Prostitution charges against Zuqiu Chen were dropped in the case of Mystic massage in Northfield. The BCA did 
the majority of the investigation. Rice County Attorney John Fossum commented, “and the BCA agent who was in charge of the investigation, retired shortly afterwards. And what happened for us, is some of the evidence we were counting on wasn’t preserved as well as we’d hoped it would be by the BCA”. Specifically were details on Chen’s time operating the massage parlor. They couldn’t prove that he was there more than one time, so proving, beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew prostitution was going on would be difficult. Furthermore, there was a warrant for him from
Immigration, “ICE had a warrant out for him for over 20 years. He was charged with unlawful entry into the U.S. in 1994 and those charges have never been fully processed”. ICE picked him up yesterday. Chen speaks Mandarin and that also proved to be a barrier as the State of MN has only 4 interpreters. Each trial needs a minimum of two. Fossum said, bottom line, “From our standpoint since we weren’t releasing him to the community but instead, releasing him to ICE, we decided that going forward with the prosecution with what we saw as holes in the evidence didn’t make sense and simply decided to let it go and move on”…
Dundas hears from developers of a possible multi-million $ project
If you build it, will they come? A developer has their eye on land off I35 and Co. Rd. 1 in Forest Township to build a high end auto country club. In July, Rice County commissioners were presented with the idea. Commissioner Malecha explained at that time that it’s like a golf country club for car enthusiasts. There are only about 10 of these in the U.S. The project would include a 25,000 sq. ft. clubhouse, 300 condos that would include livable and for cars with a kitchenette, among other amenities including a track to take their cars out. They expect to draw more than 400 car enthusiasts. Wolf Creek Motor Sports spoke at the Dundas Council meeting this week. Administrator John McCarthy said the facility would require municipal services, water and sewer. He said, it’s his understanding, that the townships are not interested in providing that type of service. But Dundas, “may be able to figure out a way to provide that type of service to the area if we can, if it works for everybody, we’re definitely interested in being involved”. They told Dundas Council the project is estimated at $50 million. Several governmental entities would be involved. The developer would like to start construction in the Fall of 2018. There’s a club in Chanhassen but that one doesn’t have a track.
St. Olaf plans to begin construction on Ice Arena
St. Olaf plans on breaking ground on a new single sheet Ice Arena in Skogland Fieldhouse in the coming months, that according to Athletic Director Ryan Bowles. The college and the contractor have been finalizing design details and obtaining quotes from various vendors. They expect to have final construction documents completed this month, with final quotes shortly thereafter. Based on donor conversations, they believe they’ll be at or close to the $6 million threshold required to start construction. Bowles said they’ve “been told that construction material costs are predicted to increase three times by next spring because of demand in the Gulf Coast and Florida created by this fall’s hurricanes”. He added that there will be opportunities for groups outside St. Olaf to rent ice, though they’ve not determined any details. The first priority is to their students. Currently St. Olaf hockey teams practice at Northfield and Faribault arenas and play games at Northfield. Former Mayor Dana Graham started a task force a couple of years ago to look into a new City Arena. Mayor Pownell appointed an Advisory Board in January and Council just approved extending the Board for one more year to complete their work.
