News Briefs: Paynesville father pleaded guilty but son may go to trial for murder

Editor's note: The following is a collection of news briefs from Forum Communication Company newspapers in North Dakota and Minnesota.

NORTH DAKOTA

VCSU online program earns national ranking

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Valley City State University’s online master of education program was ranked as a top program in the second annual edition of Top Online Education Program rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

VCSU’s program ranked number 22 out of 143 programs and is the only program offered by a North Dakota college or university to be ranked in this category.

The master of education degree is fully accredited and is offered 100 percent online to meet the needs of practicing teachers. More information about the program is available at www.vcsu.edu/graduate.

MINNESOTA

Sled dog race postponed for lack of snow

DULUTH -- The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has been postponed until March 10. It had been scheduled to start Jan 27.

“The board made the decision last night,” race coordinator Pat Olson said Tuesday morning. “I don’t know that we really had any choice but to postpone. It was tough, but the trail is terrible. The rain (Friday) sealed the deal.”

“I’m hoping we get snow by March 10,” Olson said.

If it doesn’t, the race could face only its third cancellation ever.

Moorhead teen accused of raping 14-year-old

MOORHEAD – A Moorhead teenager is behind bars being held on charges accusing him of raping a 14-year-old girl.

According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Clay County District Court, the alleged sexual assaults occurred at the Moorhead home of Justin Paul White Twin, who is 18.

The alleged girl, someone White Twin knows, told investigators the assaults happened in October and December of last year, according to charges that included two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

His first court appearance has yet to be scheduled.

Oslo still without running water

OSLO, Minn. — Broken water pipes have disrupted the supply of running water to homes and businesses for this northwest Minnesota town of 300 that is better known for battling Red River flooding.

Except for a brief time Monday evening when a temporary, above-ground line was in use, all of Oslo has been without water since Sunday, some residents a day longer.

The water breaks are blamed on shifting ground caused by dramatic swings in weather.

“We had a dry fall, then warm temperatures, then rain and then cold, which meant a lot of ground shifting,” said Karen Cote, city clerk. “The ground is shifting so much that I see cracks in the wall of my office that I’ve never seen before.”

Father pleaded guilty but son may go to trial for murder

WILLMAR, Minn. — While his father has already pleaded guilty to murder in the case of a shooting death that stemmed from an argument over farm machinery, a second defendant appears headed for a jury trial.

The trial in the murder case against Timothy John Huber, 46, of Paynesville, is expected to last three weeks and will likely be scheduled for April or May.

Huber faces first- and second-degree murder charges for the October 2011 shooting death of Timothy Richard Larson in northern Kandiyohi County.

Delbert Huber, 82, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August. As part of a plea agreement, the first-degree indictment was dismissed.

Timothy Huber faces the possibility of spending life in prison, if he is convicted of first-degree murder. He has been held in the Kandiyohi County Jail on $1 million bail since Oct. 8, 2011, the day of the shooting.

Larson, 43, of Albertville, was killed on his father’s rural Belgrade property after a confrontation with the Hubers that apparently stemmed in part from the Hubers’ farm equipment being parked at the Larson farm.

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