A thirteen day old boy dies after alleged abuse by his father. A Burnsville man is charged after allegedly throwing his infant son on the floor Sunday evening. Apple Valley police were called to the scene and found the baby’s lips were blue, his extremities were turning purple, and he had several bruises on various parts of his body. Officers and paramedics worked on the baby but he died at Children’s Hospital yesterday afternoon. The infant’s mother told police that she and, 32 year old, Michael Herkal, got into an argument earlier that day and
that, after feeding her baby, she left him in the care of his father. Herkal’s cell phone was examined. Investigators found Google searches about an hour and twenty minutes before the 911 call, that included: “someone threw a baby on the floor”; Herkal’s bail was set at $750,000 with conditions. His next court appearance is August 23rd at 9am in Hastings. He’s currently charged with 1st degree assault and malicious punishment of a child. However, there will likely be more. Herkal’s criminal history contains convictions for alcohol, drugs and domestic violence. The press release from Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom is on kymn.net. HerkalMichaelChargedUpdate
Community help leads to suspected U.S. Mail thief
Over the past few weeks, the Rice County Sheriff’s Office has received over 20 reports of mail thefts in the northwest area of Rice County including Northfield Township. The Sheriff’s Office Patrol and Investigations divisions followed up on leads provided by citizens in the area, which produced a suspect who was located in Dennison. Investigators approached the suspect while he was getting into his car. The suspect led the investigators on a short pursuit which ended with the suspect crashing and disabling his car. The suspect then ran into a cornfield. Sgt. Trevor Peterson and his K9 partner Scout were in the area. K9 Scout tracked the suspect through the cornfield, which led to the suspect to surrendering to deputies. There were no injuries to anyone involved. Sheriff Dunn said, this is a great example of why citizens providing law enforcement with leads is so important. The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all the citizens who provided us with tips. Some citizens even provided us with photos and video of the suspect. “I am very proud of the collaborative effort by our attentive citizens and the deputies and investigators to bring this subject into custody”, said Sheriff Dunn. The Sheriff’s Office was also assisted by the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspector. [comments by Sheriff Dunn are heard on the audio below]
Solar ordinance goes back to Dundas planning commission
Back to the Planning Commission. That was Dundas Council’s recommendation Monday night on the Solar power ordinance. In November last year, the Council enacted an interim moratorium to determine how to regulate the construction and installation of ground mounted solar energy Systems. Since then the Planning Commission brought forward an Ordinance regarding the Rural Service district but Council told them to go back and rewrite it to clarify language that does not permit it as a primary use in that zone. In other Dundas news, there are 3 running for 2 open Council seats held currently by Grant Modory and Larry Fowler. Modory filed earlier, Fowler filed last night. And resident Kelly Ludvigson filed as a new candidate last week. Mayor Glenn Switzer’s seat was up, he filed on Monday afternoon with no challengers.
Community Services recruiting
Community Services is recruiting students and adults for ALL school-year recreation positions! A booth will be set up at the fall sports parent meeting between 7 – 9 pm on Thursday August 16th, between the lower and upper cafeteria of the high school. Stop by before, during or after the meeting to obtain information on available positions, sign up for an interview and receive information on how to officially apply! Applicants must be age 16 by the start of their desired position.
