Signs asking pilots to “fly neighborly” to reduce aircraft noise will be installed at Lake Elmo Airport this spring.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission plans to install signs at the Lake Elmo Airport in the spring of 2024 asking pilots to reduce aircraft noise. MAC officials said Tuesday, Feb, 27, 2024, that they are “still determining the appropriate quantity and location of signs.” (Courtesy of the Metropolitan Airports Commission)

Officials with the Metropolitan Airports Commission say the signs — the total number and locations of which have yet to be determined — are one of many steps being taken to reduce noise complaints associated with the suburban airport.

On Monday night, the Lake Elmo Airport Advisory Commission unanimously recommended a noise abatement plan. The plan, officially called the Noise Abatement Recommended Practices document, will be published by MAC by March 31 and distributed to Lake Elmo Airport users.

The voluntary measures in the document were developed by airport users, local residents, city officials, commission members and MAC officials, among others.

The document recommends that pilots at the airport avoid “stop-and-go operations” and avoid “repetitive activity over residences, including when conducting flight-training activities.” It also asks pilots to “choose a path that avoids flying over residential areas if practical … when departing the traffic pattern.”

The document also suggests that pilots avoid operating aircraft during nighttime hours, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The number of complaints about Lake Elmo Airport operations increased exponentially after the airport’s runway was relocated and expanded in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2023, MAC logged 5,266 complaints that ranged from excessive noise to frequency of flights to low-flying aircraft, among others. By comparison, during that same three-month period a year earlier, MAC received 606 complaints about Lake Elmo Airport.

The new 3,500-foot runway at Lake Elmo, which opened in July 2022, was part of a $23.9 million multiyear project to improve airfield infrastructure and provide safer operations, according to MAC. The project included converting the previous runway into a taxiway, realigning 30th Street North, upgrading instrument-approach technology and installing new lights and signage.

Flight school issues

Many neighbors objected to the expansion plan, citing concerns about noise and the possibility of more and larger aircraft using the airport. Those concerns have been realized, said Mary Vierling, who lives near the airport’s runway.

Since the expansion, Lake Elmo Aero, the flight school that operates out of Lake Elmo Airport, has dramatically increased operations, she said.

“Eighty percent of the problem is the flight school,” Vierling told the advisory commission members during their meeting at Baytown Township Hall. “A voluntary noise abatement will not solve this problem. There was no transparency on the part of MAC — only deceit — when they continually assured the surrounding communities that the number of operations and type of aircraft would not likely change from what we had experienced in previous years.”

Flight training “of this enormous capacity is not compatible with this airport or the neighbors with the location of the new runway,” Vierling said.

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A flight school has been operating out of Lake Elmo Airport for more than 30 years; Lake Elmo Aero has operated there for six years, said Nathan Ruedy, director of flight training.

Ruedy, a member of the Lake Elmo Airport Advisory Commission, told his fellow commission members on Monday night that he planned to share the noise abatement recommend practices document with instructors and students at Lake Elmo Aero. “We can spread that knowledge,” he said.

Lake Elmo Aero, which currently employs 20 flight instructors, plans to continue to grow, Ruedy said.

“We intend to do well,” he said. “We have a great reputation. We also want to be a part of the community, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure that our noise levels are reduced and within the scope of this document — if not even a little bit further.”

Has to be voluntary

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits restrictions of flight paths to and from airports, restricted hours of operation, and discriminatory access to airports, according to MAC. The federal Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 limits an airport’s ability to impose restrictions based on aircraft noise.

As a public-use airport, Lake Elmo Airport is subject to federal regulations, and MAC cannot levy fines, restrict hours of operation, or restrict access to the airport for the purpose of noise abatement, MAC officials said.

MAC officials plan to share the noise abatement recommend practices document through the creation and publication of a “Fly Neighborly Guide” and in newsletter articles to pilots. They also plan to hold pilot meetings and create an FAA chart supplement, said Philip Tiedeman, the airport’s manager.

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A third and final defendant pleaded guilty Tuesday in the killing of 22-year-old Alex Becker, who was shot six times in the alley behind his St. Paul house after walking home from work in December 2022.

Arteze Owen Kinerd, 21, of Minneapolis, entered the plea to aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder in the killing of Becker, who prosecutors argued was ambushed in an apparent attempted robbery by Kinerd and his two accomplices. Kinerd’s jury trial was scheduled to start this week.

Arteze Owen Kinerd (Courtesy of Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

As part of the same hearing, Kinerd also pleaded guilty to a kidnapping charge that involved carjacking a man in the Merriam Park neighborhood less than three weeks before Becker’s slaying.

Kinerd and the prosecution agreed to a prison term that will fall on the low end of state sentencing guidelines, which calls for a minimum of nearly 22 years, according to Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County attorney’s office spokesman. Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, and both sentences will run concurrently.

Becker’s mother, Tara Becker, wrote on her Facebook page after the plea that she doesn’t agree with the terms.

“I feel the offered sentence is too low and that Kinerd will continue to hurt people on his release from prison,” she wrote.

She said her son was a “beautiful kind human being” and that she “will never be okay.”

“I struggle every moment of every single day,” she said. “My son was targeted for a robbery, ambushed, and murdered by strangers.”

Kinerd’s plea comes after jurors on Dec. 19 found Detwan Cortell Allen, 20, guilty of the same murder charge. He’s scheduled to be sentenced April 26.

Earlier in December, Judge JaPaul Harris acquitted Shaun Lamar Travis, 26, of the same charge. Travis waived his right to a jury trial and a bench trial was held instead. Harris concluded there wasn’t a dispute about Travis being present, but said the prosecution didn’t prove all of the elements of an intentional murder charge to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Video surveillance shows suspects

Alex Becker (Courtesy of Hidy Hammarsten)

Becker was walking home late Dec. 27, 2022, from his first shift back to work at Goodin Co. after a Christmas break. After clocking out at 11:15 p.m. from the Como Avenue heating and plumbing parts company, where his dad works, Becker began his walk home on the snow-covered streets. He had been saving up for a car, his mother testified at Allen’s trial.

The first police officers arrived to the North End alley between Lawson and Hatch avenues just after midnight and found Becker lying on the ground, not breathing and with no pulse. His body was still warm. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators found seven 9mm shell casings near Becker’s body. His cellphone and earbuds were found at the scene, according to court documents. Items found on him included his wallet, which included a credit card and $68, and a check for $500.

Surveillance video showed a Toyota Camry, which had been stolen the night before in Brooklyn Center, go past Becker as he was walking north on Kent Street near Hatch Avenue around 11:51 p.m. Allen, who prosecutors said was driving, made the first turn he could, followed by an immediate U-turn, based on surveillance video. He parked and Allen, Kinerd and Travis got out.

When Becker walked into the alley, the trio ran after him, prosecutors said. Prosecutors noted that there was no evidence the men knew Becker.

Another resident’s surveillance system then recorded four rapid gunshots followed by three rapid gunshots and a final gunshot.

 Gun recovered in Minneapolis

Officers found the Camry four days later parked three blocks from Kinerd’s apartment building in North Minneapolis.

Investigators learned that Allen, Kinerd and Travis had left the apartment less than two hours before the shooting and that they wore the same distinct clothing as the men who followed Becker into the alley, the charges said. Surveillance video showed them returning to the apartment about a half-hour after the killing, and staying there for the night.

Police arrested Kinerd at a gas station near his apartment. A handgun was found hidden on a store shelf where he had ducked down after seeing officers. Forensic ballistic tests came back showing the gun was used in Becker’s killing, the charges said.

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By JON GAMBRELL (Associated Press)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A rocket exploded late Tuesday night off the side of a ship traveling through the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, authorities said, the latest suspected attack to be carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The attack comes as the Houthis continue a series of assaults at sea over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and as the U.S. and its allies launch airstrikes trying to stop them.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which oversees shipping in the Mideast, reported the attack happened about 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the coast of the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida. The rocket exploded several miles off the bow of the vessel, it said.

“The crew and vessel are reported to be safe and are proceeding to next port of call,” the UKMTO said.

The private security firm Ambrey reported that the vessel targeted appeared to be a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier in the area at the time. Another ship, a Panama-flagged, Emirati-owned chemical tanker was nearby as well, Ambrey said.

The Associated Press could not immediately identify the vessels involved.

The Houthis typically take several hours to claim their assaults and have not yet done so for the assault late Tuesday.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war. Those vessels have included at least one with cargo for Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled territory.

Despite over a month of U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels remain capable of launching significant attacks. Last week, they severely damaged a ship in a crucial strait and downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip, which have enraged the wider Arab world and seen the Houthis gain international recognition.

The Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite group, seized Yemen’s capital in 2014 and have battled a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. Their Zaydi people ran a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen up until 1962.

SACRAMENTO, California — This could be one of the most consequential elections for Californians — but you wouldn’t know that by looking at ballot returns: Turnout is on track to be the lowest in history.

Only 1.7 million of California’s 22 million registered voters had returned their mail-in ballots as of Tuesday. That’s about 8 percent of the total, according to Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., which monitors turnout.

A few hundred votes could make a world of difference in California’s swing districts — including those held by Republican Reps. David Valadao and John Duarte in the Central Valley — which will help decide control of the House of Representatives.

Then there’s the high-stakes Senate race, where Democratic Rep. Katie Porter is straining to box out Republican Steve Garvey for second place behind Rep. Adam Schiff. 

Lower turnout generally means fewer Democrats are voting. “This is the kind of thing that would benefit Steve Garvey,” Mitchell said.

Primary turnout is typically all over the map. But there’s at least the potential for this year to be among the lowest in history due to an all-but-decided presidential primary and voter apathy.

California is lagging behind the 2022 midterm return rate, when the state had more ballots returned by this point in the race. Ultimately, 2022 saw a 33 percent turnout.

There’s dozens of factors that could affect the state’s final turnout number, but Mitchell is cautiously speculating that only 29 percent of California’s registered voters will turn in their ballots, falling below the current record low of 31 percent in 2012.

“Voters don’t view this as being an election that is the ‘most important election’ of their lifetime,” Mitchell said.

This is the exact thing California’s Democrat-dominated government has been trying to avoid. The state in recent years has taken steps to increase voter turnout, including sanctioning a “motor voter” program allowing eligible voters to register at the DMV, and automatically sending all eligible voters mail ballots.

A recent pollfrom the Public Policy Institute of California found low numbers of likely voters are excited about the election. Less than 40 percent said they were “extremely” or “very” enthusiastic about voting for president this year. That number dropped even further (28 percent) when it came to voting for Congress.

Another factor that helps drive up turnout is a competitive battle at the top of the ballot. But with President Joe Biden holding steady as the presumptive nominee for Democrats, and former President Donald Trump making a near clean-sweep through the early Republican primary states, there’s so far little cause for action in the top contests.

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