NEWS
--The Pierz City Council met this past Monday. At the meeting the 2024 Street Lighting feasibility study was approved and the council will consider a proposal from SEH to design the project. A special city council meeting will be held on Monday (council workshop at 5:00pm) special council meeting at 7:00pm. Both the Mayor and City Treasurer vacancies were discussed and were tabled until Monday where it will be brought up in the workshop with the potential for action during the council meeting. The Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) Scholarship Program local winner will now receive a $500 scholarship in addition to advancing on at the statewide level. The Pierz City council will utilize the firm SEH for writing two grants for the purchase of the gravel pit. The council also approved the forming of a committee to manage the Garage Sale Days tentatively set this year for May 17th through the 20th. The city council acted to begin the process of changing their ordinances to allow business owners to be on their board committees.
--Tony Housey from Camp Ripley stated yesterday they continue with the railroad work project which is being planned around the base and they just recently broke ground on the next phase of the project in improving the rail service in and out of the military base that moves through Little Falls. Housey said they are very busy with training from groups not only around Minnesota but nationwide using the facility and also the Minnesota State Patrol which completed a second training phase at the base. Next month in February will be the 50th Anniversary of the Norwegian Troop Exchange between Camp Ripley and the Norwegian Home Guard. There will be a large event in St. Paul along with one in Norway that will be seen together using technology to view the groups. Housey said they are planning a smaller type event in Little Falls but nothing yet set in stone. He did mention that the Norwegian Home Guard will make their appearance on AM960 KLTF Party Line the week of Valentine's Day, the exact is being worked out. If you have questions for Housey at Camp Ripley he can be reached at 320-616-3122 or the National Guard/Camp Ripley website and Facebook page.
--The woman accused of leaving her newborn to die by the Mississippi River in 2003 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Jennifer Matter entered her guilty plea in Goodhue County Court on Wednesday, with a sentencing date scheduled for April 28th. Matter admitted to giving birth on Methodist Beach in 2003 and leaving the baby with the intention of not coming back to get him. Prosecutors say DNA evidence also links Matter to a baby girl found by the Mississippi four years earlier, but no charges have been filed. Investigators arrested Matter in May 10, 2022 at her home in Belvidere Township outside Red Wing. They told reporters during a press conference that DNA samples from both infants, one discovered in the river in 1999, the other in 2003 were tied to Matter by a genealogy search that led to potential relatives in Goodhue County.
--Kathy Marshik announced the Bank Square Plaza will have their 2nd Love Event on February 11th from 11am-2pm in the old bank building in downtown Little Falls. If you would like to be a vendor or show off your items at the event which already includes, spa treatment, fitness, the local library with story time, organizations showing of their attraction events this year and more, reach out to Kathy Marshik by emailing her at kathymarshik@gmail.com or call 320-630-4236.
--Knights of Columbus Buffalo Feed and Raffle is Saturday at the Pierz Ballroom, feed 4-8pm and raffle starts at 8:15pm.
--Twelve central Minnesota teachers including two from Morrison County have joined a list of over 130 candidates nominated to become the 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Locally nominated includes Tanya Bergman from Little Falls Community Schools and Aaron Schmidtbauer from Pierz Schools. There were also nine teachers from the Sartell-St. Stephen School District and one teacher from the Sauk Rapids-Rice school district are hoping to be named the 59th Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Last year the Teacher of the Year was Sara Lancaster of Onamia. The list of 131 candidates will be narrowed down to a group of semifinalists in the coming weeks and finalists will be selected in March. The 2023 Minnesota Teacher of the Year winner will be announced on May 7th at a banquet held at the Saint Paul River Centre.
--Lori Kloos has been named the permanent president at St. Cloud Technical and Community College. She took over on an interim basis last year, replacing Annesa Cheek. It is effective immediately. Kloos is a long-time administrator at SCTCC, having served as vice president and chief financial officer for 22 years. She has been interim or acting president three times, including 2005, 2017, and 2022. The school was opened in 1948 when it became Minnesota’s second-ever technical college in the state at the time.
--A bill sponsored by Representative Dan Wolgamott to allow permanent absentee voting cleared a legislative hurdle Wednesday House File 477 was approved on a party-line vote by the Elections Finance and Policy Committee, 8-5. Wolgamott says nearly half of absentee voters already are on a list to have a mail-in ballot application sent to them automatically each cycle. He says this would streamline the process for them. Wolgamott says it is really a matter of convenience. The bill now goes to the House Ways and Means Committee for consideration. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon was one of the parties who spoke in favor of HF 477. Wolgamott says over 60,000 Minnesotans voted by mail in 2022, and the number has been high since the COVID-19 pandemic began a few years ago. Several townships in rural Stearns County are solely vote-by-mail precincts.
--The St. Paul Winter Carnival begins today. This is the 137th Winter Carnival that lasts over the next 10 days.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and colder, high 17.
TONIGHT= snow develops 1-2 inches, gusty winds overnight temps will fall first to 10 then rise overnight to around 26.
FRIDAY= snow early, temps near 25 early then falling to 10 by late afternoon with gusty winds over 40mph causing blowing snow.
SATURDAY= partly cloudy and cold, high 4 above, low -16.
SUNDAY= partly sunny and cold, high near 0, low around -15.
SPORTS
BHK= Little Falls at Cambridge Isanti tonight 7:15pm Q92 WYRQ.
WRE= Pierz vs. Princeton at 5pm, then later tonight Pierz will take on Mora in Wrestling around 7:30pm both matches live 94ROCKS.
HCK= This annual Hockey Day in Minnesota events take place on Saturday across the state. The large Hockey Day events take place this year in White Bear Lake with events starting tonight and going through the weekend. The final events on Sunday is a family fun event with activities, food trucks, music and an NFL viewing party.
TWINS= Twinsfest is this Saturday from 9-5 at Target Field. Which gives Twins fans a chance to see and get signatures from players.