner of the building, caused by some sort of electrical malfunction. Due to their "inability to access the room," investigators can't be certain.

Firefighters got the call around 2 a.m. Friday. The St. George Apartment complex, an old brick building just south of Downtown, was quickly going up in flames. The fire burned until Friday afternoon.

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The building and everything around it is covered in ice from nearly 12 hours of taking on water.

Twelve hours after the first 911 call was placed, Minneapolis firefighters are leaving the site of a massive apartment fire in Steven Square, a densely populated area just south of downtown.

The fire department first got the call around 2:06 a.m that a complex on the corner of 2nd Avenue South and 17th Street East had gone up in flames. By 3:02 a.m. the flames had spread across the old brownstone building, and firefighters upgraded it to a third-alarm fire.

According to the fire department, the building contained 32 units, and all residents have been accounted for. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.

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