Person

Who got booted off People’s “Most Beautiful Cover”? You might not believe this: Julia Roberts. I say you might not believe it, because you may not think she belonged there in the first place. Not to say she isn’t attractive, but some think she has 88 teeth and tends towards the equine. Matter of taste. May be a guy thing. No surprise, she’s gracious: Roberts credits professionals for making her look good, and friend George Clooney praises her inner beauty, telling People: "There's a reason Julia is a timeless beauty, and it has nothing to do with her looks. It has everything to do with who she is.” Well, I think it has something to do with her looks, inasmuch as it’s not the People Magazine Most Wonderful Personality and Good Dancer and Giver of Succor to Lost Cats issue. This year’s cover features Sandra Bullock, for a variety of reasons: she’s beautiful, looks clever and nice, got an Osar, has everyone’s sympathy because … [Read more...] about People Mag’s Most Beautiful Person is not . . .

A man jumped from an overpass and was struck by a semitrailer truck on I-35W in Minneapolis, the Minnesota State Patrol confirmed. The incident occurred at 12:11 p.m. near the University Avenue and 4th Street overpasses. Officials say a person jumped from the Fourth Street bridge and was fatally struck by a semi truck. The driver of the vehicle was not injured. Two northbound traffic lanes were blocked at University Avenue for about two hours, backing up traffic through downtown back to the Lake Street exit. By 3 p.m. the scene was clear and traffic was moving normally. Older Post The bill for motor vehicle crashes comes to $871 billion a year Newer Post Keeping tabs on Wednesday's morning commute … [Read more...] about I-35W reopens after person jumps from bridge, is fatally struck by semi in Minneapolis

This week's renewed search for a Maple Grove girl who disappeared 25 years ago and the discovery of the bones of a missing man in Lakeville last month made me wonder how many Minnesotans are currently considered missing persons. Minnesota's state clearinghouse only displays about 70 faces. I found a more comprehensive list at the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a web site that collects information from medical examiners and law enforcement around the country. It has two main categories of data: missing persons, and unidentified remains. There's a smaller third group, called "unclaimed persons," in which people are identified, but no one has come forward to take possession of the remains. The Minnesota missing persons list includes 147 names, dating back to June 14, 1963, the day Martin Franzel, then 77, took his usual early morning walk in Minneapolis and vanished without a trace. The most recent addition is Cody Christle, 20, who was … [Read more...] about Vanished Minnesotans: 147 missing persons

I told part of the story of Theresa Rossi's lost and found brother in my Sunday column about the national database of missing and unidentified persons. Every family searching for a missing person holds that faint hope that their loved one is alive, but it almost never happens. In Leonard Bariana's case, it did. It's still possible for someone in modern America to "disappear," even without a change of identity. In Rossi's account, Bariana was not an easy man to live with, but his family cared deeply about him. Bariana grew up in Philadelphia, one of five brothers and sisters. He suffered his first mental health crisis in his 20s, when "he freaked out on a bus" and was taken to a hospital, Rossi told me. Bariana had a wife, children and did terrazzo work, but his mental illness strained his ties to his family. He eventually boarded a bus for Florida and never returned to the Northeast. At some point, Bariana landed a job cleaning up a laundromat. The … [Read more...] about Leonard Bariana, the missing person who wasn’t

This blog went into hibernation last week during my vacation on the East Coast with family. Here are some highlights from the past week: Database helps find the missing: My June 15 column, expanding on an earlier blog post, describes the first publicly accessible nationwide database designed to solve some of the most puzzling and agonizing modern mysteries. A mission to clear his uncle's name: My June 8 column about Bob Patrin's effort to learn the circumstances of his uncle's mysterious death in 1946. Ever since Bob and I crossed paths in the Minneapolis police records room while I was researching the death of journalist Arthur Kasherman, he has pestered me to write about this. I'm glad he finally wore me down. You can hear the story from Bob himself on the video. Appeals Court rules for secrecy: The three-judge appellate panel last week ruled that a state-created insurance organization did not have to release its records to the Star Tribune, determining it was not … [Read more...] about Monday roundup: A mysterious 1946 death, missing persons, pro-secrecy ruling