Minn. man pleads guilty to e-mailing Biden threat

ST. PAUL (AP) — A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to hacking into his neighbor’s Internet system to send a threatening e-mail to Vice President Joe Biden.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says 45-year-old Barry Ardolf of Blaine stopped his trial to plead guilty.

Ardolf also pleaded guilty to e-mailing child pornography.

In his plea agreement, Ardolf admitted hacking into his neighbor’s wireless connection and creating multiple e-mail accounts in his neighbor’s name. Ardolf then used one of those accounts to e-mail Biden’s office in May 2009. The message said, “I’m assigning myself to be judge, jury and executioner.”

Ardolf also admitted posing as his neighbor and sending child porn.

Getting around in snow a challenge for disabled

ST. PAUL (AP) — Getting around after last weekend’s historic snowfall is a challenge for Minnesotans with disabilities.

They tell Minnesota Public Radio News about their struggles with unshoveled sidewalks, snowed-in handicap spaces, and rude drivers.

Some have given up on going out, and say the worst part is the feeling of isolation.

With some sidewalks still buried under snow, pedestrians and people in wheelchairs are being forced to take to the streets.

Many people with disabilities say they rely on friends, family members, and Metro Mobility, a public transportation service for riders with a disability or health condition.

But Metro Mobility won’t drop off riders unless the destination’s entrance has been shoveled and plowed. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Council, which oversees Metro Mobility, says customer safety is the biggest concern for drivers.

Report: No link between bullying, Anoka suicides

ST. PAUL (AP) — Administrators of Minnesota’s largest school district say they’ve found no evidence that bullying pushed six students to commit suicide in the past 15 months, contradicting an often-made claim.

Anoka-Hennepin School District officials tell Minnesota Public Radio News that their findings were based on conversations with teachers, parents and others who knew the students.

“Based on all of the information we’ve been able to gather, none of the suicides were connected to bullying or harassment,” said Superintendent Dennis Carlson in a voicemail sent to staff.

It has been alleged at recent school board meetings that district employees stood by while a student was bullied, but Carlson says there’s no proof of that.

Carlson said he sent the message because the notion that bullying was the only cause of some of the suicides was being taken as fact, citing two recent newspaper editorials he’s seen.

“To jump to simple conclusions, I think, is a real mistake,” he said. “And to blame us for those simple conclusions is something that is very hurtful to our staff when we’re working so hard to keep kids alive.”

At least one grieving mother disagrees with the district’s conclusion.

Tammy Aaberg’s son, Justin, who was gay, killed himself this past summer. She can’t say for sure that bullying caused Justin to hang himself, but she said she knows Justin was bullied. Aaberg wants the district to change its policies to make it a more inviting place for all students.

“So many kids have come to me on Facebook that aren’t even in the district anymore, that have dropped out or are in alternative schools — that have been bullied and they didn’t do anything,” she said of staff.

Carlson said suicide is an issue that requires mental health resources, and there aren’t enough for children. But he also said schools can’t be expected to be the only institutions addressing the issue of youth suicide.

Minn. mother speaks out about gift-stealing Grinch

OLIVIA (AP) — A single mother in southwestern Minnesota is trying to explain to her son how a burglar could steal the boy’s Christmas gift.

Diane Lecy lives in rural Sacred Heart Township in Renville County. She returned home from work to find the window on her front door broken and gifts stolen from beneath the Christmas tree.

Lecy said the burglar stole the only Christmas gift she could afford for her 8-year-old son, the gifts for his teachers and bus drivers, and a bag of groceries.

She says her son “sat on the couch and cried” when she told him.

But Lecy says: “They can steal your gifts, but they can’t steal your Christmas.”

Investigators say they have no leads or suspects.

U pollsters eye changes to pre-election sampling

ST. PAUL (AP) — Two University of Minnesota professors recommend several steps with their future political polling to avoid a repeat of a poll in Minnesota governor’s race that came under criticism.

The final pre-election poll by Minnesota Public Radio and the university’s Humphrey Institute gave Democrat Mark Dayton a 12-point lead over Republican Tom Emmer. But Dayton ended up winning with under half of 1 percentage point.

Professors Lawrence Jacobs and Joanne Miller say in an internal review that the last pre-election poll should be taken closer to the election, include the results of other polls, ask participants questions that build a rapport before asking about candidate preference, weight better by geographic region and include cell phone users.

The review stresses that all political polls are a “snapshot in time” and not intended to predict the results of an election.