Winona Daily News

Lenny Boberg's crotch-grab has the 9-year-old banished from his Catholic school.

​Pat Bowlin, principal of Winona's Catholic St. Stanislaus elementary school, apparently doesn't like Michael Jackson. Either that or he just has a big problem with seeing a 9-year-old boy crotch-grab.

Because after little Lenny Boberg mimicked the King of Pop's famous dance move during a school fundraiser last Thursday, Bowlin immediately approached Boberg and his mother to inform them that Lenny had been indefinitely suspended from the school for gross misconduct.

The school's handbook defines gross misconduct, in part, as "conduct which substantially impairs the discipline and order of the school environment."

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Nyberg, on skates and clad in gorilla suit, pops the question

​Thanks to combined power of Twitter and the Associated Press, a local man's bizarre marriage proposal is now national news.

St. Paul resident Jake Nyberg, 31, wanted to surprise his then-girlfriend Tess Haun when he popped the question. He came up with an off-the-wall plan involving a staged engagement photo shoot, gorilla suits, and ice skates.
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Today 36 clergy affixed their names to a paid ad and open letter to Village Voice and the classified ad site Backpage.com. The full page ad was published in the New York Times.More >>

The Twitter fight between Bernard Berrian and John Kreisel has expanded into the blogosphere.

​The comedy of errors that was the Twitter fight between Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian and Rep. John Kriesel marches on.

The internet had a field day after Berrian unknowingly smack-talked Kriesel, a veteran and one of the Vikings-stadium's biggest boosters, on Twitter. Matt Ufford, a writer over at the NFL-themed humor blog Kissing Suzy Kolbert, had even more fun penning a satirical entry on the incident.

Well, apparently he had a little bit too much fun. It appears that Berrian's people are threatening legal action.

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KTLK

But seriously, this was his third choice.

​In this tough economy, sometimes we have to settle.

This seems to be the case for Tom Emmer, former Republican gubernatorial candidate, who has taken a job as a drive-time talk show host on Fox News-affiliated KTLK-FM.

This is great news for all the Mark Dayton haters out there: Even though Emmer didn't win the race, you can still catch his hockey metaphors and "insider information that listeners will not hear anywhere else" on your way to work, says a KTLK spokesman.

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Photo: Andrea Allen

The view from the cul-de-sac ain't so rosy in Minnesota suburbs.

​The recession has been kicking the ticky-tacky out of the suburbs, according some new data from the U.S. Census. Once a symbol of post-World War II prosperity, the homes on Minnesota's suburban cul-de-sacs are increasingly home to the poor and unemployed.

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Photo: whatshername

Boom goes the fish house

​Ever wonder what to do with those fireworks left over from the Fourth of July? Check in with Anthony James Hakim. He's got ideas. Last winter, for example, he and a buddy used them blow up a fish house on Cascade Lake.

It probably seemed like a fun idea at the time. Trouble is, they got caught. Now Hakim, 18, has pleaded guilty in juvenile court to one count of third-degree arson. He's been sentenced to six months of probation , ordered not to buy "incendiary devices," apologize to the fish house owner and work out some sort of restitution.

Hakim's pal, Zachariah Robert Higgins, 20, of Rochester, was also arrested. His case is being handledin adult court, and remains open.

Photo:istolethetv

Where's it headed?

​This story from Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal turned our heads not once but twice. First because a shipment of about 60 human heads destined for Minneapolis-based Medtronic's Fort Worth, Texas, offices was held up at the Little Rock, Ark.

And we're thinking, whoa, homegrown blue chip company engaged in black market body parts smuggling? Nah, nothing like that.

Which leads us double take No. 2: This kind of thing happens all the time, evidently. The Arkansas Press-Democrat reports the full and partial -- partial! -- heads were being shipped to be used as part of a medical training. Egad.

The shipment of heads, earmarked for medical trainees, was stopped by investigators in Arkansas because it wasn't properly labelled.

Nothing to see here people. Move along.

Via Wikipedia

Real estate tycoon

​Former Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett, currently trying to help his fellow Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals, has sold his $3 million Orono mansion for $3 million.

Let's hope whomever bought it has a "G" in their initials, because otherwise it's going to be hard to explain that letter inlaid on the back patio, visible from space (image after the jump).

On the other hand, if you can afford $3 million for home in this economy, you probably aren't too worried about pricing out some landscape changes.

KG bought the pile in 1998 for $1.35 million. It looks like he made a tidy profit, but the property was valued for as much as $4 million last year. Property taxes alone run to $45,000 per year.

Check out the "G" on the patio in this satellite image:

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Here's a handy map making the rounds this morning via The RoboSheep Bleat: A rough guide for apartment hunters in downtown Minneapolis. (We note with a chuckle that CP world headquarters is located in the "rich" zone.)

Via The RoboSheep Bleat

Just print, fold and keep in your wallet for handy reference

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Hat tip: Secrets of the City.