NEWS --A St. Cloud man was killed, and a St. Cloud woman seriously hurt, in a crash with a semi truck. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened at about 4:45pm Wednesday on Highway 169 in Milaca Township in Mille Lacs County. A semi was going south when a car tried to cross the highway heading east on 190th street and was struck broadside in the driver’s door. Fifty-nine-year-old Gary Leodis of St. Cloud was the driver of the car. He was killed in the crash. His passenger, 52-year-old Linda Otteson of St. Cloud was taken to North Memorial with what the State Patrol described as life threatening injuries. The driver of the semi, 30-year-old Robert Zerwas of Zimmerman, was not hurt.
--The Little Falls Police Department released information on an accident last Saturday around 6:50pm on 1st Street NE just north of Highway 27. 52-year old Chad Olson of Little Falls was stopped facing south in the left turn lane of 1st Street NE north of Highway 27. A car driven by 43-year old Brian Gage of Little Falls was traveling north on 1st Street NE and crossed into the turn lane striking Olson’s car head on. Gage was taken to CHI St Gabriel’s Hospital for treatment of unknown injuries.
--A Pine River man is accused of raping a 78-year-old mentally and physically challenged resident at a Pequot Lakes nursing home. David DeLong is charged with sexual assault. Police say the incident happened in May at the Minnesota Heritage House. DeLong is free on his own recognizance and has a court hearing scheduled in March.
--The Crow Wing County Commissioners announced that undeveloped forestry land east of Merrifield is now zoned for low and moderate density residential development. They approved the land map amendment this past week after a request from Potlatch for about 225 acres of timberland to create residential property and promote development into that wooded area.
--Central Minnesota specialty crop producers, bakers and other interested farmers and consumers are invited to Wellness from the Ground Up; How to market the true value of your farm's products. This will be 9am-2pm on January 14th at the Makers Marketplace building located in the old Crestliner building on 13th Avenue Northeast in Little Falls. For more information on the event you can call Lisa at 320-309-0746 or go to central@sfa-mn.org.
--A downtown Minneapolis landmark will be closing in late March. Macy's announced this week that the store on Nicolett Mall will close for good in the spring. The store was sold to a real estate investment firm in New York. The plan is to build office space on the upper floors and smaller retail stores on the lower levels. The downtown store opened in 1963 as Dayton's and has since been changed to Marshal Fields and now Macy's.
--Former Sherburne County Administrator 66-year old Brian Bensen died Sunday at St. Benedict's Senior Community in St. Cloud after battling brain cancer for about a year.
--The Pierz City Council meets Monday night for their first meeting of 2017 at 7pm at Pierz City Hall.
--Today is the final day of the blood drive at the St. Francis Convent from 8am to 2pm. If you need an appointment call 632-0663. Also this weekend there are breakfasts at St. Mary's in Little Falls and St. James in Randall on Sunday. Get details on weekend events and other events throughout 2017 at fallsradio.com community calendar.
--The medical examiner has issued a final report on the death of 22-year old Seth Taylor Juedes of St. Cloud. The medical examiner found that Juedes’ death which was ruled accidental was the result of environmental cold exposure with ethanol intoxication as a significant condition. On the afternoon of December 6th, officers from the St. Cloud Police Department investigated a report of a missing man Seth Juedes of St. Cloud. They determined that he was last seen alone and on foot at approximately 2:10am in a business parking lot north of Sauk Rapids. On the morning of December 7th an officer looking for signs of the missing man discovered a body in a ditch near the intersection of Benton County Road 33 and Highway 10. Juedes’ family indicated Seth Juedes was normally a responsible young man who made good decisions that kept him out of harm’s way. The family stated that it is their hope others who hear of the tragic result of the few unfortunate decisions made in the early morning hours of December 6th will learn from this tragedy and consistently make good decisions so as to spare their families the grief and pain of the loss of a loved one.
--House Republicans wasted no time getting to work on key session priorities, including health care and tax relief. House File 2, which will result in $21.7 million in tax relief for 220,000 Minnesota tax filers by conforming Minnesota's tax code to the federal tax code, passed Thursday on a vote of 130-0. Without quick approval of the federal tax conformity bill (HF2), Minnesotans who file their taxes early could face higher tax bills, a situation all lawmakers wanted to avoid. The Department of Revenue indicated that in order to avoid tax filing complications, the proposal needs to be signed into law before January 11th. The Senate is expected to pass tax conformity in time to meet the deadline next week on Wednesday.
--A Minneapolis man is hurt after three vehicle crash in Wright County. The incident happened just after 7:00am Thursday morning near Monticello. The State Patrol says 27-year-old Kyle Gall, of Greenfield, was heading west on I-94 passing two vehicles, when he lost control and struck the vehicles he was attempting to pass. Gall and the driver of the second vehicle, Jason Zilka of Monticello were not hurt. A third driver, 35-year-old Noe Chavarria, of Minneapolis was taken to Monticello Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
--The Little Falls School Board will meet Monday at 5pm at the government center boardroom with many first of the year items.
WEATHER WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10AM TODAY. TODAY= sunny and cold, high near zero. TONIGHT= clear and cold, low -15, wind chills near -25. SATURDAY= sunny and cold, high +3, lows around -20. SUNDAY= increasing clouds, high 13, low around 10 above. MONDAY= snow likely in afternoon, heavier by night time.
SPORTS HS WRE= Little Falls hosting a quad with Annandale, Albany and Pierz. The LF and Pierz matches starting at 5pm on Q92 WYRQ HS BBB= Little Falls at Bemidji Saturday 3pm on Q92 WYRQ. NFL= NFL playoffs are this weekend, Oakland at Houston Saturday at 3:30pm, Detroit at Seattle at 7:15pm Saturday. Then on Sunday at noon Miami at Pittsburgh followed by New York Giants at Green Bay around 3:30pm. All games live this weekend on AM960 KLTF.