NEWS
--The latest numbers Thursday morning from the Morrison County Website were 663 cases total of COVID-19, 33 hospitalized. There are 226 active cases which has dropped the ratio to 68.2 per 10,000 in the county. Little Falls at 112, while the rest are around the same numbers 17-21 for Bowlus, Pierz, Hillman, Motley and Royalton while the rest of the zip codes in the county are under 10 cases each. The Department of Health website reported 1,574 new cases on Thursday with 20 new deaths linked to the virus. Morrison County had 13 new cases of COVID-19 with no new reported deaths. The weekly update from the Department of Health reported 657 Morrison County cases with 471 no longer in isolation. It was reported that 1,016 schools grades K-12 have reported cases of COVID-19 since testing began and 4,216 cases afflilated to higher learning facilities in the state. Public Health reported that numbers are still expected to increase.
--A Little Falls man is suspected of fleeing a deputy after assaulting a man. 34-year old Derek Wayne Hoehle made his first appearance in court Tuesday. Hoehle was charged with one felony count of second degree assault and one felony count of fleeing a peace officer with a motor vehicle. According to the criminal complaint against him, a deputy was sent to the 10000 block of Sues Road Northwest around 7:45am on July 24th. A man reported a vehicle with two men in it were jumping dirt piles on his property, causing damage. Employees followed the vehicle away from the address, and while the vehicle was leaving, the man was trying to stop the vehicle. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, forcing the man to jump out of the way so he did not get hit. The man said he feared for his safety. The vehicle returned a second time, and went over the jumps, causing a muffler to fall off. The driver stopped to pick it up, and an employee at the location recognized the driver as Hoehle. A Benton County deputy found the vehicle at a stop sign at 115th Street Northwest and placed his squad in front of the vehicle.
--8th District Congressman Pete Stauber joined United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Tuesday in announcing a $3 million ReConnect Grant to help deploy high-speed internet in Morrison County. The grant awardee, Consolidated Telephone Company, will use the grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network, which will connect 819 people, 34 businesses and 25 farms to high-speed internet. “With the arrival of COVID-19, access to quick and reliable broadband has become more important than ever,” Stauber said in a news release. “While some have seamlessly transitioned to telework, telelearning, and telehealth, unfortunately, too many in our rural communities are struggling to keep up. As the Representative of a largely rural area, I have long fought for the deployment of broadband to our rural communities and I am thankful to Secretary Perdue for making this critical investment in Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District. I am certain that these funds will help many of our families prosper and ensure our economy gets back on track.”
--National Drug Take Back Day is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday October 24th. It will be held in the Walmart parking lot in a tent from 10am-2pm. Please bring all of your expired and unused medications and drop them off. This will be done safely and by the CDC and MDH guidelines due to COVID-19. The Morrison County Sheriff's Office appreciates everyone doing their part to keep our communities safe.
--The Pierz City Council meets Monday at 7pm at Pierz City Hall.
--Due to the snow the City of Little Falls announced that the leaf and brush pickup scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled.
--Due to the heavy snowfall Thursday, the cleanup scheduled for the Darling Cemetery has been cancelled.
--Another round of heavy wet snow Thursday made for tricky driving conditions. Sgt. Neil Dickenson of the State Patrol said the accidents in the past week were numerous and almost all could be avoided if you drive for the wintry conditions, slow down, don't drive too close to the back other vehicles, stay off the cell phone and give yourself a lot of time and patience to get to your destination. More snow is in the forecast tomorrow and Sunday which will add to the totals.
--No one was hurt in a house fire in Avon Township Sunday night. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says they got a call around 11:30pm about a house fire in the 33000 block of Poverty Point Drive. The homeowner, Nathan Hylla, said they were using the fireplace earlier in the evening. They woke up later to something falling and noticed flames near the ceiling and above the fireplace and heard crackling sounds. The Avon Fire Department was called in to put out the flames. It's unknown what caused the fire.
--A Minnesota judge has dismissed a third-degree murder charge filed against the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee against George Floyd's neck, but the more serious second-degree murder charge remains. The judge said there was enough probable cause for the second-degree murder charge and manslaughter charge against Derek Chauvin to proceed to trial.
WEATHER
TODAY= flurries early, mostly cloudy, high 33.
TONIGHT= partly cloudy skies, low 15.
SATURDAY= mostly cloudy skies, high 27, snow at night, low 17.
SUNDAY= snow likely 1-2 inches, high 29, low around 7 above.
MONDAY= sunny and cold, high 25, low around 5 above.
SPORTS
HS FB= Pierz at Sauk Centre today at 5pm on FM94 KFML.
HS FB= St. Cloud Cathedral at Little Falls tonight 6pm Q92 WYRQ.
Due to the cold weather game times were switched to earlier for tonight in football, Royalton plays at 11am, USA at 2pm, Holdingford at 4pm and Foley at 5pm today in their matchups all earlier starts.
HS VB= a change in the schedule as Pierz will now play Little Falls in high school volleyball Saturday at 3:30pm, hear it on Q92 WYRQ.
COL FB= #21 Minnesota Gophers open the season at home tomorrow night with the #17 Michigan Wolverines. College Game Day starts the morning on ESPN, the game is at 6:30pm, pregame coverage begins at 4:30pm Saturday on AM960 KLTF.
WILD= The Minnesota Wild will not be playing at Target Field this winter. The NHL announced Thursday they are postponing the 2021 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and the 2021 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend. The Winter Classic was going to feature the Wild and the St. Louis Blues facing off at Target Field on January 1st, while All-Star weekend was originally planned for January 29th-30th in Florida. The events have been postponed due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. The NHL intends to return to Minnesota and Florida for these events in the near future. The league is targeting a January 1st start date for the upcoming NHL season.
NFL= Vikings all pro linebacker Matt Blair died at age 70. Blair played for the Vikings 1974-1985 and 2nd most tackles in team history