Friday, November 21, 2025

The Minnesota firearms deer hunting season to close to ending with 128,759 deer registered as of Thursday morning (11/20/25). The total number harvested (including antlerless and the youth hunt) is 152,472. That puts the state at about 8% above last year at this time. The firearms season continues in the southeast region of the state from November 22-30. The muzzleloader season continues through December 14 and the archery hunt continues through December 31. All regions of the state saw a harvest increase compared to last year. The northeast region of the state saw a 13% increase compared to last year but very few deer were shot in that region in 2024. A large amount of wolves in the north and northeast region of the state is the reason for the low amount of deer. There could be some momentum for the DNR to implement a wolf hunting season in the state. The St. Cloud to Alexandria, Perham to Wadena and the central region including Morrison County said hunting was up with numbers in the central region alone over 30,000 deer taken over the two weekend period with still more reports coming into the DNR. 

A Minnesota man will spend 30 years in prison for what authorities call a "massive sextortion scheme" involving young children. Thirty-eight-year-old Timothy Gebhart of Woodbury has been sentenced for production and attempted production of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and interstate communications with intent to extort. The U.S. Attorney's office says that, for more than two years from 2021 to 2023, Gebhart used online platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to target minor children as young as 12 years old.  He used at least 66 different aliases to pose as a teenager to befriend his victims.  He'd then convince them to send him sexually explicit videos and photos.  He also sought out sexual encounters with his victims.  He would use the materials to threaten the victims, claiming to distribute them to classmates, friends, and family members.  He also would send his victims disturbing videos depicting violent deaths to shock them into compliance.

A northern Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to murdering a Sauk Rapids woman last fall. Forty-six-year-old Christopher Neal of Aurora entered a Norgaard plea on Wednesday. A Norgaard plea is a guilty plea where the defendant is unable to recall the facts of the case due to intoxication, amnesia, or other circumstances. Neal pleaded guilty in Benton County District Court to one count of 2nd-degree intentional murder.  Minnesota sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of 27 years.  Three other charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. Police were called to an apartment on 10th Avenue NE in Sauk Rapids on August 12, 2024, for a report of a dead woman. Officers discovered 38-year-old Victoria Gamble dead and her car keys missing. According to the charges, Gamble and Neal were seen leaving a Sauk Rapids bar together at around 1:00 a.m. on August 12th. The two are seen on Gamble's apartment surveillance entering the building shortly after leaving the bar. Records allege Neal is seen leaving the apartment alone at around 3:00 a.m. Gamble's body was found hours later. An autopsy by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death was strangulation and the manner of death was homicide. When police released Gamble's body to the medical examiner, they noted her car was missing from the parking lot. Records indicate Neal was found in a Louisiana hotel with Gamble's car nearby. According to the charges, Neal admitted to taking a car and being in a woman's Sauk Rapids apartment. However, he told investigators he had a limited memory of what happened inside the apartment and allegedly said he did not believe he killed her but admitted taking her keys. Neal will be sentenced on Wednesday, November 25th.

Two men have been charged with offering a forged check in Otter Tail County. 62-year-old Keith King of St. Cloud and 51-year-old Daryl Jungroth of Elk River were both arrested on Tuesday, November 18, for attempting to cash a fraudulent check at a bank, King in Pelican Rapids and Jungroth in Fergus Falls. Court documents show both men telling law enforcement that they had received the check from their employer, but did not know his last name or the name of the company they had worked for. King told Pelican Rapids police that he, another worker, believed by police to be Jungroth, and his employer rode together from St. Cloud. He said that his employer dropped the other man in Fergus Falls to cash his check, then dropped King off at the bank in Pelican Rapids and was gone when he came out. Court documents say Jungroth told Fergus Falls police that he and his roommate at a homeless shelter in St. Cloud came up to the area to work on a lake cabin. He said he agreed to it because the roommate knew the foreman. Both King and Jungroth told police they were supposed to be paid a few hundred dollars, but learned at the banks that the checks they were given were for $3,245.20 and $2,775.80, respectively. The owners of the checking accounts were contacted, and both denied having written the checks. The bank employee in Pelican Rapids told police the check there was refused because the signature was photocopied and the writing had been changed. King and Jungroth made their first court appearance Thursday morning and have been charged with offering a forged check, a felony offense. The court documents do not say if the alleged employer has been identified.

The Little Falls Police Department in the past week has dealt with suspicious activity calls, scam reports, fire calls, one at the apartment complex reported on Thursday news page, another was a false alarm. Accident reports of property damage accidents around the city but without any injuries. Fraud and theft cases. If you need assistance contact the police department at 320-616-5570. 

Weekend events include St. Mary's Christmas Bazaar 8am to 6:30pm Saturday and 9am to 12pm Sunday lots of treasures and check through, food, kids games bingo and more. Sunday breakfast free will offering and raffle at noon. Hunt for Hospice with Horizon Health Services is Saturday from 4-8:30pm at the Pierz Ballroom, hotdishes to try, raffle and auction items all to help Horizon Health Hospice programs. Turkey Bingo at Holy Family Belle Prairie at 1:30pm on Sunday. Check out more events at fallsradio.com. 

Death Notices: Jason Determan, age 47 of Pierz formerly Little Falls. 

Weather: Friday mostly sunny, high 43, clear Friday night low 27. Saturday partly sunny and mild, high 51, partly cloudy Saturday low 25. Sunday sunny and mild, high near 50, low around 30. Monday sunny and still mild high 48, low around 34. Rain likely Tuesday high near 43 falling to 22 Tuesday night with some light snow. Wednesday partly cloudy, windy and cold, high 29, low around 18. Thanksgiving Day cloudy skies with chances of rain and snow showers, high 33, low around 20. 

Sports: Prep Bowl is Friday and Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium to wrap up football season. Gophers take on Northwestern in football on Saturday and Vikings are at Green Bay on Sunday, updates during the NFL coverage on Sundays on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com.