NEWS
--Morrison County Emergency Management announced they will be testing the tornado sirens today at noon in Flensburg. This is only a test to ensure the siren is working properly.
--Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl reported Thursday morning as a result of the severe thunderstorms earlier that day that caused structures to be damaged, the large blue ox figure east of Brainerd weighing around 6,000 pounds tipped over, many trees downed and power outages where Minnesota Power stated that 4,400 outages were reported just from Minnesota Power customers alone and thousands more were reported by Crow Wing Power in Crow Wing and Aitkin County. Crow Wing County Road 115, Ojibwa and County Road 127 areas sustained heavy damage. Emergency crews worked through the day to open roads and restore power. Also as a result of the severe thunderstorms, the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds sustained damages as trees fell on rides and structures including damaging the 4H building. Subsequently the Fair did not open to the public until 1:00pm Thursday. Cleanup crews were planning on continuing to work around fairgoers on Thursday. Winds whipped over 70 miles per hour at times through the Brainerd lakes area east into Crosby and Aitkin with heavy rains and damaging winds causing damage to many areas on Thursday morning in Crow Wing County. Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch also stated Thursday that Lake Shore and Bay Harbor areas were off limits to travelers as tree and debris were being removed into the afternoon hours yesterday. Minnesota Power stated last night that nearly all the power has been restored to the Lakes Area with only a few secluded areas still without power. Quieter weather is in the forecast today and through the weekend.
--A Maple Grove man was injured Thursday morning around 9am on Highway 24 near Clearwater in Stearns County. 57-year-old Rueben Jacob was on 24 when he was struck broadside from a vehicle leaving the Travel Plaza driven by 51-year-old Cheryl Cadwell of Fargo. Cadwell was not hurt. Jacob's vehicle after being struck went into the ditch and struck a light pole. Jacob was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with reportedly non-life threatening injuries.
--More than 13,000 motorists were ticketed during a recent statewide speed enforcement crackdown. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) says officers, deputies and state troopers wrote 13,214 citations for unsafe speeds during the crackdown, that was carried out by more than 300 law enforcement agencies between July 8th and July 22nd. That compares with 16,410 speeding tickets issued during last year’s campaign. There were also 1,543 seat belt citations compared with 2,101 in 2015, which suggests a bit of progress in the campaign to improve driving and road safety in Minnesota. During the campaign, 19 agencies reported drivers registering speeds of 100 mph or more. More details can be found at the MDPS website.
--U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken Wednesday announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $200,000 in funding for the state of Minnesota for Zika detection and preparedness. The federal grant will help establish, enhance, and maintain systems to detect and track microcephaly and other adverse birth outcomes caused by the Zika virus.
--The Morrison County Fair is next Thursday-Sunday, Clint Kathrein will be the guest today on KLTF Party Line at 10am to talk about events at the fair. Get details on the fair at fallsradio.com.
--Saturday is Platte River Day in Royalton. The day begins with a 5K run/walk at 8:30, parade at 10:30 starts at the high school like in years past, unique auction at 12pm, turtle races, kids tractor pull, duck race on the river at 3pm, pork chop dinner, jello eating and egg toss and ending with a street dance Saturday night in Royalton.
--The Little Falls Police Department reported they responded to a number of calls the final week of July for fires. On July 25th they received word of a vehicle on fire on 10th Street Southwest. It was learned the vehicle was intentionally set on fire. On July 23rd a tree fell on a power line on Oak Ridge Drive and on July 21st a home was struck by lightning on Second Street Northeast. In all cases no injuries were reported and there was minor damage to structures.
--A 7-year-old boy and a 64-year-old woman were hospitalized Tuesday when the all-terrain vehicle they were on was struck by a vehicle in Pequot Lakes. The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office reported a vehicle was northbound on Winnamakee Shores Road when it struck a southbound ATV. 7-year-old Jack Tymen Juffer was driving the ATV and Arlene Kae Oberbye of Pequot Lakes was a passenger. Tymen and Oberbye were taken by North Memorial Ambulance to Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd to be treated for injuries. The driver of the vehicle, 65-year-old Carole Ann Kahnert of Lakeville was also taken to the hospital for injuries.
--Average retail gasoline prices in Minnesota have fallen 2.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.05 as of Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 2,856 gas outlets in Minnesota. This compares with the national average that has fallen 2.0 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.13, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. Including the change in gas prices in Minnesota during the past week, prices Sunday were 55.3 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 13.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 14.6 cents per gallon during the last month at 52.7 cents per gallon which is still much lower than August of a year ago.
DEATH NOTICES
--Rose M. Kuehne, age 89 of Alexandria, formerly of Long Prairie
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny skies, high 75, clear night tonight low 53.
SATURDAY= sunny and pleasant, high 77, clear and cool, low 50.
SUNDAY= sunny and warmer, high 81, clear skies at night, low 60.
MONDAY= sunny, more humid, high 81, storms develop at night.
SPORTS
TWINS= Cleveland beats up Twins 9-2 Thursday to take one of the four games. Twins in Tampa Bay this weekend, pregames at 5:30pm tonight, 4:30pm Saturday and 11:30am Sunday on Q92 WYRQ.
REGION 8C= Tournament moves to Freeport this weekend with state play in/elimination game at 1pm with Lastrup and Avon, and also at 4pm with Sobieski and Buckman. A winner's bracket game will be at 7pm Saturday with Fort Ripley and Nisswa. Winners of first two games Saturday play on Sunday. All games this weekend on KLTF.
US= Summer Olympics opening ceremonies are tonight in Rio.
NFL= Hall of Fame Sunday Green Bay and Indianapolis from Canton, Ohio, on Saturday Brett Favre, Tony Dungy, Kevin Greene, Orlando Pace, Marvin Harrison and others inducted into NFL Hall of Fame.