Brodkorb Charged With DUI, Careless Driving in Connection to January Crash: Pick of Our Patches

From Eagan Patch...

Michael Brodkorb—a former Senate staffer whose meteoric rise in the GOP ranks once made headlines—now faces criminal charges in connection to a traffic accident in January.

Lilydale City Attorney Thomas Lehmann charged Brodkorb, an Eagan resident, with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree DUI, one misdemeanor count of careless driving and one petty misdemeanor seatbelt violation, according . If convicted on one of the DUI charges, Brodkorb could face a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. The seatbelt violation is a petty misdemeanor punishable with a $300 fine.

Brodkorb was seriously injured in the accident, which occurred just after 9 p.m. on Jan. 23 along the Interstate 35E bridge near Lilydale.

Police say Brodkorb was driving in the northbound lanes of I-35E when the vehicle he occupied, a 2004 Subaru Forester, ran off the right side of the road and struck a cement wall, according to the state patrol. The vehicle then careened back across the northbound lanes and hit the median wall, where it came to rest.

He was the only occupant of the vehicle at the time, and no other vehicles were involved in the crash.

An investigation revealed the former Republican staffer had an alcohol concentration of 0.10, above the limit of 0.08 for impaired driving, according to a urine sample analyzed by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Shakopee Patch: Top Star Market Could Face Civil Suit for Selling Beer to Man Who Died in Snow

The family of Thomas Lawrie, the drunk 52-year-old man who was found dead in a snowbank on Dec. 12 after buying beer from a clerk at Shakopee's Top Star Market, is now considering a civil lawsuit against the convenience store.

Lawrie's daughter Samantha is looking for compensation from Top Star's insurance company, the Shakopee Valley News is reporting.

The clerk's 15-year-old relative filmed the Dec. 11 exchange with his cell phone camera as Laurie stumbled, dropped his money and fell down on the counter before leaving with a six-pack of beer.

“If they would have done what any reasonable person would have done — contacted 911 to get him to detox facility — he would still be alive,” Mike Padden, Samantha Laurie's attorney, told the paper. "We reasonably believe they were making fun of him with the recording of the video.”

The Shakopee Valley News has more about the lawsuit:

The convenience store is owned by the clerk’s Palestinian immigrant family.

“We’re not trying to destroy these people or ruin these people,” Padden said. “It’s a claim we think is covered well within insurance coverage.”

Padden said he’s “fairly confident” the store’s insurance company will agree to settle outside of court.

From Eden Prairie:

Eden Prairie’s boys Nordic ski team came back from Giants Ridge on Thursday with the state championship.

The Eagles finished with a comfortable 20-point lead over runner-up Ely.

Senior Thomas Bye led the way for Eden Prairie with a total time of 29:25.6, resulting in a second-place finish. The Eagles had three other skiers in the top 25—Ryan Stewart at seventh, Henry Zurn at 15^th and Jared Grootwassink at 25^th.

Eden Prairie did not compete in the team portion of the girls meet but still placed three skiers in the top 25. Senior Jenna Arvidson took 13^th with an overall time of 35:48.0.Junior Briana Paulsen finished at 18^th. And junior Eryn Stewart placed 23^rd.