The Howard Lake Fire Department, with mutual aid from Winsted Fire Department supplying full equipment and Cokato Fire Department bringing water, responded to a house fire in Victor Township Monday evening on 110th Street, according to Howard Lake Fire Chief Joe Drusch.
No one was in the home, owned by Craig Kieser, at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time and is under investigation, according to Drusch.
Two metro-area men have been charged with arson, and a third suspect will likely be charged, in connection with a Howard Lake house fire on Sixth Avenue March 16, according to the Howard Lake Police Department.
Michael Hartsook Gotsch, 21, of Spring Lake Park and Michael Todd Rolla, 20, of Blaine have been formally charged with arson, while a third suspect is awaiting a court date, according to Howard Lake Police Chief Dan Lang.
“Through the investigation, it was discovered that the suspects set the house fire in Howard Lake to concentrate units in Howard Lake,†Lang said. “They then used that diversion to burglarize the banks in Cokato.”
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The Mcleod County Parks will officially open this Thursday, May 1. Park hours are from 8am to 9pm. All six parks will be open at that time. They are Buffalo Creek (Glencoe), Swan Lake (Silver Lake), William May Park (Winsted), Stahl’s Lake (Hutchinson), Lake Marion (Brownton), and Piepenburg (Hutchinson), accoding to KDUZ. Officials say camping facilities are available at Lake Marion Park and at Piepenburg Park. Mcleod County Park Shelters at selected parks will also be available on a reservation basis. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Mcleod County Park Office at 800-587-0770.
As of April 26, Wright County beaches and seasonal parks are open for the summer. These include Beebe Lake, Otsego, Clearwater/Pleasant, Collinwood, and Schroeder.
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office and the Chanhassen Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire April 23 in the 800 block of Lake Drive East in the city of Chanhassen, according to a press release. The building sustained a moderate level of damage.
Assisting with the fire was the Eden Prairie Fire Department, Victoria Fire Department, and Ridgeview Ambulance. The Carver County Sheriff’s Office and the Chanhassen Fire Department are investigating the cause of the fire.
By Roz Kohls
Staff Writer
Three men were arrested Wednesday after a raid by 12 law enforcement officers of an apartment at the corner of Millard Avenue and Third Street in Cokato.
Michael Rolla, 20, of Blaine and Jeremy Fuller, 18, of Coon Rapids were arrested for allegedly burglarizing a rural home early Tuesday at 60th Street, Howard Lake, in a home invasion.
Kyle Posusta, 24, was arrested for allegedly possessing the stolen items in his apartment at 300 Millard Ave. Apt. 2, Cokato, according to Wright County Sheriff’s Sgt. Becky Howell.
About an hour before the home invasion in rural Howard Lake, a 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe was stolen from an apartment complex on Jackson Avenue in Cokato, she said.
The investigation into the incident is no way complete by Thursday, but officers suspected the two incidents were connected, Howell said.
The homeowner in the Victor Township burglary reported he awoke, and heard the suspects in his home. The homeowner chased one suspect down a flight of stairs into his yard, firing shots at the suspect. The suspect got into a Chevrolet Tahoe and fled the area, according to the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
The homeowner went back inside his house and found the second suspect had climbed out a window. Numerous items were missing from the house. Deputies were unable to find the suspects in the area.
The Chevrolet Tahoe was found in the afternoon in the parking lot next to Cokato Elementary School, and there was a bullet hole in the vehicle.
That evening, the sheriff’s office received a report there was a possible car prowler in Cokato. Deputies responded to the area and apprehended Rolla. Rolla allegedly provided information to deputies about the Posusta apartment.
The Wright County Sheriff’s Office received permission to execute a search warrant from Judge Dale Mossey of the apartment for the stolen items and other illegal contraband, she said.
Law enforcement officers, some wearing bullet proof vests, suddenly swarmed into the apartment building for the search. Exits from the scene were blocked by officers or their squad cars.
Officers allegedly found the majority of stolen property, guitars, speakers, electric guitar equipment and the victim’s cell phone. Some drug paraphernalia was allegedly recovered also, Howell said.
Rolla was charged with first degree burglary. Fuller was charged with probable cause burglary in the first degree. They also are being investigate for previous burglaries at First National Bank and the State Bank of Cokato.
Posusta was arrested for probably cause possession of stolen property, according to the sheriff’s office.
More information will be released to the public as the investigation continues, Howell said.
A rural Hutchinson couple was found dead at their residence on Lace Avenue, just west of Silver Lake at 7:21 p.m. April 13, according to a McLeod County Sheriff’s Office report.
Donald Francis Czeck, 41, and Katrin Rose Czeck, 35, of rural Hutchinson were pronounced dead at the scene after investigators from the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office arrived.
An initial investigation has revealed that Katrin succumbed to multiple stab wounds, and Donald died as a result of injuries consistent with a self-inflicted wounds, according to the report.
The incident is currently under investigation by the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Other agencies that assisted at the scene were the Minnesota State Patrol, the Silver Lake Police Department, and the Hutchinson Ambulance Service.
Paul Johnson-Reuben will be laid to rest tomorrow at Fort Snelling National Cemetery after funeral services at Buffalo Covenant Church in Buffalo. Visitation will take place Thursday, April 10 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. with the funeral beginning at 11 a.m., according to Richard Lammers of Peterson Chapel.
Visitation will also take place this evening from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Peterson Chapel located at 119 North Central Avenue in Buffalo.
Reuben was a private contractor for security when he was kidnapped with several other Americans in Iraq 16 months ago. All but one of the contractors kidnapped with him have been accounted for; with all being murdered by Iraqi extremists.
A house fire at 708 Eighth Avenue in Howard Lake early Saturday morning left the owner, Dale “Gup” Montgomery, with second and third degree burns, according to Howard Lake Police Chief Dan Lang.
Montgomery was taken via Howard Lake ambulance to Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia, then airlifted to the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he is listed in satisfactory condition as of today.
The fire was ignited by a pellet corn stove in the entryway of the house, and the house and its contents were a total loss, according to Lang.
A benefit fund has been set up in Montgomery’s name at Citizens State Bank at 609 Pacific Avenue, Waverly, MNÂ 55390. (763) 658-4417.
The cause of a house fire in Howard Lake March 16 has been ruled an arson by the Wright County Arson Investigation Team, the State Fire Marshall’s Office, and the Howard Lake Police Department, according to a press release from the Howard Lake Police Department.
After canvassing the neighborhood, the police department said it is still looking for more tips about the cause of the fire.
“The State Fire Marshall’s Office has offered a reward of $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the fire,†said Howard Lake Police Chief Dan Lang. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the Howard Lake Police Department at (320) 543-3670. Information will be kept confidential.
By Ivan Raconteur, Staff Writer
Carver County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three men on drug charges March 25.
Arrested were David Alan Hostutler, 41, of Bloomington, Herbert Wellington Carmen, 49, of Eden Prairie, and Mathias Russell Kreuser, 31, of Cologne. Continue reading ‘Three men arrested on drug charges in Carver County’
