Monday, September 21, 2026
One person was injured Sunday night around 9:20pm on Highway 71 near Bertha in Todd County. 40-year-old Rachel Pietila of Menagha was on Highway 71 in Bertha Township and left the road striking the ditch. She was not hurt. Her passenger 49-year-old Nicholas Hill of Menagha, who apparently not wearing a seatbelt was injured and treated in Wadena for non life threatening injuries.
One person was injured Saturday night around 6:30pm on Highway 10 near Rice in Benton County. 21-year-old Devyn Vierra of Lake Elmo reportedly lost control on Highway 10 in Watab Township and struck the ditch. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non life threatening injuries.
Two from Richmond had injuries in a three vehicle accident Saturday morning around 11am in Munson Township of Stearns County. The State Patrol said that 79-year-old Roger Weinmann had slowed on Highway 22 in the northbound and two other vehicles then collided from behind Weinmann and struck his vehicle. Weinmann was not hospitalized but treated at the scene while his passenger 82-year-old Jacquelyn Randleman was taken to the hospital for non life threatening injuries. The other drivers a 17-year-old from Eden Valley and a 59-year-old from Buffalo and his passenger were not injured in the accident.
Area Law Enforcement reported a higher ratio of speed related accidents and tickets being issue over the Labor Day Weekend and over the past few weeks in central Minnesota. The State Patrol and Stearns County Sheriff's reported at least 2 speed citations of a vehicle driving over 90mph, and almost 3 dozen tickets issued in and around the county of vehicles over 20mph over the speed limit on state and county roads from August 21 through September 14th. Morrison County reported speeding citations being issued and one pursuit mentioned earlier this week with speeds near 100mph in Richardson Township. A reminder that extra law enforcement will be out watching for speeders and also distracted driving in the area.
A person has died after being struck by a train on Saturday morning. According to Metro Transit, police responded to the 46th Street Station shortly after 10am where officials said a northbound Blue Line train had struck a person on the tracks. The individual was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said buses provided transportation in place of trains between the Fort Snelling and Franklin Street Station while the scene was being cleared. The Metro Transit Police Department is investigating the incident.
An Avon man faces a felony charge of maliciously punishing his infant child. According to the criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, 21-year-old Jack Tollefson caused squeezing bruises, a possible mouth injury, and anomalies to the lower shin bone near the ankle and forearm that could be possible fractures. The child was born in April, and court records show Tollefson and the baby's mother brought her to the doctor toward the end of July for bruises on her ankle, thigh, jaw, and an injury from something possibly being shoved into her mouth. Doctors said the injuries were concerning for abuse in a non-mobile infant, and contacted police. The criminal charge alleges that Tollefson can be seen on home video surveillance in the months leading up to the doctor's visit swinging the child, bouncing her aggressively, forcefully pushing her into the couch, tossing the child over his shoulder like a sack, holding her by the chin and by her legs, pretending she is flying around the room. The video also allegedly shows Tollefson getting frustrated with her crying on multiple occasions and, at times, is seen walking into the laundry room off camera where the child can be heard screaming loudly and making strange noises authorities say could be from something being put in her mouth. Police say the video shows the mother is not seen handling the child in the same aggressive manner, and the baby is not fussy when the mother cares for her. Law enforcement spoke to the foster parents earlier this month, who said the child is an excellent baby who rarely fusses. The couple said they haven't noticed any additional bruising on the baby since being in their care, or received any additional diagnosis at her subsequent doctor's appointments that would explain bruising.
Little Falls’ annual Leaf & Brush Pickup will be Saturday, October 24. Please have your UNTIED leaf bags on the boulevard (not the alley) by 6:00 a.m. Brush should be bundled and no larger than 1" in diameter or 4' long. Reminder: Burning leaves or grass in the City is illegal. Questions about the leaf pickup? Call Little Falls City Hall at 320-616-5500.
Rain totals around the area Friday were varied with around three-quarters to a 1 inch plus around the Brainerd Lakes Area and Lake Mille Lacs and some area north of Little Falls. The Little Falls Airport had .58 inches of rain Friday. Heaviest amounts of moisture again was in southern Minnesota where flood warnings were issues in Faribault and Waseca Counties where some reports showed rain totals of 3-4 inches on Friday and many 1-2 inches totals with street flooding being an issue on Friday night, hence the reason that many football games including Little Falls was moved to Thursday and others moved to Saturday.
The Little Falls City Council meets Monday at 7:30pm at City Hall Council Chambers. While the Little Falls School Board meets Monday at 5pm where they will set the Truth and Taxation Hearing for December 14th at 6pm and take action on their e-learning plan and approval of a shared plan also on the agenda.
Death Notices: Frank Filosi, age 75 formerly of Little Falls.
Weather: mostly cloudy today, high near 60. Clearing skies tonight, low near 40 some fog by morning, some northern Minnesota counties have frost advisories tonight. Tuesday morning fog, then sunny skies, high 64, clear Tuesday night low near 38. Sunny Wednesday high 67, showers and storms overnight, low 49. Showers and storms possible on Thursday, high 66, rain ending and clearing Thursday night low 50. Friday cloudy skies, high near 70, low near 50. Chance of showers both Saturday and Sunday, highs in the mid to upper 60s and lows in the lower 50s.
Sports: Vikings use defense to beat Chicago Sunday 9-3 in a rainy game in Chicago. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was injured late and left the game. Vikings (2-0) are at Tampa Bay on Sunday at 3:05pm. Twins win 3-0 over Angels Friday night. Angels come back to beat Twins 6-5 Saturday night in 11 innings after Twins blew a 5-2 lead in the 8th inning. Twins get 4 RBIs and 3 hits including a big homerun from Alan Roden Sunday to shut out the Angels 8-0 and split the 4 game series. However with the White Sox winning on Sunday the Twins were eliminated from postseason contention. The Twins (74-82) are at San Francisco tonight at 8:45pm. New York beat Minnesota Lynx 93-81 Friday night. Lynx then beat Connecticut 101-89 Sunday with Olivia Miles 21 points making her the all time rookie points leader in WNBA history. Lynx (32-10) have a home and home series with Indiana this week to end the regular season. Gopher Football beat Akron 41-7 on Saturday while St. John's rolled 77-0 over Hamline in football. High School Football: Pierz 60-0 over Minnewaska, Royalton 30-8 over St. Cloud Apollo, Upsala-Swanville beat BBE 28-7, Staples-Motley, Foley, Pillager and Sauk Rapids-Rice lost their football games on Friday. Back on Thursday Little Falls 20-17 over Litchfield and Holdingford 24-2 over Eden Valley Watkins. Saturday both Little Falls boys and girls soccer teams lost to Rocori while Flyer girls cross country finished 9th at an invite in the Twin Cities with Rose Jarnot 6th overall. Boys were 22nd. Monday events include Tennis, Girls Soccer, Volleyball and the Rey Zimney Pioneer Stampede invite in Cross Country at 4pm at the Pierz Golf Course. Yesterday in NFL action Green Bay 20-17 over New York Jets in overtime. Kansas City beat Indianapolis 33-30 in overtime last night. Tonight on Monday Night Football New York Giants at LA Rams 7:15pm on AM960 KLTF.