Thursday, February 12, 2026

A man responsible for conducting U.S. Department of Defense background checks on applicants for prospective federal agents has been arrested in a sex trafficking sting. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges did not mince words about how he felt when it was learned Rashad Johnson of Maple Grove was in custody. “This is the most disturbing arrest we’ve had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security and federal agencies, so when you’re getting security clearance, this is one of the guys who does your backgrounds. Which is kind of scary.” He was especially frustrated due to the nature of Johnson’s work and the high security clearance he holds. “We locked him up,” Hodges said, and added, “I don’t think he’ll be passing any background checks anytime soon.” In all, Hodges says they had contact with more than 330 people, and 30 arrests were made, adding that there would have been more arrests if people had not mistaken the officers for Operation Metro Surge immigration enforcement agents and interfered with their sting. The suspects are between 19 and 62 years old. Two of them will be charged with felonies due to their past convictions.

A Burlington Northern Santa Fe train caught fire around 10:25am Wednesday morning west of Baxter. Authorities were called just after the train left the Brainerd train yard after getting diesel fuel. Fire crews battled the fire for about 90 minute and were seen on top of one of the three locomotives. No injuries were reported the roadways around the tracks west of Baxter were closed while fire crews suppressed the fire and when completed the train was able to continue down the tracks for repairs.The initial cause is believed to be electrical in nature but an official cause has not bee released. 

The St. Cloud Police Department is issuing an update on a hit-and-run crash at 13th Street North and 10th Avenue North on January 29th. Officers were responding to a call to assist Pope County authorities in searching for a vehicle that was involved in a burglary there. A St. Cloud officer spotted the vehicle leaving a parking lot in the 4100 block of Division Street, but the driver eluded the officer. A short time later, the suspect's vehicle was reported to be involved in a crash in North St. Cloud, with the driver fleeing on foot. The suspect, 29-year-old Colton Armstrong of St. Cloud, escaped the scene. The St. Cloud Police SWAT team served a search warrant at around 5am Wednesday morning in the 1300 block of 9th Avenue South. Armstrong was arrested at the scene without incident and was booked into the Stearns County Jail on a Department of Corrections felony warrant for violation of release, a Pope County warrant for 3rd-degree burglary, and probable cause for fleeing police in a motor vehicle.

A firefighter suffered minor injuries after a fire broke out in a St. Cloud home on Tuesday. Fire crews were dispatched to 134 33rd Avenue North just after 9:30 p.m. on a report of smoke coming from the home. Firefighters arrived to find a fire on the main floor of the house and immediately began battling the flames. The fire was brought under control, contained to the main floor living room where it started, and extinguished. No one was home at the time of the blaze, but the resident was displaced as a result of the smoke and water damage. A firefighter was evaluated at St. Cloud Hospital for an upper-body injury, was treated, and released. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the St. Cloud Fire Marshal.

A small fire on Tuesday prompted the evacuation of a St. Cloud charter school. St. Cloud fire crews were dispatched to 3241 Oakham Lane just after 4:45pm. Staff at Stride Academy sounded the fire alarm after classes had ended for the day. Everyone inside the school was able to evacuate safely by the time firefighters arrived. Staff told the battalion that they smelled smoke inside the building and pulled the alarm. Fire crews investigated the scene and learned of a small fire that had originated in the attic space of the school. The fire was successfully extinguished by the sprinkler system inside the school before firefighters intervened. The cause of the fire is believed to be a malfunctioning bathroom ventilation fan.

Students from across central Minnesota will test their spelling prowess Thursday at the 2026 Resource Training & Solutions Service Cooperative Region 7 Spelling Bee. The contest features 39 competitors who will face off starting at 1:00 p.m. at Ritsche Auditorium on the St. Cloud State University campus. The spelling bee is part of a progression of contests starting at the school and district levels before advancing to regional, state, and potentially national competition. Students from school districts throughout Region 7 will vie for a chance to advance to the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee. Winners will travel to Washington, D.C., in May for Bee Week, which culminates with the crowning of a national champion during a nationally televised broadcast. The following local students will represent their schools in Thursday’s competition: St. Cloud: Amir Omar (Grade 7), Jack Houston (Grade 6), Madalyn Steil (Grade 5), Mahbub Omar (Grade 6), Olivia Gould (Grade 8), and Thisbe Truax (Grade 7) Sauk Rapids-Rice: Gabriel Anderson (Grade 8), Harrison Nguyen (Grade 8), Nova Rushmeyerl (Grade 5), and Titus Seline (Grade 6) Sartell-St. Stephen: Ingrid Johnson (Grade 8), Marien Asia (Grade 8), and Uriah LaPorta (Grade 8) Foley: Lucas Anderson (Grade 5) and Olivia Hartman (Grade 8) Other area schools: Charles Houle, Saint John’s Prep (Grade 8); Ella Kluver, Eden Valley-Watkins (Grade 8); Faith Meyer, Melrose (Grade 8); Gracyn Hendricks, Kimball (Grade 6); Hannah Rubbelke, Catholic Community Schools (Grade 5); James Schumer, Holdingford (Grade 5); and Levi Jungroth-Elliot, Stride Academy (Grade 8). Good luck to all the students. 

Emma Ahlin spoke on KLTF Wednesday, the Little Falls Theatre Company is performing "Love Notes" a musical where members will sing classic love songs, funny, romantic and otherwise, for Valentine's Day and also the final song with be a tease to their upcoming summer musical this year. The event is Saturday February 14th at 7:30pm at Little Falls Community High School. Tickets can be purchased at the door or go to lftheatre.org for details. 

Stacy Happke informed Little Falls Radio that this year the Morrison County Dairy Princess Coronation will be held earlier on Saturday March 14th this year, if you have a young lady interested in being a dairy princess contact Stacy Happke or Cindy Welle for further details. 

Entertainment News: "Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" star James Van Der Beek has died after a battle with colorectal cancer at the age of 48.

Weather: skies becoming sunny today, high near 40, tonight increasing clouds, low around 28. Friday morning fog again then sunny and mild, high 42, Friday night low around 24. Saturday sunny skies, high near 44, low around 25. Sunday sunny, high 45, low around 26. Monday sunny skies, high 42 turning breezy, rain late Monday night low 36, rain likely Tuesday high near 46, low around 30. Snow likely Wednesday and Thursday of next week with highs still in the low 30s.  

Sports: High School Girls/Boys basketball double-header today Little Falls at Pierz, girls basketball around 5:30pm and boys basketball around 7:15pm both games live on 94ROCKS KFML. Little Falls boys hockey tonight at Wahpeton/Breckinridge at 7pm on Q92 WYRQ and both streamed at fallsradio.com. Good Luck to Flyer Skier Nicholas Sprang competing today at state tournament in the freestyle event. The Olympics medal count as this morning Norway and Italy are tied at 13 total medals on top of the leader board but the United States has had gold and silver in a number of events yesterday and have 12 total medals as of today right behind the leaders. Germany, Austria and Japan are then with 8 medals. The Olympics again continue through February 22nd in Italy.