State briefs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The last surviving sibling of former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey has died.

Frances Humphrey Howard died Monday of congestive heart failure in Washington, D.C., where she lived. She was 88.

Trial delayed for man charged with planting mailbox bombs

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Trial for the Minnesota man accused of planting 18 pipe bombs in mailboxes between Illinois and Colorado has been delayed until next spring.

Luke Helder, 21, will be tried April 14, 2003, in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. He had been scheduled for trial Nov. 18 before Chief Judge Mark Bennett.

Helder is accused of putting 18 pipe bombs and anti-government letters in mailboxes in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas in early May. Six pipe bombs exploded in Iowa and Illinois, injuring four letter carriers and two residents.

Helder, of Pine Island, Minn., also faces trial in Iowa on two charges: using an explosive to damage personal property which resulted in an injury to a person and using a pipe bomb during a federal crime of violence.

Qwest Communications restates nearly $1 billion in revenue stemming from fiber-optic sales

DENVER (AP) -- With government hearings looming this week, Qwest Communications is restating nearly $1 billion in revenue from swaps of capacity on its network -- a practice that has come under scrutiny by federal regulators.

The $950 million restatement is from so-called swaps, which the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating to see if they allowed Qwest to artificially boost revenues. Qwest also is the subject of a Department of Justice investigation, and a House committee plans hearings this week.

When Qwest acquired U S West in 2000, it became the local phone company for 14 states extending from Minnesota west to Washington and southwest to Arizona and New Mexico.

Investigators say Qwest bought capacity on another company's system and booked it as a capital expense, which is only recorded slowly over several years, while selling the same amount of capacity to the other firm and booking that immediately as revenue.

Three teens plead guilty to Orono church fire

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Three teenagers have pleaded guilty to setting an April fire that destroyed an Orono church.

Victor H. Rivas, 18, of Plymouth and Jeffrey R. Kaitz, 19, of Corcoran, pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree arson in Hennepin County District Court. Judge Beryl Nord sentenced them to 300 days in the workhouse, 800 hours of community service and 10 years of probation.

Earlier this month Keith L. Goslin, 19, of Plymouth, a member of the church, pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Hennepin County District Judge Allen Oleisky to 364 days in the workhouse, 800 hours of community service and 10 years of probation.

All three must pay restitution.

Damage to St. Edward the Confessor Church was estimated to be $1.3 million.

According to the criminal complaint, Rivas told authorities that the three were partying before the fire. He said Rivas filled a beer bottle with gasoline and used a rag or shirt as the wick.

Goslin ignited a Molotov cocktail and threw it at the church, the complaint said.

Body found in ditch in Fillmore County

PROSPER, Minn. (AP) -- Authorities on Monday were investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a ditch near the small community of Prosper in Fillmore County in southeastern Minnesota.

The body of Michael Anderson, 47, was found around 6:20 p.m. Saturday by an area resident who was out walking and investigated when he noticed a foul smell. The body was found about six feet from the road, just north of the intersection of U.S. Highway 52 and Minnesota Highway 44 between Mabel and Canton.