State health officials are urging anyone who ate a hamburger at a restaurant since Halloween and who has developed diarrhea, particularly bloody diarrhea, to contact a medical provider to check for E. coli infection.

The Minnesota Department of Health said at least 10 cases of E. coli infection have been established from people who ate burgers at several Red Cow locations in Hennepin, Ramsey and Olmsted counties. At least one other person became infected after eating at Hen House Eatery in Minneapolis, which used the same type of ground beef, officials said.

That particular ground beef product was also used at other restaurants, so additional cases might be reported, a news release Friday said.

If anyone ate at a restaurant, particularly an undercooked burger, since Oct. 31 and then developed diarrhea the following week, they are asked to contact their health care provider, officials said.

The people who have confirmed E. coli infections in the state range from 9 to 70 years old. Two people were hospitalized. The meals were eaten between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 and illnesses appeared from Nov. 4 through Nov. 9.

The ground beef product was also distributed to other establishments, so additional cases from other locations could be identified. Health officials say there are other potential cases that they are investigating.

Officials say the owners of the two restaurants are fully cooperating and have made multiple changes including changing products to prevent further illnesses. The state health department is working with the state agriculture department and other local agencies during this investigation.

Symptoms of E. coli include stomach cramps and diarrhea, often with bloody stools and only a low-grade or no fever. People typically become ill two to five days after eating a contaminated product but could be sick as many as eight days after. Most people recover in five to 10 days, but officials say about 5% of infections can lead to severe problems.

About 100 cases of E. coli are reported each year in the state.

— Kristi Miller

Man who killed family got gun permit in September

The man suspected of killing four people and himself last week had previously threatened his wife with a knife and said he wanted his family killed if Donald Trump became president.

Search warrants filed this week in the West Duluth murder-suicide investigation also reveal that Anthony “Tony” Nephew applied for and received a gun permit in September, two months after being hospitalized following a domestic assault call.

Authorities believe Nephew, 46, fatally shot his ex-partner, Erin Abramson, 47, and their son, Jacob Nephew, 15, before going to his own home and killing his wife, Kathryn “Kat” Nephew Ramsland, 45, and their son, Oliver Nephew, 7. Nephew had openly discussed mental health struggles in the past, saying the issue was “left untreated or ignored by society” and ominously foreshadowing in a 2021 newspaper op-ed: “For millions of Americans, a breakdown leads to suicide — or homicide before suicide.”

The warrants indicate police had been dispatched July 3, when Ramsland reported her husband was suicidal. An officer wrote Tony Nephew “had attacked her, and he needed help.”

He admitted to the officer that he held a knife to Ramsland’s throat, the report states, but he was described as “cooperative” and asked to be transported to Aspirus St. Luke’s.

Police records indicated Nephew had applied for the gun permit Sept. 9 and received it the same day. While he was known to have mental health issues, Minnesota court records do not list any criminal convictions or civil commitments on his record.

— Forum News Service

Boy’s remains buried 65 years after being found

PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — The remains of a 7-year-old boy were buried Friday, a solemn last act in a yearlong effort to confirm the identity of a skeleton found decades ago in a road culvert in Wisconsin.

The boy was known as Markku Jutila when he disappeared in 1959, the name given to him by his adoptive parents in Houghton County, Michigan. But records and DNA tests this year revealed that his birth name was Chester Breiney, the Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, sheriff’s office announced Nov. 8.

The boy’s adoptive parents were charged in his death in 1966. Despite incriminating statements, the case against them was ultimately dismissed in Houghton County because of a lack of solid evidence connecting the couple to the skeletal remains.

Chester “most likely suffered from significant neglect” based on the condition of his teeth as well as bone formation that was probably the result of infection or trauma, the sheriff’s office said, citing recent examination by experts.

Chester’s adoptive parents died in 1988.

“There will be no future prosecution in this case,” the sheriff’s office said.

A funeral Mass was held Friday at St. Peter of Alcantara Church in Port Washington, Wisconsin, followed by burial at a local cemetery. A children’s choir sang hymns, and pews were filled with law enforcement officers and community members.

“Chester may now rest in peace as the truth of his death is known. No child should leave this Earth like Chester did,” the sheriff’s office said..

— Associated Press