MN Dept. of Veterans Affairs offers help

BLUE EARTH — Are you a veteran impacted by COVID-19? The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is accepting applications from Minnesota veterans who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible applicants must be:

1. A veteran as defined by MN Statute 197.447, or the surviving spouse (who has not remarried) of a deceased veteran, and

2. A Minnesota resident, and

3. Have been negatively impacted financially by COVID-19

There are three one-time grants available:

q Disaster Relief Grants in the amount of $1,000

q Special Needs Grants of up to $3,000 that are paid directly to a vendor on behalf of the veteran

q Distance Learning Support Grants in the amount of $3,000

For more information, visit MinnesotaVeteran.org/COVIDRelief. To apply, contact your local County Veterans Service Officer at MACVSO.org.

Wife, son charged in man’s death

SHAKOPEE (AP) — The wife and adult son of a Twin Cities area man who disappeared in 2013 have now been charged in his death.

Sixty-two-year-old Connie Herbst and 26-year-old Austin Herbst were arrested Thursday near their New Prague home in the death of Gary Herbst. A dog found his skull south of Barron, Wisconsin in December 2017 and brought it home to its owner. Barron County sheriff’s deputies found Herbst’s skeletal remains soon after.

Scott County Attorney Ron Hocevar tells the Star Tribune the son admitted Thursday to fatally shooting his father because he was abusive to him and his mother.

Man pleads guilty in police station fire

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to commit arson for helping set fire to a Minneapolis police station during civil unrest in the days following the death of George Floyd.

According to an indictment, Bryce Michael Williams, 26, of Staples, went to the Third Precinct building on May 28 where a crowd of hundreds gathered. At one point, the crowd began shouting, “Burn it down, burn it down” and a fence that surrounded the building was torn down.