Monday, July 14, 2025

The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reports that on 7-11-2025 at approximately 12:25 pm, their office received a report of a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of 120th Ave and 30th Street, just south of Bowlus in Two Rivers Township. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the driver of a 2010 Toyota Prius was westbound on 30th Street and collided with a 2016 Ford F-450 truck. Upon collision, both vehicles rolled onto their roofs and came to rest in the southwest ditch of the intersection. During the crash, a power pole was struck and sheared off. Minnesota Power was dispatched to the scene to address the utility damage. The driver of the Toyota Prius had to be extricated by the Bowlus Fire Department. Emergency personnel performed lifesaving measures on the driver but were unsuccessful. The deceased was transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, where identification is pending. Authorities will release further information once the individual has been identified and the next of kin have been notified. The driver and passengers of the Ford F-450 truck were treated at the scene and released.

On Saturday morning, the Stearns County Sheriff Office reminds the public that a No Wake Ordinance is in effect for various lakes within Stearns County. While a few lakes may have dropped in water levels many are still high or continue to rise with the nearly 2 inches of rain received on July 4th. Then another inch or more fell July 10th and 11th. This “No Wake” rule is in place for all watercraft users withing 300 feet of the associated shorelines. The affected lakes are: Two Rivers Lake Holding Twp. Rice Lake Eden Lake Twp. North Brown’s Lake Eden Lake Twp. Big Lake Munson Twp. Entire Sauk River Chain of Lakes Eden Lake, Munson and Wakefield Twp.’s Grass Lake Lynden Twp. Clearwater Lake Fairhaven/Lynden Twp. Lake Augusta Fairhaven Twp. Lake Caroline Fairhaven Twp. The Sheriff’s Office is asking for anyone visiting area lakes in the days ahead and still likely with more rain this week into the weekend, to heed this ordinance and to expect enforcement to be taking place for those violating the ordinance. Those visiting area lakes are asked to be respectful of lakeshore and the possibility of erosion and property damage because of the high-water levels we are currently experiencing. The Sheriff’s Office is removing the No Wake designation for Long and Crooked Lakes as water levels have dropped to acceptable levels.

A woman accused of helping an alleged gunman flee the scene of a double shooting in February that left a teenager dead and another man seriously injured has been sentenced. Olivia Williams was sentenced in Benton County Court on charges of aiding an offender. As part of her plea deal, Williams received a stayed felony sentence, meaning successful completion of probation will result in the charge being reduced to a misdemeanor. The judge ordered 30 days in the Benton County Jail, with Williams eligible for work release or sentenced to serve. She received credit for three days already served. She was also ordered to serve three years of probation and must pay restitution, and stay away from the victim, his family, and the family of 17-year-old Layson Davis, who was killed. The judge ordered her not to contact any of her codefendants. One of them, Quinton McNeal, is also her boyfriend, but the two can communicate for child care purposes only. According to the criminal complaint, around 3:00 a.m. on February 2nd, police were called to an apartment in the 200 block of 2nd Street Northeast for a report of a shooting. Police arrived to find Davis dead and a 19-year-old man from St. Joseph suffering from two gunshot wounds to the chest. Investigators determined the shooting appeared to be a robbery gone wrong after surveillance video from the apartment showed Bernard Bowens standing in the hallway with two others and flashing a wad of cash. About five minutes later, the three are seen apparently struggling over the gun. Davis is then seen running on the second floor with a gun when Bowens appears to ambush Davis as he is coming down the stairs. The two each drew their guns, and Bowens fired several rounds at Davis and ran. The other victim ran after the gunman when he was shot by someone else. That shooter, Bowens, McNeal, and another man then fled the scene. Williams then allegedly drove the suspect to Minnetonka, where he lives with the mother of his child. Police arrested Williams after investigators said they saw her on surveillance camera at the crime scene about 20 minutes before shots were fired, propping a door open and the jacket was also in her car.

The former majority owner of St. Cloud-based Oberg Roofing and Remodeling is charged with five felonies for allegedly defrauding customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to the criminal complaint, Caleb Oberg took nearly $240,000 from 23 customers between July 2023 and September 2024 to perform work, but he never picked up a hammer. During that time, suppliers started to cut the company off, and customers began receiving lien notices, legal claims against their property for unpaid bills to suppliers for materials used in their projects. The company began locking its doors during the day, so people looking for information on their project couldn’t get in and confront staff. When they called Oberg Roofing, employees were told to make something up about why they got the notice and why their work wasn’t done. In October of 2024, the company closed its doors for good. In November, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says it started getting multiple complaints from customers who learned the business had closed and they had already paid for work that was never started. Investigators talked with former staff and Oberg’s business partner, who stated he was in charge of sales. He owned 40% of the company, and Oberg was in charge of all operational decisions. The business partner explained he told Oberg in the summer of 2024 to quit taking jobs because they couldn’t get them done. He told deputies that he thinks Oberg paid “twice as much” as he should have for their new location on West St. Germain Street, and that led to the company closing. Oberg Roofing’s bookkeeper told investigators that Oberg was spending a lot of money on consultants and that 2023 was a “slow” year. The bookkeeper also told Oberg that by Minnesota law, he needed to keep customers’ deposits in a separate account. Oberg refused and ran the entire company out of one account and never told staff to stop selling. Court documents also say the person in charge of accounts receivable for Oberg Roofing told law enforcement that Oberg took out a $750,000 loan to try and get supplies to finish jobs. Separately, he used all of the money from customers’ deposits for operational costs. In January of 2024, Oberg sold a company truck to cover the down payment on a $160,000 Corvette. Investigators learned 44-year-old Oberg left the state shortly after the business’s closing was reported in the media and was being sued in civil court. He turned up in Missouri with a burner phone and had put his car in his wife’s name. On Wednesday, July 9th, a warrant was issued for Oberg on five felony fraud charges of over $35,000. On Thursday, July 10th, he was arrested in Christian County, MO and was being held on $50,000 bond. Stearns County officials are waiting for him to be extradited back to the county to answer to the charges. 

More road work is scheduled to being on many roads starting today. A large project will close parts of Highway 10 and Highway 71 in Wadena County also some intersections to Highway 29 this will go from northwest of Staples from Todd into Wadena and include parts of Otter Tail County for up to the next 6 weeks. Another project will begin in the Wahkon area of Mille Lacs County along Highway 169 as part of the Highway 27 and Highway 169 project around the Mille Lacs Area. Near the Twin Cities work begins on I-394 and I-494 projects with most being done at night with lane closures around the Twin Cities Metro Area. There are also large projects in Steele, Chippewa, and Rock Counties in southern Minnesota. Please remember to slow down in work zones and watch for delays, posted signs and possible detours in areas. For the latest road work information click on the link 511mn.org. 

Post Office News- The price of a first class/forever stamp rose from 73 to 78 cents on Sunday, July 13th. Also on Sunday, the price for metered 1 ounce letters rose to 74 cents, postcards rose to 61 cents, international postcards and metered letters rose to $1.70 and additional single piece letter price to 29 cents. The costs went up according to the USPS due to trying to get back to financial stability. For more information the latest increase click on the link usps.com. 

Death Notices- Stephen Sobania, age 88 of Royalton. Rocky D. Gosse, age 74 of Ft. Ripley. Dean Mason, age 93 of Little Falls. 

Weather- today sunny and warm, some filtered in smoke, high 86. Tonight showers and thunderstorms overnight, low around 66. Tuesday morning showers and storms, then sunny and warm, high 83 with strong to severe thunderstorms afternoon and evening, cooler late, low around 59. Wednesday showers and thunderstorms at times, much cooler and breezy, high 62, low around 51. Sunny Thursday high near 71. 

Sports- Twins beat Pittsburgh 2-1 Friday night on the arm of Joe Ryan. Byron Buxton hits for the cycle Saturday with 5 hits a homerun and 2 RBIS, Castro, Wallner and Clemens also homered as the Twins rout Pittsburgh 12-4. Pirates get a 9th inning run to beat Twins 2-1 on Sunday. Twins (47-49) are off until Friday as Major League Baseball is on the All Star Break this week expect for those participating in the game and festivities including tonight is the home run derby where Byron Buxton of the Twins is to be one the American League members. Chicago beat the Lynx 87-81 on Saturday, Lynx fall to 18-4. Fort Ripley beat Avon 14-3 on Sunday in Victory League Action. Victory League playoffs will look different this year as Region 9C will be August 1-3 in Pierz and August 9-10 in Opole for the teams in C League this year while the 7 teams in Region 4B will have their tournament begin August 1-3 in Avon and August 9-10 in Sobieski. Then 4 teams from 9C and 3 from 4B will advance to state tournaments.