Latest news with #OlmstedCounty
CBS News
17-07-2025
- CBS News
David Brom, convicted of killing his family in 1988, to be released from prison at end of month
A Rochester, Minnesota, man convicted of killing four family members with an axe will soon be released from prison. David Brom is scheduled to be released to a Twin Cities halfway house on July 29. He served more than 35 years for the 1988 murders of his parents and two younger siblings. He was 16 at the time. Brom was sentenced to three life sentences, but became eligible for parole under a Minnesota law passed in 2023 that ended juvenile life without parole sentences. Current Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson was one of the first responders called to the scene more than 37 years ago. He released a message reacting to the news of Brom's release. "I cannot stop what is already in motion, and I, we, as the public, must trust the parole board's decision and must hope Mr. Brom is ready for this transition in his life," Togerson said. "I'm very pleased to hear that, but it is still hard for me to accept and forget the sights and smells of what I saw that Thursday evening in 1988." Brom will still be under supervision and be subject to GPS monitoring after his release. Twenty-eight states have banned juvenile life without parole sentences, according to the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted Rochester ax killer set for limited release at end of month
Jul. 16—ROCHESTER — A 53-year-old man who as a teen committed one of the most heinous crimes ever seen in Rochester will be transitioned from a state prison to a halfway house for work release later this month. David Brom, then a 16-year-old high school sophomore, took an ax in the middle of the night and killed his parents, his 13-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother. He will be released July 29, 2025, according to Minnesota Department of Corrections officials. The acts took more than 60 blows from an ax, officials said. Brom was convicted and sentenced to three life sentences in 1989. Under Minnesota guidelines put in place in 2023, Brom is now eligible for monitored release. Later this month, Brom will be moved to a Twin Cities halfway house where he will remain in state custody and be monitored. A case manager will supervise his release. It will include GPS monitoring, according to Aaron Swanum, Minnesota Department of Corrections media information officer. Brom's release date is listed as July 29 on the state DOC website. In most cases, people who are released from prison return to the county of their conviction. The DOC Release Board decided at Brom's most recent release hearing that Brom would not be released to Olmsted County for work release or any other future parole release, Swanum said. Despite a highly publicized trial and decades of speculation, what motivated Brom to take an ax and kill his family members at their home in the early hours of Feb. 18, 1988, remains a public mystery. Brom was convicted of the murders on Oct. 16, 1989, and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. At the time of his conviction, Minnesota law required anyone convicted of a life sentence to serve a minimum term of 17 years in confinement for each life sentence. He has been at Lino Lakes Correctional Facility since. Initially, Brom would have been in his 70s before being eligible for parole. However, a 2023 Minnesota law gives offenders convicted as juveniles a chance for review. The new law allows for parole or supervised release review for offenders who have served 15 or more years of a sentence after being convicted of crimes committed as juveniles. Olmsted County Sheriff's deputies discovered the bodies of the four Brom family members on Feb. 18, 1988, in the family's Cascade Township home, just north of Rochester's city limits at the time. Deputies went there after Lourdes High School administrators called the sheriff's office regarding rumors circulating in the school where Brom was a student. Deputies found the four family members had been dead for hours and immediately began an investigation and search for Brom. He was taken into custody the next day after he was spotted at a Rochester post office. As Brom headed to trial in 1989, it appeared he might have had a chance for freedom much sooner. In the lead-up to Brom's trial, on April 22, 1989, Judge Gerald Ring decided to try Brom in the juvenile system. That meant Brom would have been released from prison before his 19th birthday in October 1990. The decision to try Brom as a juvenile sparked public outrage and was reversed by the state appeals court and the reversal was upheld later by the state Supreme Court. Brom's next appearance before the Supervised Release Board is scheduled for January 2026.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More and more apartments on the way; is this necessary?
Jul. 12—Dear Answer Man: It seems like every week, the Post Bulletin publishes a story of a proposal to build a new apartment building in Rochester. It is hard to believe that the need for more apartments is that great. I would like to know the occupancy rate for all existing apartment units as an aggregate in each of these categories: senior independent living (places such as Shorewood, Madonna Towers, etc.); low-income senior independent living; low-income general apartments; market-rate apartments; and high-end units. — Doubting Dianne. Dear Dianne, Answer Man hasn't been handed a research project this big since he finished that last underwater basket-weaving class to graduate from college. Breaking it down like you've asked is something that the county does. You can read the 2020 "Comprehensive Housing Needs Analysis for Olmsted County, Minnesota," and in the near future (maybe a couple of weeks ... or less), we'll report on the 2025 update to this study, which is expected. That said, the 2020 report showed pretty much every category with 90% occupancy or higher. Another study, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's "Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis" for Rochester, published in 2022, has more of the same. Some of the key takeaways: * From 2000 to 2020, the number of households has grown from about 71,000 to 92,000, but the percentage of ownership has dropped from 78% to 73.5%. * The vacancy rate (in all apartment sectors) by the second quarter of 2022 had dropped to 4%. * The report's three-year forecast period (bringing us up to 2025) estimated a need for 1,275 new apartment units. * At that time, only 850 were permitted. That last point would be why we so often report that Rochester is in dire need of more apartments. And the demand isn't letting up. Destination Medical Center is a driving force behind Rochester's continued population growth. For three straight U.S. censuses — 1990, 2000 and 2010 — Rochester grew by more than 20% per decade. The 2020 census saw "only" 13.7% growth, but the overall numbers were nearly 15,000 people added. I'd bet a dollar that the 2030 census will see another 15,000 new residents (or more) in Rochester. And that's just Rochester. Byron, Kasson, Pine Island, Stewartville — pretty much every town within 15 miles of Rochester — saw growth in the last census, and each continues to grow. Want proof? Awesome business reporter Jeff Kiger wrote how Black Swan Living recently opened the 65-unit Stone Haven Apartments in Byron. Within a few weeks, it was 70% rented. That was two weeks ago. Another bet? I'd wager the complex is well into the 80% or 90% range by now. Those apartments are — I hate to throw the "upscale" label around, but — really nice. Individual garages. Across the street from a grocery store. Ten minutes from Rochester. So, why aren't people just living in houses? Again, we go to another reporter extraordinaire, Matt Stolle. Part of the increased popularity of apartments is affordability. As Matt wrote in March 2025, "In 2014, the median home price in Rochester was $173,692. By 2024, it had jumped to $319,271 — an 84% increase." The other reason is sort of adjacent to that price information and what you've asked about the different categories. Seniors who want to avoid all the yard and snow maintenance love the idea of independent living (Shorewood, etc.). People just starting out need a place they can afford, even on a working-class salary, and sometimes that's not the traditional single-family home. Hence, the demand for market-rate apartments. Folks who aren't in the market to buy but come to Rochester with a high-paying job seek out those places like The Berkman or Riverwalk apartments. Sadly, those places don't advertise their vacancy rates. In fact, as apartment companies are privately owned, they don't give daily or monthly updates on the availability of units. That said, that HUD analysis noted that while the number of units in Rochester is increasing, so is the average rental price. That economics class I took at good old Answer Man University taught me that if supply is going up, but the price (a function of demand) is also rising, then you don't have enough of what people want to buy yet. When prices start to level off, well, that will be an indicator that we've reached the point to stop building. So plan to read more about new apartment developments. It's the way of the future in Rochester. Got a query? Answer Man will get the facts, rent-free. Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Medical examiner releases identity of 35-year-old killed in shooting
Jul. 7—ROCHESTER — The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Office identified the individual who died outside of a northwest Rochester apartment complex on Thursday, July 3, as Sadik A. Yusuf, 35. Rochester Police Department officers were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. Thursday to The Villages at Essex Park Apartments in Rochester. Law enforcement provided lifesaving measures, but the man died at the scene. "Preliminary investigation indicates this was not a random act," RPD previously said in a statement. Ibrahim Abukaar Abdi, 31, of Rochester was arrested on Monday, July 7. The charges are pending with the Olmsted County Attorney's Office. The investigation is still ongoing.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Yahoo
Rochester man given probation, community service for shooting incident
Jun. 30—ROCHESTER — A former Rochester Charter Commission member received probation on drug and firearm charges in Olmsted County District Court Monday. Benjamin Allen Harris, 26, was given five years of probation after pleading guilty to one charge each of drug possession and possessing a firearm while ineligible. According to court records, Rochester police responded to a report of shots fired Dec. 24, 2024, at a home in the 6100 block of Shetland Drive Northwest. People living in the home told police they were sitting downstairs when they heard breaking glass. The people there showed police a bedroom window that had a bullet hole, a bullet hole in a window frame and a mirror in a bedroom that had been struck by a ricocheting bullet. People were sitting in the room at the time the bullet struck the mirror, the complaint shows. An off-duty officer in the area also reported hearing gunshots. Police went to White Pine Drive Northwest to a home with the garage door open. There Harris and his parents met with officers outside, according to the complaint. Harris' mother showed police video her son sent her of Harris exiting an upstairs bathroom while holding and racking a firearm. Harris also sent his mother multiple text messages suggesting he was suicidal. In the house, police found a black and gray semiautomatic pistol without a serial number and more than 100 rounds of 9mm ammunition along with substances that tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine and amphetamines; miscellaneous pills, blades, bags and cash. Harris was ordered to serve probation concurrently on the charges with a stay of adjudication for the drug charge and a conviction of the firearm charge. Harris was also ordered to pay restitution of about $1,000 and given a fine of $500. Harris' attorney Peter Gifford noted that Harris is currently unemployed and completing substance abuse treatment. District Court Judge Pamela King then gave Harris the option to pay off with pro-social activities serving the community. King noted Harris' record with humanitarian group Team Rubicon and other community-oriented activities. "I think you have plenty you can give back to the community," King told Harris. King noted Harris had taken quick responsibility as a teen when he was adjudicated for second-degree arson in 2014. "You took responsibility right away for something that was very serious," King said.
