NEWS --Close to 100 ladies participated in Ladies Night Out Pierz Style “Spring Bling” last night. Congratulations to Val Stangl who won the grand prize. There were many more winners too. Thank you to our sponsors and those who attended. A Ladies Night Out in Little Falls will be in October and another in Pierz next spring.
--The Morrison County Dairy Princess Coronation and Banquet is tomorrow at 8:00pm at the Falls Ballroom. This year's contestants are Hannah Kahl of Pierz; Morgan Leners of Royalton; Abrielle Tembreull of Pierz; Katelyn Pusc of Little Falls, Mia Roerick of Upsala, Samantha Blonigen of Upsala, Kristen Athmann of Little Falls, and Nicole Meyer of Randall. Four will be crowned Morrison County Dairy Princesses.
--The Brainerd Fire Department was called Tuesday around 4:45pm to a structure fire on the 9000 block of Forest Heights Drive just south of Brainerd. Upon arrival, there was a 6' x 10' foot shed on fire that was spreading into the woods. Firefighters extinguished the fire. The structure was extremely damaged. There was also burned grass and wooded areas around the structure that were extinguished.
--Three people were hurt in a three vehicle crash in Todd County. The Sheriff’s Office says it happened at about 7:45am Tuesday on County Road 11 and County Road 14 near Clarissa. An SUV driven by 37-year old Jonathon Owata of Robbinsdale was going north when he entered the intersection and collided with a pickup driven by 19-year-old Nicole Hinnenkamp of Eagle Bend. Hinnenkamp’s pickup overturned and was struck by a car driven by 33-year old Wyatt Johnson of Motley. Johnson was airlifted to St. Cloud with serious but non-life threatening injuries. Hinnenkamp and a passenger were treated for injuries. Owata was not hurt.
--Two people were hospitalized after a school bus full of kids collided with an unattached trailer and a pickup Thursday afternoon in Crosby. The crash happened shortly before 3:30pm at Hematite Street and Park Avenue in Ironton. The driver of the school bus and a man in a nearby building were transported by ambulance to the hospital, according to emergency personnel at the scene of the crash. None of the kids on the school bus were injured. The men were injured after the school bus collided with an unattached trailer, which the bus then pushed into a nearby home, where the second man was located and injured. The school bus also collided with a pickup. That collision resulted in a power pole being hit and knocked down into the street causing a power outage that remained until power crews were able to fix the downed pole.
--A 54-year-old Level 3 predatory offender was released March 10th to the Hackensack area and there will be a notification meeting. The offender is Michael John Black. The community notification meeting will be 5:30pm March 29th at the Hackensack Hub, formerly known as the Senior Center in Hackensack. Black is not wanted by the police as he has served the sentence imposed on him by the court. The notification meeting is not intended to increase fear in the community. Law enforcement believes an informed public is a safer public. Black has a history of sexual contact with male and female victims ages 7-15. Contact included penetration and Black used physical force to gain compliance. He was known to his victims. Black is described as white, is 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 179 pounds with a slender build and has brown eyes and hair. The Minnesota Department of Corrections considers a Level 3 predatory offender is most likely to reoffend.
--Every spring Camp Ripley begins its annual controlled burn program to help reduce the risk of wildfire during training. As in years past Camp Ripley will conduct controlled burns on approximately 13,000 acres of the 53,000 acre military reservation. The burns are done in coordination with the staffs of the Camp Ripley Department of Public Works and the Camp Ripley Environmental Department along with support from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The training for these operations is ongoing but is conducted formally each year prior to the wildfire season which takes place in early fall and mid spring for central Minnesota. Many of the native grasses on Camp Ripley are fire dependent species. During this time period the surrounding areas around Camp Ripley can expect to see and smell smoke from the areas being burned. Safety precautions are taken into consideration during the execution of these burns. EMT's from Miller Army Airfield's Crash and Rescue team act as medical personnel supporting the crew throughout the burn. Additionally, water trucks manned by members of Camp Ripley Department of Public Works follow each element as the fires are being set. The fires are started, monitored and controlled in accordance with the Department of Natural Resources and the Camp Ripley Fire Department. Residents of the Little Falls, Randall, Pillager, Baxter and Brainerd areas may notice the smell of smoke originating from Camp Ripley. These periodic controlled burns will be conducted throughout the spring season to mitigate the risk of wildfires that may potentially endanger training. The Camp Ripley Public Affairs will send out periodic notifications when future burns are scheduled to take place. Additionally, notices can be found on the DNR website.
--An Osakis man was hurt in a crash. The Todd County Sheriff’s Office says it happened just after 5:30am Tuesday on County Road 4 in Little Sauk Township. A pickup driven by 30-year-old Corey Paul entered the ditch and struck a driveway approach. Paul sustained non serious injuries and was treated at an area hospital.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT --Josh and Mindy Klosowski of Little Falls, a boy born March 22nd.
DEATH NOTICES --John H. Nelson, age 57 of Hillman. --Raye Gillson, age 90 of Motley.
WEATHER TODAY= drizzle and fog early, then cloudy, high 46. TONIGHT= partly cloudy, low 28. SATURDAY= sunny skies, high near 50, freezing mix late, low 30. SUNDAY= freezing mix early, rain showers later on, high 47, low 35. MONDAY= partly cloudy, high 52, low around 25.
SPORTS HS BBB= Class A and 2A semi-finals today, championships Saturday in boys basketball, teams like St. Cloud Cathedral, Crosby-Ironton, Annandale and others are still in the semi-finals today. NCAA= Road to Final Four continues this weekend with only 4 teams remaining by Sunday night in mens' college basketball. COL HK= Gophers vs. Notre Dame Saturday afternoon in NCAA Hockey Tournament- if they win they play again on Sunday. TWINS= Twins baseball tonight, Saturday and Sunday all on Q92.