Articles written by Justin Glawe
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Day marks bitter loss: Ojibwe remember Old Crossing Treaty, 150 years later
HUOT — Fabian Strong couldn’t join the others. His 82-year-old legs wouldn’t allow it. So, he pulled his walker backward as fellow veterans representing all branches of the armed forces and decades of service danced around a freshly raised Red Lake Nation Flag on Wednesday, commemorating a new tribal holiday. "Come on. Let...
Homeless man dies after being struck by vehicle early Sunday
BEMIDJI — Andrew Willard Reed never saw his picture in Sunday’s edition of the Pioneer, and he apparently didn’t see the car that struck him on a Bemidji street that morning, killing the 54-year-old homeless man. Reed, of Bemidji, was pronounced dead just before 5 a.m. Sunday in the 800 block of Paul Bunyan Drive. He died...
Homeless in Bemidji: No easy answers for the homeless, their advocates and the city
EDITOR'S NOTE: In part two of our series, “Homeless in Bemidji,” the costs of incarceration for one homeless man were discussed, as were the unknown costs of dealing with a group of men and women identified as “persistently homeless.” In the final story, one homeless woman tells of her attempts to stay sober, and...
Homeless in Bemidji: Costs are high for all involved
EDITOR’S NOTE: In part one of our series, “Homeless in Bemidji,” we introduced a group of four homeless who live on the streets, and seek shelter wherever they can. They drank together July 5 as downtown teemed with tourists and visitors for the holiday weekend. In part two, the costs of incarceration for one homeless man...
The point of the 'Homeless in Bemidji' series is to encourage community discussion
In response to the large amount of feedback the Pioneer has received as a result of the first story in our series “Homeless in Bemidji,” Editor Matt Cory suggested I write an explanation of my motives for pursuing and reporting on this issue. Since moving here in late December I’ve been seeing the same faces around town. They’re the faces of people I’ve identified as...
Traffic stop results in drug bust
BEMIDJI -- A traffic stop resulted in the discovery of 70 marijuana cigarettes -- a total of about 30 grams of the drug -- Saturday afternoon. Two were arrested on low-level felony drug charges as a result of stop. Alvin Robert Johnson, 23, was arraigned on one count of fifth-degree drug possession Monday and was released from the Beltrami County Jail on a $2,500 bond. The...
Red Lake man sentenced for 2011 assault
MINNEAPOLIS -- A Red Lake man is headed to prison for more than three years for an assault that took place on the reservation in November 2011. Roderick Arlyn Sayers, 44, was sentenced Monday to three years and seven months in prison for the crime, according to a press released from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sayers assaulted a woman on Nov. 22, 2011, resulting in serious...
One injured in afternoon shooting
BEMIDJI -- A juvenile male said by police to be responsible for shooting a man near a home in Frohn Township on Tuesday was riding in a truck with the victim when police arrived on scene. Devin Craig Spears-Thomas was shot more than once by the juvenile, according to police, and was taken to a hospital in Duluth to be treated...
Woman involved in fatal collision released from custody
BEMIDJI -- A Bemidji woman accused of causing the death of a passenger on a motorcycle in a collision Sunday was released from custody on $20,000 bail Monday afternoon. Victoria Blakeley Whitefeather, 23, either worked with a bail bondsman or paid $2,000 to be released from the Hubbard County Jail. Whitefeather was arraigned Monday on six counts of criminal vehicular homicide...
One dead in motorcycle-car crash in Hubbard County
PARK RAPIDS — Police say a Bemidji woman fell asleep while intoxicated behind the wheel of her sport utility vehicle before she crossed the centerline and killed a passenger on a motorcycle. Victoria Blakely Whitefeather, 23, was charged in Hubbard County District Court with several counts of criminal vehicular homicide for striking a motorcycle driven by Robert Childs, of...
School District faces lawsuits over alleged abuse by former teacher
BEMIDJI -- Any chance of punishment or exoneration for John Wangberg, a former longtime Bemidji teacher accused of sexually abusing three 5- and 6-year-old children between 2008 and 2011, ended when he was found dead in his home Jan. 30. But Bemidji School District 31, Wangberg's employer from 1986 until his resignation in...
High-speed chase involving stolen vehicle ends north of Ponemah; suspect still being sought
BEMIDJI -- A 55-mile chase that saw speeds in excess of 100 mph ended with the abandonment of the stolen vehicle pursued by police, and its driver fleeing on foot into a wooded area north of Ponemah. Edwin Lee Johnson, 41, of Bemidji, is being sought by Red Lake Tribal Police after he fled from police in Bemidji Wednesday aftern...
Redby man sentenced for gun, threat charges
BEMIDJI -- For pulling a pistol from his waistband as a Bemidji police officer approached in early July, a Redby man is headed to prison for five years. Bruce Lee Armstrong, 22, was sentenced Tuesday by Beltrami District Judge Shari Schlucter for being a felon in possession of a pistol and terroristic threats. Armstrong, who has...
Cass Lake man sentenced for possessing stolen pistol
BEMIDJI -- A Cass Lake man with an extensive decade-long criminal history was sentenced Tuesday for being in possession of a stolen handgun. Joseph Allen Jones, 30, must serve two years and four months at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility, with credit for 146 days served. Beltrami District Judge Paul Benshoof sentenced Jones....
Man sentenced in three-year-old burglary case
BEMIDJI -- A little more than three years after a smash-and-grab burglary to a Bemidji sporting goods store in which about a dozen guns were stolen, one of the perpetrators was sentenced for the crime. Dustin Reginald Barrett, 21, was sentenced Monday to 180 days in jail by Beltrami District Judge Paul Benshoof. Barrett, who was arrested following another alleged burglary in...
Man sentenced for savage beating
BEMIDJI -- A 48-year-old Red Lake man was sentenced in federal court Monday for beating another man with an axe handle in January, resulting in the victim losing an eye. Joseph William Howard will serve eight years and nine months in prison, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The punishment was handed down by U.S. District Judge John Tunheim. On...
Man sentenced for breaking into home armed with hatchet, threatening police
BEMIDJI -- A Cass Lake man who kicked in the door of a Beltrami County home while wielding a hatchet and issuing threats in late April was sent to prison for his actions that day. David Lee Kingbird, 23, also threatened police officers after being taken into custody on April 28, according to a criminal complaint filed by the...
Hit and run suspect arraigned
BEMIDJI -- Christopher Lee Strong was lying in the road when he was struck and killed by Martin Erwin Ubert’s Chevy Monte Carlo, according to investigators. Ubert, 58, of Bemidji, was arraigned Thursday on one count of criminal vehicular homicide and is being held in the Beltrami County Jail on $100,000 bail. He turned the...
Hit and run suspect violated probation 3 times since February, struck and killed horse in hit and run that month
Editor's note: The original version of this story incorrectly reported Ubert's booking charges. Ubert was booked into the Beltrami County Jail on a charge of felony criminal vehicular homicide, and a warrant for violating terms of probation on a refusing to submit to chemical testing conviction from 2010 in Clearwater County....
Man arrested for July 31 fatal hit and run
BEMIDJI -- A 58-year-old man was arrested Tuesday night as the lone suspect in the fatal hit and run that killed Christopher Lee Strong last week. Martin Erwin Ubert was booked into the Beltrami County Jail at 7:08 p.m. on charges of felony criminal vehicular homicide and a Hubbard County warrant for second-degree DWI,...
Man arrested after being found in woman's bathroom early Saturday
BEMIDJI -- According to Bemidji police, Lance Francise Day broke into a woman’s home early Saturday, broke a towel rack in the bathroom of the master bedroom and urinated in the toilet. Day, 24, of Bemidji, was arrested not far from the home, in the 1200 block of Minnesota Avenue Northwest, just after 5 a.m. Saturday. He was...
Police identify model of vehicle involved in Wednesday's fatal hit and run
BEMIDJI -- Police are looking for a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo they believe is the car involved in the Wednesday morning hit and run death 25-year-old Christopher Lee Strong. Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp said the vehicle, identified by parts found at the scene of the accident, has front-end damage. The color swatch at...
Man arrested during fatal hit and run investigation for fighting with police
BEMIDJI -- While investigating the death of Christopher Lee Strong, killed in an apparent hit and run Wednesday morning, police arrested a man who became combative with officers. Richard Edward Strong, 39, was arraigned Thursday on one count of obstructing the legal process and is being held at the Beltrami County Jail on...
Body found after apparent hit-and-run
BEMIDJI -- Police are investigating the death of a 25-year-old Bemidji man after a newspaper carrier found what authorities said was Christopher Lee Strong's dead body on an Eckles Township road early Wednesday. Leona Steele, who has been delivering The Pioneer for more than a year, made the gruesome discovery just before 4:30...
Redby man indicted for tire iron attack
MINNEAPOLIS -- A Redby man was indicted last week on several felony assault charges after prosecutors say he beat two victims in their heads with a tire iron. Ryan Devin Ravensborg, 20, was briefly held in Beltrami County Jail before he was transferred to Minneapolis. He faces two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and tw...
