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Inner vision guides blind artist’s work. See Thisweekend Page 12A.
Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount OCTOBER 28, 2011
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VOLUME 32, NO. 35
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Burnsville man guilty of murder Man killed Apple Valley resident at Rosemount car wash by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
A Burnsville man was convicted on Wednesday of second-degree intentional murder after a Dakota County judge rejected his mental illness defense. Jonas Gerald Grice, 28, who pleaded guilty to the charge on Oct. 7, will appear for a sentencing hearing Jan. 4, 2012, after a pre-sentence investigation is completed. The sentencing guideline for intentional second-degree murder is between 29 and 40 years in prison. If the mental health defense would have been successful, Grice could have been sentenced to a state mental health facility. When Grice shot Anthony Hartman, 22, of Apple Valley, Grice claimed in his court trial defense that he was suffering from a mental illness to the extent that he did not know the nature of his actions or that they were wrong. During the trial, it was argued that Grice allegedly tried to pick a fight with Hartman’s friend, Bradley Doseth, on July 12, 2010, at the Car Spa car wash in Rosemount, but then Hartman confronted Grice and both started shoving each other. See Murder, 6A
Meet 196 candidates There are seven candidates running for the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District. Four, four-year seats are available. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. Find out more about each candidate and their policies on page 5A.
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Gusts blow as turbine turned on Windy day launches power-generating giant at UMore Park in Rosemount by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
studying aspects of wind technology, such as the 3M company’s face-mounted blade films that reduce blade noise and ice formation. It is the participation of companies like 3M and Clipper that make the project even more important as it allows them a place to test their new technologies. Clipper, which built and designed the Rosemount tower, has 544 turbines in the United States and Mexico and 31 in Minnesota that are monitored from Cedar Rapids. The Rosemount site is one of three research locations in the United States.
The University of Minnesota couldn’t have picked a better day to have turned on its new 426-foot tall wind turbine. With gusts blowing up to 27 mph from the northeast, the estimated 200 people in attendance probably would have preferred a warmer day, but didn’t mind too much as they huddled on bleachers at the commissioning ceremony. When the turbine was turned on from a computer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, university researcher Fotis Sotiropoulos said: “So there you have it. Our turbine can spin as advertised. Now we can generate some power with it.� University researchers hope to generate Tad Johnson is at editor.thisweek@ecm-inc.com. more than just power with it. They aim to learn enough about wind power technology that they can share it with the rest of the state, nation and world to reduce dependence on finite fossil fuels. The United States has a goal to generate 20 percent of its energy from wind by 2030. To achieve that, America might be depending on the knowledge learned at the Eolos Wind Research Station tucked into a little corner of UMore Park in Rosemount. With the 2.5-megawatt turbine, university researchers will collect information such as weather conditions (it was 53 degrees at the tip on Tuesday), wind velocity and turbulence and how the turbine transfers wind to power. A group of university students named Innovative Engineers will be working with the turbine to share their renewable technology with those in developing countries. Amir Mikhail, senior vice president of Clipper Windpower, said the group is producing the next generation of workers in wind science. The event was an opportunity for more possible future wind tech workers to check out the turbine, as students from Cedar Park STEM Elementary School in Apple Photo by Tad Johnson Valley were in attendance. Students from Cedar Park STEM Elementary School in Apple Valley attended the They learned how researchers will be commission ceremony of the Eolos Wind Research Station turbine on Tuesday.
Nexus of Halloween horrors More penguins at the zoo Each year, Paul Chellsen transforms the yard outside his Apple Valley home into a haunted Halloween wonderland by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
It’s that time of year – things are about to get extra spooky on 136th Street Court in Apple Valley. Since 1992, Paul Chellsen has been scaring trick-ortreaters young and old with a haunted tour of his yard on Halloween night. Chellsen pulls out all the stops with his eerie seasonal display – it’s b r i m m i n g Paul with head- Chellsen stones, body parts, pitchfork-wielding ghouls. There’s a Halloween soundtrack playing in the background, and visitors are greeted at the gate by the menacing-looking Pennywise the Clown, one of several macabre lifesize dummies featured on the tour. Chellsen, frightfully attired, serves as tour guide. He enlists his own kids and their friends to help with the tours, and his wife, Kristina, becomes a fortune teller on Halloween night, entertaining guests before they enter the yard. Among the assortment of ghoulish characters visitors will encounter is Brad A. Werewolf Person. “He was the original character in my yard,� Chellsen said. “I used to drive around with him in the front seat be-
by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
It’s almost twice as nice to “do the waddle� at the Minnesota Zoo as its African penguin population has nearly doubled because of flooding at another zoo. Eleven penguins have joined the current 18 “waddlers� after the Roosevelt Park Zoo in Minot, N.D., flooded this summer. The penguins were shipped by truck from
North Dakota to the Como Zoo in St. Paul where two remained and the others were transferred to Apple Valley. The Minnesota Zoo’s 3M Penguins of the African Coast exhibit opened in July to much fanfare. The 2,000-square-foot exhibit allows visitors to view the penguins above and below 7 feet of water in a replica of their habitat on South Africa’s Boulders Beach. The penguins live in an area that was renovated as part of Heart of the ZooPhase One, a $20 million, multiphase project which also included a new en-
by Andrew Miller
jail in Hastings just before 7:30 a.m. Apple Valley police A month after pleading guilty to third-de- report that on Sept. 27 an officer obgree assault, served Rogers in a professional a vehicle with his mixed martial wife, which was a arts fighter from violation of RogApple Valley was ers’ no-contact back in the Daorder. A warrant kota County Jail was later issued. this week for alOn Sept. 15, legedly failing to Brett Rogers Rogers pleaded comply with the conditions of his pre- guilty to one count of felony third-degree assentencing release. Brett Rogers, 30, sault in connection with turned himself in to au- a June 29 domestic asthorities Monday morn- sault incident at his ing (Oct. 24) because home on the 1000 block there was a warrant of Whitney Drive. During that incifor his arrest. He was booked into the county dent, Rogers reportedly THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Photo submitted
Pennywise the Clown greets trick-or-treaters at Paul Chellsen’s Apple Valley home. On Halloween night, Chellsen leads visitors, young and old, on haunted tours through his gruesomely festooned yard. fore Halloween to freak peo- monica,â€? Chellsen said. The display draws anyple out, but he became a bit of where from 80 to 150 tricka traffic hazard. “He was named after a or-treaters each year, Chellsen guy I worked with because he said. It takes about a day to set was originally made up out of up, but he spends a few weeks his clothes that we found in a tinkering with it to get just the right aura of eldritch horror. locker at work.â€? The public is welcome to New this year is Demonica, a zombie that rises and falls check out Chellsen’s Hallowfrom a pit-like depression in een display. The home is at 5690 136th St. Court. the yard. “Actually, this is my rain garden ‌ but it can also dou- Andrew Miller is at andrew. ble as a bloody pool for De- miller@ecm-inc.com.
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trance, Target Learning Center, and the Cargill Environmental Education Center. African penguins (also known as black-footed or “jackass� penguins) live on the South African coast, thousands of miles north of where most people assume penguins live. The waters are very cool yearround, but the air temps vary widely and can be very hot at times. The zoo plans to breed the penguins, which are endangered, as part of a Species Survival Plan. Tad Johnson is at editor. thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
Apple Valley pro fighter jailed again on warrant
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Animals come to Apple Valley from flooded North Dakota zoo
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punched his wife multiple times in the head and face as she lay on the ground in the couple’s backyard, according to the criminal complaint. When police officers spoke with Rogers’ wife that night, they noted blood on her face, a missing tooth and injuries to her head, neck and back. She was subsequently transported to the hospital. As part of Rogers’ plea agreement, three charges – child endangerment, harassment and domestic assault by strangulation – were dismissed. His sentencing See Fighter, 14A