Congressman Jim Hagedorn, a conservative Republican representing the First Congressional District of Minnesota has lost his battle with
kidney cancer. He passed away on Thursday at the age of 59.
Hagedorn’s wife, former state Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan said in a statement, “Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota. Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others.”
Hagedorn was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in 2019 and began receiving care at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He announced he had a kidney removed as well as cancerous tissues surrounding the kidney.
Then in July 2021, he announced a recurrence of his kidney cancer.
Minnesota House of Representatives Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, issued a statement regarding Hagedorn that said in part:
“He had a big heart and a tremendous passion to serve the district where he and his family have lived for generations. House Republicans send our deepest condolences to his wife Jennifer, all of his family, staff, and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Hagedorn was born in Blue Earth, and grew up on his family farm in Truman, Minnesota and later in McLean Virginia while his father, Representative Tom Hagedorn, served in the US House of Representatives from what was then Minnesota’s Second District.
Hagedorn was elected to Congress in 2018 and was serving his second term.
The First District covers the Southern section of the state, and includes Rochester and Mankato, as well as Faribault, Owatonna, and Lonsdale.
Taylor pleads guilty
Yesterday, Nicholas Alan Taylor pled guilty to the murder of Chris Lafontaine at Lafontaine’s home in Greenvale Township
last July.
Taylor age 29 of St. Paul, pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 55-year Lafontaine over the course of July 1st and 2nd last year.
According to the Dakota County Attorney’s office, on July 2, Dakota County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a burglary in progress at a residence in Greenvale Township. The reporting party informed deputies that two males ran out of Lafontaine’s residence when a neighbor knocked on the door to check on him. Witnesses reported seeing two males run and get into a white Dodge Durango that was later confirmed to be Lafontaine’s vehicle.
Deputies found Lafontaine’s body in a bathroom. His hands and feet had been tied together, and there was a rag and a glove over the victim’s mouth held in place with a cord tied around his head. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy, and determined he had died by asphyxiation
Shortly after discovering Lafontaine’s body, Northfield police officers located his vehicle on Highway 3. After they initiated a traffic stop, the driver of the vehicle did not pull over and instead attempted to flee from the officers. Eventually the vehicle stopped, and all three occupants ran for a wooded area. The driver, Stephanie Peabody, and the front seat passenger, Timothy Tuit were apprehended at the scene. The third occupant, who was later identified as Nicholas Alan Taylor, was arrested in Montana about a week later along with Ryann Elizabeth Smith.
Both Tuit and Peabody pled guilty in December to one count of Aiding an Offender and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 11th. Smith has been charged with one count of Murder in the Second Degree. Her trial is scheduled for May 23rd.
Taylor is being held in the Dakota County jail without bail. He will be sentenced on June 2nd.
Elliott warns of new scams
Northfield Chief of Police Mark Elliott is reminding people that con artists, and the scams they run, are as busy and crafty as ever, and said the public needs to be aware of their schemes and vigilant against them.
Elliott said the most recent scam has someone calling a store shortly before closing time. Saying they are from “corporate,” or a home office, the caller will instruct the person who answers that the routine for making an evening deposit has changed, and gives them instructions on making a deposit into an account through a Bitcoin ATM. The account they are instructed to use is not a corporate account as they claim, but an account that the scammer has access to.
Once this deposit is made, Elliott said, the money is quickly withdrawn, usually from a location overseas, making recovery of the money nearly impossible.
Other scams the police department has seen includes someone calling claiming to be a relative, and that they need the person to send them a $500 gift card so they can pay the bail they need to get out of jail, pay their taxes.
The Chief said the best thing to do is to question anything that is not part of the standard routine. If a person receives one of these calls, said Elliott, think twice. Question what is going on. There is no police department in the country that will accept a gift card to pay bail nor does the IRS accept gift cards. The best thing to do is to ask the person who is calling for their phone number and offer to call them back. Or better yet, he said, get the police involved.
“And by all means, call us. We are more than happy to take that phone call and help guide you through that process. We can use some of our tools to vet some of that information as well as help you, maybe by calling them back on your behalf to whoever it is that is trying to convince you to do these things.”
Elliott also said this is no longer just something that is happening to seniors in the co
mmunity. The con artists have expanded their schemes to include all ages, and he said everyone should be on guard.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott can be heard here
Northfield Shares board removes ‘Interim’ from Carroll’s job title
And finally, the Northfield Shares’ Board of Directors announced yesterday that Carrie Carroll has been named as thefoundation’s new executive director.
Carroll has been with Northfield Shares since 2018, serving most recently as the interim director. Prior to that, she was the foundation’s program manager and oversaw daily operations, grant processes, and implementation of the Volunteer HUB and National Accreditation.
In a statement, the chair of the Northfield Shares board, Mary Lynn Oglesbee, said Carroll’s experience, her commitment to Northfield, and her knowledge of the foundation, made her the best choice to lead the organization
Carroll said in the same statement, “Northfield is filled with amazing, dedicated, passionate individuals and families. I am looking forward to working with community members and making the connections between [those] passions and philanthropy, all for the betterment of Northfield.”
Carroll replaces Sarah Nathan, who joined the organization in January of 2021, and left at the end of October.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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