The Newsleaders
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
    • Pay My Invoice
The Newsleaders
No Result
View All Result

Stearns Bank Welch/Pediatrics
Home Opinion Editorial

Law enforcement should update us about mysterious deaths, crises

October 29, 2015
in Editorial, Opinion, Print Editions, Print Sartell - St. Stephen, Print Sauk Rapids - Rice, Print St. Joseph
0
New collaboration tool is helpful resource
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

There is a growing frustration among the public about how law enforcement is not following through with information about deaths or other kinds of crises that happen throughout the central Minnesota area.

The following are just a few examples:

  • A woman was found dead Oct. 15 by gunshot inside her residence in the Rockwood Estates Mobile Home Park south of Rice. Of course, the news hit Rockwood residents like gangbusters, and some of them were frightened, locking their doors, leery about letting their children outside to play, wondering if the law had caught whoever did the killing or if the murderer was still on the loose, perhaps hiding in a shed or empty mobile home within the Park. News reports (TV, radio, newspapers) quoted the Benton County Sheriff’s Department that there appeared to be no danger to the public in the wake of the woman’s death. But what did that mean, exactly? Did it mean only that a killer had fled from the area? In the coming days, conjecture via a verbal buzz line took hold. Was it a murder? Was it a suicide? Was it just a gun going off accidentally? A Newsleader reporter Dennis Dalman, who happens to live in that Park, called Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck, who said the incident is under investigation and no further information could be released at that time. Residents still are not sure how the woman died.
  • Two weeks ago, a man’s body was found in the Mississippi River near a railroad bridge north of Little Falls. Another man was reported missing. Days later, his body, too, was found floating in the river. The news release from law enforcement stated those two men had agreed to meet at that railroad bridge crossing one night. The release also stated there is no cause for public concern, that foul play was not suspected. People were left wondering how did those two men end up drowned? Did a train come along, forcing them to jump from the bridge into the river? Were the deaths the result of some bizarre suicide pact? Did the two begin a physical struggle during which both fell into the river? It’s all very mysterious, to say the least. By the way, has anybody else wondered why is it so many young men throughout Minnesota in the past 10 years have ended up dead in rivers?
  • Last year, a woman claimed she was abducted from her car while at the McDonald’s restaurant in Sartell. The man who abducted her, she said, drove her around, met up with another man, then the three of them drove around for a long time in the greater St. Cloud area, the men finally pushing the woman out of the car onto a street in downtown Sauk Rapids. That story alarmed many people in the area, people who wondered if deranged abductors were on the loose and if next time the abducted victim would be brutalized, raped and/or murdered. We never did hear the truth behind that so-called “abduction.” Was it a lie invented by the woman? All that law enforcement would reveal is there was no way to prove that the incident didn’t happen. That was, to say the least, not a very reassuring answer.
  • With alarming regularity, shots are fired in certain areas of St. Cloud: people driving by shooting from vehicles, disputes among people during which shots are fired, shots fired in homes or apartments or outside dwellings. Time and again, law enforcement tells us, via press releases, there is no danger to the public. Are they kidding? Slugs flying through the air are indeed a danger to the public – to anybody who happens to be in a particular area when shots are fired. Sometimes we don’t learn much if anything about why the shots were fired or if the perpetrators were caught and punished. Such unanswered questions can leave residents feeling vulnerable.

These comments are not meant as criticism, necessarily, of our excellent local law-enforcement agencies whose members make extraordinary efforts to help keep us safe. However, this is meant to be a suggestion. Whenever possible, consider releasing updated information via press releases that explain such “mysterious” deaths and crises. Such follow-ups would go a long way in stopping speculation and gossip, in bringing answers to wondering minds and in making everyone feel safer.

Previous Post

Committee implodes; Hillary triumphs

Next Post

Volunteer options abound through RSVP

Next Post
Volunteer options abound through RSVP

Volunteer options abound through RSVP

Please login to join discussion

murphy granite CentraCare SartellLionsCleanUp

Hiring local
Columnist
writer!
Love to
write??
Senior Linkage SUPPORT FOR
OLDER ADULTS
DURING COVID-19
Senior LinkAge Line connects
older adults and caregivers
to essential services and
supports during the pandemic.
800-333-2433
Whitney Senior Center whitney senior center
wellness workshops
1527 Northway Drive, St. Cloud health coaches
for hypertension
Mondays
April 26-June 14
10-11:30 a.m.
In-person at Heritage Hall

Fridays
May 21-July 16
9:30-11 a.m.
In-person at
Whitney Senior Center/Zoom
SistersoftheOrder

Search

No Result
View All Result

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Video students capture real-life business experience
  • COVID cases up, but schools stay open
  • Quilters stitch Bad Habit masterpiece
  • Career Solutions works for job search
  • City of St. Joseph not sitting still

City Links

Sartell
St. Joseph
St. Stephen

School District Links

Sartell-St. Stephen school district
St. Cloud school district

Chamber Links

Sartell Chamber
St. Joseph Chamber

Community

Calendar

Citizen Spotlight

Criers

People

Notices

Funerals/Visitions

Obituary

Police Blotter

Public Notices

Support Groups

About Us

Contact Us

News Tips

Submissions

Advertise With Us

Print Advertising

Digital Advertising

2021 Promotions

Local Advertising Rates

National Advertising Rates

© 2021 Newleaders

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Sartell – St. Stephen
    • St. Joseph
    • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Column
    • Editorial
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Community
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Spotlight
    • Criers
    • People
  • Notices
    • Funerals/Visitations
    • Obituary
    • Police Blotter
    • Public Notices
    • Support Groups
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Submissions
  • Archives
    • Sartell-St. Stephen Archive
    • St. Joseph Archive
  • Advertise With Us
    • Print Advertising
    • Digital Advertising
    • 2021 Promotions
    • Pay My Invoice

© 2021 Newleaders

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In