Minnesota
Minnesota man gets 20 years for fatally stabbing teen, wounding others on Wisconsin river
HUDSON, Wis. — A Minnesota man convicted in the slaying of a high school student and stabbings of four other people who were tubing on a western Wisconsin river was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
A judge also ordered Nicolae Miu, 54, to serve six years of extended supervision following his release from prison in the July 2022 stabbings along the Apple River in St. Croix County, which sits along Wisconsin’s state line with Minnesota.
A jury convicted Miu, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, in April of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of battery.
Prosecutors had sought a 70-year prison term for Miu in the stabbing attack that killed Isaac Schuman, 17, of Stillwater, Minnesota, and wounded four others. The stabbing took place as Miu and the victims were tubing along the Apple River in separate groups.
Investigators said Miu attacked after people accused him of approaching children in the water. Miu told investigators that he was using a snorkel and goggles to look for a lost cellphone. He told investigators he felt threatened and acted in self-defense.
Miu pulled out a knife and began stabbing people after he was taunted by Schuman and his friends, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, citing court documents.
St. Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman said two of the victims who survived their stab wounds would have died without the prompt help of other tubers and emergency responders. He said all of the survivors “suffered permanent disfigurement.”
Nicolae Miu apologizes to the family of Isaac Schuman as he reads his statement during his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at the St. Croix County Circuit Court in Hudson, Wis. Miu, convicted in the slaying of a high school student and stabbings of four other people who were tubing on a western Wisconsin river, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Credit: AP/Elizabeth Flores
Waterman said Miu “made a series of very poor decisions” after being “confronted with words and boorish taunts and insults.”
“He fled the scene, leaving his victims to die while casually floating by them and emergency workers as if nothing had happened,” the judge said, noting Miu was arrested as he tried to leave the scene in his car.
Miu’s attorney, Aaron Nelson, asked the court for a “measured response” in its sentence. He said the defense understands and appreciates the “heartbreaking loss” of the Schuman family and other victims.
Meteorological summer kicks off June 1 and lasts through August. So, is the heat here to stay in Minnesota?
With temperatures near 90 lately, summer is on everyone’s mind. The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center says it’s a toss-up when it comes to temperatures over the three-month season.
“We’re going into an El Niño, and probably a very strong one, or a super El Niño, as they say,” said Pete Boulay, a climatologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “And looking at past history, might be a cooler-than-normal summer. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens. If you stay dry, it’s going to be hard to stay cool.”
And no doubt, Minnesota has been dry already with drought conditions persisting across northern and southwestern parts of the state.
“Most places in the state are about 1-3 inches short of normal for May, and right about this time of year, we should get about an inch of rain a week,” Boulay said. “Every time we don’t get that rain, every week that goes by, the drought will come back.”
The summer outlook says it is more likely that conditions remain drier than average through August. Though we’re past the majority of Minnesota’s wildfire season, Boulay said if conditions are right, that could create elevated fire threats, unless you’re lucky enough to see some rain.
“We’re in that kind of lazy pattern right now. There’s a high pressure off to our east, and we have kind of the return flow coming out of the south, so warm, and you know, you still might have one of those thunderstorms pop up very isolated, but maybe you’ll get lucky and get one, but most people won’t,” he said.
Boulay said he doesn’t see any change in sight in the short-term with more heat on the way to kick off June.
Summer warmth will hang on in the Twin Cities Wednesday, with some storms possible later in the day.
Highs will be in the upper 80s to near 90. Isolated thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon and evening, mainly across southern Minnesota.
Thursday will be dry, warm and less humid, though highs will stay well above normal.
Friday will bring pleasant late-May weather with sunshine and highs mainly in the 80s.
The weekend looks to be quiet and comfortable as dry conditions continue.
School was not in session over the holiday weekend, but a four-legged friend still managed to pay a visit to a Zimmerman, Minnesota, Montessori school.
The entire incident lasted less than 10 minutes, but left Prairie Hill Montessori with a shattered door and quite the story to tell.
“We got a call, we were up at our cabin… I was more concerned about the deer, which is just the way I am,” said Katherine Curtis, the school’s owner and instructor.
Curtis says the entire moment was caught on CCTV. It shows the deer break through a tempered glass door before tearing through the building, knocking items off shelves and attempting to exit through another door.
Eventually, a local sheriff’s deputy responded and was able to shoo the deer out the door.
“We were all like amazed at how fast it all happened. Actually, how fast the sheriff was able to get here,” Curtis said.
On Tuesday, Curtis was using the incident as a teaching moment. The school had painted a life-size deer on the boarded-up door, and students were coloring deer photos.
“All of the children came in this morning and reported to me what happened,” she said. “It’s unique. It’s something we can remember for years and we’ll have the video. The kids can remember it as something unique and special that happened to us at Prairie Hill.”
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