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| KRWC News 8/24/03 - 8/31/03 |
Heavy Travel Despite High Gas Prices
With the price at the gas pumps typically running more than 30 cents a gallon higher than last Labor Day, you might suspect that less people would be traveling. That's not the case according to the AAA Auto Club. Officials say in fact that despite the higher cost, Labor Day holiday weekend travel is expected to be the highest in at least 9 years, with some 33.4 million people surveyed expecting to travel more than 50 miles from home. Gas prices in the Twin Cities metro area are averaging $1.76 per gallon, more than 32 cents per gallon higher than at this point last year. Higher crude oil prices, lower wholesale supplies, and high demand is keeping prices up according to energy officials. |
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Investigation Closed in Car / Pedestrian Fatality
Authorities say that they have closed their investigation into the death of a Meeker County man who was struck by a car on U.S. Highway 12 near Montrose earlier this summer. You may remember that a 9-1-1 call was received by the Wright County Sheriff's Department around 4:30 AM on Sunday, July 28th. The caller said that they believed a man was laying on the highway just west of Montrose. By the time deputies reached the scene, an eastbound car had struck 32-year-old Brian Bratvold of Litchfield. An investigation was launched to determine whether or not Bratvold may have suffered injuries prior to being struck by the vehicle. The investigation however did not suggest foul play. |
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July Unemployment Down Slightly in Wright County
Mid-summer jobless numbers in Wright County were down slightly from June. The new statistics from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development show Wright County's non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July was 4.3 percent, down 3/10ths of a percent from the previous month. While the jobless percentage went down, the number of people in the Wright County labor force increased to more than 54 thousand persons for the third time this year. Unemployment numbers for the summer of 2003 have continued to run close to the same percentages of a year ago. |
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Pastor Returns Home After Surviving Plane Crash
A Wright County man who survived the crash of a small plane several weeks ago has returned home. Pastor Joel Swedberg of Howard Lake suffered major injuries when the small plane he was in crashed shortly after take-off from the Winsted airport on July 16th. The same crash claimed the life of another man aboard that plane. Pastor Swedberg had been hospitalized for weeks at a Twin Cities hospital, but returned home this week. Pastor Swedberg says he hopes to return to the pulpit at the St. John's Lutheran Church in Howard Lake sometime in October. |
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Rape Suspect to be Back in Court
The man charged with the rape of a Buffalo woman earlier this year will make another court appearance this week. 20-year-old William Bell of St. Paul is charged with the rape and assault of a woman at a Buffalo apartment complex parking lot in early January. Recently, defense counsel for Bell dropped their request for a hearing which would have challenged the validity of DNA evidence in the case. The defense did request a change of venue in the case, saying that because of publicity in the case, their client could not get a fair trial in Wright County. The judge in the case denied the request, but did agree to the possibility of re-visiting the issue during the jury selection phase. Bell's next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday. |
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