Following a recent rash of break-ins, thefts and vandalism, the Department of Natural Resources’ Region 3 headquarters in St. Paul has locked its visitor entrance and increased other security measures.

A DNR spokesperson said the increase in incidents at the 1200 Warner Road office coincides with the growth of an encampment nearby at Pig’s Eye Park. A person who described himself as homeless was charged recently in connection with one DNR burglary.

With the closure of a nearby encampment in the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary in January, the population at Pig’s Eye Park increased from about 14 people to 40, according to Casey Rodriguez, a communications manager for the Department of Safety and Inspections. The department estimates the encampment currently has 90 residents, though exact numbers are hard to pin down because people come and go every day, Rodriguez said.

The department was first made aware of the Pig’s Eye encampment in September 2023. The Homeless Assistance Response Team works with the St. Paul Fire Department and Community Alternative Response Emergency Services to conduct fire safety assessments, assist with cleaning and connect interested residents at encampments with support services. There are no current plans to clear the encampment at Pig’s Eye Park, said Rodriguez.

The Homeless Assistance Response Team gives people at the encampment hot meals and clothes and helps them find housing.

“HART is focused on helping people in the encampments,” Sydney Kamps, an employee at HART, said. “Housing is a really big issue right now.”

Burglary charge

A sign for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Central Regional Headquarters in St. Paul. (Claudia Staut / Pioneer Press)

A 30-year-old man was charged Oct. 29 with burglary in connection with one DNR incident, according to Ramsey County Court records. A DNR employee found him in one of the garages on Aug. 18 with a DNR coat on that did not belong to him. A backpack from the garage also was taken. St. Paul police arrested the man on Oct. 27, where they found him on a stolen ATV. He admitted to entering the garage, according to the criminal complaint.

He told investigators he’s homeless and sleeps in a tent, according the court records. He said he did not have the backpack or coat with him and that people steal things from his tent.

The headquarters has documented 10 recent break-ins in fenced areas and storage buildings, according to Margaret Snyder, media specialist for the DNR. They estimate costs of $62,780 in stolen items and $30,000 in damage. The most expensive items stolen were fishery research equipment ranging in value from $3,000 to $15,000.

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Stolen items include hand tools and a boat motor. Research equipment, vehicles, fences and garage doors have been vandalized and damaged.

Alyssa Arcand, public information officer for the St. Paul Police Department, said they are working on finding those responsible for the damage, vandalism and thefts. There were 10 incident reports filed from Aug. 12, 2025 to Sept. 8, 2025. There were nine reported incidents in all of 2023 at the headquarters and 27 in 2024, according to the police department. There have been 50 reported incidents in 2025 so far.

The headquarters installed more cameras and increased security patrols between July and October. Since then, they have experienced fewer break-ins, thefts and vandalism.

Visitors need to contact the headquarters to get into the office. They have no specific timeline for revisiting how the visitor entrance will operate in the future.

The headquarters manages fisheries, hatchery operations, wildlife and forests. They also maintain state trails and public water access.

Today is Saturday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2025. There are 32 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Nov. 29, 1864, a Colorado militia launched an unprovoked attack on an encampment of Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribal members, killing an estimated 230 people.

Also on this date:

In 1929, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.

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In 1961, Enos the chimpanzee was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited Earth twice before splashing down safely south of Bermuda.

In 1981, film star Natalie Wood drowned at age 43 while boating off California’s Santa Catalina Island with her husband Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.

In 1987, a Korean Air 707 jetliner en route from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok was destroyed by a bomb planted by North Korean agents, killing all 115 people aboard.

In 2001, former Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.

In 2012, the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to grant Palestine non-observer member state status, a vote that came exactly 65 years after the General Assembly adopted a plan to divide Palestine into separate states for Jews and Arabs.

In 2022, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol rioting. (Sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2023, he was freed in 2025 under President Donald Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Filmmaker Joel Coen is 71.
Actor-TV personality Howie Mandel is 70.
Actor Cathy Moriarty is 65.
Actor Kim Delaney is 64.
Actor Andrew McCarthy is 63.
Actor Don Cheadle is 61.
Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 57.
Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is 56.
Actor Brian Baumgartner is 53.
Actor Anna (AH’-nuh) Faris is 49.
Rapper The Game is 46.
Actor Gemma Chan is 43.
Actor Lucas Black is 43.
NFL quarterback Russell Wilson is 37.

No. 10 Wisconsin’s well-oiled offensive machine crushed No. 18 Minnesota at Maturi Pavilion Friday night in straight sets, 25-18, 25-18, 25-17.

An all-encompassing first set win for the Badgers set the tone, and Wisconsin duplicated that dominance in sets two and three. Wisconsin overcame 14 service errors by outclassing Minnesota in the kills department, 52-26, and hit .385.

Cook said the Badgers were the more assertive team, and it led to Minnesota fighting an uphill battle from the first set.

“You’re either applying pressure or feeling it,” Cook said. “Their attacking made it difficult for us in transition. Their serving made it difficult for us to side out.”

The Gophers only led for a single point in the match, the first point of the second set, on a kill from freshman outside hitter Kelly Kinney.

Minnesota’s capacity crowd created a cacophony of noise to charge up the Gophers before a senior night “Border Battle.” Wisconsin arrived in Minneapolis on an eight-match win streak, one of those victories being a four-set home win over Minnesota on Nov. 5.

Badgers senior outside hitter Mimi Colyer opened the match with three kills on three swings and her back-to-back aces midway through Set 1 gave the Badgers a 15-10 edge.

Cook said the service pressure Wisconsin was able to apply was a big factor in the match.

“They were really aggressive from the service line, more than they were the first time we played them,” Cook said. “So, that (causes) some problems for us right away.”

The Badgers finished with eight aces compared to the Gophers’ three in the match.

Minnesota bounced back with a five-point scoring run out of its timeout. Senior outside hitter Julia Hanson registered two service aces in that stretch.

The visitors blasted through the Minnesota block and built a commanding lead late to snatch the first set. Wisconsin’s hitters teed off in Set 1, but four service errors allowed Minnesota to hang around in the first half of the set.

The Badgers posted 19 kills to Minnesota’s five in the first set, while Wisconsin hit .300 in a set they controlled from the first serve. It looked bleak for the Gophers as Wisconsin was 20-1 in matches they won the first set.

The second set mirrored Set 1 as Wisconsin jumped out to an early lead, but a 4-0 Gophers run with Hanson at the service line kept it tight. The Badgers followed suit with a 5-0 scoring run, leading to an eight-point advantage en route to a Set 2 win.

Wisconsin turned on cruise control in the third set as it decisively swept Minnesota. Badgers sophomore setter Charlie Fuerbringer put up a match-high 39 assists, and Colyer produced a team-high 13 kills and nine digs.

It was the first win for Wisconsin at Maturi Pavilion since 2021.

Cook said he told his team post-game that their best “moment” is still ahead of them.

“If we play the way that we are capable next week, I think we’ll be very happy,” Cook said. “I told them I’m looking forward to (coaching) them either at ‘The Pav’ or traveling with them on the road.”

Minnesota shifts its focus to the NCAA Tournament selection show at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Gophers’ four-set win over No. 11 Purdue on Wednesday aided their quest to host the first two rounds, but being swept at home did not help the cause.

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Men’s basketball: Gophers fall to Stanford

Brace yourself, Gopher men’s basketball fans, the fast-approaching Big Ten schedule could be even more difficult than previously predicted.

With early league play starting next week, the Minnesota men’s basketball team fell to 4-4 in nonconference play after a 86-75 loss to Santa Clara on Friday in the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Springs, Calif.

Santa Clara, which is picked to finish fourth in West Coast Conference, never trailed and led by 31 midway through the second half. Minnesota’s 20-5 run over the final four minutes masked how bad the score had become.

“We knew going into (Friday) we were going to get pressured and pressed,” head coach Niko Medved said on the KFAN postgame show. “Obviously, it caused us a lot of problems early in the game. I thought they really, really wore us down. It  looked like fatigue had set in early. They were shooting it well. We just dug ourselves a hole really, really quickly.”

Minnesota, which was picked to finish 16th in the 18-team Big Ten, opens up early conference play with No. 25 Indiana at Williams Arena on Wednesday, followed by a trip to play No. 1 Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., on Dec. 10.

The Gophers roster might be even more shorthanded next week.

On Friday, the Gophers were already down two starters, center Robert Vaihola (knee) and point guard Chansey Willis (foot). Willis was playing through a foot injury for a couple games, but it forced him to exit the 72-68 loss to Stanford on Thursday.

On top of those two, starting power forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson injured his left ankle and didn’t return late in the second half. He got it re-taped, but the stage of the blowout might have influenced Medved not putting him back in the game.

Santa Clara went on a 14-4 run to lead 42-22 with four minutes left in the half. They were up 51-27 at the half, on the back of 62% from the field.

The Broncos shot 52% from 3-point range (16 of 31) to Minnesota’s 29% from deep (9 of 24).

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