Today’s top local news headlines. For a full report, listen at 7:05am, 8:05am, 12:05pm and 5:05pm.
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For the second time, the Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a man convicted of killing a Rice County deputy. Timothy Patrick Chambers was convicted in 1998 of first-degree murder of a peace officer in the death of Deputy John Liebenstein. The 40-year-old deputy from Dundas was killed in 1996 when he used his patrol car to block Chambers, who was driving a stolen car, on an I-35 exit ramp. Before the collision, Chambers had led authorities on a high-speed chase through Scott, Dakota and Rice counties. Chambers was 17 at the time, and became the youngest person in Minnesota at that point to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his claims that his lawyer was ineffective and that the judge was wrong not to let the jury consider convicting him of lesser offenses. In addition to first-degree murder, Chambers was convicted of second degree felony murder, fleeing a police officer resulting in death and theft of a motor vehicle. Chambers was sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without parole. Chambers also lost appeal in 1999.
- Starting Monday, work will begin on a project designed to rehabilitate two bridges along the paved trail in Carleton’s Cowling Arboretum. The work on the bridges will stabilize and repair the bridge feet, repair cracks in the walls and underneath each bridge, and replace the concrete caps. Several trees at each bridge will need to be removed to facilitate construction and to maintain the integrity of the bridges. The paved surface of the trail will also be replaced at each bridge. The project is expected to reach completion by August 28. Between July 27—that’s Monday and August 16, foot traffic will be permitted across the bridges, but bicycle riders are asked to dismount and walk through the construction site.
