Thursday, July 23, 2026
A young girl is in critical condition being pulled from the water at a St. Paul aquatic center earlier this week. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to Como Pool on Monday, where a 9-year-old girl was rescued from the pool, and first responders performed life-saving measures. She was rushed to Regions Hospital in critical condition. No further updates regarding the incident or the girl’s condition were shared. Staff at the pool was able to provide care in the minutes before emergency responders arrived on scene, the pool said on social media. Como Pool remained closed on Monday and Tuesday. All swim lessons and scheduled activities were also cancelled. The pool reopened for normal business hours on Wednesday.
Two people were hurt in an accident Wednesday morning at 8:15am on Highway 10 in Villard Township of Todd County. An International Straight Truck collided with a Volkswagen on Highway 10. 41-year-old Amanda Campos of St. Cloud was in the car and taken to Staples Hospital for treatment of injuries. The truck driver, Jaxson Gerlach, age 26 of Elk River was also taken to the hospital for reportedly non life threatening injuries in the accident.
A three vehicle accident which included a Peterbilt truck happened around 11:30am Wednesday morning on Interstate 94 in Clearwater Township of Wright County. The Peterbilt was stopped on Westbound 94 as there was a backup from construction when a vehicles stopped by the truck and was struck from behind by a third vehicle which caused the 2nd to strike the semi-truck. The semi-truck driver from Austin MN was not hurt, the other two drivers 28-year-old Knut Kennedy of St. Cloud and 38-year-old Shawn Bibeau of Albertville were reported injured in the accident but were not taken to any hospital.
A Buffalo, Minnesota man faces charges after a high-speed crash on Interstate 94 in Stearns County on Saturday night. St. Cloud Police officers were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash with injuries on I-94 in St. Cloud at around 10:40 p.m. Officers arrived to find two damaged vehicles with a passenger in 20-year-old Aidyn Cardinal's vehicle with visible signs of injury. According to the criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, Cardinal showed signs of impairment and told officers he was driving the woman's vehicle because he was the better option for driving. Cardinal allegedly told officers that he was driving from St. Michael to his home in Buffalo and was driving 85 miles per hour in the left lane when he switched lanes and struck a car in the right lane, causing the crash. Officers conducted a field sobriety test and a breath test, which showed Cardinal had a preliminary blood alcohol level of .144 at 12:00 a.m. Court records show officers talked with other witnesses who said Cardinal's vehicle was traveling much faster than other traffic when it switched lanes and made contact with another vehicle. Police were able to view the female passenger's Life 360 app on her phone showing she was in St. Joseph earlier, with the app listing speeds between 48 and 126 miles per hour. The speed showed 96 miles per hour before coming to a stop. Cardinal is charged with gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm while under the influence of alcohol and misdemeanor DWI.
Charges have been filed against a Becker man accused of hitting a stopped car on Interstate 94, killing the driver. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, on the morning of October 27th, 2024, 60-year-old Julie Terwey was heading east on 94 just before 5:30 when she hit a deer at Brockton Lane in Dayton. Her Ford Escape was stopped in the center lane following the crash when she was rear ended by a Mazda CX-5 driven by Jordan Thomas Land. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Terwey was pronounced dead at the scene. Now, investigators say Land was on his phone at the time of the crash and didn’t brake for the stopped SUV until less than one second before impact. The criminal complaint says Land told troopers his phone was stashed elsewhere while he was listening to a podcast and he didn’t know why the crash happened. He later told investigators he may have been on the phone around the time of the crash. A forensic investigation shows repeated Facebook and TikTok activity during his drive, along with Google searches. Investigators say the phone was connected to the vehicle by Bluetooth, and that no podcast app was running. The State Patrol’s reconstruction report shows Land’s speed at between 70 and 85 miles an hour and no braking activity until 0.133 seconds before the crash. Land has been charged in Hennepin County District Court with one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide for operating a vehicle in a grossly negligent manner.
A worker was killed in Lake County last week when he was hit by a cable from a cell tower. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched at 2:35 p.m. on July 16 when it received a report of a man who had been struck by a cable while working on a cell tower on Bunker Hill Road in Castle Danger, just north of Two Harbors. The victim later died at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. He’s since been identified as Eduard Shelipov, 31, of Lakeville. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the cell tower fatality.
Two more candidates have been added to the list of candidates vying for two open judgeships in Minnesota's Seventh Judicial District. The Commission on Judicial Selection has recommended Luke Godzala and Laura Welle, along with the three other candidates. Godzala and Welle join Marc Hedman-Dennis, Timothy Hochsprung and Victoria Willis-Gutnik looking to fill seats in Stearns County and Mille Lacs County. Godzala is a senior attorney in the Civil Division of the Stearns County Attorney's Office. He was previously an assistant city attorney in the St. Cloud Attorney's Office. Welle is an assistant county attorney in the Morrison County Attorney's Office, where she mostly handles felony and child protection matters. She previously worked as an assistant county attorney in Crow Wing County and Becker County. Hedman-Dennis is assistant general counsel for Sourcewell, the regional service cooperative for North Central Minnesota. Hochsprung is an assistant county attorney in the Douglas County Attorney's Office, and Willis-Gutnik is an assistant county attorney in the Stearns County Attorney's Office. The seats will be chambered in St. Cloud and in Milaca. Governor Tim Walz will appoint two of the five candidates to fill the seats left open with the retirements of Judge William Cashman and Judge Gail Kulick.
Doug Luepke of the Royalton Lions spoke on Party Line Wednesday on KLTF of Platte River Day coming up on Saturday in Royalton for the 31st time. 5K run at 8:30am parade at 11am, auction at 12:30pm minnow races, magic show, duck races, egg toss, food, music, beverages and so much more all day and night to take in and enjoy and this is the biggest fundraiser for the year for the Royalton Lions as they give back to the community in many ways. More details are available on the Royalton Lions Facebook Page.
Calvin Beumer spoke on KLTF Wednesday also on St. Rita's Church Bazaar this Sunday in Hillman. Mass at 10:30am, big chicken and ham dinner with all the fixings to follow in the air conditioned church, then events all afternoon auction at 2:30pm, Sportsmen Raffle and Grand Raffle to end it at 5pm. Hamburger stand, country store, bingo and more all day in Hillman for St. Rita's Parish Raffle this Sunday.
Weather: Sunny skies, high near 82 today then clear tonight low around 60. Sunny and warmer Friday, high 86, slight chance of T-storms Friday night low 66. Saturday sunny and hot, high 96, heat index values up to 103 or higher, Saturday night clear and humid, low 68. Sunny and hot Sunday high 95, heat index values over 100, storms possible Sunday afternoon and before midnight Sunday night some could be severe in isolated areas, then clearing Sunday night low 63. Monday sunny and warm, high near 92, low around 64. Tuesday sunny and warm, high near 91, low around 62.
Sports: Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach have big games with homeruns Wednesday as the Twins beat Cleveland 10-6. Twins (50-53) wrap up series in Cleveland today at 12:40pm. Napheesa Collier returned Wednesday with 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lynx beat Seattle 86-76 out west. Collier it was her first game back from double ankle surgery at the end of last season. Kayla McBride another 20 point game for the Lynx to win and go into the All Star Break at 22-6. The WNBA All Star Game is Saturday in Chicago with three Lynx players competing. The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is August 3rd with the Twins maybe making some deals before then. Little Falls VFW baseball lost Tuesday 14-7 to Sartell and there season ended at 18-5. Cold Spring eliminated the Pierz American Legion 8-7 on Wednesday ending Pierz in the Legion Tournament. The High School Sports Season will start in less than a month for some tennis teams, girls and boys soccer, and late August for Cross County and Volleyball, football begins September 4th for area teams. Listen to High School Sports starting up again in September on Little Falls Radio and the weekly Saturday Morning Sports Wrap Saturday mornings at 9:05am on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com.