Tuesday, July 1, 2025

One person was injured Sunday night around 9:23pm on Highway 10 near Little Falls. The Dodge Durango was in the eastbound lane when it lost control and left the roadway, rolled in the median and came to rest along the safety barrier. The driver, 42-year-old Martin Olson of St. Cloud was taken to the hospital to be checked out but showed no apparent injuries, one of the passengers, 40-year-old Matthew Hull of St. Cloud was treated for non life threatening injuries. The other passenger, a 56-year-old from Little Falls was not injured in the accident. 

One person was injured Sunday around 2:45pm on Interstate 94 in Douglas County near Brandon. The two-vehicle accident happened when a vehicle came off the County Road 7 ramp and collided with the other vehicle on the Interstate. One of the drivers, 76-year-old Bonnie Turner of Appleton, Wisconsin was taken to the area hospital with non life threatening injuries. The other driver from Roseville was not hurt. 

A mother who pleaded guilty to selling her teenage son a lethal dose of fentanyl-tainted cocaine was sentenced to just under three and a half years in prison on Friday. Crystal Marie Swenson lives in St. Cloud while her ex-boyfriend and son are from Sauk Rapids. On March 2nd, 2024, authorities say Anthony Costello transferred money to the teen, Peyton, so that he could swing by Swenson’s place and pick up some cocaine that they were going to do together. Sauk Rapids Police investigators were able to trace the transaction through the Cash App. Both had a bad reaction to the drug. At about 9:30 that morning, Costello woke up and found Peyton lying unresponsive on the floor. He was making gurgling noises, so Costello tried to pour water on him and stand him up. Peyton never came out of the daze, and Costello dragged him to the bottom of the stairs, covering him up and returning to bed. Paramedics were not called until that evening. When they arrived to the Sauk Rapids house, Peyton had been dead for several hours. Costello has pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter and was sentenced to four years in prison. The agreement with Swenson was reached on April 14th, but she did not appear for her sentencing hearing on May 29th. An arrest warrant was issued, and Swenson, along with her current boyfriend, Fox Bellanger, were rearrested. The AG’s office did not add any charges related to the failure to appear. Swenson will serve 41 months with credit for eight already completed. Bellanger has also been charged. His case has not reached trial yet.

It has been a busy season for emergency managers and storm chasers so far in Minnesota. The Minnesota Climatology Office says the preliminary tornado count through the end of June is 48.  The tornadoes have impacted all parts of the state, including one tornado early in the season in Stearns County near Spring Hill. We've already surpassed the average number of tornadoes we have in Minnesota for a whole season.  We typically have an average of 46 per year. Statistically, June is the busiest month for tornadoes, with an average of 14. July is the second busiest with an average of 12. St. Cloud to Brainerd usually has an average about six tornadoes in August. Minnesota's worst year for tornadoes between 1950 and 2020 was in 2010, when we recorded 113. There were 71 tornadoes just in June of 2010 which included the devastating tornado in Wadena.  Also that year we had 48 tornadoes on one day in June. That was on June 17th, 2010. Minnesota's tornado season stretches from May through September; however, we've had tornadoes as early as March, and the latest ever recorded tornado in Minnesota was in December of 2021. Tornadoes are most common between 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM, but this year many have been in the late night or overnight hours. The National Weather Service is reporting that at least four tornadoes touched down early Sunday morning in the Carver County area. An EF-1 tornado with wind speeds of 80 to 90 miles per hour was confirmed near Lake Zumbra, and another EF-1 with 80 to 90-per-hour winds was spotted near Lake Waconia. Two weak EF-0 tornadoes touched down between Waconia and Cologne and southeast of Cologne. There were funnel clouds spotted between Elmdale to Royalton and again from Rice to Gilman but there were no confirmed touchdowns Saturday night in those storms. 

The Minnesota Wild will play the upcoming season at Grand Casino Arena, after a naming rights deal with the tribal gaming and hospitality company that succeeds the venue’s original name, Xcel Energy Center. The Wild’s parent organization, Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, announced on Monday the 14-year agreement with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe that takes effect on Sept. 3. The tribe operates two casino-resort complexes in east-central Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities. The arena, which has about 18,000 seats for hockey, opened in 2000 for the Wild’s inaugural season in the NHL on a 25-year naming rights deal with Xcel Energy that expired this summer. The utility provider remains a community and business partner of the club. In addition to Wild games, the downtown arena in Minnesota’s capital has hosted four NCAA Men’s Frozen Four events, two U.S. figure skating championships, two U.S. gymnastics championships, a Republican National Convention and numerous high school state tournaments, concerts and shows.

The Little Falls Chamber and Tourism's July Employee of the Month is Mary Poser with the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. Mary Poser: "I'm honored and very humbled by this recognition as 'employee of the month.' Working for the Franciscan Sisters is truly an honor. I have had the joy of getting to know all the sisters and treasure the wonderful friendships. It never feels like work when you are surrounded by friends. As for everyone else that works here at St. Francis, I can't think of anyone that doesn't deserve this honor. A loving, caring atmosphere! I'm grateful to work for the Franciscan Sisters." Supervisor Ruth Virnig: "Mary has the sole responsibility of hairdresser to the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls. Her shop is meticulously run and organized. She maintains close relationships with the Sisters and is also consistently involved with them and campus activities outside of working hours. We are grateful for her enduring dedication and the opportunity to work alongside Mary." Congratulations to Mary Poser the July Employee of the Month.