Burglary suspects caught after chase
Walk-off keeps Indians in hunt
Both men have extensive criminal backgrounds
Shakopee defeats Victoria to improve section record
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www.shakopeenews.com
THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2011
SHAKOPEE
VALLEY
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news
Track, horsemen hanging on for now State shutdown threatens season BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
On the day Americans were supposed to be celebrating their independence, Canterbury Park lost its. It was a beautiful July 4. But on the most popular day of the racing season, the parking lot at the Shakopee horse track sat empty, aside from a KSTP-TV news van broadcasting the misery of hundreds of horsemen. There were no fi reworks Monday night. Only worry. And none of it made sense. “I feed eight families,� said trainer/owner Bryan Porter, who has had trouble sleeping since the shut-down started. He has approximately $10,000 in expenses each week. In the era of state budget shortfalls, Canterbury lost more than $1 million in revenue by being forced to close on its busiest weekend of the year. The lights went out at midnight Thursday when Republican lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton failed to reach a budget deal by the July 1 deadline. A St. Paul judge on Saturday denied Canterbury’s petition to re-open. Worried about losing the entire
There are 1,300 horses stabled at Canterbury. Horsemen are staying put for now, but trainers may begin to pull out if the track isn’t reopened within a week or two. racing season, Canterbury owner Randy Sampson offered bonuses to horsemen who were supposed to race last weekend, but stuck around. On Monday, he treated stable workers to lunch and distributed free food coupons to those whose income has been reduced. Perhaps the outcome would have been different had a Scott County judge heard Canterbury’s petition, but Dayton wanted it consolidated with requests from the Minnesota Zoo and Running Aces Harness Park in Anoka County. Canterbury, which was forced to close its Card Club and simulcasting, argued it should be permitted to operate since the Minnesota Racing Commission is self-funded by the racetracks. The track has paid $1.3 million to the state since July 2010
Canterbury to page 6 ÂŽ
PHOTO BY SHANNON FIECKE
Trainer/owner Bryan Porter (left) was supposed to race five horses last weekend in Shakopee. He worries about keeping his workers employed, including groomer Israel Gomez of San Antonio, Texas, who supports a wife and year-old daughter.
A new morgue needed
SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH
Medical examiner cost per county Scott: $1.46 per resident Anoka: $2.89 per resident Hennepin: $4.05 per resident Collaborative: Scott County partners with Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue and Houston Counties
Scott, other counties facing big decision BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
HASTINGS — Medical examiner Dr. Lindsey Thomas would like to retire eight years, and she wants to leave Scott County in good hands. But Thomas knows forensic pathologists are hard to come by. It may be impossible to hire a lead examiner for the eight south-central Minnesota counties she serves unless the Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office gets a new facility before she retires. Thomas shares the basement of Regina Medical Center in Hastings, where bodies come in the same door as the hospital’s outpatients. The agency’s caseload has grown nearly five times and exams have more than doubled since the morgue was last remodeled in 1987, but there is no room at Regina to expand. Five counties have also been added to the collaborative. Besides limited space to store
PHOTO BY SHANNON FIECKE
Ideally, Dr. Lindsey Thomas would like to retain tissue samples from all examinations, kept in this closet. She has little storage space left, and nowhere to expand her autopsy room. specimens, there’s no place to put additional staff or add on to the autopsy room. Staff must manually move bodies because they have no mechanical lifts. Only a small storage closet exists for storing tissue samples and the evidence room lacks a secure entry system. Perhaps the most concerning is the single room for performing au-
topsies, when there should be at least two to separate bodies that might be decaying, infectious or used for organ harvesting. Families also have no private area to view loved ones — just the hallway or intake room. “They are pretty cramped down there,� commented Scott County Commissioner Joe Wagner, a funeral director.
For months now, Thomas has shared her personal office with Marie Barbesier, a French forensics physician who came to Minnesota for a fellowship with the Olmsted County medical examiner, who abruptly resigned. Thomas had no room, but offered the woman work space at a table feet away from her desk. Thomas, who formerly worked for the Hennepin County medical examiner and still lives in Minneapolis, has overseen the office for about 10 years. She oversees three other forensic pathologists, a senior death investigator and three administrative staff. Thirty part-time investigators also respond to calls in their respective counties. Minnesota counties are required to employ either a coroner — a medical doctor who may be a family physician — or a medical examiner, a forensic pathologist
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Because p, what goes u must come down
BY KRISTIN HOLTZ kholtz@swpub.com
The Shakopee School Board voted unanimously last week to enter into contract negotiations with Rod Thompson, superintendent of St. Anthony/New Brighton Public Schools. “I think he is the person that will lead our district in the next six, 10 years,� Board Member Tony Bonsante said. The board interviewed Thompson Rod June 29, the last of Thompson three candidates vying for the job to replace retiring superintendent Jon McBroom. Thompson, 46, has been superintendent in St. Anthony five years. Board Member John Canny said
Thompson to page 10 ÂŽ
VIDEO ONLINE CHECK OUT VIDEO OF ROD THOMPSON’S COMMUNITY FORUM INTERVIEW
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Morgue to page 6 ÂŽ
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 HAPPENINGS/9 CALENDAR/12 SPORTS/17-18 CLASSIFIEDS/21-24 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6683 EDITOR: (952) 345-6680 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@SHAKOPEENEWS.COM.
Reason #89:
Thompson stands out
VOL. 150, ISSUE 27 Š SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS
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