NEW ULM, Minn. (WCCO) – A New Ulm police investigator has been arrested and charged for alleged criminal sexual conduct with a pre-teen girl. Eric Alan Gramentz, 42, faces two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 years of age. He was charged in Brown County on Wednesday. According to the criminal complaint, Gramentz touched girl about four years ago, when she was 11 or 12 years old, telling her he was teaching her how to masturbate. The victim came forward on Sunday, saying Gramentz touched her between one and 15 times total. Gramentz allegedly told her not to tell any ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Authorities in southern Minnesota say a man was hospitalized Tuesday after he was stopped by police in New Ulm, struggled with an officer and shot himself. The New Ulm Police Department says the incident happened shortly after 8 p.m. when an officer stopped the man on the 500 block of 7th South Street. During the stop, the man became noncompliant and combative, police say. Amid a struggle with the officer, he pulled out a gun and shot himself. An ambulance brought the man to a local hospital. Police did not describe the nature or severity of the man’s injuries. The police ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — One person was hurt Tuesday evening when a grain elevator exploded in New Ulm. The city’s fire department says crews responded around 6:30 p.m. to a report of an explosion at the Farmer’s Co-op of Hanska’s Burdick Elevator located on the 200 block of North Water Street. (credit: CBS) Emergency crews found the wounded person responsive at the scene and brought them to a local hospital for treatment. Fire crews stayed at the elevator for about four hours dealing with the aftermath of the blast. The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the New Ulm Fire Departmen ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Gov. Tim Walz announced Thursday funding for two major road construction projects. The governor says the state received a $22 million federal grant to expand Highway 14 between Nicollet and New Ulm. This will turn the final 12-miles of two-lane traffic into a four-lane highway. The state also received $15 million to replace the Highway 10 bridge over the Rum River in Anoka. Work on both projects is expected to begin in 2022 ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Bishop John LeVoir announced Thursday he is resigning from the Diocese of New Ulm due to health reasons. LeVoir, who was born and raised in Minneapolis, was appointed to the position by Pope Benedict XVI on July 14, 2008. Pope Francis accepted his resignation, effective Thursday. According to the diocese, LeVoir has been undergoing physical and psychological assessment at Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center in Alma, Michigan. He will stay there until early September while he completes therapy. “Although these last years have been very challenging for the diocese and ..read more

NEW ULM, Minn. (WCCO/AP) — A U.S. bankruptcy court judge has approved the $34 million settlement of the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota and the nearly 100 people who say they were sexually abused by priests and others. The settlement was reached last summer. “The Church is a safer place for children and young people today thanks to the courage of abuse survivors who advocated strongly for changes to protect the vulnerable and hold abusers and Church leaders accountable. I am grateful to them for their bravery and perseverance,” Bishop John LeVoir said. “I apologize for the harm they endured, k ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two people were able to escape a pickup truck Monday after it broke through the ice on a south-central Minnesota lake. The Brown County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened on Lake Hanska, about 15 miles south of New Ulm. Both people inside the truck were able to get out safely. The truck remains half-submerged in the lake, officials say, although arrangements have been made to free it from the ice. The sheriff’s office cautions those who would venture out onto the ice to be careful, noting that no ice is ever 100% safe. The recent spell of mild weather is also some ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Late Tuesday afternoon, the New Ulm Police Department received a tip from the FBI office in Mankato about a possible threat at New Ulm High School. Officials then conducted an investigation Wednesday, learning the threat had occurred over social media. The suspected student was removed from the building without incident and is cooperating with law enforcement. Officials are conducting a criminal investigation and applying search warrants to learn more from the student’s social media data. As of Wednesday afternoon, no additional students were involved with the threat ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — With Christmas coming there’s a place where you can find traditional German ornaments. You can also find German chocolates, sauerkraut and beer steins — and those are just a few of the countless things you’ll find at Domeier’s German Store. In this week’s Finding Minnesota, John Lauritsen takes us to New Ulm where Domeier’s is celebrating 85 years of authentic history. “I’ve heard it’s the most German town in the United States,” said Anne Morris. It’s hard to argue with that. New Ulm has a giant German Glockenspiel downtown, famous Schell’s Brewery and taproom, and Herman ..read more

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The small town of New Ulm is coming together to mourn the loss of 16-year-old Jackson Bieraugel. “Well liked, kind of a carefree, comical type of kid,” said New Ulm superintendent Jeff Bertrang. It was a somber Tuesday at New Ulm High School, where Bieraugel was a junior. “They have time to reflect, spend time together as a group, staff members kind of mill around and support people, we have our counselors doing their thing, and just basically power down for the day academically so students have time to process,” Bertrang said. Just a few minutes after school let out at 3 ..read more