Newsletter: Friday, January 27th 2017

NEWS
--A fire broke out at Rock On Trucks Inc. in Waite Park shortly before noon Thursday. Heavy, black smoke that produced an oil odor was visible from 2 miles away. Multiple explosions were heard. The business is near the intersection of Minnesota Highway 23 and 28th Avenue South. Traffic was affected in that area. No one was injured. A statement released by the company on their Facebook page said the fire destroyed the shop building of the business. Waite Park Fire Department was assisted by crews from Rockville.

--Lukas Otte and Kacy Broschofsky participated in the District 19 AAA banquet on Wednesday and Broschofsky was declared the female winner and will advance to the Region 5A AAA Banquet held next Wednesday in St. Cloud. Good Luck to Kacy Broschofsky next week. The Little Falls representatives did not have a district level competition so both seniors Chrity Masog and Tyler Moore will advance to next Wednesday's Regional banquet too.

--Court records this week have announced that Danny Heinreich, the man convicted of possessing child pornography in his Annandale home and also confessed to the killing of Jacob Wetterling in 1989 will serve his prison sentence in a corrections facility outside of Boston, Massachusetts. The 53-year-old was sentenced to 20 years on the child porn charges.

--Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck is crediting a concerned citizen for the arrest Thursday of a man wanted in Isanti County for a burglary. A Watab Township resident called the sheriff's department early Thursday to report a suspicious pickup truck that had been parked in the area of Little Rock Road Northeast and Sucker Creek Road. The caller said the truck had been parked for 90 minutes and was idling with a person inside. Deputies arrived and checked the registration, learning that the owner of the vehicle was wanted in Isanti County. Deputies arrested 28-year old Brandon Michael James Opatz of Isanti and took him to the Benton County Jail. In a press release Sheriff Heck stated, “This case is an example of the importance of reporting suspicious activity promptly to law enforcement. Because of the timely report from the alert resident, this wanted man was taken into custody and prevented from committing any further crimes. Reporting suspicious activity promptly is an important way the public can aid in our mission of keeping Benton County safe.”

--A court trial for the budget lawsuit filed by Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan against the county board is set for August. The case is assigned to Cass County following recusal orders from all five Crow Wing County judges. The trial is scheduled for Aug. 1-4, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for 9:30am June 29th. A conference call to discuss the scope of discovery in the trial is set for 3:30pm on March 7th. Ryan, who was elected county attorney in 1994, is suing the board over his 2017 budget proposal, alleging funds the board approved are not reasonable for the duties required of his office. County Administrator Tim Houle said Anderson's rate is $185 per hour and the cost of defending the county would depend on how long the litigation takes. Previous settled cases cost between $10,000 and $15,000, Houle said, and if it goes to trial, the county could expect an additional $10,000 to $15,000 in legal fees. This does not count the fees associated with Ryan's legal representation, for which the county will also be responsible.

--Five candidates are vying for the vacant Sauk Rapids City Council seat that was left open after Kurt Hunstiger assumed the position of mayor earlier this month. The five candidates include William Bard, Jason Ellering, Joe Foster, Merle Gales and Tim Wilcox. Gales is the only applicant who ran for City Council during the November election. Bard has served previously on the council after filling the vacancy for Dave Saunders in 2011. The five candidates will go through an interview process on Wednesday. The council will make the announcement regarding its decision at its February 13th meeting. The interviews will be held at 5:30pm on Wednesday at the Sauk Rapids Government Center. Interviews are open to the public.

--The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office recently purchased an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to be used for numerous purposes including searches for missing people and suspects.

--A busy weekend of events which includes Church of Cash tonight at GRA, the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Tournament Saturday noon, special rides in Brainerd/Baxter for Devin Alexander Saturday 1pm, Pierz KC Buffalo Feed and Raffle in Pierz 4-8 Saturday, a breakfast Sunday morning in Morrill, MCCL dinner at the Falls Ballroom Sunday afternoon with guest speakers, baby clothes drive, silent auction and more, a Gound Hog Feed at Zion Lutheran Church in Little Falls Sunday, Upsala Upstage Players perform What is Susan's Secret tonight, Saturday and Sunday at Upsala High School, Upsala Baseball Association have their bean bag toss and raffle Saturday starting at 4pm at the Upsala Rec Building and many more events that you can find details at fallsradio.com then click on the community calendar.

ENTERTAINMENT
--Just one day after Actress Mary Tyler Moore dies, actor Mike Connors best remembered for his role on TV”s Mannix that aired from 1968-1975 died He was in many films with the likes of John Wayne and The 10 Commandments with Charleton Heston. He was 91.

WEATHER
TODAY= partly sunny, PM flurries, high 28.
TONIGHT= flurries possible, low 21.
SATURDAY= flurries or drizzle early, then cloudy, high 28, low 17.
SUNDAY= sunny, cooler, nighttime flurries, high 21, low 13.
MONDAY= snow likely 2-3 inches, high 30, low 25.

SPORTS
COL HK= Four Minnesota College teams battle it out for the Northstar Cup this weekend St. Cloud and Bemidji State today followedy by Minnesota and UMD- the Gopher game at 6:30pm live on AM960 KLTF, winners and losers play again on Saturday.
NFL= six Viking players are in the Pro Bowl for the NFC Sunday night in Orlando, including linebacker Anthony Barr added this week. The game starts at 6:30pm Sunday live on AM960 KLTF.

TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1918= first Tarzan film, silent variety, debuted in theaters.
IN 1927= the Harlem Globetrotters play their first game
IN 1948= first tape recorder sold to the public.
IN 1967= Apollo 1 fire kills Astronauts Grissom, White & Chafee.
IN 1976= LaVerne & Shirley debuts on ABC- spinoff of Happy Days
IN 1984= Michael Jackson badly burned in filming of Pepsi ad.