News Briefs: Suspect arrested in Detroit Lakes shooting case

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

MINNESOTA

Arena scoured for carbon monoxide source

DULUTH -- Health, public safety and utility officials inspected a hockey arena Thursday trying to find the source of carbon monoxide that sickened players, coaches and the Zamboni driver Wednesday night.

About 30 people watching or participating in a youth hockey practice were ordered out of Fryberger Arena just after 8 p.m. Wednesday. At least eight people, including players, received oxygen to help treat high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood, though officials Thursday said they understood everyone had recovered.

Gordy Atol, manager of the arena that was built in 1972, said Thursday that air in the building had returned to safe carbon monoxide levels.

It’s not yet clear what caused the carbon monoxide levels to increase to dangerous levels. The colorless, odorless gas is produced during combustion of fuels, such as in the propane engine that runs the ice resurfacing vehicle or the arena’s gas furnace or gas water heater.

Girls’ tattoos lead to investigation

MOORHEAD – Police are investigating a man here after at least three 14-year-old girls told authorities he gave them tattoos in his apartment and then took photographs of the tattoos, some of which were i nthe girls’ private areas, court records show.

Police seized computers, cellphones, cameras and other items while executing a search warrant at a south Moorhead apartment Oct. 28.

An affidavit requesting the search warrant alleges that the 14-year-olds told police they know the man by his nickname “Monster,” according to documents filed in Clay County District Court late last week.

The man is identified in the warrant but as of Thursday afternoon, he had not been charged or arrested. The girls told police the man is in his late 20s or early 30s, court documents say.

At least two of the three 14-year-olds didn’t have parental consent to receive the tattoos, police say in the affidavit, and one of them said she told the man that her parents hadn’t given her the OK.

It is illegal to tattoo a minor without parental consent, said Lt. Tory Jacobson, of the Moorhead Police Department.

Biomass plant to pay fine

ST. PAUL — A biomass-fueled power plant will pay a $14,000 civil penalty to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency because of violations of the company’s air emissions permit.

The Fibrominn plant at Benson is fueled primarily by turkey litter, but also burns wood and other biomass to generate electicity. However, its air emissions permit prohibits using treated wood that uses phenol formaldehyde and other resins that make the material unsuitable for burning.

Between March 2008 and November 2011, the facility accepted and burned at least 22,428 tons of treated wood which is less than 1 percent of the total fuel burned during that time.

The facility has stopped using treated wood, has informed wood fuel suppliers about the restriction and will pay a $14,000 civil penalty.

Suspect arrested in shooting case

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. – A rural Vergas man has been arrested in connection with a Tuesday morning shooting in Detroit Lakes.

Jack Thomas Nelson, 18, was arrested in Frazee without incident, according to interim Becker County Sheriff Kelly Shannon.

Shannon said the arrest was conducted by the Becker County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Frazee Police Department and Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office.

He said the victim, Dustin Scott Matson, 22, of rural Detroit Lakes, is recuperating at home.

Matson told authorities several shots were fired during the incident and he was struck once in the leg.

Shannon said the two men were arguing at the time of the shooting.

He said Nelson was being held in the Becker County Jail pending filing of charges.

NORTH DAKOTA

GF man found dead pinned under truck

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Grand Forks man is dead after being pinned underneath a pickup Thursday afternoon in Grand Forks, police said.

Police did not release his name pending notification of relatives.

According to police, officers arrived on scene on the 1500 block of North Fifth Street and found the man deceased under the pickup.

Preliminary investigation indicates the man was working on the pickup in a driveway when it rolled over him and into the nearby street.

19-year-old faces more sex charges

FARGO – A 19-year-old from Fargo who was charged in September with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl now faces additional sexual assault charges involving a 16-year-old girl.

In the latest case, Tremaine Quincy Jones is charged in Cass County District Court with two counts of sexual assault. He is also charged with three counts of possessing child pornography for having nude photos of a 16-year-old girl on his cell phone.

Jones was charged in September with one count of gross sexual imposition involving a 13-year-old girl.

In that case, Jones said he had sexual contact with the girl, but thought she was older, according to a police report.

In the latest case, a 16-year-old girl said she and Jones had consensual sex on two occasions in his car and that she sent him nude photos of herself.

The girl told police she told Jones she was 16 the first day they met, according to court records.

Man hit by train

FARGO – A 30-year-old man was seriously injured this morning when he was struck by a train in the 4200 block of Main Avenue.

The incident happened about 6:53 a.m.

According to police, workers on a BNSF train noticed a man on the tracks and sounded the horn’s train in warning as they attempted to stop the train. The man did not leave the tracks and was struck by the train.

The man was lying perpendicular across the tracks, Police Lt. Joel Vettel said.

Vettel said authorities believe they know the victim’s name, but it is being withheld pending confirmation.

Vettel said it is believed the man had no permanent address.

The victim was taken to a local hospital. His condition is unknown, Vettel said, adding it was likely the man would be transported to a Twin Cities hospital.

TB reported at GF school

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A case of tuberculosis has been reported at a Grand Forks elementary school, according to officials at the Grand Forks School District.

The TB case is at Phoenix Elementary School.

People who may have been potentially exposed to this case will be screened by the Grand Forks Public Health Department, officials said. Officials did not say if the person with TB was a student. Officials said parents and others can get information at www.gfschools.org.

Corps will not draw down Homme Lake

ST. PAUL -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, said it will not perform a fall drawdown of Homme Lake on the Park River near Park River, N.D., because of drought conditions.

The corps said it will continue monitoring lake elevation and precipitation throughout the fall and winter, and will release water prior to the spring runoff, if needed.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Homme Lake and surrounding area has been in a moderate drought/abnormally dry level since the middle of December and in a moderate/severe drought since September.

As of Wednesday, the lake elevation is 1,079.76 feet. Historically, the Corps draws down Homme Lake 4 feet during the fall.

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