The Rice County Attorney’s Office announced over the weekend that a woman who had been named as a “person of interest” in the death of 76-year-old Gary Lehmeyer has now been charged with second-degree murder.
Arlene Teresa Bell, 32, of Faribault was charged after an investigation revealed many more details of Lehmeyer’s death.
According to a statement released by Rice County, on February 5th, Bell, who was involved in a “legally qualifying domestic relationship” with Lehmeyer and had been living with him, said she had felt threatened by Lehmeyer after she found ammunition in their bedroom which led to a violent encounter.
Bell said, even though she saw no firearms in the room, that she became afraid that Lehmeyer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Dementia more than ten years ago, would not let her leave.
Bell said she stabbed Lehmeyer repeatedly during their fight. According to the statement, Lehmeyer then strangled her, threw a dehumidifier at her and choked her with its cord.
She said she was able to cut the cord off of the machine, and when Lehmeyer became unconscious, she tied his body with the cord because she was afraid he would regain consciousness. After assessing the situation, she decided to drive Lehmeyer’s van to Mexico, but was stopped by the Iowa State patrol early the next morning.
Bell was taken into custody on a variety of charges ranging from drug possession to possession of a firearm by a felon. When the Faribault Police Department issued an alert for Lehmeyer’s missing vehicle, she was charged with vehicle theft and booked into the Dallas County, Iowa, detention facility where she remains. Rice County Attorney Brian Mortenson said the extradition process to Rice County has begun on the murder and vehicle theft charges.
City looks to partner with Carleton for campus flood protection
Last week, with the approval of the City Council, the Northfield Public Works Department applied for just over $5 million in federal grants to help with flood mitigation in Downtown Northfield and on the Carleton College Campus.
One grant, for $3 million, would extend the floodwall on the west side of the Cannon River between the 4th Street and 2nd Street bridges for 415 feet with a top elevation of 904 feet. Another, for just over $2 million, would assist Carleton College in building a flood wall adjacent to Laird Stadium and a flood closure outside of the West Gym.
The projects are two of the recommendations of the Downtown Flood Mitigation Study that was completed last year, in response to two major floods and one near miss over the last fourteen years.
Northfield Mayor Rhonda Pownell said during last week’s City Council meeting that the community has been waiting for the City of Northfield to address the problem since 2010. It is her belief that, while many downtown business owners have taken their own precautions against further flooding, the city has a responsibility as well.
“A lot of them have made the necessary improvements to secure their buildings, but what is the public’s responsibility? If we know and love our vibrant businesses along our riverfront, then there is a responsibility that we have as well.”
City Administrator Ben Martig said, due to the effects of climate change, Minnesota is predicted to have more rain and a wetter climate. The floods of 2010 and 2016 have shown that Downtown Northfield and the surrounding areas are vulnerable to high water levels in the Cannon River. Based on the models used in the study, there could well be more damaging floods in the coming years, and the city is trying to be proactive.
“We’ve been ahead of the curve compared to some communities. We’re using predictive models beyond what the current standards are on flood management, knowing that the climate is going to be changing. So, we’re trying to be proactive and then trying to find dollars to help us to move forward, to be able to get some of these projects done more cost effectively.”
Martig said that Carleton is looking at cost matching for the projects on its campus. With many of the school’s most heavily used athletic facilities, including both the football stadium and the gymnasium and aquatics facility built directly in the river’s flood plain, the school is looking at several different options to ease the problem.
The grants are expected to be announced sometime this fall.
Referendum phone survey results will be discussed tonight
The Northfield School Board will meet tonight in the boardroom of the Northfield School District office building.
Among the items on the agenda this evening will be a discussion of the results of the telephone survey conducted by the Morris Letherman Group to ascertain the support in the community for a bonding referendum to address needed improvements to the Northfield High School facility. The Board will also further discuss options as they close in on a decision deadline to put a referendum on the November ballot.
The board will be asked to approve the 2024-2025 Operating Capital and Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Budgets, and they will be given an update on the Indigenous (or American Indian) Programming Initiative, including an Indigenous Parent Meeting.
The School Board will always invite public comments from those who live in the Northfield School District. Time for those comments is scheduled at the beginning of each meeting. Registration is required to address the School Board. Those wishing to do so may sign up beginning at 5:30 pm.
Tonight’s meeting will begin at 6:00.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
