Washington County authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Sunday just south of Lake Isabelle in Hastings.

According to the police release, police responded to a 911 call shortly before 10 a.m. on the 1300 block of Ravenna Trail (10th Street), about 150 feet east of the bridge that crosses the Vermillion River.

While the man’s identity has not been confirmed, investigators believe this incident is connected to a sheriff’s office investigation of a suspicious fire in Denmark Township. Anyone with information is urged to come forward.

Investigators are asking anyone who saw a vehicle stopped at that location between 2 a.m. Saturday and 9:50 a.m. on Sunday to contact the Hastings police at 651-480-2300 or the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 651-439-9381.

— Pioneer Press

Marine on St. Croix

Marine Village Hall remodel to start soon

The Marine on St. Croix Village Hall is about to undergo a major remodel.

The Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has served as housing for government offices since it was built in 1888. It is the oldest village hall in the state still being used for governmental purposes. It is currently used for city council and planning commission meetings and houses the community library.

The remodel, which starts Feb. 17, will make city offices more secure by enlarging the assistant clerk’s office and creating a new waiting room area for visitors with window access to the clerk’s office, officials said.

The current council chambers will be remodeled to create new office space for the city administrator, along with a smaller conference room meeting space. Other additions: a new accessible bathroom, updating of existing bathrooms, new kitchen space and a janitor’s closet.

During the remodel, administrative staff will temporarily move their offices to the upstairs of the Village Hall. City council and planning commission meetings will permanently move to the upstairs as well.

The $244,000 project, which is expected to be completed in mid-June, is being paid for with $184,000 in city funds and a $60,000 donation from the Marine Restoration Society, said Mayor Kevin Nyenhuis.

— Mary Divine

New Hope, Minn.

Basketball player beaten during game

Charges have been filed after a high school basketball player was assaulted and seriously injured during a game in the Twin Cities.

The incident happened Tuesday night at Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, during a game against Fridley. Authorities said several people entered the gym and targeted a 17-year-old Fridley player on the bench.

The male victim was “struck on the top of the head with a metal tire iron, attacked with punches and attempted to be stabbed with a knife,” according to criminal complaints filed in Hennepin County court. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital and needed six staples to close the laceration on his head.

Three people were charged in the case on Thursday: 18-year-olds Dursa Muktar Mohamed and Yahya Abdul Khanyare, both of Brooklyn Park, and 19-year-old Ayub Mohamed Ali of Circle Pines. They each face charges of second-degree assault and second-degree riot.

Mohamed is also charged with fleeing police.

Two other people, including a 16-year-old, were also arrested in connection with the assault and face charges.

The charges don’t outline a possible motive for the attack. Police said the incident was not random. Robbinsdale school officials said the suspects were not students in the district.

According to the criminal complaints against the three adults:

Video footage shows a group of male suspects arriving at the school together in a red sedan on Tuesday evening, and taking weapons from the vehicle. After several minutes, they “make their way to the gym, avoiding the ticketed point of entry, and walk straight toward the bench where the victim is seated.”

One of the suspects runs toward the victim and strikes him with the tire iron. Teammates and coaches moved to protect the victim, and the suspects fled by car.

Responding police officers attempted to stop the car but the driver allegedly fled, and ended up crashing while trying to access a nearby freeway.

— MPR News