GRAMS RELIEVED REPORT SHOWS NO FAVOR ASKED

The office of U.S. Sen. Rod Grams said Wednesday he was "relieved" an
investigation found no evidence he sought special favors when he asked the
Anoka County sheriff for help finding his son. But the man in charge of the
inquiry said any relief was premature.

"I am relieved that this report will finally bring to light the facts of
the incident regarding my son, and that the phone call I made to the
sheriff's department was only that of a concerned father scared for the
welfare of my son," a written statement quoted Grams as saying. But an
irritated Dakota County Sheriff Don Gudmundson, whose office is conducting
the investigation, said he told Grams the statement was "premature and not
helpful." And he said Grams told him the statement had been issued without
his knowledge.

"I don't have my campaign put things out without my knowledge. Especially
with things that affect my family," the sheriff told The Associated Press.
"I think he knew I was not pleased or impressed."

WCCO-TV reported Tuesday night the investigation concluded that Anoka
County deputies did not follow proper procedures when they stopped Grams'
son, Morgan Grams, and gave him a ride home, ignoring marijuana and beer in
his car. WCCO also reported, quoting law enforcement sources it did not
name, that the report suggests there was no evidence either way whether
Grams asked for special favors.

Gudmundson would not confirm or deny the report, but called it "flimsy" and
"premature." He said no one but himself knows what the report will say
because he was still working on it and making revisions Wednesday evening.
" I' m writing it on my computer by myself, " he said.

Grams' July 14 request for help from authorities wasn't his first. Grams
also called Hennepin County Sheriff Pat McGowan on June 15 for help in
finding his son, the sheriff's spokeswoman, Rosanne Campagnoli, said.

McGowan referred the request to two Hennepin County detectives, who found
Morgan Grams in East Bethel in Anoka County and persuaded him to call his
father, then drove him to a relative' s home in Ramsey, she said.

"He spoke with his father, his father apparently convinced him to go to a
family member's residence. The deputies gave him a ride to that residence.
End of incident, "she said.

Campagnoli said the detectives found "nothing amiss" and did not file a
report.

"There was nothing unusual," she said. "I really want to stress that this
event was quite different from the Anoka County event. Morgan Grams
appeared to be safe and well. The deputies simply put him in phone contact
with his father."

The spokeswoman also said that even though Grams called the Hennepin County
sheriff directly, a similar request from an ordinary citizen would have
been handled the same way.

In the July incident, Morgan Grams was stopped by Anoka County sheriff' s
deputies while driving a borrowed sport utility vehicle with 10 bags of
marijuana in it. He was driving without a license, was on probation and had
several prior misdemeanor charges, but wasn' t even given a ticket.

Instead, he was driven home in the front seat of Chief Deputy Peter Beberg'
s unmarked car. A reserve officer also said that a half-full beer can was
found in the vehicle.

The Dakota County sheriff' s office has been working with the Washington
County attorney' s office, which will decide what charges, if any, will be
filed.

Gudmundson said they will release a nine-page executive summary of the
investigation at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Washington County Government Center.

" If I had it to do over again I' d release the danged thing tomorrow, "
Gudmundson said.