St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page 1

Avon mnii SgouS Iionor1 Sauli Rapids museum honors ueterans1 City's homes get clean lead report1 SGSU coach draws Iionor1 Vikinns in eras! shana1 kurt howell BURTON HANAUER Wortd Cup wrestler TUESDAY, Nov. 10, 1992 Suggested 43 retail price 132nd Year 150 Copyright" 1992 St. Cloud Newspapers Inc. A Gannett Newspaper St. Cloud, Minnesota 56302 i 1 Steinbuch sentenced to SSVfe wears tencine.

manv of whom are related tn By JOHN WELSH Times Staff Writer Before he was sentenced to life in prison, DaleStein-buch blamed nearly everyone but himself for the murder of his family- Steinbuch this two children, 3-year-old Ashley and 12-year-old Jessica. A Dakota County jury rejected the story, convicting Steinbuch in September of the murders. In a rambling 15-minute statement before his sentencing, Steinbuch blamed the press for "crucifying" him and his attorney for botching the case. He then turned around and faced O'Meara Steinbuch's family in the audience and said they never cared for her. Family members responded with shouts of "lies!" Then, without comment, Judge Bernard Boland of the 7th Judicial District sentenced Steinbuch to two life sentences for the murder of the girls and 25V2 years for the murder of his wife.

The terms will be served consecutively, which means there is virtually no chance that Steinbuch will leave prison alive. The state corrections department will determine where Steinbuch will serve his sentence. Steinbuch, 36, St. Cloud, was convicted Sept. 12 on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the children and one count of second-degree murder in the death of his wife.

Steinbuch strangled the children and beat his wife to death July 17, 1991, at their home on Clearwater Road. The first-degree convictions carried with them automatic life sentences with 30-year minimum sentences. If Steinbuch had been convicted as indicted on all first-degree charges he would have been sentenced immediately after the jury verdict. But because one of the convictions was for a lesser charge, a pre-sentence investigation was required. Because of sentencing guidelines, Boland had no leeway over the sentence though he could have ordered Steinbuch to serve the sentences concurrently instead of consecutively.

Steinbuch's three-week trial was moved to Hastings because of pre-trial publicity, but this morning's hearing was at the Stearns County Court Facilities Building. About 30 people attended the sen- He then retold the story that he first made public on the stand as the last witness in his trial. "I'm not a murderer, nor did I have anything to do with the deaths of my children," he said. Friends and family members of his would have been willing to back up his story, he said, but they were scared off by the "monster" the press portrayed him as. He said his attorney, public defender Eileen Davis, told him that the prosecution had no case and that it was best for him to remain silent even though he Steinbuch8A O'Meara Steinbuch and her children.

Sue de Chambeau, one of six surviving sisters of O'Meara Steinbuch's, read a page-long statement about how Steinbuch's crime had affected the family. Her hands and voice shook uncontrollably as she read. The statement read, in part, It is obvious that your lack of emotion is caused by your lack of a heart. You, Dale Steinbuch, are a heartless murderer and without conscience." Steinbuch then made his statement. Since the trial two months ago, he had grown a beard.

He appeared in court in a white undershirt and cotton pants. 1 morning repeated Dale Steinbuch the story that he Killed family killed his wife, Geraldine Family's O'Meara Stein- Statement8A buch, only after she had strangled her Parents aCfHJS A bright idea Wholesale prices up 0.1 percent WASHINGTON AP) Wholesale prices edged up a tiny 0.1 percent in October as big increases in the cost of gasor line, vegetables and fruit were offset by the largest drop iri new car prices in two years, the government reported today. The Labor Department said last month's gain in its Producer Price Index, which measures inflationary pressures before they reach the consumer, was the best performance Wetterling center of favoring Jacob All cases need attention, couple says iiiiiip 7 11s since a similar 0.1 Producer Price Index Percentage change in wholesale prices from month to month 1.0 0.5 percent rise in August. Wholesale prices had climbed a slightly faster 0.3 percent in September. So far this year, wholesale prices have been advancing at an annual rate of 1.9 percent as the weak economy has kept inflationary pressures well in check.

While Presidentelect Clinton has called an economic summit meeting of 0 0.5 Oct. 0.1 1.0l ND FMAM AS Source: U.S, Commerce Dept. top economists, Times chart business and labor gered by the letter, which deeply criticized the role of the Wetterlings in the foundation. She said the letter contained lies and legal options would be considered. The Andersons clearly are a family that is hurting, said Dan Carle, a member of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation Board.

Aaron Anderson's case didn't receive the type of media attention Jacob's did, Carle said. "I'm sure they feel alone and forgotten," Carle said. However, Carle said, the focus of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation centers on education about child safety and abduction prevention. It doesn't focus on finding children. "It's not an organization to find children," Carle said.

The foundation does take in leads and passes tips on to law enforcement, he said. Carle disagrees with the claim that the foundation focuses on Jacob's case alone, Carle disagrees. "There has been no specific activity focused on Jacob to the exclusion of finding other children," Carle said. During the last few months, the foundation has done a lot of "soul-searching," Carle said. "I'm confident, with the reformaliza-tion, that we're very close to our focus on prevention and education," Carle said.

Carle said he had just received the letter from the Andersons, but expects the board to consider a response to the letter soon. The board wants to listen to the Andersons, he said. "This is coming from their deep hurt and real frustration," Carle said. "I hope we can see this through in a kind way." By PATTY MATTERN Times Staff Writer The parents of a missing child from Pine City have broken ties with the Jacob Wetterling Foundation saying the non-profit organization's funds are distributed inequitably among the missing child cases. In a letter to the board of directors of the Jacob Wetterling Foundation dated Nov.

4, Steve and Paulette Anderson said the foundation has acted irresponsibly as a non-profit organization. Most resources have gone solely to the search for Jacob, Steve Anderson claims. Other missing child cases don't get the same amount of attention from the foundation, he said. As a legally recognized non-profit organization, the Andersons said, the foundation must divide its time and resources equally among the cases. The Andersons' 2112-month-old son, Aaron, disappeared from their Pine City home on April 7, 1989.

In September of 1990, the Andersons signed an advocacy agreement with the Jacob Wetterling Foundation. The agreement allowed the Wetterling Foundation to promote the cause of finding Aaron Anderson. But, the Andersons rescinded the agreement last week. The letter to the board stated: "You are hereby notified that you no longer have permission to handle, manage, represent, advocate, promote, solicit funds, or publicize on behalf of our son, Aaron, nor may you initiate any new actions of any nature on his behalf." 1 In an interview Monday evening, Patty Wetterling said the claims the Andersons make against the foundation are unfounded. Wetterling said she was hurt and an Times photo by Kimm Anderson LaVerne Tollefson got a jump on the holiday season by uncoiling a new string of Christmas lights Monday so her daughter could hang them on Tollefson's Sauk Rapids house.

Tollefson said she thought it was a smart idea to take advantage of warm weather. Tollefson added that she also has finished her Christmas leaders to try to fig- Report: Perot was investigatea78A ure out ways to re- juvenate the long-stalled economy, analysts said today's report showed that inflationary pressures remained well under control. Many economists believe that the absence of cost pressures will give the Federal Reserve room to cut interest rates further, with some suggesting that the next easing move could come in early December. In October, overall food costs rose a slight 0. 1 percent, the best showing since an outright decline of 0.2 percent in July.

However, the small overall gain masked big movements in individual categories. Energy prices were up 1.4 percent in October, the biggest monthly increase since a 2.5 percent rise in June. Gasoline costs jumped 3.3 percent, their second big monthly gain. Electricity costs were up 1.2 percent and natural gas prices climbed 2 percent, both the biggest increases since January 1991. The so-called underlying rate of inflation, price changes absent the volatile food and energy categories, showed an actual drop of 0.1 percent in October, the third time in the past five months that this core rate of inflation has declined.

Contributing to this good showing was a decline of 2.3 percent in new car prices, the biggest drop in this category since a decrease of 2.8 percent in October 1990. While car prices rose last month, reflecting the introduction of new models, the government said the price increase was less than normal at this time of year and thus showed up as a decline after adjusting for seasonal variations. The various changes left the Producer Price Index at 124.3 in October. The government will release its look at inflationary pressures at the retail level on Friday and many analysts believe that report also will show only a slight gain, reflecting the fact that cost pressures remain in check in the wake of the 1990-91 recession and the extremely slow growth since that time. Analysts noted that labor costs, a key influence on inflation, rose just 2.7 percent from July through September compared with the same period in 1991.

That was the best performance in 30 years. fate's public health ranks average The state ranks seventh best in percent thors said Monday. The association ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia in five categories: access to medical care, a healthy environment, healthy neighborhoods, healthy behavior and community health service. The study showed that Minnesota is one of the nation's leaders in binge drinking, but on balance, however, Minnesota is still one of the nation's healthiest states, the Twenty-one percent of Minnesotans 1 8 or older qualify as binge drinkers, based on a survey in which people were classified as such if they said they had consumed more than five drinks on at least one occasion during the previous month. Only Vermont and Wisconsin have higher rates than Minnesota.

The binge-drinking survey covered 44 states and the District of Columbia, with six states not ranked in this category. Despite the high binge-drinking rate and comparatively polluted air of the Twin-Cities metro area, Minnesota's health report card is one of the best in the country. Report warns nation's health at risk due to poverty, poor education Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Minnesota earned a high ranking in two of five categories of public health in a report issued by the American Public Health Association. None of the 50 states has perfect public health, and even those with relatively good ratings are in danger of losing ground to poverty and poor education, the report's au age of people covered by health insurance, with only 10 percent uninsured; fourth best in primary care physicians per capita, with 6.8 per 10,000 residents; fourth in Medicaid spending per capita, $253.25 per resident; fourth in safety in the workplace, with eight work-related accidents a year per 100 full-time workers; eighth in percentage of nonsmokers, with only 22.9 percent smoking; sixth in seat belt use, with 23.5 percent not using seat belts; fourteenth in leanness, with only 21.1 percent obese; and first in high school graduation, with 89.3 percent of ninth graders graduating within four years. group i Only two states were higher than Minnesota in binge drinking, the association said in its state-by-state analysis of public health released Monday.

WWW 321 Crimes downgraded to keep offenders out of court wmm tin? Dow Up 3.78 At 11 a.m. Money news, 7D 3 Section World-nation People 2A Weather 2A Editorial 6A World 3A National 7A Section Region-Metro, Region report 2B Law log 3B State news 1-3B Deaths, births 3B Section Alive Television 2C Dear Abby 2C Family doctor 2C Classified 3C-8C Section Sports Scoreboard 2D TV sports 2D Comics 6D Bridge 6D Horoscope 6D Business 7D using a child restraint, littering, operating an unregistered snowmobile, failing to keep a campfire under control, consuming alcohol in a forest campground, taking small game without a license, transporting a loaded hunting firearm, using illegal minnows for bait. Those who decide to contest charges have to plead their case to a judge, without a jury trial or a free lawyer. Sen. Allan Spear, DFL-Minneapolis, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep.

Kathleen Vellenga, DFL-St. Paul, head of the House Judiciary Committee, say they did not know about the changes until last week. But Kevin Burke, chief judge in Hennepin County and head of the Conference of Chief Judges, said, "I don't think this is any great secret." ST. PAUL (AP) More than 300 crimes in Minnesota now draw less punishment, to save court costs. But legislative leaders say they weren't aware they had granted someone else the authority to lighten the sentences.

The crimes, primarily driving, hunting and fishing offenses, were reduced from misdemeanors to petty misdemeanors by the Conference of Chief Judges, effective Oct. 1. The conference agreed upon the changes unanimously. People charged with some offenses now simply will mail their fines rather than appearing in court. For some offenses, there's no longer the threat of going to jail.

A sampling of the reduced charges: careless driving, having marijuana or alcohol in a car, putting up a fish house without a license, driving an uninspected school bus, not HSWJr11 -1 I LL Partly sunny Tonight's low: 25 Wednesday's high: 43 Thursday Partly cloudy Details 2A Winning numbers Monday: Daily 3: 6-7-9.