Free Republic

A two-term Minnesota state senator facing a Republican primary challenger has confirmed reports that he had dinner with a gay adult film star. Sen. Paul Koering (KOHR'-ing) confirmed the meeting to the Brainerd Dispatch after several websites reported on it. The newspaper says Koering had dinner with Brandon Wilde at a Brainerd restaurant on Sunday. Wilde is described as a gay porn star in his Twitter profile and posted messages about the date on Twitter. Wilde did not immediately respond to a message sent through his Facebook account. Koering represents a conservative north-central Minnesota district that includes the cities of...

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal criminal complaint against DYLAN SHAKESPEARE ROBINSON, 22, charging him with aiding and abetting arson at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct. ROBINSON, who was arrested on June, 14, 2020, in Breckenridge, Colorado, made his initial appearance earlier today, before Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter in U.S. District Court in Denver. According to the allegations in the complaint, on the night of May 28, 2020, the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct was overrun and heavily damaged due to vandalism and arson. Investigators identified multiple separate fires had been started in the...

BRAINERD, Minn. — Residents in the Brainerd lakes area reported seeing flashes of light streaking across the sky and hearing a boom that rattled homes and buildings, and meteorologists say the reports are consistent with a meteor event. The reports started flowing in to authorities on Friday between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., the Brainerd Dispatch reported (http://bit.ly/1cPPrbq ). Some residents said they saw a turquoise streak light up the sky, and others say a bright light illuminated their homes, even darkened rooms where the drapes were closed.

You could call Chrissy Nakonsky a candidate of change. Until about five years ago, Nakonsky, who recently announced she's running for the Minnesota Legislature and will seek the Republican endorsement in her Brainerd-area district, was known as Jeff Nakonsky. Nakonsky said the 2006 reelection of the state's only openly gay Republican legislator, Sen. Paul Koering of nearby Fort Ripley, gives her hope that Brainerd-area voters won't deny her a legislative seat because of her gender change. "If people vote for or against me, it should be because of my values," Nakonsky said. While there are about 400 openly gay or...

WESTWOOD ONE LAUNCHES THE MONICA CROWLEY SHOW --New Program to Air Saturdays, Noon - 3 p.m. ET-- Beginning Saturday, April 1, 2006 New York, NY Monday, Mar 20, 2006 - Westwood One (NYSE: WON) is proud to announce the national launch of The Monica Crowley Show, the three-hour talk program hosted by author and news personality Monica Crowley. The show begins Saturday, April 1, 2006, and will air from noon to 3 p.m. ET. The Monica Crowley Show will debut on major market stations across the country including: WABC-AM New York, WTKK-FM Boston and WTNT-AM Washington DC. The show will...

Associated Press BRAINERD, Minn. - Alma Esser gets around in a wheelchair and can't see very well, but the 95-year-old knew exactly what crashed through her bedroom window. "I knew it was a deer," she said. "It was right in front of me." Esser was sitting in her living room Sunday when she heard a crash. A few seconds later, the deer wandered into her living room. Esser made it out of her apartment and yelled for help after the deer got tangled in some curtains. She found a minister who was giving an Easter sermon. "I said, 'There's a...

<p>BRAINERD, Minn. -- Roger Awsumb, star of the ''Casey Jones'' children's shows on Twin Cities television from the 1950s into the early 70s, died today. He was 74.</p> <p>Awsumb, who lived on Bass Lake in Merrifield, near Brainerd, had complained of having chest pains and was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Joseph's Medical Center around 5 a.m. He had been in poor health and was recently diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.</p>