CHIPPEWA COUNTY

Food scientist with Minnesota roots created Cool Whip, Pop Rocks and Tang

Tom Cherveny — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:08:00 GMT

RAYMOND, Minn. — No Christmas meal is complete without dessert, and in many homes, it’s virtually become a tradition of its own to top the holiday pies and treats with Cool Whip.

It may surprise many to know that the food scientist who invented the popular whipped topping started life as a child in Raymond, Minnesota. He had a big role in developing the quick-setting, modern version of Jell-O we know today, which is certainly another holiday favorite for many Midwesterners.

The late William A. Mitchell was a prolific inventor of many popular convenience foods and treats. Cool Whip, Tang and Pop Rocks candy are the best-known among them. He invented powdered egg whites, which can be found on grocery shelves today under many labels.

He is often praised as one of the most prolific inventors during his career with General Foods in New York.

His first product of some renown was called “Mitchell Mud” by U.S. infantrymen in World War II. He developed the tapioca substitute due to the disruption of cassava supplies during the war, according to accounts of Mitchell’s career.

His career with General Foods spanned 35 years and coincided with America’s growing love for convenience foods. His best-known inventions became part of popular culture in the 1960s and 1970s.

Mitchell was born Oct. 21, 1911, in Raymond to William and Florence (Fletter) Mitchell. It’s believed he was born on a farm in Woods Township, Chippewa County, according to research by Bob Larson at the Kandiyohi County Historical Society.

Larson said he could not find any records indicating what brought the family to rural Minnesota. Nor could he find any records indicating that other relatives were living in the area, or other family who may have stayed.

The family shows up in census data as living in Colorado in 1920, although they may have moved years earlier.

It may be just an urban legend, but some in the Raymond area believe William Mitchell was no more than 3 months old when the family moved, according to Diane Macht of Raymond, who helped found the Raymond Museum. She said it is difficult to find much information about the Mitchell family’s local roots.

Unfortunately, she said many are probably not aware of Mitchell or his ties to the area. The community of Raymond has not really made a point of celebrating him as a native son, she said.

“For us at the museum, it’s a bit of an oddity,” she said. “I’d love to have more information.”

Accounts of Mitchell’s life describe his childhood years in Colorado as the most formative in his later career. Magazine and newspaper stories of his life describe him as a hard-working youth. As a teenager, he ran the sugar crystallization tanks at the American Sugar Beet Company in Colorado, according to a Wikipedia page on Mitchell.

The young Mitchell hopped a train to get to Cotner College in Lincoln, Nebraska, to begin his college studies, according to an account of his life in the Smithsonian magazine by author Emily Matchar. He earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Nebraska. He went to work at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Lincoln, where he was badly burned in a lab explosion, according to Matchar’s article in the Smithsonian.

Mitchell and his wife of 60 years, Ruth, were parents to two daughters and five sons. Their youngest daughter, Cheryl Mitchell, also became a food scientist and is well-known for developing plant-based milks.

Mitchell invented Pop Rocks while working as a research chemist at General Foods, according to his obituary, which described the carbonated treat as “the hit candy craze of the ’70s.” He held more than 70 patents, but Pop Rocks “gave him a measure of fame and was the most personally satisfying,” the obituary reads.

Pop Rocks candy was invented in 1956 and patented in 1961. Mitchell was looking for a way to make instant carbonated soda by somehow trapping carbon dioxide into candy tablets, according to the website of the current Pop Rocks brand. That experiment did not turn out, and the formula was shelved for 20 years. According to the company, another chemist came across the formula, reworked it a little and turned it into Pop Rocks.

For the uninitiated, the Pop Rocks company describes the candy as “small pieces of hard candy that have been gasified with carbon dioxide under superatmospheric pressure. When these gasified sugar granules come in contact with moisture, in someone’s mouth or in water, milk, soft drinks, etc., the candy dissolves and the gas retained inside the carbon dioxide bubbles is released, causing characteristic crackling and fizzing sound.”

Startling but not dangerous, the popping candy became the subject of “exploded kid” rumors as early as 1979, four years after the product went to market, according to the Pop Rocks website.

General Foods took out ads, wrote letters to schools and sent Mitchell on the road in a publicity tour to explain that Pop Rocks “generate less gas than half a can of soda and ingesting them could induce nothing worse in the human body than a hearty, non-life-threatening belch,” the Pop Rocks FAQ web page reads.

A full-page ad in the form of a letter from Mitchell to parents, including a photo of him surrounded by children, was published in dozens of newspapers on Feb. 4, 1979. In it, Mitchell notes that with seven children and 14 grandchildren of his own, safety is a real concern of his.

“My seven kids grew up with Pop Rocks. I invented it in 1956 and I would make a little bit of it every once in a while to have it around the house for birthday parties and other fun occasions,” the letter reads in part. “I became very popular around our neighborhood!”

Within a year, the candy had disappeared, according to an Arizona Republic story.

“General Foods withdrew (Pop Rocks) from the market because it didn’t fit in with the long-term corporate strategy,” Paul Steidler, an account executive for Clarke & Company, said in the Arizona Republic account by Linda Helser.

The story published March 5, 1987, was written about the limited reintroduction of the candy in Arizona. Clarke & Company was the public relations firm promoting the candy at that time.

According to Helser’s account, the candy had disappeared in 1980, and a Buffalo, New York, company in April 1985 obtained the rights to produce and distribute Pop Rocks.

The Arizona Republic story published March 5, 1987, about Pop Rocks by West Central Tribune on Scribd

According to the Pop Rocks website, the candy was briefly discontinued in the mid-1980s. It is again a national brand, and Pop Rocks Inc. today is based in Atlanta.

Mitchell also developed the flavored drink known as Tang in 1957, but it was not a commercial success at its start. That came later, after NASA sent Tang into orbit in 1962 with astronaut John Glenn aboard a Mercury spacecraft.

It was in 1967, or five years after Glenn’s historic space flight, that Mitchell patented a quick-set form of Jell-O, according to “How Stuff Works.” The new Jell-O could be made with cold water instead of hot water.

Not all of his products met with fame. A coffee substitute known as Dacopa, made from dahlia tubers, did not find success.

Mitchell died at age 92 on July 26, 2004, in Stockton, California. His wife, Ruth, preceded him in death on June 2, 1999, at age 85.

Feb. 4, 1979, Pop Rocks ad by West Central Tribune on Scribd

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Charges filed, $1M bail set for man in standoff following U of M threat

Tom Cherveny — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 21:44:48 GMT

OLIVIA, Minn. — Bail was set at $1 million for the Watson man who surrendered to law enforcement after a standoff with a SWAT team outside of his home on Jan. 11.

The Chippewa County Attorney’s Office filed a felony charge of ineligible possession of ammunition and two felony charges of threats of violence against Joseph Mark Rongstad, 41, on Thursday, Jan. 18.

District Judge Laurence Stratton set bail after a brief hearing Thursday in district court in Renville County.

Rongstad remains in custody in the Chippewa County Jail.

He became the focus of statewide attention after allegedly posting threats against students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus on Jan. 11. According to the complaint, he allegedly began making threatening posts on his company’s Facebook page at 12:38 a.m.

Law enforcement had begun searching for him the day before. Social media posts he made on Jan. 10 suggested he was possibly having a mental health crisis.

The criminal complaint alleges that after his arrest, Rongstad told an investigator at the Chippewa County Jail that he did not have a gun, nor did he have any plans to travel to the University of Minnesota campus, as stated in the social media posts.

The complaint alleges that he told the investigator he wanted to get the attention of the Secret Service and “the Klein family.” He referred to the family as being involved with the National Security Agency; although he did not know anyone in the family, he told the investigator.

Early in the interview, Rongstad “talked about how back when he was the Mayor of Watson, he started catching onto government stuff, such as mind reading, MK Ultra-mind control, and shadow government,” the complaint stated.

Rongstad has prior criminal convictions for erratic behavior, including driving a tractor into the town’s Lutheran church, firing a rifle through the sunroof of a vehicle “to stop corpses,” and burglarizing the former mayor’s home as he and his family slept.

A search of Rongstad’s home in Watson following his arrest led to the seizure of these items:

Letters written on paper (as seen in the Facebook posts) A black case with unidentified pills Handmade envelopes with writing on them Several boxes and rounds of (shotgun) ammunition

The social media posts by Rongstad that are cited in the complaint also include references to the district judges in Chippewa and Yellow Medicine counties, as well as law enforcement officers.

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University of Minnesota issues alert for Watson man after alleged threat

Tom Cherveny — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 17:17:08 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — A search is underway for a Watson man with a history of chemical dependency and mental health issues after he allegedly posted a threat on social media “to start killing kids” on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota.

The U issued an alert for Joseph Mark Rongstad, 41, alleging he posted the threat early Thursday.

Chippewa County Sheriff Derek Olson posted on Facebook that his department is conducting an active investigation in response to the alleged threat. Sheriff’s officers were unable to locate Rongstad at his Watson home, WCCO News reported.

Students are on break at the University of Minnesota, but faculty and staff are on campus, according to Twin Cities media accounts. The University's Department of Public Safety in an online safety notification said buildings are accessible only by key card, and employees are encouraged to work from home. Students and all others are advised to stay clear of campus.

Rongstad, who once served as Watson mayor, has a long history of troubles with the law in the area.

He was convicted for a 2016 burglary in which he was accused of breaking into the home of then-mayor Kyle Jones as the mayor and his young family were asleep. In 2021, he was convicted for driving a John Deere tractor with a front loader through a side door into the Watson Lutheran Church. He was found asleep in the running tractor inside the church.

Rongstad also has a history of drug-related offenses and had been ordered by the court to receive care after a mental health assessment.

He had been operating his own business, All Time Curbing & Landscaping in Watson.

The alert from the University of Minnesota describes him as 6 feet tall, weighing 195 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

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Muzzleloader hunter made second shot count to drop three-antlered trophy buck

Tom Cherveny — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 16:11:30 GMT

GRANITE FALLS — They say the world belongs to those who show up.

In this case it’s a very rare deer that belongs to Chase Mortenson for showing up.

It’s a funky-looking deer at that, with a third and middle antler that gave this buck the moniker of “unicorn.” Mortenson, of Madison, dropped the 11-point buck around 4:45 p.m. Sunday just west of Granite Falls.

It was the second day of the muzzleloader deer season. Chase Mortenson had taken up an invitation from his uncle Scott Mortenson to come out and hunt on his land between the city of Granite Falls and the Granite Falls Energy plant.

Chase said his brother declined the invitation to come out with him, and regrets it now.

Had his brother came out, Chase said his brother would have been the one in the blind from which he was able to harvest this big buck.

As it was, Chase was hunkered down in the blind as strong winds ushered in eye-tearing temperatures. The blustery winds didn’t seem to bother the two big bucks that Mortenson saw around 100 to 150 yards from his blind. He watched an eight-point buck and the unicorn on the move in an open hay field.

Mortenson knew of the unicorn. One of the trail cams set up on his uncle’s property had captured an image of him earlier this fall. It turns out that another trail cam also had gotten an image of the buck, but the angle of the camera shot did not reveal the odd, middle antler.

The eight-pointer was the bigger of the two bucks in front of him, but the choice was obvious for this hunter. Mortenson aimed his new, CVA Accura MR-X muzzleloader at the “unicorn” and fired. He missed.

A muzzleloader provides one shot. Mortenson reloaded with the only other shot he had with him.

Surprisingly, the two bucks moved toward him. The “unicorn” stopped at a licking tree. It’s a tree where bucks will leave their scent, or calling card, and possibly learn if other deer have been visiting the site.

Mortenson said he took his second shot at the buck in the range of 75 to 80 yards. He thought he missed again. When he investigated, he found a pool of blood and just about 15 yards away, the fallen buck.

“Something I will never forget,” he said of this hunting adventure.

Of course, he’s having this trophy mounted.

It’s his understanding that odd antlers that sometimes occur on bucks are the result of some prior accident that interfered with the blood flow to the pedicles from which antlers grow. Most typically, an injury to a leg might interfere with a corresponding left- or right-side antler’s development.

Mortenson said that he can only speculate. This buck could have been injured at some point in his life by a motor vehicle. Or perhaps, this buck had been struck when young by an eagle. Whatever the cause, it’s likely it experienced an injury that affected the blood flow or split one of its pedicles.

No matter the cause, three-antlered deer are considered very rare.

While images of the buck are lighting up social media this week, Mortenson left for a deer hunting trip in South Dakota. He’s hoping to harvest a trophy, but admits he’s not really expecting to best the one he got last Sunday by showing up for the opportunity relatively close to home.

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Minn. BCA IDs Granite Falls man shot by officers attempting arrest

Dale Morin — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 23:46:40 GMT

ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed the identity of the man shot during an attempted arrest outside Granite Falls on Sept. 27.

According to a news release issued Monday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Dylan McKaide Anderson-Butler, 23, of Granite Falls, was shot once. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis for treatment of serious injuries.

An initial news release reported he was in stable condition. Anderson-Butler is expected to recover from his injuries and has since been discharged from the hospital into police custody, according to the BCA.

A public information officer with the Minnesota BCA confirmed in an email to the West Central Tribune that Anderson-Butler is currently in custody at the Oak Park Heights Correctional Facility.

He was described as a "wanted Minnesota Department of Corrections fugitive" in the initial news release from Chippewa County Sheriff Derek Olson.

The BCA on Monday also identified the agency employing two deputies who deployed service weapons.

The two officers who used force during the incident are both deputies who work in an undercover capacity, according to the Swift County Sheriff’s Office, and are members of the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force. In accordance with Minnesota statute, the Minnesota BCA was prohibited by the Sheriff’s Office from releasing their identities. Both are on standard administrative leave.

According to the BCA, one deputy fired a department-issued rifle and the other deputy deployed his Taser stun gun.

A preliminary investigation showed members of the Drug and Gang Task Force from Meeker, Swift and Kandiyohi counties were working to arrest Anderson-Butler on a warrant. According to the release, they located a vehicle in which he was a passenger and conducted a traffic stop.

When the car stopped, Anderson-Butler got out of the car with what appeared to be a gun in his waistband, according to officers, and ran toward the Granite Falls City Cemetery.

Officers ran after him, and at one point, a deputy deployed his Taser and the other officer fired his rifle.

Sheriff Olson in the initial news release had said Anderson-Butler was armed and refused to follow commands. During the apprehension, a member of the task force shot him.

According to the release from the BCA, crime scene personnel recovered a handgun and a controlled substance at the scene. Task force members were not wearing body cameras, nor did squad car cameras capture the shooting.

The BCA is actively investigating the incident at the request of the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office.

Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings without a charging recommendation to the Chippewa County Attorney’s Office for review.

Anderson-Butler’s public criminal history shows two previous prison bookings for drug possession charges in Chippewa and Yellow Medicine counties. He was sentenced in March of 2020 in Yellow Medicine County District Court to 68 months of prison with credit for 164 days served.

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Minnesota Department of Corrections fugitive shot outside Granite Falls

Staff reports — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:10:44 GMT

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — A suspect is reported to be in stable condition after being shot near Granite Falls by an officer with the CEE-VI Drug Task Force on Wednesday afternoon.

Chippewa County Sheriff Derek Olson said in a news release that the man was transported to a metropolitan hospital, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported he is in stable condition. He has not been identified.

Officers with the CEE-VI task force were attempting to apprehend a wanted Minnesota Department of Corrections fugitive near Granite Falls at approximately 3:36 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27. During the attempted apprehension, the man ran from his vehicle to the rural Granite Falls City Cemetery, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

“The man was armed and refused to follow commands. During the apprehension, a member of the task force shot the man. Emergency medical services were dispatched, provided medical care, and took the man to a metropolitan hospital,” the news release stated.

The Minnesota BCA arrived on the scene and the investigation is ongoing.

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Police confirm identity of body found in downtown Montevideo

Staff reports — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 18:34:21 GMT

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — Police officially identified Mitchell Bruce Twite, a local bartender, as the man whose body was found Monday morning in Montevideo.

According to a news release issued Thursday, Sept. 21, by the Montevideo Police Department, the 69-year-old Twite was found with a stab wound. The suspicious death is under investigation; however, the official cause remains undetermined.

Police stated there is no known threat to the public, and the department is actively investigating the case with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Twite was unofficially identified after Inn Like Flinn's, the bar where he worked, posted about the incident Monday morning on its Facebook page. A candlelight vigil was held in his honor by the local community Tuesday night.

According to an initial news release, Twite was found by a postal worker around 6:30 a.m. Monday in the grassy area next to the post office parking lot in the 300 block of First Street, across the street from the bar where he worked.

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'Flinn's family' comes together to remember bartender in Montevideo, Minnesota

Dale Morin — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 22:32:07 GMT

MONTEVIDEO — A crowd of around 150 people came to the “Flinn’s family funeral,” a term bartender Jamie Moore used to describe the Tuesday night vigil as she gave a eulogy for a man with whom she worked.

Mitch Twite, 69, of Montevideo, formerly of Dawson, was identified by Inn Like Flinn's bar as the man whose body was found near the post office in downtown Montevideo, just across the street from where he worked as a bartender.

Law enforcement has not officially identified the man, whose body was found with a stab wound around 6:30 a.m. Monday. Police said in a news release Monday there is no known threat to the public, and as of Wednesday afternoon had not provided any more information on the matter.

In her eulogy to Twite, Moore said, “his form of charm was telling you you’re the dumbest.” The crowd chuckled, “but he considered everyone family.”

After a shift ended, he was an easy man to find as he was often sitting at the corner of the bar in front of the First Street door with a shot of Jagermeister and a Busch Light.

“It’ll never be the same here without you,” Moore said.

She told the crowd to raise their glasses in a toast to Mitch before she said “see ya Tuesday,” a phrase Mitch was known for telling others whenever they would leave the bar.

“See ya Tuesday,” the crowd echoed before turning up their drink glasses. During the moment of silence for Twite, the lights went out. Those who did not have candles opted to use the flashlights on their phones.

Some vigil attendees recalled Twite as a man known for dishing out one-liners, or having a comeback to anyone willing to verbally joust with him.

He would talk to anyone who came in the bar. Given enough time, he was someone people confided in.

Sarcastic comments were Mitch’s method of connecting with people.

Carly Wilson, of Montevideo, a regular patron at Inn Like Flinn’s, said you could tell if what you said got to him. She explained Mitch would simply grin and his chest would puff up a little bit as he attempted to hide a faint smile that would eventually worm its way across his lips.

Twite was known as a "Wheel of Fortune" whiz, able to solve entire puzzles displayed on the TV game show with only two or three letters — a talent that annoyed or amazed others. He also was known to complete newspaper crossword puzzles in ink.

Cassie McKinley, also a bartender at Inn Like Flinn’s, said that Mitch didn’t own a car and would walk to work from his apartment in town.

As a result, she would often give him rides back home after a shift, or take him to buy groceries.

Stacy Ramberg, 39, of Montevideo, originally from Dawson, explained that the bar was her favorite place to go. She and Twite immediately bonded over the fact they were both from Dawson.

As it turned out, when the two kept talking, they found out Twite grew up as a neighbor to Ramberg's father.

“He told so many stories about my dad and my grandma,” Ramberg said, “He even graduated in the same class with my dad.”

Ramberg said for her, losing Twite was much like losing a family member. She said sometimes coming to the bar wasn’t about having a night out but finding solace in talking to Twite.

“Everytime I needed somewhere to go, I could always come here,” she said.

Dylan Donahue, 31, of Montevideo, was another regular who was known by staff and other patrons as a sort of son to Twite. As Donahue put it, he pretty much saw Twite from his 21st birthday onward.

Donahue would take to calling him "dad." It started as a joke, but later became an affectionate shorthand.

The two became close friends. Donahue said he was often the first person Twite would call whenever he needed something. “He did say he loved me a couple of times over the years,” Donahue said.

“Mitch was the man that made this bar,” Donahue said. He said he was devastated by the news Monday.

However, Tuesday night made for a better day simply because the bar was packed, busier than almost any other time it’s been open, according to Moore, all there to remember Mitch Twite, a man who had been their favorite bartender for 30 years.

Twite is survived by two sisters and a daughter.

“He was a local treasure who is now a local legend,” Wilson said.

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Montevideo woman sentenced to 7 years in overdose death

Dale Morin — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:48:50 GMT

OLIVIA, Minn. — A woman charged with third-degree murder for the 2021 overdose death of a 23-year-old Granite Falls woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in Renville County District Court.

Deja Denise Padilla, 21, of Montevideo, was sentenced to 84 months of prison.

Alexis Nicole Labatte died on Nov. 13, 2021, according to an emailed news release from Renville County Attorney Kelsie Kingstrom. She had been identified only by initials in court documents.

Judge Laurence Stratton privately reviewed a victim impact statement from Labatte's mother that “expressed the hurt the family is going through,” according to the news release.

According to court documents, Padilla and Labatte were related.

Kingstrom said Padilla did not give a statement during sentencing.

In the release, Kingstrom also expressed her sorrow for the family, and stated that she hoped that Padilla’s plea and sentencing bring some healing.

Judge Stratton gave Padilla credit for 210 days already served. A charge of third-degree controlled substance crime was dismissed.

Under Minnesota law, offenders are required to serve at least two-thirds of a sentence in custody and may be allowed to serve the remaining time on supervised release. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Padilla's expected release date from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee is Oct. 18, 2027.

Padilla was arrested in July 2022 in connection to Labatte's overdose death. According to West Central Tribune files, Padilla had eight other active warrants against her in five other counties at the time.

According to the criminal complaint, the Renville County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call reporting an overdose at a home southwest of Renville. The caller was later identified as Padilla, who reported an unconscious but still breathing female at the home. She also reported to law enforcement that she was no longer at the residence.

A deputy who spoke with the homeowner at the location was told there was no medical emergency.

Less than an hour later, another caller reported an unconscious female at the same residence. A different deputy arrived and found an unconscious woman in an upstairs bedroom. The deputy administered naloxone — an antidote to opioid overdose — and began CPR.

An ambulance arrived and assisted, but Labatte was pronounced dead at the scene.

A man at the home said he had forgotten Labatte was upstairs when he spoke to the first deputy. According to the complaint, he said that once he remembered, he and another male went upstairs and found her unconscious and called 911 before beginning CPR.

A preliminary autopsy summary from the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office said white powder wrapped in paper was found in her bra. That powder tested positive for fentanyl.

The final autopsy, released in January 2022, said the cause of death was the toxic effects of methamphetamine and fentanyl. Fentanyl, a DEA Schedule II synthetic morphine substitute, is 80 to 200 times as potent as morphine and is fast-acting, the toxicology report said.

During the investigation, law enforcement learned Padilla had allegedly been buying and selling methamphetamine.

It was also discovered that Padilla was linked to another reported overdose in Montevideo on Nov. 12, 2021. Montevideo Police Department officers successfully administered naloxone to a woman in that case, and she later stated she had purchased a gram of heroin from Padilla.

According to court records, another person interviewed by law enforcement stated they knew of five other overdoses allegedly tied to drugs sold by Padilla.

According to the complaint, witnesses at the scene of the Renville residence placed Padilla in the upstairs bedroom shortly before Labatte was found.

In an interview over the phone with law enforcement, Padilla said she noticed Labatte was "pretty messed up" and had begun slurring her words and "breathing weird." Padilla said Labatte was still breathing when she last saw her lying face down on the bed.

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Police, Minn. BCA investigating suspicious death in Montevideo

Staff reports — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 20:58:50 GMT

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. — Police are investigating a suspicious death after a man's body was found Monday in downtown Montevideo.

According to a news release from the Montevideo Police Department, a postal worker found the body around 6:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 18, in the grassy area next to the post office parking lot in the 300 block of First Street.

The man had a stab wound, the news release said. His name will be released once his identity has been confirmed and his family has been notified.

There is no known threat to the public, according to police.

The investigation is in the very early stages, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting the Montevideo Police Department.

A West Central Tribune reporter at the scene Monday morning said law enforcement officers from the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office also were at the scene.

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