Hunter finds body in rural Mankato

MANKATO (AP) — Authorities are investigating after a hunter reported finding a body in the woods near Mankato.

Deputies were called to the area northeast of Highway 83 on Thursday.

Authorities do not know the name and identity of the person. The Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office says there is no threat to the public.

Investigators from the sheriff’s office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are investigating with help from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Austin to host Pheasant Opener

AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz will lead the festivities as the southern Minnesota community of Austin hosts the ninth annual Minnesota Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.

It’s Walz’s first pheasant opener as governor, though he previously attended as a guest of Gov. Mark Dayton when Walz was still a congressman. He helped dedicate a 140-acre future wildlife management area Friday, then attended a community banquet.

Hunters will take to the field this morning. There will be a dog parade and dock dog jumping demonstration in downtown Austin in the afternoon, followed by further festivities at the Mower County Fairgrounds and Austin VFW.

The Department of Natural Resources says its annual survey indicates Minnesota’s pheasant population is down from last year, but birds are still abundant in some areas.

FBI: Woman kidnapped girl

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Federal authorities say a South Carolina woman kidnapped a girl from Minnesota and sexually assaulted her.

Citing an FBI affidavit, news outlets report 23-year-old Katrina Marie Aliff was arrested last month on charges including aggravated child sexual abuse. The affidavit says Aliff met the girl, who’s younger than 12, on the messaging app Amino in March. It says the girl’s father found the messages last month and destroyed the phone, but the girl and Aliff continued to chat through a tablet.

It says Aliff picked up the St. Paul girl days later and drove them to her Greenville home, where authorities say they were found the next day.

A judge ordered Aliff to undergo mental evaluation. Online jail records say she’s being held at a New York corrections center.