Tanner Wilde joined the U.S. Army through its delayed-entry program when he was just in high school, viewing it as an opportunity to see more of the world and to be part of something bigger than himself.

“Largely, what it came down to was, ever since I was young, I always found a lot of satisfaction in being able to serve others and see their satisfaction from services provided,” Wilde said.

Wilde was deployed to Afghanistan at age 20, originally with the Bravo Company 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment. He trained as a paratrooper and eventually became a special operations civil affairs team sergeant and medical sergeant.

When Wilde ended his military service in 2021 after having served in Afghanistan, Syria and Bangladesh, his next steps were figuring out a purpose outside the military. At the same time, he also was experiencing depression. He had attended various rehabs following traumatic brain injuries and that, combined with physical and mental stress, impacted his mental health.

“I was searching for what my purpose was because the military is all I ever knew,” said Wilde, who lives in Mounds View. “I didn’t … feel there was any joy, hope, you know, just nothing.”

Things came to a head in 2023 and Wilde said he was starting to go down a path toward suicide.

“And thankfully, through my wife and through many of the other veteran-centric organizations that pressed into me, I was able to finally accept help,” Wilde said. “And because of that persistence, I am where I am today, still alive, family better than it has ever been, being able to re-experience joy, having a re-instilled purpose in what service is.”

Veteran outreach

For Wilde, that service has been his work doing veteran outreach, both with Veterans Affairs and as a volunteer with multiple veteran service organizations. Organizations that Wilde volunteers with include Nodens Outdoors, which provides a bowhunting therapy program to veterans, and Believet Canine Service Partners, which provides service animals to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and other disabilities.

“It may not be what I was doing in the military, but being able to currently have a role in helping veterans and even those that are transitioning out of the military find hope where hope doesn’t seem present is beyond rewarding,” he said.

U.S. Army veteran Tanner Wilde sits next to his service dog, a four year old mix breed named Taz. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

This Veterans Day, Wilde and his service dog, Taz, volunteered with Believet Canine Service Partners, where he does much of his volunteer work, raising awareness around invisible wounds and the benefits of service animals.

“They’re trying to continue to provide service animals for veterans, but they do cost thousands of dollars and that’s something, the only way to help expand the availability is to go speak about them and the benefits that they do to help veterans,” said Wilde, who credits Taz with being part of his healing journey.

‘Somebody that will listen’

It’s OK to not be OK, Wilde said, and the first step in getting help is to start talking about it. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has people available to talk, he said, including for veterans.

“And as hard as it is, there will be somebody that will listen. And I wish there was more hours in the day for me to be able to help as many as I can,” he said. “And more capacity just because I see how much it helped me regain, benefit in being able to experience joy, of being with my kids and my wife and enjoy doing activities more.”

A new furnace

Meanwhile, for Veterans Day — and just in time for colder weather — Wilde was the recipient of a new furnace at his Mounds View home. The Snelling Co. and local Bryant distributor Auer Steel provided him with the new, high-efficiency unit.

The Snelling Co. wanted to show gratitude for Wilde’s service to the community.

U..S. Army Veteran Tanner Wilde was photographed next to the new furnace he was provided by The Snelling Company. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

“He served our country, fought his own battles, and now fights for others. This is just one way we can give back and thank him for his service,” said Phil Krinkie, president of the Snelling Co., in a statement.

With his time in the military, Wilde said he’s moved 14 times, making the furnace donation a big deal.

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“This is a home we don’t want to have to pick up again. We’re in a wonderful community. Coming from the military, we’re very community-centric,” Wilde said.

For help

If you need immediate emotional or mental health support, or are worried about someone else, call or text 988 or visit the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org to connect with a trained specialist.

For veterans and others looking for more information, including resources on ways to support veterans, how to talk to veterans in crisis, or to find local mental health resources, go to mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention.

By ANDREW DALTON, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three paintings from famously chill public television legend Bob Ross sold Tuesday for more than $600,000 at auction. The paintings were the first of 30 Ross works being sold to benefit public TV stations hurt by cuts in federal funding.

At the live auction at Bonhams in Los Angeles, a serene, snow vista called “Winter’s Peace” that Ross painted entirely during a 1993 episode of “The Joy of Painting” went for $318,000 to a bidder on the phone.

“For a good cause — and you get the painting,” auctioneer Aaron Bastian said during the bidding. He invoked a common sentiment of Ross, who died in 1995, during a brief lull. “Bob would remind you that this is your world, and you can do anything you want.”

Another painting done on a 1993 episode, a lush, green landscape called “Home in the Valley,” went for $229,100. A third, “Cliffside,” sold for $114,800.

The final prices include a charge for the auction house added to the final bid known as the buyer’s premium. The identities of the buyers weren’t immediately revealed.

Bids for all three paintings went well past pre-auction estimates of their value, which topped out around $50,000.

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Three more Ross paintings will be up for auction at Bonhams in Marlborough, Massachusetts, on Jan. 27, with others to follow in New York and London.

All profits are pledged to stations that use content from distributor American Public Television.

Ross, a public television staple in the 1980s and ’90s, was known for his dome of hair and warm demeanor.

The special sales seek to help stations in need of licensing fees that allow them to show popular programs that along with Ross’ show include “America’s Test Kitchen,” “Julia Child’s French Chef Classics,” and “This Old House.” Small and rural stations are particularly challenged.

The stations “have been the gateway for generations of viewers to discover not just Bob’s gentle teaching, but the transformative power of the arts,” Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., said in a statement.

As sought by the Trump administration, Congress has eliminated $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting, leaving about 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations.

Ross died at age 52 of complications from cancer after 11 years in production with the therapeutic how-to show, “The Joy of Painting.” The former Air Force drill sergeant was a sort of pioneer, known for his calm — and calming — manner and encouraging words.

Ross spoke often as he worked on air about painting happy little clouds and trees, and making no mistakes, only “happy accidents.”

He has only became more popular in the decades since his death, and his shows saw a surge in popularity during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputies arrested a Mounds View High School teacher Tuesday on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct of a 17-year-old female student.

The 58-year-old was taken into custody at his Minneapolis home, according to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.

The teacher was put on administrative leave Monday and the school is cooperating with the investigation, Principal Rob Reetz wrote in a letter to parents on Tuesday.

“Because this is an active investigation and at this time there are no formal charges, we are limited in what we can share and when we can share it,” Reetz wrote. “We understand that this news may be upsetting to many, and our top concern remains focused on our students.”

The man is being held in the Ramsey County jail. He is an English language arts teacher and has worked for Mounds View Public Schools for 26 years, according to the school district.

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State and local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota are moving forward with an independent review of their response to the targeted shootings of two DFL state lawmakers at their homes in June.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Tuesday that an “after-action review” by the International Association of Chiefs of Police will focus on a 43-hour period, beginning with the first 911 call just after 2:30 a.m. June 14 and ending with Vance Boelter’s arrest near his home in rural Sibley County.

Boelter, 58, faces federal and state prosecution for allegedly killing Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their Brooklyn Park home, and wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin about an hour and a half earlier.

The review will assess law enforcement’s mobilization, coordination and communication during the manhunt, which was the largest in state history.

“I want to recognize the exceptional work of DPS staff and our law enforcement partners,” Commissioner Bob Jacobson said in a news release announcing the review. “This after-action review not only represents Minnesota’s commitment to learning and improving but also to honoring the lives that were lost and forever changed because of one person’s horrific actions.”

Agencies that requested the review include the Brooklyn Park, Champlin and New Hope police departments, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and State Patrol.

The study and report will cost $429,500, with Public Safety contributing $210,000 and the rest shared among the participating agencies.

Officials emphasized the review is not only intended to reflect on Minnesota’s response, coordination and communication but also to provide insights that could benefit law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher at a 2019 news conference. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has been asking for an after-action review since July.

“I welcome the review. I think it’ll be beneficial,” Fletcher said Tuesday. “And I’m a little surprised by the cost, but maybe that means it’ll be exceptionally thorough. My primary concerns rest with those early, first five hours in terms of how information was communicated to legislators.”

Police response

State and federal prosecutors say Boelter was driving a fake squad car, wearing tactical gear and announced himself as an officer when he went to the Hoffmans’ Champlin home around 2 a.m. June 14.

Boelter went to two more DFL legislators’ homes, though he didn’t encounter them, before he arrived at the Hortman home about 3:30 a.m., according to the federal charges.

Brooklyn Park officers went to check on the Hortman home after finding out about the Champlin shootings, encountered Boelter and exchanged gunfire with him before he escaped, prosecutors say.

Vance Luther Boelter is taken into custody on June 15, 2025. (Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)

Boelter allegedly had a list of addresses for Democratic elected officials and abortion providers in his vehicle, and had visited the homes of Sen. Ann Rest, New Hope, and Rep. Kristin Bahner, Maple Grove. Bahner was not home at the time, and Boelter allegedly left Rest’s street after a police officer arrived.

Local police became aware of the shootings just after 2 a.m., when Hoffman’s daughter called 911, and started responding to north Hennepin County legislators’ homes. A widespread alert did not happen until after 3:30 a.m., when officers encountered the shooter at the Hortmans’ home.

Public Safety has said teletype notifications went out to metro-area law enforcement agencies: one from the Brooklyn Park Police Department at 4:25 a.m. and another from the State Patrol at 4:40 a.m.

The notifications mentioned that the suspected shooter appeared to be impersonating a police officer and urged agencies to monitor elected officials’ residences.

Fletcher’s concerns

Three weeks after the shooting, Fletcher pressed public safety officials for answers on how they handled notifying legislators and law enforcement agencies of the ongoing threat.

In a July 7 letter to security officials at the Minnesota Capitol, Fletcher raised concerns about information sharing between law enforcement and state leaders. Fletcher said the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office did not learn of the shootings, details about the suspect or the fact that the suspect had been targeting lawmakers until hours after the information had become available to other officials and law enforcement agencies.

Fletcher, in a July 28 letter to Jacobson, continued to push DPS for answers on the notification processes for legislators and law enforcement in an emergency. He said he learned during a July 9 law enforcement briefing with Jacobson, “several chiefs and sheriffs raised the issue of delayed notification on June 14th.”

Fletcher said he was aware that State Patrol Capitol Security Division Capt. Eric Roeske was notified at 2:37 a.m. of the shootings of the Hoffmans.

In addition to the 4:40 a.m. teletype, Fletcher said a State Patrol captain called one of his undersheriffs at 6:42 a.m. Fletcher said he talked at 7 a.m. to the superintendent of the BCA, who told him some names of legislators on Boelter’s “list,” and “we then deployed deputies to all the elected officials in suburban Ramsey County.”

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Fletcher said there was some “great police work done once everyone was communicating and working together. But the initial five hours in terms of communication could have been improved in my estimation. And I’m confident that the after action report will describe that.”

Fletcher said he has yet to get an answer as to his question of who exactly should be notifying lawmakers and state law enforcement of potential threats.

“And it appears that no one wants to take responsibility for that duty. And that’s disappointing,” he said. “That’s disappointing, and dangerous.”