NEWS
--Two people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash in Sherburne County. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened at about 5:30pm Wednesday on Highway 10 in Big Lake Township. An SUV driven by 79-year-old Arthur Grimlie of Big Lake was trying to turn onto Highway 10 from County Road 81 when his vehicle struck a car. The driver of the car, 48-year-old Christa Harris, and her passenger 67-year-old Galilee Brooks, both from Duncanville, Texas were taken to CentraCare Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Grimlie and his passenger were not hurt.
--One person was hurt during a fire at a St. Cloud hotel Wednesday morning. The St. Cloud Fire Department says at about 8:30am they were called to a 2nd floor fire at the Days Inn on 37th Avenue South.
They say the building was evacuated and the fire was quickly brought under control but one person was taken to the St. Cloud Hospital with injuries from the blaze. The fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal.
--For more than 40 years, Richard "Dickie" Gadbois was the face of Dickie's on Mille Lacs, a fishing business open year-round. Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton said the 80-year-old was driving a small SUV onto the lake Friday to check conditions, but soon the vehicle broke through the ice, which was only about 6 inches thick. The incident occurred a couple hundred yards away from his rental office on shore, the sheriff said. Burton said a close friend found Gadbois' body floating in the water, and that he dragged him to shore and called 911. He died at the hospital. The sheriff said Gadbois was wearing a flotation suit when he went through the ice, and said he hopes this tragedy serves as an important safety reminder. Gadbois' vehicle remained in the lake Wednesday with plans to remove it this week or next week. Wheel House Warriors is a nonprofit giving back to veterans, active military, law enforcement and small business owners. Founder Karina Johnson said Gadbois was the reason she started the organization. Wheel House Warriors plans to dedicate its 5th Annual Winter Event in memory of Gadbois, on February 9th through 11th with a raffle February 10th near Dickie's on Mille Lacs and MSA Flagship. Donated prizes include everything from toothpaste and 5-gallon buckets to fishing rods and trips to destinations, such as lodges. Raffle participants must be present to win. MSA Flagship also plans to host a benefit event with a silent auction on March 9 to help support Gadbois' wife Marge, who was identified as was his "high school sweetheart" in his obituary posted to Mueller Memorial Funerals and Cremation's website. Gadbois' visitation is scheduled for January 26th from 1-4pm at the Hinckley Community Center.
--Weekend events include Oasis Central Minnesota fundraiser tonight with dueling guitars at 7pm at the Falls Ballroom, tickets can be purchased by calling 320-632-9140 or available at the door tonight. A soup supper tonight at St. Elizabeth's in Brennyville 4:30-6:30pm. Holy Family of Albany has their school snow ball event on Saturday with dinner and auction 4-8pm in Albany. Bingo for meat, a super bowl like bundle meat bingo Sunday at 1pm at St. Stanislaus Church basement in Sobieski. Also Monday is the March for Life in St. Paul and there is a bus leaving leaving Coborn's parking lot at 7:30am then St. Joseph's in Pierz around 8pm to St. Paul for the day. Questions call Floyd 320-632-2880 or Dale at 320-360-7100. Details on all of these events can be found by going to fallsradio.com.
--Congratulations to Britney Schommer of Pierz Healy High School being named the girls District 19AAA winner in Albany earlier this week for the Triple A award. Britney advances to Region 5 competition on January 24th at the Kelly Inn in St. Cloud. She is the daughter of Donny and Traci Schommer. Good luck to her next week.
--The Minnesota deer harvest was down this year compared to last year by approximately 8%. The DNR released the final 2023 numbers and with all the seasons combined Minnesota had 158,746 deer harvested. In 2022, 172,200 deer were harvested. The 2023 Deer Harvest was the lowest amount of deer harvested since 2014.
--Shoppers at Aldi may have noticed something different. The grocery store chain has announced they have removed all plastic shopping bags at the end of 2023. They say they are the first major U.S. retailer to eliminate plastic shopping bags from its more than 2,300 stores. Aldi says the move will prevent nearly 4,400 tons, or nearly nine million pounds of plastic, from going into circulation each year.
Aldi says they also have a goal to transition to natural refrigerants across all U.S. stores before the end of 2035, which they say will save nearly 60 percent of potential carbon emissions each year. Aldi has 77 stores in Minnesota including on east end of Little Falls.
--The Morrison County Historical Society announces that its newest temporary exhibit officially opens Wednesday, January 24, at the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum. Dear Redhead: The Art & Artistry of Wes Sod tells the story of one of Morrison County’s most under-appreciated talents. Born in St. Paul, Wes moved with his family to the area in 1930 at the age of four. Over the next almost six decades, he used his gifts to create an impressive body of work, ranging from pencil sketches to water-colors, hand-made holiday greeting cards to commissioned portraits. Wes relocated to California with his wife, Colleen (Doucette) in 1988, and later to Aurora, Colorado, where he passed away in 2008. Dear Redhead will be on display at the Weyerhaeuser Museum through Labor Day weekend. For more information contact the historical society at 320-632-4007 or visit their web site: www.morrisoncountyhistory.org.
--The Little Falls School Board meets Monday at 5pm at the middle school media center. Superintendent Greg Johnson will give an update from the previous meeting on elementary school banding and also the budget updates will be discussed. The board has agreements to approve and the EMLF Seniority List at the meeting on Monday.
--The Pierz City Council meets Monday night at 7pm at Pierz City Hall.
WEATHER
TODAY= AM snow showers, then cloudy, high 4 above.
TONIGHT= clearing skies, colder temps, low -14, wild chills -30.
SATURDAY= sunny and cold, high 7, low -2 turning windy.
SUNDAY= cloudy and windy, high 17, low around 15.
MONDAY= cloudy skies, late day flurries/sprinkles, high 28, low 17.
SPORTS
HS GBB= Osakis at Little Falls tonight at 5:45pm on Q92 WYRQ
HS BBB= Albany at Little Falls tonight after the girls game, starting around 7:30pm on Q92 WYRQ and at fallsradio.com.
NFL= NFL Divisional Games this weekend Baltimore hosts Houston and San Francisco hosts Green Bay on Saturday coverage for the games starts at 3pm, Sunday Tampa Bay at Detroit then Kansas City will take on Buffalo with coverage at 1:30pm. All games on KLTF.