Week in Review: Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Car Wash Murder, Trains Expected to Quiet Horns in Rosemount

With the holidays behind us, the City of Rosemount has plowed forward on some plans, including a new city website and train horns being exempt through the city.

1. The Rosemount City Council had its first meeting of the year this past Tuesday, with the absence of Mayor Bill Droste. The council voted to authorize a contract with a company called CivicPlus for a brand new city website. According to Communications Coordinator Alan Cox, the site will most likely roll-out mid-summer, just before Leprechaun Days in July. CivicPlus will provide the interface to create content for the site, and the site will include:

• Apps for smartphones and iPhones
• Alerts (in case the city needs to get an urgent message out to residents)
• Ability to customize the homepage
• Live video webstreaming
• Online permitting
• Collecting online payments

2. On Wednesday, Jonas Gerald Grice, 29, had his sentencing trial at the Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings. Grice was found guilty of murdering 22-year-old Anthony Hartman at a Rosemount car wash in July 2010. Judge Karen Asphaug sentenced Grice to 25.5 years in prison. Grice also:

• Has credit for 541 days already served in jail
• Will pay restitution for Anthony Hartman's funeral costs
• Will pay for any uninsured counseling for Hartman's family

3. The made upgrades to its emergency sirens this week. Residents may have noticed sirens wailing, and that was to test out the new system. The project is being jointly funded through a Federal Department of Homeland Security Urban Area Security Initiative grant secured by Dakota County and by the City of Rosemount.

"Regular monthly siren tests of Rosemount’s sirens will continue to occur on the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. Residents and visitors who hear sirens sounding at other times can tune to their local radio or television stations for information concerning serve weather or other emergency notifications," the city said.

4. Dakota County Sheriff's Department investigated the fire and arrested two suspects allegedly involved. The shed on the property was completely destroyed.  

5.

The City of Rosemount worked with the rail lines that operate in the community to create the zone through improvements at railroad crossings. The quiet zone covers the area along the main tracks in the residential portion of the City from Akron Avenue to 160th Street West.  

Engineers operating in the quiet zone are exempted from federal regulations that generally require the sounding of horns when approaching crossings. The zone is in effect 24 hours a day.

Two of the rail lines operating in Rosemount, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad, have formally notified the city that they are aware the quiet zone is taking effect and that they will abide by it.

In some cases, train horns will still be heard in the quiet zone. Locomotive engineers will be allowed to sound their horns if they see an emergency situation, such as a person or vehicle on the tracks. Engineers are also required to sound their horns to warn crews working on the line. 

Signs are posted at crossings in the zone to warn vehicle drivers that they may not hear the horn of an approaching train. Police will strictly enforce the rules against crossing the tracks when signals are flashing.