After losing his identity bracelet in his grandfather's barn over 25 years ago, Aaron Giles found the bracelet inside a chicken gizzard.

Aaron Giles, 31, of Gloucester, Mass., lived in Fairmont as a child and played hide-and-seek and other games with his brothers in their grandfather's barn near Sherburn.

"I would spend most of my time out at his farm and that's the only place I can think of that I would have lost it," Giles said Thursday, adding that he thinks it was lost when he was 4 or 5 years old.

The barn was dismantled a few years ago, and the materials were used to construct another barn in rural Elmore, about 45 miles away, he said. Giles thinks his bracelet was imbedded in the barn materials when they were moved.

Workers at Olson Locker in Fairmont were cutting the meat of chickens that came from an Elmore farm when one of them, Brittany McDonald, came across a shiny object in a chicken gizzard. McDonald, whose grandfather owns the locker, saw Aaron's name, address and phone number engraved on it.

South Minneapolis couple Ilse and Paul Herwig turned their 3-car garage into a 38-seat theater.  For five years they have been putting on original works.

"Even behind you, where the audience sits, there must be 40 bins of props and costumes from past shows," said Herwig. "When they sit in here, they're just surrounded by all the stuff that you make shows with. By the time the show is over, they've completely forgotten they're in a garage."

From the outside, it looks like your typical neighborhood garage. It's only when you look closer you notice the odd details, like costumes drying on the line. If you cut through the tomato garden, you've got what looks like just another garage door but is actually the backstage entrance.

Ilse is trained dancer, and Herwig has studied theater arts in Paris. They run a non-profit arts group called Off Leash Area with other shows staged at marquee theaters in the Twin Cities.

Sierra Bravo's F1 Overnight Website Challenge is a challenge among web professionals in which each team donates 24 hours to build a complete website for a Minnesota non-profit.  Bragging rights goes to the team with the best site.

Sierra Bravo is currently seeking Minnesota non-profits and web developers.  Pre-register at their site if you are interested.  The inaugural F1 Challenge begins on March 1, 2008.

[via meshly]

BREAKING NEWS:

The 35W bridge which crosses the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis just completely collapsed in both directions.  Multiple cars are in the water and a couple on fire.  Dozens if not hundreds of cars were on the bridge at the time.

This bridge is a major bridge which carries a lot of traffic in and out of the city especially during rush hours.  It has been under construction for the past several weeks.

I'll post updates as I hear them, but at this point nobody knows what caused the collapse. 

Having used this bridge on a daily basis, I am still in shock.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and families effected by this catastrophe.

Update:
Star Tribune coverage - so far 1 fatality due to drowning and approximately 25 critical and non-critical persons at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). 

Minnesota Public Radio coverage

The bridge was undergoing construction for resurfacing and not for structural repairs.  (Minnesota Department of Transportation's (MNDOT) website.)

Update 2:
6 confirmed dead; 1 construction worker unaccounted for

A family center has been established at the Holiday Inn Metrodome located at Seven Corners (1600 Washington Ave.)

MNDOT has reported that the 35W bridge underwent inspections in 2005 and 2006 and nothing was found.  Repairs needed were only cosmetic and not structural.  Necessary structural repairs wouldn't need to be addressed until year 2020.

Update 3:
Fatality number has dropped to 4, but the number is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue for the next several days.

20 - 30 people are missing and 30 - 50 cars remain in the water.  At this point, they assume all survivors have been rescued.

You can watch a time-elapse video of the 35W bridge collapsing at CNN.

Update 4:
4 Confirmed Collapse Victims Identified (WCCO)
Continuing coverage of collapse (MPR)

Mount Holly, our favorite smallest city, has been featured in the Star Tribune.  -- Link (Thanks, First Lady of Mount Holly!)

Be sure to attend Mt. Holly Days this weekend, August 4 - 5.  (Schedule of events is in the Trib. article.)

Previously:
Mt. Holly, the little town on the corner

At the age of 3, Teddy Harrison was thrown from his mother's SUV when it was hit by an uninsured driver. 

A Minnesota couple whose 3-year-old son suffered brain injuries in a car accident has won a $100,000 settlement from their auto insurer by having the child sue them for negligent installation of his car seat.

The Minnesota Supreme Court granted summary judgment to Teddy Harrison, now 9, finding that the state's “seat belt gag rule” does not apply to his suit against his parents.

“[T]he plain language of [the gag rule exception] permits an action to be made against a child’s parents for negligent installation and maintenance of a child passenger restraint system,” the court said in a decision that required the Harrison family's insurer to settle Teddy's claim for the full limit of its policy.

Teddy sued his parents –- with their support –- to collect from Progressive Auto Insurance after settling a separate case against the manufacturer of his car seat. Progressive invoked the gag rule, which bars the introduction of any evidence of “the installation or failure of installation of seat belts or a child passenger restraint system” in auto accident cases.

The Autism Society of Minnesota will be hosting the 2007 Minnesota State Autism Conference on May 2-5, 2007 in Minneapolis.  (It looks like the deadline for registration has already passed, but I'm sure there is no hurt in contacting AuSM if you really want to go.)

Highlights of the conference will be talks given by Temple Grandin, Martha Herbert and Nick Dubin.  The Keynote Address will be given by Roy Richard Grinker who is a friend of BlogCadre contributor and autism advocate, Kristina Chew.

Roy Richard Grinker is the Professor of Anthropology and Director at George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research, and a father to a child with autism.  He recently had a book published, Unstrange Minds, where he discusses a controversial idea.

On the corner of Third Avenue East and Holmes Street, you will find Minnesota's smallest town.  Mt. Holly, Minnesota houses a single 1940s bungalow and consists of a population of 4 -- Its mayor and founder, Mike Haeg, and his wife, Tammy, and two kids, Jackson and Autumn. 

Read how Mt. Holly came about and the visions Mt. Holly's mayor has for the booming town. 

Related Links:
The Mt. Holly Register
The Mayor on MySpace

Update:  Here is the news clip of Mount Holly from Fox 9 News.

Own a piece of Minnesota history.  The Mary Tyler Moore house located in the Kenwood Parkway neighborhood of Minneapolis is up for sale.  Known for the exterior shot in the popular 1970s TV show [wiki], the house is selling for $3.62 million. 

On a stretch of Highway 55 in Minnesota (from Buffalo, MN traveling east) there are large white ovals painted on the highway by the state to visually prevent drivers from tailgating. 

80s gamers will recognize a very familiar gaming icon painted on the highway chomping away at the white ovals -- Pac-Man is alive and well on Highway 55.

Will there be a Ms. Pac-Man anytime soon?

Previous highway gaming madness:
Tetris Crates