"Butt Kickers" Make a Clean Sweep

Wednesday, June 5th, 2013, 10:50am

(ABC 6 News) - Downtown Rochester may seem a little cleaner today thanks to students at John Adams Middle School.

Yesterday, the student group known as the "Butt Kickers" spent six hours picking up cigarette butts and other smoking related items. Overall they picked up:

19,959 cigarette butts
81 cigarette boxes
5 lighters
16 other miscellaneous smoke related products

The Rochester Downtown Alliance, Mayor Ardell Brede and Rochester's Park and Recreation Department offered $0.05 per cigarette butt picked-up, which means yesterday's efforts earned $997.95. The money will be used for the John Adam's Science Alive Lab!

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Rochester Principal Gets Surprise Award

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013, 6:53pm

(ABC 6 News) --- The WEN Outstanding Educator Awards program only gives out 6 awards in the state. One of them went to a principal here in Rochester. She thought she was just taking the students to a school play, but didn't know she'd be getting the honor in front of the whole audience.

It was a packed auditorium at John Adams Middle School. Students from several schools were there to see a school play, but before the show, there was an unexpected announcement.

Friedell Middle School Principal Monica Bowler was called to the stage to accept an award. "She was given a certificate, and a Crystal Apple award, and at the celebration in October, she'll receive a check for $15,000 dollars," said Nicole LaChapelle with the Southeast Service Cooperative. They teamed up with the WEN program.

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Concern Over Tree Removal in Rochester

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013, 6:51pm

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- More than a dozen trees are tagged for removal on Memorial Parkway in Rochester. The city forester says it’s because of damage and decay, but not everyone in the neighborhood is on board.

"I just think it's a shame,” said Jim Bergstedt.

Bergstedt is not happy that a tree in front of the property he manages has a is marked with a red number and a note.

"The idea that these trees take a whole generation more to grow some of these trees are 150 years old or more and they don't get that large in a person’s lifetime... removing them all arbitrarily seems ridiculous,” said Bergstedt.

Fourteen trees on Memorial Parkway and a nearby path are marked with a red number and a note saying the tree is condemned—meaning removal. City Forester Jacob Ryg says the reason is the May 2 snowstorm.

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Highway 52 Lane Closures in Rochester

Submitted by James Wilcox, ABC 6 News Anchor

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013, 4:18pm

Highway 52 southbound will be reduced to one lane between 55th Street Northwest and 75th Street Northwest Wednesday, June 5, and Highway 52 northbound will be reduced to one lane Thursday, June 6.

The closures are necessary as crews install barriers for the construction of auxiliary lanes on Highway 52 as part of the 65th Street interchange project.

Once the barriers are installed, Highway 52 will be reduced to two lanes in both directions between 55th Street Northwest and 75th Street Northwest during the construction of the auxiliary lanes, scheduled to be completed in mid-October, weather permitting.

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Olmsted County Deputies Allegedly Attacked

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013, 3:35pm

(ABC 6 News) - A New Mexico man is in custody after he allegedly tried to attack two Olmsted County deputies.

The deputies responded to Pine Island on a report of a car fire around 3 a.m. Monday morning where they found a fully engulfed vehicle.

Later that day, around 4 p.m., deputies were again called to Pine Island for a report of suspicious activity. The sheriff’s department says they found John Langbehn of New Mexico wandering the streets.

Langbehn smelled of smoke and was in poor medical condition. He was transported to St. Marys Hospital where deputies placed him in custodial arrest.

While being guarded at St. Marys, the Sheriff's Department says Langbehn attacked and attempted to disarm the two deputies.

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Police Searching for Dog That Bit Child

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Tuesday, June 4th, 2013, 12:42pm

(ABC 6 News) - The Rochester Police Department is asking for the public's help in trying to find a dog that bit a child and than ran off.

The dog is described as a medium size black dog with medium length hair. It had no collar on the dog and no owner with it when it bit the child. The incident happened on Monday June 3 at 4:15 pm at Slatterly Park in southeast Rochester.

Police say the dog ran up and bit the child and immediately ran off to the east towards the river. Animal Control was unable to find the animal.

The concern is that no one knows if the dog has been vaccinated for rabies.

Anyone with information about this dog bite should call Rochester Animal Control at 328-6960, Monday through Friday before 5:00 p.m. On evenings, weekends, and holidays, call the Law Enforcement Center Dispatcher at 328-6800.

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Looking into the Future of High Speed Rail in Rochester

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Monday, June 3rd, 2013, 10:56pm

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Some big changes are in store for Rochester, including a possible high speed rail linking the Med City to the Twin Cities. It was a packed house at the Heinz Center Monday where officials gathered public input for the project. The biggest questions; where will the rail be making stops and how much time is it really going to save drivers?

They're at phase one of the study, gathering information from the public and designing which routes make most sense. Monday's stop was just one of a few this week.

"Essentially we're shrinking the distance between Rochester and the Twin Cities," said Chuck Michael, a consultant with the Olmsted County Rail Authority.

"Anytime you can connect the largest economic driver in the state with the second largest economic driver is the state, that’s going to be a win-win for any situation," said Time Geisler with the Mayo Clinic.

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