News

The National Weather Service will investigate a string of funnel clouds spotted Thursday afternoon in central Minnesota and if any touched down. Yesterday between 2-6pm dozens of tornado warnings were issued and pictures of funnel clouds were taken in Benson, near Melrose, near Long Prairie, between Rice and Royalton and north of Mille Lacs Lake. At this time the National Weather Service has not confirmed any tornado touchdowns in the state but will investigate the many reports taken on Thursday. Gusty winds led to tree and other damage, street flooding from heavy rains, many reports of power outages from the wind and rain on Thursday through central Minnesota. More rain in the forecast today and again most of next week but not severe. The Little Falls Airport reported 1.13 inches of rain Thursday though many areas reported well over 2 inches or more where the severe storms hit Thursday.  

The author of a new book about central Minnesota native Charles Lindbergh says he's in a race against time to restore the aviator's reputation before the 100th anniversary of his historic transatlantic flight. The Little Falls native completed the flight aboard his Spirit of St. Louis airplane on May 21st, 1927. The feat gave him worldwide fame and made him a hero. However, years later, his star was tarnished. Then wanted the United States to enter World War II, while Lindbergh did not with an "America First" position. Roosevelt then mounted a vicious attack on Lindbergh, fearing he might run against him for president. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, that feud was all but forgotten, and Lindbergh's reputation was restored. Since then a historical fictional novel and other movies released depicted Lindbergh in a bad light. David Hamilton has spent the last two years separating fact from fiction about Lindbergh's life. Hamilton claims the Minnesota Historical Society has, in some ways, canceled many Lindbergh items, and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. has taken down his plane from its prime position in the hall. However, not everything in Lindbergh's life was admirable. After his death, it was learned he had three secret families in Germany. The three mistresses all knew of each other, but his wife Anna died before that was revealed. He fathered a total of 12 children because he believed in giving his genetic inheritance to the world. The Minnesota Historical Society says that in September 1973, Lindbergh made his last public appearance to dedicate the new visitor center at the Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site in Little Falls. Lindbergh died in Hawaii in 1974. Hamilton says he aims to restore Lindbergh's reputation as a proud American citizen, aviator, scientist, and activist. Lucky Lindy's legend began in central Minnesota, at his childhood home in Little Falls. Little Falls and other museums and also items in Paris, France where he landed in 1927 is planning 100 year anniversary items to celebrate Lindbergh's Flight that is being planned for 2027 on the 100th anniversary. David Hamilton's book "The Enigmatic Aviator: Charles Lindbergh, Revisited" is available online and at book stores nationally or through the Lindbergh site. 

The Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety has released the results of the April distracted driving enforcement campaign. The office says law enforcement agencies handed out 6,450 hands-free cell phone citations during the month-long campaign. That's 1,000 more tickets than in the 2024 enforcement campaign. In greater Minnesota, some agencies with the most tickets include the St. Cloud District of the Minnesota State Patrol with 221, the St. Cloud Police Department with 110, and the Wright County Sheriff's Office with 101. The St. Paul Police Department led all participating agencies by issuing 1,326 tickets. In 2024, there were 29 fatalities and 137 serious injuries in Minnesota that were attributed to distracted driving.

Top legislative leaders and Governor Tim Walz have struck a deal on a new two-year budget, but the announcement wasn’t without some legislators not pleased with the outcome. Walz says no one got everything they wanted. House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring) says the compromise slashes state spending by $5 billion, which is the largest cut in history. It also eliminates $2.17 billion from the projected $6 billion budget shortfall in the coming biennium. If inflation is factored in, that accounts for 45% of the overall deficit. Other spending cuts include trimming $1.4 billion from the health and human services department, $420 million from the education budget, $308 million from local government aid for cities and counties, and $248 million from the transportation department. Under the plan, the Department of Corrections announced a surprising move, saying it will close the Stillwater Prison. It will shut down in phases and end any state investment into the building’s crumbling infrastructure due to health and safety issues for staff and the prison’s 1,200 inmates. An estimated $700 million would be needed to bring it up the modern safety and operational standards. The DOC also says it agreed to the closure to enhance the department’s economic efficiency. It will be fully shuttered by June of 2029. The inmates will be transferred to other facilities. The new budget is expected to be slimmer than the one passed by Democrats in 2023, when the state had a massive $17.6 billion surplus. The money was spent on new programs such as universal school meals, paid family and medical leave, increases in the child tax credit, a one-time rebate to residents, and $9 billion in on projects around the state. The deadline for lawmakers to finish their work is midnight May 19th; otherwise, a special session will be needed.

The Little Falls City Council meets Monday at 7:30pm at City Hall Council Chambers. 

Join JZ and The Dark live tonight starting at 7pm at Cary's Bar in Little Falls for 94ROCKS The Dark 15th Anniversary Party. JZ will be live on location 7-9pm for The Dark on 94ROCKS and fallsradio.com. Strange Daze will play an acoustic set at 9pm and  DJ music to follow until close. There will be many food and drink specials, giveaways, information on getting merch for 94ROCKS  and much more, stop by and register to win tickets to Lakes Jam, Rockfest and Mid Summer Music Fest at Cary's Bar in Little Falls and tune to JZ and the Dark live tonight starting at 7pm on 94ROCKS KFML. 

Death Notices- Marlene L. Fellbaum, age 91 of Swanville. Donald Plante, age 65 of Fort Ripley. 

Weather- today rain showers likely, some heavy rain possible, cooler and windy, high 53, more rain showers tonight and cooler, low around 40. Cloudy with sprinkles and gusty winds Saturday, high near 50, low 35 could be patchy frost into Sunday morning. Sunday partly sunny high near 58, low around 41. Monday sunny start with high 64 and rain developing in afternoon, rain showers likely Monday night through Thursday in the extended forecast with highs only in the upper 50s and lows around 40 degrees. 

Sports- Twins get another sweep with a 4-0 win over Baltimore on Thursday. However a scary collision had Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa leave the game and put on concussion protocol listed day to day. The Twins travel to Milwaukee Friday night to start a series with the Brewers, pregame at 6:30pm Friday, 5:30pm on Saturday and Inside Twins at Noon on Sunday on Q92 WYRQ. Denver won last night to force a Game 7 against Oklahoma City on Sunday in the NBA playoffs, the Timberwolves await the winner for the Conference Finals that will start Tuesday for Game 1 and next Thursday for Game 2 at the OKC/Denver winner site, games 3 and 4 will be at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Victory League Game of the Week on Sunday is Nisswa at Sobieski at 1:30pm live on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com. 

The National Weather Service is reporting that scattered thunderstorms can be expected over western Minnesota this morning. A few storms may be strong to severe, possibly producing large hail, damaging...

Little Falls Superintendent Greg Johnson stated Tuesday a "Thank You to Our Community on behalf of Little Falls Community Schools, we extend our sincere thanks to everyone who took the...

On Saturday at 1am, the Little Falls Fire Department and Little Falls Police Department were dispatched to 1301 5th Avenue SE on a report of a garage fire, with a possible...

Little Falls was one of over 30 cities in Minnesota Sunday that keeps weather records to break the high temperature record reaching 92 degrees at the airport breaking the record...