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Madeleine Baran
St. Paul, Minn.

Burglars steal safe from Garrison Keillor's bookstore

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A St. Paul bookstore owned by public radio host Garrison Keillor was burglarized early Thursday morning.

Surveillance cameras captured footage of a man and a woman entering the Common Good Books store around 1:17 a.m. The pair broke into a coffee shop in the same building and stole a jar of change before walking downstairs to the bookstore.

Keillor hosts the popular "A Prairie Home Companion" program, which is produced in St. Paul and aired on public radio stations nationwide.

Assistant manager Martin Schmutterer discovered the burglary when he arrived at work later that morning. After viewing the cameras, Schmutterer notified the public using a method unheard of in Lake Wobegon.

"If anyone saw a goateed loser in longshorts and Longhorns cap carrying a safe at 1:20 last night, plz call the St Paul PD," Schumutter wrote in a message on Twitter.

The burglars smashed the store's front door window, damaged the cash registers and stole a safe filled with about $3,000.

Police have made no arrests and have no suspects in the case, said St. Paul Police spokesman Paul Schnell.

But Schmutterer said he is confident that the burglars will be caught.

"There's only so much you can do with a big safe," he said, laughing. "Someone will probably talk."