NEWS
--Motorists should plan for heavy traffic volumes on Brainerd Lakes Area highways—especially Highway 371 through Sunday. More than 100,000 visitors will attend the 33rd annual Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association Nationals race at the Brainerd International Raceway. Motorists planning to travel in the Brainerd/Baxter area should be patient, expect delays and watch for slow traffic on Highway 371. Recurring congestion and occasional stop-and-go traffic are expected on Highway 371 between Brainerd and Nisswa. Motorists are advised to take alternate routes and avoid the area, if possible.
--The St. Cloud Library will remain closed until Monday following an intentionally set fire by a St. Cloud man Wednesday. 47-year-old Jorge Ozorina faces charges of first-degree arson. Police and fire were called to the library shortly before 1:00pm after an employee reported the man was setting fire to books on the second floor. The fire was contained to some furniture and books. The fire was extinguished and the library is closed while they do cleanup work.
--Teresa Giese, chief financial officer at Atomic Learning, has been honored by the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants (MNCPA) with the organization’s 2015-2016 Public Service Award. The award is in recognition of MNCPA members who contribute their time and efforts to active participation in society activities and who are active in their community.
--Thanks to tips and help from the public a suspect is in custody after a hit and run accident injured a bicyclist on Wednesday. Around 8:35pm a truck struck 34-year old Elizabeth Larson of Pequot Lakes on the 5900 of Wild Acres Road in Pequot Lakes. Larson was riding her bike and was stopped on the side of the road waiting to cross the road. An east bound truck then struck Larson, causing her to be thrown over the hood of the truck and onto the roadway. Larson suffered multiple injuries and was flown to North Memorial Medical Center by North Air Care. The hospital listed Larson yesterday in fair condition. The truck did not stop. Witnesses attempted to catch the vehicle however were unable to do so. As a result of the investigation around 4:00pm Thursday the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office arrested 23-year old Skylor Swenson of Breezy Point. Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl thanks the public and assisting agencies for their help in this case.
--Four people were hurt in a two vehicle accident Wednesday around 1:30pm near Foley in Benton County. 38-year-old Aimee Sandberg of Foley was stopping on 23 to make a turn and was struck by 66-year-old Ronald Hetland of Duluth from behind. Both drivers and Sandberg's two young passengers, 10-year-old Sawyer and 3-year-old Grayson Kelash of Foley all sustained non-life threatening injuries.
--A suspect has been identified in an assault Saturday with a hatchet in Cass County. Sheriff Tom Burch said that investigators have made contact with the suspect but would release no other details of the conversation or if an arrest will be made. A 52-year-old from Cass Lake was taken to the Bemidji Hospital and has been released after the assault on Saturday night near Oak Point. Formal charges were pending through the Cass County Attorney's Office.
--A gathering to honor Roger Fregin for his induction into the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame is 3-7pm Saturday at the Lange Family farm west of Flensburg.
--Great River Arts this week has had students working on a play that the public can view today at 3pm at GRA in Little Falls free of charge.
--After months of negotiations Governor Mark Dayton yesterday announced there will not be a special session. The main source of disagreement was a proposed light rail southwest of the twin cities.
--Minnesota's unemployment rate ticked up one tenth of one percentage point to 3.9 percent in July, compared with a national jobless rate of 4.9 percent. The Department of Employment and Economic Development said Thursday that the number of employed Minnesotans fell by 24,383. Minnesota's labor force participation rate continued its downward trend with a decline of six-tenths of a percentage point to 69.9 percent, compared with 62.8 percent nationally. Minnesota gained 11,300 jobs in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, led by 3,400 positions in the leisure-and-hospitality sector. Manufacturing lost 200 jobs over the month. Compared with July of 2015, Minnesota has added 44,034 jobs over past the year, up 1.5 percent. Meanwhile, U.S. employment grew by 1.7 percent over the last 12 months.
--A three vehicle accident Wednesday in Crow Wing County injured two people. The accident happened around 2:30pm on Highway 6 at Beaver Drive east of Crosby. 59-year-old Susan Moe of Crosby was on Highway 6 turning left and was struck by a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Cortez Lewis which caused Moe's vehicle to strike another in the opposite lane driven by 43-year-old Carrie Maroney of Crosby. Moe and Maroney were treated for injuries at the scene. Lewis not hurt.
--There will be a fundraiser pancake breakfast Sunday from 7am-1pm at the Falls Ballroom for the Morrison County Chaplaincy Program with Chaplain Greg Valentine. This is a free will offering and all proceeds go to the Chaplainacy program. If you wish to donate bake goods for the event please drop them off Saturday at the Sheriff's office or at the Ballroom on Sunday for the event from 7am to 1pm.
--This weekend is Upsala Heritage Days starting with the Fabulous Armadillos in concert at 8:30pm Friday for $10 at the Upsala Rec Building and all proceeds go the Upsala Ballpark Associations for improvements. Saturday has a 5K run, parade at 10:30am, then party in the park, a pie baking contest, firefighter water wars, fireman's raffle at 9pm and fireworks at 10pm Saturday. The weekend concludes Sunday with a waffle breakfast fundraiser at the school.
DEATH NOTICES
--Heidi Justin, age 48 of Royalton.
WEATHER
TODAY= rain likely, cloudy, high 72, showers late night, low 57.
SATURDAY= rain showers at times, cloudy, breezy, high 64, low 46.
SUNDAY= sunny, high near 70, clear and cool night, low 45.
MONDAY= sunny and warmer, high 78, storms late night, low 55.
SPORTS
OLY= U.S. medals reach 100 Thursday, games wrap up Sunday.
NFL= Vikings win preseason game #2 last night 18-11 over Seattle.
CLASS C= The Class C State Tournament begins today, the Region 8C teams in action are Lastrup Saturday 1:30pm, Sobieski Saturday night at 7:30pm and Ft. Ripley at noon on Sunday. Nisswa does not play at state until August 27th. Hear the games live on AM960 KLTF.
TWINS= Royals beat up Twins 8-1 Thursday. The Twins continue series at Kansas City tonight 6:30, Saturday 5:30 and Sunday at 12:30pm, all games live on Q92 WYRQ.