Thursday, May 8, 2025
The Morrison County Public Works Department announced that today is the intention to conduct a controlled burn at Belle Prairie Park. The department is working with the Minnesota DNR to perform the prescribed burn. The burn will take place in the Prairie area of the park. The burn is being conducted to restore native prairie and reduce invasive species. Belle Prairie Park will be closed to the public when the burn is being conducted. Anyone with questions may call the Morrison County Public Works Department at 320-632-0121.
The Staples-Motley School District went into lockdown Tuesday, May 6, after a threat was made. The Staples Police Department sent out a news release stating at 3:23 p.m., Todd County 911 Dispatchers received a violent threat directed at the Staples-Motley School District Activities Area. In another news release sent out at 11:24 p.m. Tuesday, Staples Police said they arrested an individual regarding the incident. A school district email said when the threat came in, they and local law enforcement moved baseball, softball and track athletes, who were outside on the practice fields, into the elementary building, where a lockdown was initiated. Students were then escorted from the building by law enforcement and reunited with family members. The news release from the district said there was no remaining threat to the Staples-Motley School District and school will continue as usual on May 7. “We are grateful to report that everyone is safe,” the news release from the district said. “We would like to thank our law enforcement agencies for their quick and professional response, and our staff and students for their calm cooperation during this situation.” The police department release said no injuries were reported and though the exact nature of the threat was not made public, the department is investigating the threat. Anyone with information is asked to call the Todd County Sheriff’s Office at 800-794-5733 or the Staples Police Department at 218-894-1841.
One driver was killed and another was injured following a crash on a rural Minnesota highway. The State Patrol says the vehicles were traveling opposite directions when they collided. The drivers were the only people involved in the fatal two-vehicle crash, which happened shortly before 8am Tuesday morning. The fatality happened on Hwy. 55 about 17 miles west of Alexandria. An eastbound SUV and westbound car collided along the two-lane road. 35-year-old Bethany Julie Scott of Kensington, MN was identified as the SUV driver. The State Patrol says she was taken to a hospital in Alexandria with non-life-threatening injuries. The car driver lost her life in the crash. She’s was a 56-year-old Starbuck woman. The State Patrol has not released the name of the fatality. A reconstruction investigation was being done by authorities.
The U.S. Postal Service will be making some special pickups this weekend in addition to their normal deliveries. The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is holding its 33rd Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. You are encouraged to leave non perishable and non expired food items by your mailbox on Saturday so it can be picked by your local mail carriers and given to the local food shelves. This event started 33 years ago and has raised hundred of thousands of dollars and pounds of food for the needy.
Minnesota is likely to see an active summer for air quality, with recurring ozone and wildfire smoke events. That’s the prediction of meteorologists at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Forecast models predict four to seven days this summer where ozone levels may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, which is slightly above average. The highest risk areas include the Twin Cities to Rochester. Drought and below-average rainfall are expected to lead to more sunny days. Between 12 and 16 days of wildfire smoke are expected in Minnesota this summer, with an elevated wildfire risk in Canada. A neutral El Nino pattern may lead to more variable wind patterns, which will increase the likelihood that smoke will reach Minnesota. Also, starting this year, the MPCA will issue alerts for PM10, a type of pollution commonly caused by blowing dust. This change follows a significant dust event in October 2024 that created very unhealthy air conditions in parts of the state. These new alerts will better protect Minnesotans during similar events, which are expected to occur about once every two years. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has created guidance to help schools and child care staff determine when and how to adjust outdoor physical activities when air quality starts to reach unhealthy levels.
A reminder from your County Auditor/Treasurer's office that the due date for paying the first round of property taxes for 2025 is coming up on May 15th. There are options to pay online, by mail, or in person. Questions can be directed to your local county auditor/treasurer.
The following are the LF Senior Activities Program Award winners for 2024-25 announced Monday night. Male Athlete of the Year Joseph Welinski. Female Athlete of the Year Leah LeBlanc. Vern & Bunny Zehren Awards Riley Becker and Tarique Toure. US Marines Scholastic Excellence Award Elise Ballou and Luke Avery. US Marines Distinguished Athlete Award Aubree Caauwe and Alex Thoma. 3-Sport Athlete Award Elise Ballou, Aubree Caauwe, Sequoia Kicker, Faith Krawiecki, Ainsley Kresha, Ellie Larsen, Alayna Neu, Molly Petrowitz, Trent Roden, Valarie Tenold, Alex Thoma, Brynn Thoma, Joseph Welinski. AAA Award Elise Ballou and Peter Knopik. John Philip Sousa Award Gabrielle Sobania. Semper Fidelis Musical Excellence Award Elise Ballou, Isabelle Czech, Molly Petrowitz, Peter Knopik. Louis Armstrong Jazz Award Elliot Oberton and Benjamin Henry. National School Choral Award Isabelle Waltman and Mason Tschida Fred Waring Director’s Award Lyrica Allen. Frederic Chopin Piano Award Gabrielle Sobania. Fine Arts Students of the Year Isabel Waltman and Mason Tschida. Congratulations to all the award winners.
Death Notices- Joseph Paquin, age 85 of Elk River.
Weather- Thursday sunny skies, high near 70, clear night, low around 43. Friday sunny and warmer, high around 82, partly cloudy skies at night, low 50. Saturday partly cloudy and breezy, high near 78, low near 52. Sunday very warm and breezy, high near 88, wind gusts over 30mph on Sunday, with lows around 63.
Sports- Buxton and Bader have big games with homeruns for the Twins in a 5-2 win over Baltimore on Wednesday. The Twins wrap up with Baltimore today as they go for the sweep, 11:30am pregame on Q92 WYRQ. The Timberwolves play game 2 tonight with Golden State in the NBA playoffs, tip-off at 7:30pm. Warriors lead series 1-0. Warrior star Steph Curry is out for the game with a hamstring injury and could miss games 3 and 4 too, game 3 is Saturday and game 4 is Monday both of those games in California.