More details have been released about a shooting in Belgrade over the weekend. 44-year-old James Basore of Belgrade made his first appearance in Stearns County District Court Tuesday on charges of Attempted 2nd Degree Murder and 2nd Degree Assault.
According to the criminal complaint, shortly before 12 noon Saturday a male and a juvenile female drove up to Basore’s home on School Street, just east of Belgrade, and the male went to the door of the home and knocked on the door to ask for a cigarette. There was no answer, and the male then went back to the vehicle and was talking with the female when Basore appeared and knocked on the passenger side window, then started shooting at the male.
The victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the right shoulder, his right arm, finger, and nose. The complaint says the bullet that hit his nose went into the back of the victim’s throat, and he may have swallowed it. Basore’s mother called the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department to report the shooting, and later Basore himself called 911 and surrendered without incident.
A 22 caliber weapon was found on the kitchen table. Police say traces of methamphetamine were found on Basore, and family members told police he had “issues with meth.” and Basore thought people were “messing with his house.” Basore told police he thought the shooting victim had “been raping his daughter,” who was not at the scene of the shooting.
In court Tuesday, bail was set at 1 million dollars unconditional and 750 thousand dollars conditional. Basore’s next court date is an omnibus hearing March 20th
On this day in music, February 25, 1995, Frank Sinatra performed his final concert at the Palm Springs Marriott Desert Spring Resort, as part of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. The 79-year-old icon, who was one of the most popular entertainers of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, closed out the show with one of his signature hits, “The Best Is Yet to Come” (a title that was later etched on his tombstone). Sinatra’s final appearance in front of a live audience took place later in the year, during a star-studded 80th birthday event at The Shrine Auditorium. Sinatra died in 1998 at the age of 82.
In 1956, Elvis Presley scored his first No.1 hit on Billboard’s Country & Western charts with “I Forget to Remember to Forget.” Written by Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers, the song marked Presley’s final single on Sun Records before he moved to RCA.
In 2009, President Barack Obama honored Stevie Wonder with the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize. Wonder’s 1970 single, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” was the theme song of Obama’s campaign, while the 44th President cited the prodigy as his musical hero. Established in 2007, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song recognizes artists for a lifetime of contributions to popular music.
In 1984, Van Halen’s “Jump” began a five-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The high-energy song, which served as the lead single off their sixth studio album, 1984, went on to become their most successful hit. It later earned Van Halen their first Grammy nod.
In 1977, mod revivalists The Jam signed to Polydor Records for just £6,000. Over the next five years, they would score 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the UK.
BORN ON FEBRUARY 25
1943: George Harrison (The Beatles)
1947: Doug Yule (Velvet Underground)
1950: Emitt Rhodes
1953: John Doe (X)
1957: Dennis Diken (The Smithereens)
1957: Stuart “Woody” Wood (Bay City Rollers)
1969: Mike Peters (The Alarm, Big Country)
1965: Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Bad Religion)
1971: Daniel Powter
This week is National FFA Week. It’s a national observance and each individual chapter finds its own ways to celebrate.
The FFA students at Litchfield High School had a trivia event for Middle School students on Monday, wrote thank you notes to their sponsors yesterday, are wearing their FFA shirts today, will host a breakfast for staff at their school tomorrow, and will have a cook-out for their chapter members on Friday.
Litchfield High School Junior Emmett VanDerBill, who is the LHS FFA Chapter President, says he’s on the crops team and they are practicing to compete at the state convention in April. He says he lives in town, but his family operates a farm west of Litchfield, and he’s planning to learn the electrician trade after finishing high school – at Ridgewater College.
VanDerBill says members of the Litchfield FFA Chapter help at the Moo Booth at the Meeker County Fair each summer. Litchfield FFA Vice President Bianca Forsberg says working at the booth helps to raise funds for the Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee of which many of the FFA students are involved. The Litchfield High School Junior says she’s planning to become an ag teacher after high school, and she’s getting some practice as she and Des Polzin have been teaming up on a project to teach ag education.
Forsberg says she lives in Darwin, not on a farm, but FFA teaches more than ag-related topics such as leadership and life skills.
From February 21st to the 22nd, the Central MN Human Trafficking Task Force, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, conducted an enforcement detail in the Central Minnesota area. The enforcement detail resulted in five arrests.
Four individuals were arrested for gross misdemeanor crimes related to attempting to purchase sex and one individual was arrested for felony level solicitation of a person under 18. All five individuals will be charged via complaint by the Stearns County Attorney’s Office and are pending court appearances.
There are also several active and ongoing electronic solicitation of a child investigations resulting from the detail. Additional arrests are anticipated. As these investigations remain ongoing, no further details are available. The Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force consists of officers from the St. Cloud Police Department, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and the Sartell Police Department. All three agencies provided additional officers to assist with the operation.
