Around the Nation

MINNESOTA

Suspect’s sister warned police

CROOKSTON — The sister of the suspect in the case of a missing University of North Dakota student pleaded with a local police officer to keep tabs on her brother after his release from prison in May because she feared he might strike again.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, has been charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, 22, who was abducted from a mall parking lot Nov. 22.

Rodriguez’s sister, Ileana, called Sgt. Gerry Moreno several times after her brother completed a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. She asked Sgt. Moreno to keep her brother locked up or away from the community.

TENNESSEE

Wood is violin’s secret

KNOXVILLE — Researchers have debated for centuries whether special varnishes or wood treatments were the secret to the classic Stradivarius violin’s rich resonance, which some consider superior to contemporary violins.

Now two scientists say the wood developed special acoustic properties as it was growing because of an extended period of long winters and cool summers.

Henri Grissino-Mayer at the University of Tennessee and Lloyd Burckle at Columbia University suggest a “Little Ice Age” that gripped Europe from the mid-1400s until the mid-1800s slowed tree growth and yielded uncommonly dense Alpine spruce for Antonio Stradivari and other famous 17th-century Italian violin makers.

ALASKA

Judge approves wolf-control plan

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