NEWS
--A 2-year old child found running down the middle of the road prompted the revocation of a day care license in Little Falls. The Department of Human Services Monday revoked the license of Stacy Ann Ganz who opereated a day care on Lindbergh Drive South in Little Falls. Following the incident in April, the license was temporarily suspended and a full investigation was done. Ganz may appeal the license revocation and may request a contested court hearing within 10 days of the notice being received. Ganz had no previous negative actions on her record until the April incident.
--Morrison County Public Works will be holding an open house for interested residents to review, discuss and comment on the proposed Master Plans for Belle Prairie Park and the Soo Line Trail. The Master Plans have been developed utilizing online survey results with oversight by the County Board appointed Task Force. No presentations will be made. Interested residents may stop in at Meeting Room 1 at the Morrison County Government Center next week on Tuesday between 4:00-6:00pm to review and discuss the plans with county staff and representatives of Bolton and Menk.
--The Morrison County Public Works Department has informed us the soil borings have been complete and the Soo Line Trail is open once again. The Soo Line Trail had been closed since Monday.
--Road work continues on many highways and county roads this weekend. Morrison County Road 45 at County Highway 47 is closed from construction and a detour is in place. Highway 371 north of Brainerd, Highway 25 north of Foley, Highway 238 near Albany, Highway 23 west of Waite Park, Highway 24 near Clearwater and many other projects continue to be worked on so remember to slow down in work zones when traveling the state this weekend.
--Police are looking for both the shooter and the victim after a report of shots being fired in north St. Cloud. It happened just before 9:00pm Wednesday in the 900 block of 5th Street North. Witnesses described hearing two shots, and then seeing two males running in different directions. Video footage shows the males appeared to be meeting near the street. During their interaction, one of the males pulled out a handgun and fired two shots at the other male, at least one of which appeared to hit him in the leg. St. Cloud police say the shooter has been identified as 19-year old William White Junior of St. Cloud. He is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached. If you see him call 911. The victim is described as a black man with long dread lock hair, a medium heavy build, wearing a white shirt and jeans. He appeared to be shot in the upper right leg. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the St. Cloud Police Department at (320) 251-1200.
--There will be a benefit concert August 5th for the Abigail Segler Fine Arts Scholarship. Segler died in June, 2016 after a battle with luekemia. Doors open at 1:30 at Great River Arts in Little Falls and features Total Monroe, members of the Little Falls High School band and their alumni and a 14 piece group called Your Friend and Mine (YFAM) that will perform pieces from Hamilton and other top stage performances. There will also be crafts and items for the kids too.
--Another weekend of events including the Kickoff Concert at the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds Saturday gates open at 5pm, Our Lady of Lourdes Church Bazaar begins Saturday evening and then runs all day Sunday at the church on the west side of Little Falls.
--Rush Lake in west central Minnesota is the latest to have invasive zebra mussels. The state DNR announced the discovery Thursday afternoon. Specialists found two adult mussels about 75 feet from the lake's public access in Otter Tail County, close to some other lakes where mussels were previously spotted. The DNR says zebra mussels eat up much of the food and habitat for native species. They can damage boat motors and hurt the feet of swimmers. Officials say fewer than two-percent of Minnesota lakes have zebra mussels.
--The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of a pickup truck, trailer, and pavement roller. The equipment was stolen from Custom Surfacing in Sauk Rapids during the overnight hours of Wednesday to Thursday. Taken in the theft was a black 1998 Chevy 3500 diesel pickup, Minnesota license YAD6558. The truck has Custom Surfacing decals on the cab doors, a yellow beacon light on the top of the cab, and Western brand snow plow brackets on the front. Attached to the truck at the time of the theft was a 1991 Tow Master T5T flatbed trailer, Minnesota license CTA3927. Loaded on top of the trailer at the time of the theft was a 1998 Rammax T16 drum roller used for rolling pavement. Anyone who may see any of these items or who has information about the crime or suspects should call the Benton County Sheriff’s Office or Tri-County Crime Stoppers.
--Access to Highway 27 and Riverside Drive from Highway 71 in Long Prairie to close and detour the week of July 31st. The closure is necessary to repair drainage pipes below the roadway, and will take up to five days to complete, weather permitting. Motorists can expect: Highway 27 to close between Highway 71 and 1st Street SE. Detour to use Highway 287/4th Avenue SE, Todd County Road 12 and CentraCare Drive. Riverside Drive to close between Highway 71 and Long Prairie River. Locals to use the north Highway 71/Riverside Drive access. Highway 71 to remain open to traffic through the Highway 27/Riverside Drive intersection. The entire project is scheduled to be complete in late-September.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny skies, calm winds, high near 80.
TONIGHT= clear skies, low around 57.
SATURDAY= sunny skies, high around 80, showers late night, low 61
SUNDAY= showers early, sun, PM storms possible, high 82, low 60.
MONDAY= sunny and warmer, more humid, high 86.
SPORTS
TWINS= After Thursday off, the Twins are in Oakland this weekend, series begins tonight at 8:30pm, Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm. All games will be live on Q92 WYRQ.
REGION 8C= The Region 8C Amateur Baseball Tournament begins tomorrow with 4 games in Pierz, another 4 games to be played on Sunday. Saturday games are Lastrup vs. Sobieski 11am, Upsala vs. Buckman at 1:30pm, Avon vs. Nisswa at 5:00pm, Ft. Ripley vs. St. Stephen is around 8:00pm. All games live on AM960 KLTF
PIERZ= The Pierz American Legion team is at the state tournament in Division II baseball this weekend. Pierz vs. Giant Valley today at 12:15pm from Paynseville on FM94 KFML. Pierz will take on New London-Spicer Saturday 1pm on FM94 KFML. If Pierz qualifies for the championship or third place game they would play Saturday night and then again Sunday. All games on FM94 KFML.
LYNX= Lynx at Atlanta tonight 6:30pm. Lynx are 17-2.