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Wabasha County bookkeeper accused of embezzling $3.75M after falling victim to online romance scam

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

LEWISTON, Minn. — A Wabasha County woman who claims to be the victim of an ongoing online scam is being accused of stealing more than $3.75 million from her Lewiston employer and, separately, from a vulnerable adult.According to a warrant and criminal complaint filed last week in Wabasha County District Court, Sharon Schmalzriedt, 61, of Wabasha, faces a felony theft charge for allegedly using her employer’s funds to pay someone she met online.According to the criminal complaint:Schmalzriedt worked for the Lewiston company remotely from Wabasha, doing bookkeeping, payroll and accounts payable.The complaint said she was having marital problems and, in October 2019, began an online relationship with a man identifying himself as Erik Lockwood.According to message transcripts, Lockwood and another person identifying themself as Lockwood’s attorney told Schmalzriedt that Lockwood was owed $7 million for work he did in Dubai. They told Schmalzriedt that Lockwood needed to borrow money to ...

Binyamin Appelbaum: Why do we build houses in the same way we did 125 years ago?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

BUENA VISTA, Colo. — In 1969, the federal government announced that it would hand out millions of dollars in subsidies to companies willing to try something new: build houses in factories.Then as now, America was in the throes of a housing crisis. There weren’t enough places to live. Mass production provided Americans with abundant and cheap food, clothing, cars and other staples of material life. But houses were still hammered together by hand, on site. The federal initiative, Operation Breakthrough, aimed to drive up the production of housing — and to drive down the cost — by dragging the building industry into the 20th century.It didn’t work. Big companies, including Alcoa and General Electric, designed new kinds of houses, and roughly 25,000 rolled out of factories over the following decade. But none of the new homebuilders long survived the end of federal subsidies in the mid-1970s.Last year, only 2% of new single-family homes in the United States were built in factories. Two d...

5 things to know this Friday, December 29

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Happy Friday! According to Meteorologist Matt Mackie, we'll see more showers with temperatures floating around the high 40s. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! A suspicious package was dropped off at Schoharie County Court on Thursday containing an unknown powdery substance. The Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office says the powder was found to be a possibly hazardous substance. Also, the driver who struck the Maple Ave Bridge was issued a ticket under town code for failing to obey a traffic sign. The news comes a week after a tractor-trailer carrying compressed natural gas hit the bridge, causing a massive explosion. These stories, and more, are covered in your five things to know this Friday morning. 1. SCSO: Suspicious package leads to hazmat investigationA suspicious package was dropped off at Schoharie County Court on Thursday containing an unknown powdery substance. The Schoharie County Sheriff’s Office says the...

Francis Howell District faces backlash over elective course controversy

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. -- The students of Francis Howell will still have access to black history and literature instruction next year, despite recent changes to elective courses. The school board's decision to eliminate social justice standards from these courses last week sparked concerns, but assurances have been made regarding the availability of black history and literature electives in the upcoming fall semester.The board is introducing a new curriculum described as rigorous and largely politically neutral. This shift in direction has raised skepticism among some parents, who question the sudden change in the board's stance. What to know about Mizzou’s Cotton Bowl game and how to watch In response to the board's decision to remove social justice standards, the NAACP has been actively advocating for the reinstatement of these courses. They organized a meeting to strategize protests against the board's move, effective from July 1 to 24. The school board, in a statement to Fox ...

St. Louis Police seek assistance in finding missing 32-year-old Brittany Webb

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Police Department's Missing Persons Unit is seeking assistance in locating 32-year-old Brittany Webb, who was reported missing from St. Louis City on December 20, 2023, by her family.According to reports, Webb's mother last heard from her on November 15, 2023, and grew concerned about her whereabouts when she failed to appear for the Christmas holiday.During Thanksgiving, Webb's mother tried contacting her via phone, but a man answered, claiming to know Webb without providing further details. Following attempts by the police to trace Webb's phone, it was revealed that it had been turned off.Brittany Webb is described as a white female, standing at 5'3" and weighing 130 lbs. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Missing Persons Unit at 314-444-5738.

St. Louis wakes up to a blanket of snow: Friday forecast and weekend outlook

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Light snow continues this Friday morning. Thanks to temperatures that have been at or above freezing, this snow continues to have a minimal impact as roads remain wet and white.Overnight, we’ve seen a bit more in the way of accumulations on grass to the northwest and west of metro St. Louis. A slightly more robust round of snow is dropping south at 3 a.m. and may bring some minor accumulations early this morning, again on grass, cars, or elevated surfaces. On Friday, snow will taper off to flurries for the afternoon, ending from north to south. The skies will stay cloudy. Temperatures will hold nearly steady in the 30s. Tonight, clouds will linger until daybreak. Overnight temperatures only fall to around 30.  More clearing into Saturday, partly cloudy and low 40s for highs. We’ll round out 2023 on Sunday with partly cloudy and slightly colder temperatures and highs in the upper 30s. New Year’s Day looks sunny and  cold.  

Ask Amy: A childfree woman struggles with friendship

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a woman in my late 30s. My husband and I don’t have children. Almost everyone we know does.We have demanding jobs with little time during the week to unwind.I love my friends’ kids, but I’m both exhausted from maintaining those friendships and deeply unsatisfied with their quality.On the weekends, in a search for some connection and rejuvenation, I find myself driving hours or taking expensive trips to other cities to visit friends, essentially expending a ton of effort for an hour or two with a friend, during which we have a few minutes of an adult conversation.These friends don’t have any capacity to travel to me because they have young kids, and while I don’t expect that, I’m feeling sad and neglected.I’ve stopped making the effort as much as I used to — I need time to recharge, and these visits are really depleting.We have tried very hard to make new friends nearby, as well. This is going OK, although even these friends are also having babies and cannot enga...

Nearly 5 million blenders recalled for unsafe blades, dozens of burn injuries

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

BlendJet is recalling about 4.8 million of its portable blenders over laceration and fire hazards after receiving dozens of reports of injuries, federal regulators said Thursday.This photo provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows a BlendJet 2 Portable Blender. BlendJet is recalling about 4.8 million of its portable blenders over laceration and fire hazards after receiving dozens of reports of injuries, federal regulators said Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP) BlendJet 2 Portable Blenders can overheat or catch fire, according to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and their blender blades can break off during use.There have been 329 reports of blades breaking during use to date, the CPSC said, as well as 17 additional reports of overheating or fires that resulted in about $150,000 of property damage claims. The company has also received 49 reports of minor burn injuries and one reported laceration in...

Ex-CHP officer who hit and killed pedestrian had unknown vision impairment

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

Five days before an off-duty CHP motorcycle officer hit and killed a pedestrian in Long Beach, he went to a hospital emergency room complaining of distorted vision in one eye, according to newly retrieved medical records.Now-former Officer Alfredo Gutierrez’s medical condition was not known by prosecutors or jurors during his misdemeanor trial in May for the 2019 death of 24-year-old Cezannie Mount.Gutierrez, who hit Mount while riding to work at 4:40 a.m., was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter because he was traveling at nearly 70 mph in a 40-mph zone.The trial ended in a hung jury, and the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office announced it would not seek a retrial, partially to spare Mount’s family from another protracted proceeding.Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said his office would have introduced Gutierrez’s eye condition as evidence if prosecutors had known about it.“It could have been highly relevant to our case because driving at high speeds in the dark...

Joe Flacco’s improbable season continues as Browns clinch playoff berth

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:12:29 GMT

By TOM WITHERS  | AP Sports WriterCLEVELAND — Joe Flacco has turned a seemingly cursed season into a charmed one.Cleveland’s quarterback for just over a month, Flacco passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns and the Browns clinched an unlikely playoff berth – just their second since 2002 – despite numerous injuries this season with a 37-20 victory over the New York Jets on Thursday night.The Browns (11-5) are assured of at least a wild-card berth and still have a chance to win the AFC North and maybe the conference’s No. 1 overall seed, something that seemed unfathomable just weeks ago as major injuries piled up.But things have changed since Flacco arrived.The 38-year-old quarterback improved to 4-1 as a starter with the Browns, who plucked the Super Bowl 47 MVP off his couch in New Jersey last month to hopefully rescue their season. He’s done that and more.In the final minutes, Browns fans chanted “Flac-co! Flac-co!” to a quarterback they once reviled with Baltimore and now revere...