NEWS
--The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce their February Employee of the Month is Nancy Smith from Marshik Insurance Agency. Nancy has been the Office Administrator for the past 5 years. Congratulations to Nancy Smith, Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce February Employee of the Month.
--A 27-year old Lastrup man faces the prospect of prison time following his arrest for manufacturing counterfeit $20 bills in Morrison County. Derek James Merten was charged in Morrison County District Court for felony counterfeiting of currency by manufacturing or printing and a gross misdemeanor counterfeiting of currency in his possession. The felony charge has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine. According to the criminal complaint, the Morrison County Sheriff's Office received a report January 11th from Unity Bank that it received eight $20 counterfeit bills from the Dollar General store in Genola. Later that day, Farmers and Merchants State Bank reported it received five $20 counterfeit bills from Tiny's Tavern in Lastrup. The Dollar General store in Little Falls also reported it received two counterfeit $20 bills. A deputy met with the owner of Tiny's Tavern, who believed she knew the suspect as Merten. The deputy later went to Merten's residence. When Merten appeared at the door, the deputy noticed two $20 bills sticking out of his pocket that appeared to be counterfeit. Merten handed over the money to the deputy, who confirmed the money was fake and matched the bills passed at various businesses in Morrison County. The sheriff's office obtained a search warrant and found 13 more counterfeit bills. On a workbench in Merten's basement, deputies noted some bills had Japanese or Asian characters on them and it appeared Merten was smearing the bills with toothpaste in order to remove the characters. Some bills were still being soaked in toothpaste and some of the bills were wiped clean of the characters. Merten appeared Monday for his Rule 8 hearing, which is a hearing to advise the defendant of their rights and to allow them to plead guilty or not guilty. If a defendant pleads not guilty, an omnibus hearing is set. An omnibus hearing was scheduled February 25th.
--A semi truck traveling east on Interstate 94 near Avon struck another vehicle Thursday morning around 5:15am. The State Patrol reported that 51-year-old Daryl Winesett of Camden, Ohio sustained non-life threatening injuries. The semi-driver 58-year-old Richard Donaldson of Burton, Michigan was not hurt.
--A St. Cloud man faces a felony drug charge after investigators found over 5 pounds of methamphetamine inside his home on Tuesday. 40-year old Eric John Noble was charged with one count of felony drug possession in the first degree. On Tuesday, investigators with the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force executed a search warrant in the 2000 block of Tranquility Drive in St. Cloud at a residence belonging to Noble, who was there. Investigators recovered 5.56 pounds of meth inside the residence. They also found surveillance equipment throughout the home for monitoring and several cellphones and electronic devices. A cut-open spare tie believed to have been used to conceal controlled substances was also found in Noble's garage. In a statement to law enforcement, Noble admitted to receiving and possessing about 140 pounds of meth from outside of Minnesota and paying $3,500 per pound. Noble admitted he would then sell the substance for about $5,000 per pound. Noble was being held in Stearns County Jail.
--St. Cloud Police Department found the 11 year boy that was reported missing last night. Brennan was the boy who ran away from home and he is autistic. Brennan apparently left his home around 5pm and when police started looking for him, was found in a nearby home's basement playing and returned to his mother safely.
--The Pillager School District announced they will have a referendum vote on May 14th for the school district. On that day, residents will cast their votes for a roughly $14.39 million referendum that would fund additional learning spaces, solve several maintenance issues and build a 350-seat auditorium. This plan comes after a $13.2 million referendum asking for the same enhancements failed in 2017.
--Investigators believe a 17-year old Waite Park girl who police reported in October ran away with her 7-month old son could be in Texas or Mississippi. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children put out an alert Wednesday afternoon that Morgan Styke and her son Bobby Styke could be in North Texas, specifically Grand Saline, TX or McComb, Mississippi. Waite Park Police Chief Dave Bentrud said Thursday the department is still looking for Styke and her son. Authorities have reason to believe that some family members know where they might be but they have chosen not to cooperate with law enforcement. Authorities believe "the three may be traveling in a white, four door pickup truck with no tailgate, but they may be switching vehicles often. The circumstances of Styke's leaving does not constitute an Amber Alert. 19-year old James Spence is believed to be traveling with runaway girl Morgan Styke. Those with any information on Styke's whereabouts are urged to contact the Waite Park Police Department.
--The Polar Vortex left it's mark across Minnesota as air temps Thursday morning dropped from -35 to -55 in areas around the state. The town of Ely made national headlines dropping to -53 with a wind chill of -71. Little Falls had a low of -37 on Thursday morning.
--Weekend events include Ground Hog Feed tonight at 5pm at Zion Lutheran Church, Soup Supper at the St. Francis Convent Saturday from 4:30-7pm, there is a big game party Sunday at 5pm at Mary of Lourdes Middle School, bring a dish to share with others and watch the big game in the middle school gym on Sunday, a free event. More items can be found at fallsradio.com then community calendar.
--The Little Falls City Council meets Monday at 7:30pm at City Hall.
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy, flurries, warmer, high 17.
TONIGHT= cloudy skies, low around 10.
SATURDAY= partly sunny, high near 30, cloudy night, low 23.
SUNDAY= freezing fog early, cloudy, high 35.
SUNDAY NIGHT= rain, freezing rain starts after 7pm, changing to sleet and snow overnight, ¼ inch rain, 1-2 inches of snow by AM.
MONDAY= snow early, ending by noon, then winds get gusty and temps drop from near 30 early to 11 above by late afternoon.
SPORTS
HS GBB= Little Falls at Sauk Rapids tonight 6pm on FM94 KFML.
HS BBB= Little Falls at Sauk Rapids tonight 8pm on FM94 KFML.
HS BHK= Little Falls at Alexandria tonight 6:45pm on Q92 WYRQ
COL HK= Gopher Hockey vs. Michigan tonight 6:30 on KLTF.
NFL= New England and Los Angeles Rams play in Super Bowl 53 this Sunday from Atlanta, coverage at 1pm on AM960 KLTF.