NEWS
--A St. Cloud man who pleaded guilty to stabbing a fast food worker after a fight broke out inside the restaurant has been sentenced. 19-year-old Arieon Smith was given a stayed sentence of one year and nine months in prison. He must serve another 164 days in the county jail after being credited for having already served 201 days. Smith will be on probation for five years. Smith pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault with a dangerous weapon back in December. Police were called to the McDonald's at 2120 Division Street West in September. Officers arrived to find a male manager who had been stabbed once in the chest. Witnesses at the scene say several people were involved in a fight when the manager was stabbed. Police used surveillance video to determine Smith was the stabbing suspect. Court records show Smith provided police with a statement and admitted to getting into a fight with McDonald's staff and stabbing one person. Smith also said he couldn't remember what he did with the knife after the assault. The victim's condition was not released.
--A St. Cloud woman was hurt in a car versus deer crash on Highway 23 Saturday. The Incident happened shortly before 9pm near Foreston. The Minnesota State Patrol says a pickup truck was going west on Highway 23 near 160th Avenue when it hit a deer. A passenger in the vehicle, 71-year-old Carolyn Maehren, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. All others involved in the accident were not injured including, the driver, 51-year-old Tricia Cummings of Milaca and two passengers, 61-year-old James Fleck of Hillman and 77-year-old Gerald Hatch of Milaca.
--The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office reported in its weekly newsletter that two incidents of rowdy parties in Collegeville Township. One occurred when parents who left their child home alone. They threw a party on March 12th and it eventually ballooned into something far larger than anticipated. At one point, 75 kids packed the home before the host put their foot down. Some of the party goers who were kicked out retaliated with spray paint. They left their mark with several permanent, vulgar messages and pictures. The newsletter says the office has identified one potential suspect.
--Another incident on the newsletter reported a rowdy party led to street racing in St. Wendel Township where a deputy clocked one driver going 120 miles per hour and at least two others with speeds near 100mph around 9:30pm back on March 15th. Deputies and law enforcement are encouraging parents to speak to their children about the dangers and circumstances of this type of behaviors and the dangers of drinking and driving and large party issues that arise.
--A 20-year-old Brainerd man is accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy in Crow Wing County. Ethan Lance Flory was charged with second-degree criminal sexual assault with the victim being younger than 14 and the perpetrator being greater than 36 months older. The maximum sentence for the crime is 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. According to court documents, on March 8th law enforcement was notified of a child at school displaying concerning behaviors, including pulling his pants and underwear down and telling school staff that he was going to urinate on the floor. Staff had a brief conversation with the child at which point the child said "Ethan" had put his hands down the child's pants and demonstrated to staff what "Ethan" did by putting his own hand down his pants. Flory remains in custody at Crow Wing County Jail and is due back in Crow Wing County District Court April 25.
--A summer horse camp in central Minnesota has settled a lawsuit scheduled for trial Monday, that claimed the camp was negligent in allowing a sexual predator to work among children and teenagers. 44-year-old Scott Fortier was a senior counselor, activities director, and volunteer at Circle R Ranch in Long Prairie for more than two decades, until he was convicted of state and federal sex crimes in 2016 and 2018. The plaintiff, known as Doe 600, claimed Circle R Ranch’s owner, Jack McCoy, was warned a decade earlier Fortier was sexually abusing underage girls at the camp. The lawsuit against Circle R Ranch was filed in 2020 by St. Paul-based attorney Jeffrey Anderson, who did not disclose the terms of the settlement. Anderson said more lawsuits against the camp from other victims are expected. In 2005, a former employee to the ranch warned the owner of Circle R Ranch, Jack McCoy, that Fortier was having sex with underage girls. McCoy kicked Fortier out of the camp. But Fortier returned three years later, in 2008, as a volunteer, and allegedly was doing the same job as before but without a title or pay.
--U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Minnesota State Director Colleen Landkamer on Monday announced the availability of grants to help people repair their homes that were damaged by severe storms, flooding and tornadoes in 2022. The grants are being made available through supplemental disaster funding under the Rural Disaster Home Repair Grant Program. Through this program, people may apply to receive grants of up to $40,675 directly from USDA to repair their homes. They may be used to: pay for home repair expenses that were a result of a Presidential declared disasters in calendar year 2022, prepare a site for a manufactured home. relocate a manufactured home. Homes must be located in the declared disaster areas. Residents in the following counties may be eligible for the funding: Morrison, Aitkin, Beltrami, Big Stone, Cass, Chippewa, Clearwater, Cook, Cottonwood, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Itasca, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Kittson, Koochiching, Lac qui Parle, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Lincoln, Lyon, Mahnomen, Marshall, Nobles, Norman, Pennington, Pine, Polk, Pope, Red Lake, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Roseau, St. Louis, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wadena, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine. For information on how to apply, contact your Rural Development area office in your county or your local asssitance program.
--Laverne Bzdok informed Little Falls Radio that Share Sunday back on March 19th at Mary of Lourdes Middle School raised $5,496 from raffle and silent auction and donations. All of the money goes to the Morrison County Food Shelf with sites in Little Falls, Pierz and Motley. Also monies go to Oasis Central Minnesota and the local Boys and Girls Club in Little Falls. Laverne thanks all who gave for their event.
WEATHER
TODAY= increasing clouds, snow showers afternoon ½ inch, high 30
TONIGHT= clearing skies, cold temps, low -3, wind chills -15.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and cooler, high near 22, low around 0.
THURSDAY= snow afternoon and night, high 33, low around 25.
SPORTS
COL BB= The NCAA Final Four is set for both the men and women. For the men the final four has San Diego State taking on Florida Atlantic and Miami battles Connecticut. On the women's side the final four is Iowa, LSU, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.