NEWS
--On Tuesday morning at 7:55am the Little Falls Fire Department was dispatched to 12662 125th St in Pike Creek Township on a report of a garbage truck on fire. Upon arrival we found that the driver of the truck was able to dump the burning garbage before it started the truck on fire. Firefighters extinguished the burning garbage. The owner of the garbage truck was Allied Waste and they took care of cleaning up the garbage. Then Wednesday at 4:45pm the Little Falls Fire Department was dispatched to 123 Sebie Trail in Fort Ripley Township on a report of a piece of heavy equipment on fire. The equipment was reported to be in a remote area east of Fort Ripley and could only be accessed by an ATV trail. We arrived on scene and found that a piece of logging equipment was on fire. They were able to access the fire with a grass rig via the ATV trail. The location of the fire presented difficulty but we were able to extinguish the fire by refilling the smaller grass rig several times at the trail head. The MN DNR provided assistance with a track vehicle and Camp Ripley Fire also responded with an Engine. The logging equipment was owned by Hodgden Logging out of Menahga. The piece of equipment was a total loss and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
--There is potential for a significant damaging wind event to impact central and possibly parts of southern Minnesota tonight. The enhanced chances will be from 7pm tonight through mid-morning on Saturday with heavy rains and damaging winds from a line from Fargo/Moorhead through the Brainerd Lakes area, Morrison, Cass, Crow Wing, Wadena and Todd Counties are all in the enhanced risk of severe weather tonight into Saturday. Continue to listen to Little Falls Radio for the latest weather updates and fallsradio.com.
--The latest numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health reported 611 new cases of COVID-19 and another 8 deaths linked to the virus. There were six new cases in Benton County, three in Crow Wing, 21 new cases in Stearns and according to their data, no new cases of COVID-19 in Morrison (70) or Todd (405) on Thursday.
--An 82-year-old Staples man suffered life-threatening injuries in a two-vehicle crash at 1:40pm Wednesday on Highway 64, 19 miles north of Motley. The Minnesota State Patrol reported a Ford truck was traveling south on Highway 64, and a Cadillac Escalade was east on 60th Avenue, when the Escalade failed to yield and the vehicles met in the intersection. Russell S. Nanik of Staples, the driver of the Escalade, was transported to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale with life-threatening injuries. Nanik was not wearing a seat belt, the state patrol reported. The driver of the F-150, 67-year old William J. Salter of Ramsey, had non-life-threatening injuries, but was not transported to a hospital.
--A Long Prairie teenager was taken to the hospital after a two vehicle crash in Todd County. The incident happened around 6:30am Thursday morning on Highway 71, near Sauk Centre. The state patrol says 18-year old Nicholas Clark was heading south on Highway 71 when he crossed into the northbound lane and struck another vehicle. The crash caused the second vehicle to roll into the ditch. Clark was taken to Sauk Centre Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the second vehicle, 35-year-old Sarah Nelson of Sauk Centre, was not hurt.
--The Little Falls School Board meets Monday at 5pm at the Media Center in the Middle School. The board will discuss the ten year plan for the school district and their overall fiscal plan.
--Minnesota's unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in June as bars and restaurants reopened across the state. In a news release, DEED commissioner Steve Groves urged business owners and citizens to don masks and continue practicing social distancing as businesses reopen in order for Minnesota to recover more of the jobs lost to the pandemic. All told, Minnesota added 84,400 payroll jobs last month in the continuation of an unemployment rate trend that outperforms the nation's. The U.S. unemployment rate for June dipped to 11.1% with the addition of 4.8 million jobs, down from the prior month's rate of 13.3%. Job gains for May were revised upward from the 9,800 that was first reported to 26,200, up 1.0%.
--A 61-year-old man was injured Wednesday, after the pickup he was driving struck a semitrailer on Highway 169, on the southwestern side of Mille Lacs Lake. The Minnesota State Patrol reported a 2018 Freightliner was crossing Highway 169 from west to east at Wakidaaki Drive north of Onamia in Kathio Township when it was struck by a Chevrolet pickup traveling north. Tony M. Levi of Mazeppa, the driver of the Chevy, was transported to Mille Lacs Health System in Onamia for non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the semitrailer, 58-year old Gary W. Benjamin of Isle, was not injured. The crash was reported Wednesday just after 2:00pm.
--Authorities say the bicyclist struck and killed by an SUV in Douglas County was 14-years old. Blake Lee Nohre, of Miltona, died and a second 14-year old boy, Nick Allen Lambertson, of Alexandria, was injured when they were struck on county Road 9 near Carlos about 10pm Tuesday. A third 14-year old boy biking with the two was not struck by the vehicle and did not sustain any injuries.
--Due to COVID-19, the St. Cloud Area School District has decided to postpone their referendum originally planned for November’s ballot. The district has opted to put the referendum to remodel Apollo High School on hold to focus on the immediate challenges presented by the pandemic. According to the school, a new date for the referendum has not been set, but the district is committed to following through with it in the future. St. Cloud is just one of nearly a dozen school districts in the state that has decided to cancel or postpone referendums or levy votes this year due to COVID-19.
NATIONAL NEWS
--Starting on Monday, all Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores, some Target stores (others by August 1) and CVS Pharmacies will require ALL patrons to wear a face covering or mask to enter their stores. The stores stated that health and safety need to be top priority and need to continue the practice of safety first and therefore all will need to wear a mask. Stores did state that those with underlying heath concerns and young children would not be required to wear a mask.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and warm, high near 90.
TONIGHT= storms likely, some severe overnight, low 69.
SATURDAY= storms early, sunny and hot, more storms late, high 90.
SAT NIGHT= storms early, then clearing, low 58.
SUNDAY= sunny, cooler and less humid, high 81, low near 55.
MONDAY= partly sunny, high near 80, storms develop late night.
SPORTS
VL= Victory League Game of the Week Sunday is Sobieski at Randall starting at 1:30pm on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com.