ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A Catholic priest has been charged with stalking, criminal sexual conduct and violence against a woman whom he was spiritually advising. This is the second St. Cloud-area priest accused of inappropriate conduct in the past two months.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed charges on Wednesday against Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca, for one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation. The abuse occurred between May 2018 and October 2022, according to the criminal complaint.

During the time of the incidents, Herzing served as a priest in Little Falls and St. Cloud, according to law enforcement. He was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud in 1999, and later was appointed as pastor of Christ the King in Browerville, St. Joseph in Clarissa, St. Joseph in Grey Eagle, St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie, and St. John the Baptist in Swanville in June 2024, according to the Diocese of St. Cloud. Herzing was immediately put on leave following the charges being filed in Stearns County, St. Cloud Bishop Patrick Neary said in a statement dated last Thursday.

St. Cloud police began investigating Herzing in August 2024, following a report from a woman who said she received spiritual advice, aid and comfort in the form of confession from Herzing while in Little Falls in 2018. Herzing then moved to a church in St. Cloud and began regularly advising the victim there through October 2022.

Church leadership received multiple reports from people saying they observed “conduct indicative of an inappropriate intimate relationship” between Herzing and the woman, such as the priest being at her residence late at night and early in the morning.

When diocesan leadership became aware of the situation in 2022, there was no indication of physical or sexual misconduct, Neary said.

Then-Bishop Donald Kettler, who retired in December 2022, met with Herzing and immediately placed him on administrative leave to undergo a comprehensive professional evaluation, according to the diocese. He entered and completed a residential treatment program for “exhibiting inappropriate boundaries” with the woman, investigators said in the complaint.

Neary returned Herzing to active ministry in June 2023 with “limited responsibility” in Cold Spring, Rockville, Richmond and Jacobs Prairie while continuing treatment. The bishop said that restrictions and monitoring on Herzing were put in place.

Herzing and the woman had multiple violent interactions in 2022, including several death threats, according to the criminal complaint.

In February 2022, Herzing assaulted the victim, including choking and threatening to kill her, in a residence in St. Cloud. Later, in May 2022, she walked from her St. Cloud residence to a river while having suicidal thoughts. After convincing her to return home, Herzing said he should have “just let (the woman) kill herself.” He later physically assaulted her after she saw Herzing receive a text she believed was from someone he was in an intimate relationship with. Once again, he threatened to kill her.

Herzing took the woman to an event in Milaca on his motorcycle in August 2022 and threatened to kill them both by crashing into a tree. The woman told investigators Herzing had made similar threats in July, which resulted in the victim suffering minor scrapes after dismounting at a stoplight.

Investigators used witness statements, texts and police reports to corroborate the woman’s statement. Reports showed that Herzing “admitted to kissing (the victim) on two occasions but denied having a spiritual guidance with her.”

“My commitment is to ensure that our response is clear and rooted in care for all those affected,” Neary said. “We will continue to cooperate fully with authorities and accompany our communities with honesty and compassion.”

Neary added that he encourages all victims of abuse to come forward to civil authorities or diocesan victim advocates.

Herzing is scheduled to make his first appearance in Stearns County District Court on Dec. 29.

Pattern of priest misconduct

In October, another Catholic priest with the St. Cloud diocese was accused of sexual misconduct with a woman while being her spiritual adviser. Aaron John Kuhn, 47, of Wadena, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Stearns County court.

A woman told law enforcement she had sexual contact with Kuhn between September 2019 and October 2022 while he was providing her “with spiritual direction,” according to the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. She said Kuhn used his role as a spiritual adviser to manipulate and pressure her into engaging in sexual acts.

According to court records, Kuhn is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

By CORA LEWIS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Chain stores have Black Friday. Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday. For local businesses, it’s Small Business Saturday.

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In the last 20 years, more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season. The travel trade has firmly joined the trend with another post-Thanksgiving sales push: Travel Tuesday.

On the same day as the nonprofit world’s Giving Tuesday, airlines, hotels, cruise ship companies, travel booking platforms and tour operators get in on the annual spirit to spend by promoting one-day deals. Consumer advocates say there are legitimate savings to be had but also chances to be misled by marketing that conveys a false sense of urgency.

“People see ‘40 percent off’ and assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime steal, without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month.” Sally French, a travel expert at personal finance site NerdWallet, said.

She and other seasoned travelers advised consumers who want to see if they can save money by booking trips on Travel Tuesday to do research in advance and to pay especially close attention to the fine print attached to offers.

People hoping to score last-minute deals for Christmas or New Year’s should double-check for blackout dates or other restrictions, recommended Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer expert for the online travel site Hopper.

It’s also wise to to keep an eye out for nonrefundable fares, resort fees, double occupancy requirements or upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts, according to French.

Shoppers should be wary of travel packages with extra transportation options or add-on offers, French said. Instead of lowering fares or room rates, some companies use statement credits, extra points, included amenities and bundled extras as a way to tempt potential customers, she said.

“Many travel brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury, but they still need to fill planes, ships and hotel rooms,” French said. “Add-on perks are their workaround.”

Consumers who are prepared rather than impulsive and on the lookout for the up-sell are in a much better position to identify authentic bargains, consumer experts stressed. Knowing what a specific trip would typically cost and comparison shopping can help expose offers based on inflated underlying costs and whether the same itinerary might have been cheaper at other times, they said.

“Compare prices, check your calendar and make sure the trip you’re booking is something you genuinely want, not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you,” French said. “What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn’t align with your plans.”

Travel Tuesday came about based on existing industry trends. In 2017, Hopper analyzed historical pricing data and found that in each of the nine previous years, the biggest day for post-Thanksgiving travel discounts was the day after Cyber Monday.

The site named the day Travel Tuesday. The number of offers within that time-targeted window and the number of travelers looking for them has since expanded.

“Nearly three times as many trips were planned on Travel Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday,” Hopper’s Schwimer said. “We continue to see growth in the day, year over year, as more travel brands and categories offer deals.”

The event’s origin story is in line with the National Retail Federation coining Cyber Monday in 2005 as a response to the emerging e-commerce era. American Express came up with Small Business Saturday in 2010 to direct buyers and their dollars to smaller retailers, credit card fees and all.

A report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year noted that November and December tend to be slow months for travel bookings, making Travel Tuesday a “marketing moment” that could help boost revenue.

Hotel, cruise and and airline bookings by U.S. travelers increased significantly on Travel Tuesday 2023 compared with the two weeks before and after the day, the report’s authors wrote, citing data provided by the travel marketing platform Sojern.

While Travel Tuesday so far has been mostly confined to the United States and Canada, “European travel companies can anticipate the possibility that Travel Tuesday will become a growing phenomenon in their region, given that other shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread beyond North America,” the report stated.

Vivek Pandya, lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending, said consumers have more tools than ever this holiday season to help them determine if deals hold up to scrutiny.

“Social journeys, influencers providing promo codes and values, and generative AI platforms taking all that in – the prices, the social conversation, the reviews – and giving guidance to the consumer, that’s a very different, dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons,” Pandya said.

Both he and French emphasized that prices rise and fall based on multiple factors, and that the winter holidays are not the only major promotional period of the year.

“We now have dozens of consumer spending ‘holidays,’” French said. “Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day. So if you don’t buy on Travel Tuesday, you haven’t missed your moment.”

The Associated Press receives support from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2025. There are 29 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 2, 2015, a couple loyal to the Islamic State group opened fire at a holiday banquet for public employees in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 21 others before dying in a shootout with police.

Also on this date:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in a coronation ceremony at Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.

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In 1823, President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing further European expansion or colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine effectively created separate spheres of influence for the Americans and Europe.

In 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid the previous October on Harpers Ferry in hopes of inciting a large-scale slave rebellion. His execution further exacerbated North-South tensions in the run-up to the American Civil War.

In 1942, an artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago. The experiment led by physicist Enrico Fermi marked the dawn of the Atomic Age.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate, voting 67-22, passed a resolution condemning Republican Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”

In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of Barney Clark, a retired dentist who lived 112 days with the device.

In 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces while trying to flee across rooftops in Medellin (meh-deh-YEEN’).

In 2004, Typhoon Nanmadol lashed the Philippines, killing hundreds of people.

In 2016, a fire raced through an illegally converted warehouse in Oakland, California, during a dance party, killing 36 people.

In 2020, The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, in a step with potential impacts on the global medical marijuana industry.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Cathy Lee Crosby is 81.
Film director Penelope Spheeris is 80.
Author T. Coraghessan Boyle is 77.
Actor Dan Butler is 71.
Actor Steven Bauer is 69.
Actor Lucy Liu is 57.
Bassist Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) is 57.
Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 55.
Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is 52.
Singer Nelly Furtado is 47.
Pop singer Britney Spears is 44.
Actor-singer Jana Kramer is 42.
Actor Yvonne Orji is 42.
Actor Daniela Ruah is 42.
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 42.
Actor Alfred Enoch is 37.
Pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth is 34.

From lethargy to apoplexy

Definition from The Political Dictionary: PERSONAL CONVICTION, a strong, firmly held principle that guides a politician’s actions and decisions until it becomes politically expedient to adapt a new conviction. See Flip Flop.

Now it seems DC is a hotbed of flip-flopping apropos of the, dare I say it, Epstein files. Congress has stirred itself from a lethargy of do-nothing to a apoplexy of leaping from one conviction to another. Often claiming otherwise. A common congressional response is “Oh no, not me. Why, I’ve always supported full disclosure,” as if lapsed memory were a chronic condition of the populace. This deluge of flipping, over a file that may be so redacted by persons of money, power and influence as to be nothing more than a Maltese Falcon. What Alfred Hitchcock called a MacGuffin. A dramatic device, never disclosed, the sole purpose of which is to drive the plot’s action.

As in the action of our current Congress. Much sound and fury, likely to signify nothing. I only wish they had as much enthusiasm in asserting the rights, power and purpose of a constitutional branch of government.

Bob Emery, Mendota Heights

 

They knew, but didn’t say anything

Democrats loudly and publicly declare that Trump is a threat to our democracy. They call him a fascist and a would-be king. They criticise every action he takes and try to block his every move.

Interestingly, not one Democrat spoke out during Biden’s administration, calling him a threat to democracy when they knew he was incapable of being president, due to his dementia. We do not know to this day who was making executive decisions.

After he was no longer in office, Democrats wrote tell-all books about his declining mental capacity. This proves they were aware of his inability to run, but wanted to retain their power. Their silence was a threat to our democracy.  It seems they only break their silence, when they think their power is being challenged.

Vicky Moore, North St. Paul

 

The Code

If the Secretary of Defense had not dismissed so many JAG officers, one might have informed the Commander-in-Chief that the Uniform Code of Military Justice requires a soldier to refuse an illegal order.

Andy Lynn, Mendota Heights

 

Dogged

While there may be some legitimate reasons for the Trump administration launching multiple attacks on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean, there has been scant evidence presented of any criminal wrongdoing justifying the fatalities that have been inflicted.

The Trump administration seems to be chafing for a military engagement with that country. The timing has a certain “Wag the Dog” appearance as a distraction from the president’s other predicaments, especially the Jeffrey Epstein saga. It’s reminiscent of the Robert De Niro-Dustin Hoffman 1997 movie by that title in which the crafty staff of a beleaguered president drums up a phoney military conflict to create a positive aura to bail the president out of political hot water. Many thought that device was used by President Bill Clinton at the height of the Monica Lewinsky contretemps when he ordered air attacks on terrorist operations in Afghanistan and Sudan.

President Trump, who was a reality TV star before entering politics, knows the value of a compelling cinematic theme, which might form the foundation for the Venezuelan initiative in these trying times that are dogging him.

Marshall H. Tanick, Minneapolis

 

Sainted

This is the month of Thanksgiving and I’d like to say I’m so thankful for my church St. Paul Lutheran in Stillwater.  Last Sunday’s worship service was so filled with praise that I wanted to publicly thank our Pastors Nathan Baker-Trinity and Laurel Halvorson Bernard and Youth Director Jenny Brelje.  Their messages were so inspiring, encouraging us to give glory to God, imperfect as we are, He loves us all. Andy Peterson, our talented musician and music director planned a service filled with music including pianist and worship director Karen Hillman, soloist Kim Alswager, songs performed by the wonderful choir, accompanied by the bell choir, and a special thank you for the talented flutist Sue Benson.  As we sang the hymns and worshipped together one couldn’t help but be filled with gratitude for our staff and members. We are so blessed!

Karen Celski, Oak Park Heights

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