A Duluth jury found Dakota Daniel Thorstenson, 29, guilty of Kidnapping, Criminal Sexual Conduct in the First-Degree, and Third-Degree Assault today for the August 11, 2022, kidnapping, assault, and sexual assault of an adult woman, St. Louis County Attorney Kim Maki said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Michael Hagley. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
“I was raised in Duluth. This community made me who I am. Now I get to give back — not just as a police officer, but here with these kids.” -- St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League (PAL) Boxing Club Coach Amy Lemenager, a Duluth police officer and professional boxer.
"Brad has tremendous enthusiasm and passion for economic and community development, and I am excited to see all that he will accomplish in this new role." -- St. Louis County Administrator Kevin Gray
How do you replace lost industrial base? How do you stabilize tax revenue? How do you bring consistent, year-round activity back into a hollowing downtown? Rochester, Cleveland and Pittsburgh leaned into medicine and were successful.
The lesson is not that every project will succeed. It is that progress requires participation — from developers, from institutions and from city leadership willing to remove obstacles rather than manage decline.