KTOE Noon News 2-5-25

Top Stories for Noon 2-5-25

• Two Drivers Injured in Crash Near Alfsborg Township

• City of Mankato Seeks Input on Community Development Block Grant Five-Year Plan

• Savor the Flavors of Greater Mankato During Restaurant Week

• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is taking steps to address the “dangerous” impact of social media and artificial intelligence (AI) on children across the state. A new report from the AG’s office outlines various concerns, including bullying and harassment on social media, exposure to graphic content, and feelings of envy among peers. Regulating AI and social media poses significant challenges. In response, Ellison is recommending several measures: a ban on deceptive practices that make social media addictive, the implementation of strong privacy defaults to limit data and image sharing, and restrictions on algorithms that prioritize engagement-based optimization.

• A woman accused of lying to conceal her sister’s involvement in a deadly buggy crash in southern Minnesota has accepted a plea deal. Sarah Petersen agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of criminal vehicular operation during a settlement hearing in Fillmore County yesterday. In court, Petersen admitted that she lied to investigators following the 2023 crash, which resulted in the deaths of two children and injuries to two others. The judge stated that he would dismiss 14 additional charges during the sentencing hearing scheduled for next month. Her sister, Samantha, is scheduled to go on trial in July for her role in the crash.

• A southeast Minnesota man will spend 17-and-a-half years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of children. Court records show 61-year-old Steven Sokel of Blooming Prairie began communicating over the internet with the mother of a pre-pubescent minor victim in Thailand in 2022. Prosecutors say Sokel traveled there and stayed with the victim and mother for nearly a month, where he produced images of the minor engaged in sexually explicit activity. U-S Customs and Border Protection found the child sexual abuse material on his laptop at the Abu Dhabi Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).