NEWS --The Minnesota Court of Appeals Monday reversed a decision on a sentence of a Little Falls man who pleaded guilty on aiding and abetting arson. The court of appeals stated the Morison County judge erred in sentencing 29-year old Jon Paul Weidenbach, after Weidenbach claimed he was deprived of his constutional right to an impartial fact finder. The appeals court found in favor of Weidenbach. Weidenbach pleaded guilty after an incident April 4th, 2015 where the report stated he and Jeffrey Wilson burned down the home they were renting in Little Falls. He was charged with first degree arson which was dropped after he pled guilty to aiding and abetting. The sentencing guidelines had 60 months for the sentence but the Morrison County judge sentenced Weidenbach to 72 months. He was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $20,000 which his prisons wage will be applied toward. Weidenbach is scheduled to be released in April of 2019 but that could be sooner because of the Court of Appeals decision Monday on the sentencing.
--A Cushing man has been charged with six counts of second degree burglary and counts of property damage in a string of burglaries at businesses in Nisswa last week. 55-year old Craig Hines was arrested Friday after being shown on surveillance video inside a Nisswa business allegedly taking items. This came as a number of businesses including pizza places, brewing company, coffee shop and others stated that items were taken. Items included cash, stamps, gift cards and other items from shops. Authorities stated that Hines was found to have some items from other stores on his person when arrested.
--The railroad bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Cloud was shut down for about two hours on Friday as officers negotiated with a suicidal man. Officers responded to a welfare check complaint at about 4:45pm regarding a man sitting on the railroad bridge. 52-year old Henry Abrego of St. Cloud, was found on the bridge. He was refusing to come off and made some suicidal comments. BNSF was contacted to shut down any possible train traffic in the area. Abrego was negotiated off the bridge at about 6:45pm Friday. Abrego was arrested and taken to Stearns County Jail after receiving medical attention at the St. Cloud hospital. Abrego is facing charges of disorderly conduct, littering, obstructing legal process, and trespassing on a posted railroad. No injuries were reported.
--A 92-year-old Crosslake man has died from burns sustained last Wednesday in a burn barrel fire on his residence. Crosslake firefighters and police responded to a Sand Pointe Drive residents around 3pm and found a burn barrel on fire which was extinguished. They entered the home to find 92-year-old Frank Lindholm seriously burned. Lindholm was taken to the hospital and airlifted to HCMC's burn unit in Minneapolis where he reportedly died over the weekend. It is believed that Lindhom started to light the burn barrel and ignited himself in the process as he had burns over most of his body.
--Staff from 8th Distrct Congressman Rick Nolan will be Pierz and Lastrup on Wednesday. The staff members will be at Pierz City Hall from 9:30-11am and then at the parish center in Lastrup at 11:45am to meet with constituents in the 8th District on their questions.
--The Minnesota DNR is warning dog owners that there has been a rise in raccoons in the area which is the leading cause of distemper cases in dogs. The virus does not affect humans.
--Day of Caring is going on today in Little Falls, Randall, Sobieski and Flensburg. Watch out for a number of volunteers 8:00am-12:00pm.
--Another name has been added to the list of candidates vying for the Stearns County Sheriff's position left vacant after the retirement of Sheriff Jon Sanner. 13 names have been entered into the list of candidates including the latest, Waite Park Police Chief Dave Bentrud. Whoever is appointed to replace Sanner will be the interim Sheriff in Stearns County until the November 2018 election.
--A body found in a wooded area of St. Cloud has been identified. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office fully identified the body as 41-year old Jeffrey Michael Martin of St. Cloud. The cause and manner of death are pending toxicology studies. Martin's body was found Sunday after a person walking their dog reported the body to the police department. The body was located in a wooded area approximately 50 feet east of the railroad tracks near the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue Southeast in St. Cloud. According to the Police Department, it appeared as though Martin had been spending time in that area. The death does not appear to be related to the railroad track. Foul play is not suspected.
--The Anoka County Attorney's Office has decided not to file criminal charges against a Benton County deputy who remains on paid leave after allegations surfaced that he might have forged or copied the signatures of judges onto search warrants before filing them in court. Deputy Chad Haas was assigned to the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force when the allegations came to light after a routine review of the VOTF property room. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the accusations and Anoka County prosecutors reviewed the case to avoid any conflicts with having Benton County decide whether to charge Haas.
--St. Cloud police responded to a report of an assault at the Place of Hope at 511 9th Avenue North at about 5:45pm on Friday. Police say 36-year old Christopher Cox of St. Cloud had an argument with a 56-year old man from St. Cloud regarding Cox not being allowed inside the Place of Hope. During the argument, Cox had a fork, and struck the victim twice in the face, causing minor injuries. A volunteer at the shelter, a 35-year old man, tried to intervene and restrain Cox, but he was also attacked by Cox with the fork and received minor injuries. Cox was arrested at the scene, and is being held at the Stearns County Jail. Cox is facing two counts of 2nd degree assault
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT --Bradley and Rebecca Piekarski of Little Falls, girl on May 1st
WEATHER TODAY= partly sunny, afternoon thunderstorms, high 64. TONIGHT= evening showers and T-storms, then clearing, low 36. THURSDAY= sunny skies, high 65, clear night low around 40. FRIDAY= sunny and warm, high 72, low around 46.
SPORTS TWINS= Twins go long 6 times with with 2 homeruns from Dozier, and 1 from Buxton, Castro, Mauer and Sano to win 9-1. The Twins and Oakland play game 2 tonight 6:30pm on Q92 WYRQ. HS SB= Pierz at Little Falls in softball today at 1:30pm on KLTF. VL= Pierz Brewers at Royalton is the Victory League Game of the Week on Sunday at 1:30pm on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com.