NEWS
--The City of Little Falls announced that beginning next Monday, road work will be done on 18th Street Northeast (the Wal-Mart street) in Little Falls. The road work will consist of 1 lane in each direction during the road work. Expect delays if you use that road as road work will begin on Monday on 18th Street Northeast.
--Two people were arrested during a major drug bust in the Brainerd Area. The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office says on Tuesday the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division conducted multiple search warrants in the city of Brainerd for a large-scale fentanyl investigation. They say about 3.1 pounds of suspected fentanyl was found, that's between 13,000 and 15,000 individual pills. They also found suspected cocaine and seized six guns. Dazaughn West of Brainerd and Devaugh West of Detroit were arrested.
--Two people were hurt, one seriously, in a crash in St. Michael. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened just after 6:30pm Wednesday on Highway 241. A vehicle driven by 38-year-old Jontelle Westberry of St. Michael was going east and another vehicle driven by 52-year-old Leo Furcht of St. Michael was going west when they collided. Westberry was taken to Maple Grove Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Furcht was taken to North Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. State Troopers say Furcht may have had alcohol in his system during the crash.
--One person was hurt when the motorcycle they were driving collided with a vehicle. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened just after 5pm Wednesday on Highway 12 in Montrose in Wright County. Seventy-year-old Arthur Anthony of Mound was going east on the highway when the vehicle was coming out of a convenience store parking lot and the two collided. Anthony was taken to North Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver and the passenger in the vehicle were not hurt.
--Family and friends Thursday were still searching for a swimmer who went missing Wednesday night on Bald Eagle Lake in White Bear Lake township. A family member who identified the man as Mark Lowell. The man's nephew Johnny Lowell said he was searching for his uncle all night into the morning hours, aided by friends. Johnny said that Mark and his girlfriend were spending the evening on the lake on a pontoon when he went into the water around 8pm Wednesday. Mark's girlfriend saw him starting to struggle in the water, calling for help before he went under and never resurfaced. No other details have been made available on the search for him.
--A Clara City man has died as a result of injuries he suffered in a crash while piloting a crop-dusting plane in Chippewa County. The family of Derek John DuHoux reported that he died Wednesday, while in medical care for the injuries he suffered the morning of July 25. The Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office reported that the plane DuHoux was flying caught a power line and crashed into a cornfield in Crate Township around 9:35am July 25. He was transported by LifeLink Aircare with life-threatening injuries after emergency responders reached the site and was taken to taken to a medical facility.
--The Crow Wing County Fair wraps up on Saturday and Little Falls Radio wants to thank Gary Doucette for the years of service to the fair, items he has done for the military and for agriculture for numerous years. Gary announced on KLTF Party Line Wednesday he is retiring after tomorrow and this is his last year with the Crow Wing County Fair in a manager capacity. Little Falls Radio wishes Gary all the best.
--Weekend events a plenty, Little Falls Theatre Company's Summer Musical The Sound of Music tonight and Saturday at the high school with more shows next week. Corn Feed at Swanville Lions Park tonight, Corn Boil at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Hillman tonight, Benton and Crow Wing County Fairs continue today and Saturday, Benton is also on Sunday. Scandia Valley Summerfest is Saturday in the Lincoln Lakes Area, St. Joseph's Church Festival is Sunday in Pierz with food, quilts, bingo, kids games and raffles. Details on events can be found at fallsradio.com and community calendar.
–The drought has lessened considerably in the western end of Stearns County. Belgrade and Brooten saw several inches of rain last week, and that area, about 8% of the county as a whole, has been upgraded to abnormally dry. It came with a price, though, as hail and high winds did do some damage. Abnormally dry conditions are considered a precursor to drought. Only about 20% of Minnesota falls into the category. Albany, Paynesville, and Sauk Centre are still in moderate drought. The eastern half is in severe drought except around the St. Cloud area, which is being hit by extreme drought. Morrison County remains still in severe drought as does Crow Wing County even though some areas did pick up some heavier rainfall. The patch of Benton, Sherburne, and Stearns Counties in extreme drought is one of just three in the state. Only the stretch from Rochester to Steele County affects more people. There is more rain in the forecast Saturday and Sunday and more again late next week.
NATIONAL NEWS
--Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal charges that he orchestrated a plot to try to overturn his 2020 election loss in what U.S. prosecutors call an unprecedented effort by the then-president to undermine the pillars of American democracy. The plea which was the third for Trump in four months, now kicks off months of pretrial legal wrangling that will unfold against the backdrop of the 2024 presidential campaign, in which Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden.
DEATH NOTICES
--Richard “Smitty” Smith, age 60 of Little Falls.
--Gerald “Jerry” Gwost, age 77 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and warm, high 88, cloudy night, low near 62.
SATURDAY= AM rain, then storms late in PM hours, high 80, low 61.
SUNDAY= showers & storms likely into afternoon, high 77, low 54.
MONDAY= sunny and pleasant, high 77, low around 50.
SPORTS
TWINS= Sonny Gray gets the win as the Twins beat St. Louis 5-3 last night to take the series. Twins host the Arizona Diamondbacks starting tonight with pregame at 6:30pm, Saturday they put Joe Mauer in the Twins Hall of Fame with pregame at 5:30pm, Sunday Inside Twins starts at noon all live on Q92 WYRQ.
REGION 8C= Weekend #1 of the Region 8C Amateur Baseball Tournament starts at 10:30am Saturday in Avon. Four games Saturday and four games Sunday all live on AM960 KLTF and you can stream all the games also at fallsradio.com.