Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas
www.dakotacountytribune.com
January 28, 2016 • Volume 130 • Number 47
Setting the prisoners free
NEWS Bomb threat charges
Annual human trafficking conference this weekend
A Milaca man who allegedly didn’t want to go to work and instead phoned in a bomb threat has been charged. Page 10A
OPINION Commission gets an earful The Higher Learning Commission received plenty of feedback regarding its master’s degree requirement for high school teachers. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
by Laura Adelmann SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The resale value of a human being for sexual abuse is infinitely more profitable for criminals than selling even the most addicting illegal drugs. While a drug can only be consumed once, the same human being, most often a woman or child, can be repeatedly sold for rape day after day. And they are. “It’s a huge money-maker to sell humans 30 times a night verses a bag of drugs one time,� said Amy Lindquist, Lakeville, a volunteer lobbyist who works to pass national anti-trafficking legislation. Victims’ circumstances are so horrific that virtually all of them suffer multiple personality disorder, according to the modern-day abolitionists fighting to rescue the abused and stop the industry that is appallingly prevalent everywhere, including Dakota County. “It’s now got this network,� Lindquist said. “Basically all the mafias are working together to make (sexual slavery) happen, so
it’s a global problem that starts right in your own community.� Fighting to end the brutality is Trafficking Justice, a local organization started by Christians that is working with other groups on the state, national and international level. The organization is holding its third annual Freedom Weekend Jan. 29-31. Featured at the event are seminars and presentations held at various Dakota County churches that offer the public an eye-opening look into the depth of the problem and the victims’ plight. Also offered are a variety of ways for people to get involved to help abolish modern-day slavery of every form. Keith Lokkesmoe, 56, of Savage, is the new leader of the Trafficking Justice.
Lokkesmoe said they are seeking to expand the group’s connection with other churches and recruit more volunteers who are helping in whatever capacity best fits their talents. He said there are multiple tracks of focus for people to become involved in the place that best matches their talent, such as prayer, hospitality and cultural change. “We are currently building our organization to make each of these tracks stronger so that we can do a very effective job of unleashing people in areas where they can work,� Lokkesmoe said. He said he was compelled to join the fight seven years ago after seeing a video that haunted him. It told of how traffickers kept a young girl locked in a room 24 hours a day as a sexual slave. “She’s never allowed to leave,� Lokkesmoe said. “This could be Cambodia, this could be in Europe or in the U.S. And she has no hope. She has no one to stand up for her. She has horrible oppressors that have complete control over her. She See FREEDOM, 6A
You’re the detective The Eagan Theater Company is set to present the interactive murder-mystery play “Audition for Murder� Feb. 12-14. Page 15A
SPORTS
Tigers take charge
Tiger hockey a contender
The Farmington boys hockey team swept the defending station champions from Lakeville North this season with a 1-0 victory on Jan. 21. Read more about Farmington’s playoff asipirations in Section 1AA on page 9A. (photo by Jim Lindquist)
The Farmington High School boys hockey team is on the rise after a season of success on the ice. Page 9A
PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Page 11A
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9A Public Notices . . . . . . 10A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 11A Announcements . . . . 14A
News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2019 Classified Advertising 952-392-6862 Delivery 763-712-3544
Suspect at large after chase Driver abandoned stolen truck after reaching 98 mph by Laura Adelmann SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
A suspect who led law enforcement officials on a 25-minute high-speed chase through Faribault, Farmington and Lakeville on Jan. 26 remained at large as of Wednesday. The driver of the black Ford F-150 crew cab was last seen in Lakeville near Cedar Avenue and Dodd Boulevard. Police are asking anyone with knowledge of the driver’s whereabouts to call 507334-4305. An agent with the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force began chasing the truck displaying a stolen Minnesota license plate northbound on Highway 3. The truck was dragging an enclosed snowmobile trailer with a flat tire, and speeds reached to 98 mph, according to police recordings of the chase that involved the Minnesota State Patrol, Dakota and Rice county sheriff’s deputies and police from Faribault, Northfield, Farmington and Lakeville. Law enforcement terminated the chase when the driver entered Farmington because the driver was recklessly driving northbound in the southbound lane. The pursuit began again by Farmington police and the two snowmobiles were dumped in the ditch off Dodd Boulevard, according to Faribault police. The truck continued to travel at a high rate of speed, still dragging the See CHASE, 6A
Sal Mondelli to retire as 360 CEO Current COO Mortensen to become nonprofit’s leader by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Sal Mondelli said this week that everything he had experienced before becoming the president and CEO of 360 Communities in 2012 had trained him to lead the 40-year-old nonprofit social service agency. “This has been a real blessing for me,� said Mondelli, who announced on Wednesday he would be retiring at the end of 2016 when current COO Jeff Mortensen would become CEO. The nonprofit’s board approved Mortensen adding the role of president effective immediately. It was an emotional week for Mondelli, who informed staff members and key supporters of his decision on Wednesday and
Sal Mondelli
Jeff Mortensen
said today the organization is stronger than ever. “The big thing when I first got here was to renew our standing and reputation in the community,� Mondelli said in an interview. “I think we are in a very good spot there.� Mondelli said it took about nine months to see support come back after the organization suffered public relations hits in 2011 when several high-paying staff members left the organization, including an ousted CEO and president. “I can’t say enough good things about Sal,� After Wednesday’s announcement that Sal Mondelli would be retiring as CEO and said Mortensen, who has president of 360 Communities, Mondelli (right) gathered with the nonprofit board’s worked for the nonprofit chairman Sam Edmunds and new president and current COO Jeff Mortensen (center), who will take over as CEO in 2017. (Photo submitted) See 360, 6A
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