NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff s Office reports that at 7:20pm Tuesday they received a call regarding a four year old who had been pulled out of Shamineau Lake and CPR was being performed. When deputies arrived on scene the four year old girl was conscious and alert. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the girl was playing near the water with other siblings. The four year old eventually fell off the end of the dock. The father advised that he heard the other children yelling and then noticed his daughter was face down in the water with no personal flotation device on. The father immediately pulled his daughter out of the water and started CPR. The four year old was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and according to the family she is expected to make a full recovery. The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents that you should always ensure that children wear a personal flotation device and have constant adult supervision while they are near or in any body of water.
--Working in conjunction with Minnesota Power, the Minnesota National Guard is about 75 percent complete with a $25 million solar panel project at Camp Ripley that is expected to make the base "net zero" so it produces as much energy as it takes in. Although the base won't disconnect from the larger power grid as a result of completing the solar array, it does give it the ability to do so. The electricity produced will go not just to Camp Ripley but to surrounding communities like Little Falls and Nisswa. The panels will generate a total of 17,000 megawatt hours per year, or enough for 2,000 customers. The project was spurred on by the Minnesota Solar Jobs Act, passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2013. The law requires the state's utility companies—including Minnesota Power—to have at least 1.5 percent of their electricity production be from solar sources by 2020. A ribbon cutting is planned for Friday, September 16th.
--One person is dead after an officer shot a suspect in downtown Alexandria during an undercover investigation Tuesday. Law enforcement was called about about 2:15pm to the 300 block of Irving Street. According to the Alexandria Police Department, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was conducting an undercover operation involving the solicitation of minors. Supporting agencies included Alexandria police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. During the operation, two BCA agents fired their guns. According to Alexandria police, one person was dead at the scene. No officers were injured and no arrests were made. At the request of the BCA, the St. Paul Police Department will conduct the official investigation of the shooting. The shooting took place in a residential area near Minnesota Highway 29. The shots were fired about a block away from the St. Mary’s Catholic Church, also home to a parochial school. The BCA announced that more information would be released as their investigation continues.
--The city of Avon will receive funding from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to build a noise barrier along the north side of Interstate 94 from east of Chinook Avenue Southwest to Middle Spunk Lake. Cost of the noise barrier, which will be approximately 3,400 feet long and 20 feet high, is approximately $1.5 million. Most of the costs will be paid for with funds from MnDOT’s Greater Minnesota Stand-Alone Noise Barrier Program. The city of Avon will contribute 10 percent of the cost. Design work will begin next spring and construction will start in 2018.Thirty-six homes near the interstate will benefit from the project.
--A Clear Lake man was hurt in a crash. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened just before 4:00am Wednesday morning on Highway 10 in Sherburne County. 19-year-old Jovanne Garland-Milhauser was going east when he was cut off by a second car which was also going east. That caused Garland-Milhauser to swerve off the road and come to a rest in a ravine. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
--A 20-year-old man is facing multiple charges for allegedly pulling a knife and threatening to kill a man at a residence in Baxter. Isaac Corbin Holmin had his first appearance Tuesday in Crow Wing County District Court and faces three felonies—second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, making terroristic threats and domestic assault by strangulation—and three gross misdemeanors—fourth-degree assault of an officer, being in violation of a domestic assault order and obstructing the legal process. According to the complaint filed against Holmin, Baxter police were called at 10:27pm Saturday to a Baxter residence of a physical domestic involving a weapon. When the officer talked with the male victim, he stated he had come home and found Holmin digging through his backpack in the garage. The complaint stated the defendant grabbed the victim by the shoulder, spun him around hard, put a knife to his throat and threatened that if he was going to go to prison, then he was going to kill him right then and there. When the victim tried to walk away, Holmin grabbed him and starting choking him. Holmin told the victim he would crush his neck so fast he wouldn't even know what happened. While officers were gathering information, Holmin slipped his handcuffs to the front of his body and argued with officers about needing to have his hands behind his body. Holmin proceeded to grab onto the belt and a sheriff's deputy attempted to secure the belt around his waist. Holmin only complied with demands to move his hands when he was advised he would be tased and then taken to jail.
--The Rock Roll and Stroll is tonight in Pierz from 6-9pm. More events include Benton and Crow Wing County Fairs continuing, Corn Boil in Hillman Friday, Platte River Day in Royalton Saturday, Scandia Valley Summerfest Friday-Sunday and Church Festival in Pierz on Sunday. --The Little Falls Community School athletics all-sport meeting will be next Thursday, August 11th, at 7:00pm in the high school auditorium. This all-sport meeting is for all parents and athletes in grades 7-12 interested in participating in an activity during the 2016-2017 school year. For information call the activities office at 616-2206.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
--Zachary Geisenhoff & Bobbi Jo Bartkowicz of Little Falls a girl 7-30
WEATHER
TODAY= a morning shower, then clearing and windy, high 81.
TONIGHT= clear skies, breezy in evening, low 57.
FRIDAY= sunny skies, high 76, clear night low around 55.
SATURDAY= sunny skies, high 78, clear night, low 55.
SUNDAY= sunny skies, high near 80, low around 60.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins win 13-5 Wednesday with a 4 hit game by Joe Mauer and more key hitting by Dozier and Kepler. Twins wrap up with Cleveland today at 10:30am on Q92 WYRQ.
US= U.S. Women's Soccer team beat New Zealand yesterday 2-0.