Minnesota's oddest stories of 2024
MINNEAPOLIS — In 2024, Minnesota was a hotbed of SPAM smuggling, golf-related helicopter attacks and genetically modified giant-sheep hunting.
Below are six of the more peculiar tales posted this year to WCCO.com.
Charges: Minnesota woman forged her dead mom's signature on absentee ballots
A 50-year-old Itasca County woman is accused of signing her deceased mother's signature on two absentee ballots in October.
According to the criminal complaint, the woman told investigators her mother was an avid Donald Trump supporter and had wanted to vote for him, but had died in late August before their absentee ballots were received.
She faces two counts of intentionally signing false certificates and one count of casting an illegal vote or adding another.
Man, 81, sentenced for cloning giant "Montana Mountain King" sheep for captive trophy hunting
An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced to six months in federal prison in October for illegally using tissue and testicles from a Marco Polo sheep to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Minnesota and Texas.
Marco Polo sheep, native to Central Asia, are the largest in the world, weighing about 300 pounds and having curled horns up to 5 feet long.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris said he struggled to come up with a sentence for Arthur "Jack" Schubarth, saying he weighed Schubarth's age and lack of a criminal record with a sentence that would deter anyone else from trying to "change the genetic makeup of the creatures" on the earth.
Schubarth's attorney, Jason Holden, said cloning the giant sheep, hunted in Kyrgyzstan in 2013, has ruined his client's "life, reputation and family."
Golf ball hits mosquito treatment helicopter flying over metro
In July, a Metropolitan Mosquito Control District helicopter was struck and damaged by a golf ball while flying over Oak Grove's Refuge Golf Course.
Deputies and course employees unsuccessfully attempted to identify the person who hit the ball. No one was hurt.
"The safety of our employees and our contractors is my top priority," Metropolitan Mosquito Control District Executive Director Daniel Huff said. "I appreciate the work of the Anoka County Sheriff's Office for taking the lead in this investigation."
How a northern Minnesota town became known as the "Home of Bigfoot"
In June, WCCO's John Lauritsen traveled to the northeastern Minnesota town of Remer, dubbed the "Home of Bigfoot."
In 2009, a trail camera near Remer captured what looked like a real-life sasquatch. Fake or not, it gave life-long resident Marc Ruyak an idea: trademark the town to play up its sasquatch infamy.
"This town was founded in the early 1900s and there were sightings all the way back to then," Ruyak said.
The sightings, the folklore and even the mystique around town have also drawn Bigfoot research teams to Remer.
Minnesota TSA agent stops Massachusetts man with 10 cans of SPAM
A Massachusetts man went viral on TikTok in early June after a TSA agent pulled him aside at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International for having a carry-on full of SPAM.
"I'm so embarrassed," Joel Libed said in the video, as a bewildered TSA agent pulled out 10 cans of SPAM.
The agent then asked if it was the regular flavors of SPAM, to which Libed answered that it was "all the special flavors," and he was particularly excited about the teriyaki flavor.
Libed explained in a later TikTok that he was born in Hawaii, where SPAM is staple of local cuisine. He was working as part of an Irish dance troupe that was on tour, and the group made their first stop in Austin, Minnesota, where the SPAM Museum is located.
Drone pilot spots 1983 BMW submerged in Twin Cities pond
In April, a drone pilot made a mysterious discovery while flying over Burnsville's Neil Park: a long-submerged 1983 BMW 320i.
The pond's lower water level aided in the pilot's discovery. The vehicle, later removed by a dive team with the Dakota County Sheriff's Office, was believed to have been underwater for 20-plus years.
Authorities didn't say if the car's owner had been tracked down, or if they would be liable for any criminal charges.
