St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page A5

LOCALSTATE Friday, February 28, 2014 5A ST. CLOUD TIMES www.sctimes.com Officials investigate death of girl in Watkins SCSU announces award winners for building partnerships in area room to play, and when she went to check on the girl about 20 minutes later, she found her unresponsive. The loft-style bed was raised about 45 inches high, with cubicles and drawers beneath the mattress. The girl was transported to Meeker Memorial Hospital. Hospital personnel tried to revive the child but were unsuccessful.

Watkins is about 25 miles southwest of St. Cloud. Palestinian refugee camp and came to America after attending high school in Bethlehem. Two years ago, he was one of a group of five Palestinians and five Israeli young people chosen to attend a peace-building internship in Washington, D.C. He volunteers for local and global initiatives such as Shades, a negotiation program he co-founded for young leaders in areas with political conflict, and SAWA, a website that allows people to crowdfund Israeli-Palestinian ties, a long-term partner of the university, has helped students learn through service-learning projects, internships and volunteer activities.

This fall, the organization hosted the first service-learning orientation for new St. Cloud State faculty members. Issa, Mueller and Catholic Charities will be honored April 16 during the Minnesota Campus Compact's 20th anniversary summit and awards luncheon at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Isolde Mueller, Presidents' Civic Engagement Steward Award. Mueller is a professor of foreign languages and literature. A St. Cloud State faculty liaison for service-learning, she was chosen for her dedication and service as a campus leader whose has supported faculty and students in a variety of civic engagement activities and partnerships. Catholic Charities of St.

Cloud, President's Community Partner Award. Catholic Chari- STAY UPDATED ON NORTHSTAR Metro Transit, which operates the Northstar rail line, has a new service that sends schedule updates via email or text message. Visit http:metrotransit.orgmy to set it up. LITCHFIELD Authorities are investigating the death of a 4-year-old child Wednesday in Watkins. According to a news release from Meeker County Sheriff Jeff Norlin, authorities received a 911 call about 5:45 p.m.

Wednesday that Anca Al-tenburg had found her daughter, Brianna Alten-burg, wedged between her bed and the wall. The mother reported that her daughter had gone to her upstairs bed- Cold From Page 3A and the lows are usually about 12 degrees. Wind chill values were an issue Thursday as well. A number of locations reported dangerous levels, including: St. Cloud: minus 38.

Rice: minus 45. Sartell: minus 37. Abduction From Page 3A later located the woman's empty vehicle and found the interior had been set on fire. The woman was treated at St. Cloud Hospital and released.

Investigators gathered surveillance video from areas where the woman believed she had been driven that night, but the video was of limited help, Hughes said. "The surveillance video isn't what we hoped it would be," he said. He said that investigators drove with the wom- Times staff report St. Cloud State University President Earl H. Potter III on Thursday announced the local recipients of the 2014 Minnesota Campus Compact Presidents' Awards.

The awards recognize leadership in building campus-community partnerships. Honorees are: Walid Issa, President's Student Leadership Award. Issa is a St. Cloud State University graduate and graduate student in applied economics who grew up in a Northstar From Page 1A Sweeney said the amount of oil freight on the Northstar corridor hasn't increased since delays began; only the weather has changed, he said. The harsh weather affects the trains' brakes, creates snow and ice buildups on the rail lines, and limits how long rail employees can work outside to make repairs, Sweeney said.

He said similar slowdowns have occurred this winter on rail lines in Chicago. "This winter has played havoc with all modes of transportation, and it's been very noticeable" with Northstar, Sweeney said. "We recognize that this has been a major inconvenience for a number of people who rely on this service." After the hearing, the committee's chairman, Rep. Frank Hornstein, said Minnesota's rail infrastructure has with- The harsh weather affects the trains' brakes, creates snow and ice buildups on the rail lines and limits how long rail employees can work outside to make repairs, BNSF spokesman Brian Sweeney said. stood subzero temperatures in the past without frequent delays.

Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, said freight traffic, including oil freight, has increased significantly on the Northstar rail corridor. "There's certainly evidence that this is more than the weather," Hornstein said. Howe, R-Rockville, said during the hearing that the Northstar delays are unacceptable. He asked Sweeney why BNSF isn't allocating more staff to help resolve the bottlenecks. River and Coon Rapids to shuttle riders in case of extensive delays, he said.

Lamb cited Monday, when Northstar trains ran as much as two hours behind, as an instance when problems snowballed into major delays. "Anything that could have gone wrong in the last couple of months on Northstar, has gone wrong," Lamb said. Since Monday, Lamb said Northstar trains have run on time. Hornstein said he hopes that trend will continue. He also said he hopes Thursday's hearing nudges BNSF and Metro Transit to do what it takes to resolve the delays.

If not, he said the committee will take up the issue again. "This is an untenable situation," Hornstein said. "Our constituents don't want to be shivering out in the cold again." Sauk Rapids: minus 35. Foley: minus 29. Records could be in jeopardy Friday and Saturday; the cold is expected to continue into March.

While that cold has been continuous, few records have been broken. "It has been hard to break any individual records," St. Cloud State University meteorologist Bob Weisman said. an recently after dark around the area to try to identify places where she was taken that night. And investigators recovered some evidence from the vehicle in which the woman was assaulted and have sent it for testing, he said.

The victim was unconscious for an undetermined amount of time during the abduction, Hughes said. That complicated efforts to recreate a timeline of what happened that night, he said. Anyone with information about the incident can call Sartell police at 251-8186. Follow David Unze on Twitter sctimesunze. rrA AKkS Till 1 IS Howe said some North-star riders tell him they're in danger of losing their jobs because their employers are losing patience with their late arrivals to work.

Brian Lamb, general manager of Metro Transit, which operates North-star, said the commuter line had a record of timely service until this winter. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, Northstar trains ran on time at least 95 percent of the time, according to Metro Transit data. But in 2014, they've been on time 74 percent of the time. Lamb said his agency has responded to the delays by creating a notification service for North-star riders to get realtime email or text message updates about delays. The agency also has dispatched buses to Northstar stations in Elk tax advisor, IEWtKlhlta.llRliiliifclMllill Jfome Buying Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 Apollo High School Door 30 FREE Admission Join us for our Home Buying Seminar where a specialist, title specialist, mortgage home through inspector, and realtor will take you the steps of becoming a homeowner either now or in the future.

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