NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office has been alerted of a recent scam that has been surfacing. The caller will identify as an officer and/or deputy and they will advise you that there is a court subpoena and gag order in place and that you are not to tell anyone about it. In one particular case, the caller identified as a Morrison County Deputy and advised the caller that there were two warrants for their
arrest. The caller stated that they need to meet them at a certain destination and pay them cash, for the warrant to be canceled. Sometimes the phone number that the caller receives will show our Sheriff’s Office actual number. If something similar happens to you, please do not act on this. Let the caller leave a message to your voice mail or call our agency and verify that the information that you received was factual. Please do not fall victim to this from Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen.
--Two people were hurt in a crash in Sherburne County just south of St. Cloud. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened just before 4pm Monday at the intersection of Highway 10 and 52nd Street Southeast in Haven Township. A car driven by 23-year-old Shelby George of Becker was going east on the highway while a vehicle driven by 65-year-old Ralph Theisen of Sauk Rapids was going east on 52 Street when they collided. George was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Her passenger, 26-year-old Marquez Evenson of Becker, was hurt but not transported to the hospital. Theisen was not injured in the accident.
--A farm accident Sunday north of Watkins has taken the life of the farmer. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says they received a 9-1-1 call Sunday at 1:07pm and were sent to a farm in the 14000 block of 143rd Avenue in Luxemburg Township. Authorities found 59-year-old Matthew Mathies lying on his side in the yard. Deputies learned that Mathies was trying to hook a wagon to the back of a tractor and corn picker when the tractor started to roll forward. Mathies tried to jump onto the tractor to stop it from rolling, slipped, and was run over by the tractor. Deputies and first responders attempted life-saving measures on the scene. A LifeFlight helicopter arrived and landed, but Mathies was pronounced dead at the scene.
--Federal investigators say that a broken rail caused a fiery derailment earlier this year in Raymond, Minnesota. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently released the findings from its investigation, not only concluding that the broken rail caused the crash, but also that the broken rail was related to a "rail head surface condition." The train derailed just before 1am on March 30 on the western edge of Raymond, prompting officials to evacuate about 800 people from their homes. According to NTSB, about 23 mixed freight rail cars were involved in the derailment, including 10 that were carrying ethanol. The fire burned into the following day before firefighters could extinguish it, but no one was hurt and everyone who evacuated was able to return home within 12 hours of the derailment. Investigators estimated that the event caused $1.9 million of damage to railroad equipment and the tracks. The NTSB said that two of the ethanol cars were punctured even though they were the upgraded models designed to resist leaks, following a string of fiery crude oil and ethanol derailments a decade ago. At the time of the derailment, state officials said they weren't especially concerned about groundwater contamination because most of the ethanol would burn off and the ground remained frozen.
--A Benton County judge has set conditional bail for the suspect accused of shooting five cops at $3 million. Karl Holmberg is charged with six counts of attempted first degree murder and six counts of first degree assault in connection to the October 12th incident at his home in Glendorado Township. Among the conditions of his bail include not consuming alcohol or drugs, submitting to random drug testing, not leaving the state of Minnesota and not possessing any weapons. Unconditional bail was set at $6 million. Holmberg is due back in court on October 24th. Holmberg was shot in the foot during the returning gunfire on Thursday and was hospitalized until Tuesday where he was given the bail information. Two of the police officers that were shot as of yesterday were still hospitalized but expected to be released soon from their injuries. The other 3 had been released.
--A St. Cloud man charged with trying to burn down his apartment unit last January has pleaded guilty to arson. Thirty-six-year-old Reiss Atterbury was sentenced to three years in prison. He gets credit for already serving 140 days in the county jail. Atterbury admitted to starting the fire at 4055 12th Street North in St. Cloud. He originally claimed he was doing laundry on the second floor when the fire broke out. However, surveillance video shows Atterbury standing in the doorway acting unconcerned as smoke billowed out of the apartment unit. Fire crews told police that there was a large amount of burned debris throughout the apartment unit and the Assistant Fire Marshal was called in to investigate. Court records allege Atterbury told police that he is bipolar and suffers from delusions but a mental competency exam determined he was competent to face all of the charges against him including arson.
--A reminder that the Veterans Retiree Seminar is Thursday at Camp Ripley from 8-11:30am. The gathering of Veterans from all branches gather, network, and learn about opportunities and benefits for Veterans in the are. The Post Commander briefs Camp Updates and welcome the guests to Camp Ripley. The following will be presenting updates and changes in military benefits: federal retiree benefits, State Military Cemetery (burial benefits, Retiree Military Identification Cards, Yellow Ribbon in Morrison County, Family Assistance, and the local Veteran County Service Officer and more) and one on one questions can be answered. Call 320-632-0290 for more info.
DEATH NOTICES
--Matthew J. Vieburg, age 62 of Little Falls.
--Orval Fleck Jr., age 63 of Burnsville, born in Milaca.
WEATHER
TODAY= showers likely, high 58.
TONIGHT= showers ending, mostly cloudy, low 45.
THURSDAY= partly cloudy skies, high 58, clear night, low 39.
FRIDAY= sunny and mild, high 64, PM showers are possible.
SPORTS
HS FB= Thief River Falls at Little Falls tonight 7pm AM960 KLTF.
HS FB= Howard Lake Waverly at Pierz tonight 7pm on 94ROCKS.
HS FB= West Central Area at Swanville vs. USA tonight 7pm Q92.
COL FB= Gopher at Iowa for the pig this Saturday afternoon.
NHL= Wild wins 5-2 last night over Montreal in the NHL.
NFL= Vikings host San Francisco on Monday Night Football next week, catch the action at 6:30pm on AM960 KLTF.