by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Gov. Mark Dayton, who attended the Jacob Wetterling Memorial Service on Sept. 25, stated in an official state proclamation that Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, will be “Jacob Wetterling Day.”
On that day, there will be a “Running Home for Jacob” race at the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center in St. Paul.
Oct. 22, 1989, was the date Jacob was kidnapped near his hometown of St. Joseph, and sexually assaulted and fatally shot by Danny Heinrich of Annandale. The 52-year-old confessed to killing Wetterling after previously leading investigators to his remains at a Paynesville farm, part of a Sept. 6 guilty plea to a federal child pornography charge.
In his proclamation, Dayton mentioned how the Wetterling abduction profoundly affected the lives of Minnesotans and that Jerry and Patty Wetterling, Jacob’s parents, dedicated their lives to the advocacy for children’s safety. They helped create the Jacob Wetterling Act of 1994 and the start of a state registry to help keep children safe.
Dayton urged all in Minnesota to commit their lives to fairness, kindness and compassion – all qualities Jacob and his family always held dear.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton
Days after a Sept. 25 community memorial service for Jacob Wetterling that was attended by thousands in St. Joseph, and was simulcast on TV and on the web, a digital billboard along busy westbound CR 75 between Waite Park and St. Joseph honors the St. Joseph boy who was abducted by a masked gunmen, sexually assaulted and killed on Oct. 22, 1989.
