Apple Valley | Rosemount
www.SunThisweek.com OPINION Toys for Tots deserves gifts U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, relates why the Twin Cities Toys for Tots drive deserves the support of area residents. Page 4A
THISWEEKEND
December 14, 2012 | Volume 33 | Number 42
Fire devastates condo complex Cause of Apple Valley fire remains unknown; investigation continues by Andrew Miller SUN THISWEEK
A fire ravaged an Apple Valley condominium complex the morning of Friday, Dec. 7, injuring two people and damaging eight units. Firefighters responded to the Valley Way Village condos on the 14800 block of Endicott Way, just northeast of the County Road 42-Pilot Knob Road intersection, at about 8:15 a.m. Apple Valley firefighters received assistance from Eagan and Rosemount fire crews as they spent the morning battling the raging four-alarm fire that had spread to all three floors of
the 16-unit complex. Two injuries were reported. An adult male resident of the condos was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation, officials said. A firefighter suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital after getting caught under a ceiling that caved in inside the complex. The firefighter is already back on duty, Apple Valley Fire Chief Nealon Thompson said Wednesday. Seven residents were displaced in the aftermath
of the fire as eight units at Valley Way Village were rendered uninhabitable. The other eight units at the complex, protected by a fire wall, were undamaged. The Red Cross is assisting with recovery efforts. As of press time Wednesday, the cause of the fire was still undetermined, according to Thompson. Investigation into the fire’s cause would likely continue into next week as officials interview occupants of the condo complex, Thompson said. Photo by Rick Orndorf
Andrew Miller can be reached Blue tarpaulins covered exposed portions of the Valley Way at andrew.miller@ecm-inc.com Village condominiums in the aftermath of the Dec. 7 fire or facebook.com/sunthisweek. that rendered eight of the building’s units uninhabitable.
Army officer proves mission possible Holiday magic in Lakeville SimpleGifts, the six-piece music ensemble founded by virtuoso guitarist Billy McLaughlin, comes to the Lakeville Area Arts Center next week. Page 19A
SPORTS
Eagles know challenge awaits Some believe Apple Valley’s wrestling program is due to take a step back. The Eagles beg to differ. Page 12A
ONLINE See photos from this past week’s holiday-related events. Send news items and story ideas to Sun Thisweek through the Reader News link at SunThisweek.com. Subscribe to Sun Thisweek’s news feed at facebook.com/ SunThisweek.
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Mark Weber’s message to his sons – a 224-page book written over six weeks
Inmate serving drug sentence was James Backstrom’s neighbor
by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK
Mark Weber says death is a powerful motivator. But the completion of his book “Tell My Sons” over six recent weeks is more about living than dying. The Rosemount resident and retired Minnesota Army National Guard lieutenant colonel who has been battling Stage 4 inoperable gastrointestinal cancer since he was diagnosed in June 2010 at age 38 lived up to the old Army slogan, “We do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day long,” to convert a lifelong of letters and journal entries into a book written as a letter to this three sons. “My collaborator is dumbfounded, which I must admit makes me feel a little giddy,” said Weber. “There’s just something about doing what others say cannot be done. … Even I can’t believe I pulled it off.” “Tell My Sons” was released Dec. 7 and since that time, Weber has honored
by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK
SUN THISWEEK
An Apple Valley woman is one of two suspects charged in federal court last week with the October armed robbery of a Northfield hotel. Julie Ann Campana, 23, is accused of robbing the America’s Best Value Inn in Northfield with accomplice Eric Wade Forcier, 27, of Farmington, on Oct. 29. According to the criminal complaint, Campana and Forcier used a .32-caliber pistol during the robbery and took approximately $100 in cash along with three cordless phones. The Northfield News reported that Forcier entered the hotel wearing a black ski mask at about 2:45 a.m. Oct. 29 and robbed a hotel employee with a handgun.
several interview requests, including an appearance in studio on Minnesota Public Radio, and will speak at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, at the Robert Trail Library in Rosemount. During the Rosemount Area Arts Council event, Weber says he will share an empowering message about how he’s managed to do what he has with life
Police say Campana, who was identified in media accounts as Forcier’s ex-girlfriend, was the driver of the Pontiac Grand Prix that police stopped about 15 minutes after the robbery. While Campana was arrested without incident in the traffic stop, Forcier allegedly fled the scene, firing several shots from a handgun at a Minnesota State Patrol trooper and a Rice County sheriff’s deputy. This prompted a massive hours-long search by law enforcement that included a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter, 12 area SWAT teams and members of the Dakota and Rice county sheriff’s offices. Forcier was eventually found hiding in the bed See ROBBERY, 11A
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and with cancer, and why he thinks that ability is innate in everyone. “More than anything, it’s a focus not upon dying, but upon living with purpose,” he said. Weber’s book also seems to suggest two things that people can carry on in their own lives – one is talking to their children and grandchildren about their own
See WOODWARD, 11A
The magic number is 12
Photo submitted
Kassidy Palo (left) and Anja Dahnke, sixth-graders at Falcon Ridge Middle School in Apple Valley, have a lot in common – including their birthdays. The friends each celebrated their 12th birthday on Wednesday, Dec. 12. That’s right – Palo and Dahnke turned 12 on 1212-12. For Palo’s birthday, her family rented a limo for a holiday light tour on Wednesday evening; because of scheduling conflicts, Dahnke is waiting until next month to have a party with friends. The date of her postponed fiesta? Jan. 12, naturally.
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See WEBER, 8A
Photo submitted
BUY 2 GIFT CARDS &
experience and the power of journal and letter writing (often considered lost arts in this digital-based world). While his cancer diagnosis spurred him to undertake the project, it was a letter from his grandfather to his grandmother that confirmed the reason why.
A 49-year-old former Inver Grove Heights man and Rice County Jail inmate was found guilty of conspiracy to commit firstdegree premeditated murder after he tried to hire another man to kill Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom. The court found that John Stephen Woodward, who is about two years into an eight-year sentence on methamphetamine charges, tried to pay another inmate $10,000 to murder Backstrom. Woodward was acquitted of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder against Dakota County District Judge Rex Stacey, who presided over Woodward’s 2007 drug conviction, according to a Rice County complaint filed in September 2010, and of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault against a witness who
Lt. Col. Mark Weber of Rosemount stands with his family – wife Kristin and sons Matt, Noah and Joshua – after singing “Tell My Father” with Matt during the Army Birthday celebration at the Minnesota History Center.
Apple Valley woman charged in armed robbery of hotel by Andrew Miller
Man found guilty of plot to kill county attorney
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