NEWS
--Around 6:45am Thursday the Morrison County Sheriff's Office received a report of a one vehicle accident on 223rd street east of Jewel road, about two miles north of Freedhem in Ripley Township. According to the Sheriff's Office, a truck was traveling east on 223rd street when the vehicle lost control and rolled. An occupant of the vehicle 23-year old Christopher Keehr of Pierz was ejected from the vehicle and sustained serious injuries. Keehr was airlifted from the scene by Lifelink to St. Cloud Hospital and was listed in serious condition. Another occupant, 27-year old Jared Keehr of Pierz was taken to St. Cloud Hospital by personal vehicle with unknown injuries. The accident remains under investigation.
--A St. Cloud woman Thursday pleaded guilty to killing her father. 40-year old Lisa Kearney while in Stearns County District Court for an ominbus hearing, admitted killing 66-year old Jeffrey Eugene Schilling in his home in early January 2016. A couple days later Kearney was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky and charged with second-degree murder. The Judge accepted the plea Thursday, and Kearney was returned to the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center. Her sentencing is tentatively scheduled for November 30th. As part of her plea, the Stearns County Attorney's Office agreed it won't ask for more than a sentence of 30 years. Kearney had been living with her father. Police believed that she had a strained relationship with him and they found her with his tablet, wallet and keys. Since her arrest, Kearney was twice committed as mentally ill. In August 2016 a judge ruled her incompetent to stand trial. She was later found competent.
--A 37-year old Little Falls man was sentenced in Morrison County for making terroristic threats in an incident where he threatened a Little Falls police officer. Craig Van Brickey was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and was to serve 90 days in jail. Van Brickey was charged with two felonies of assault with a dangerous weapon and making terroristic threats following an incident at the Little Falls VFW in December, 2016 where a man was assaulted by Van Brickey with a knife and an altercation ensued with the officer.
--The National Weather Service announced Wednesday that 2017 was the 4th wettest summer on record taking rain totals from May 1st through September 30th. 2017 on average saw towns like Brainerd, St. Cloud, Duluth and the Twin Cities Metro Area seeing totals between 31-36 inches of the rain in the that five month period. The rain is also making it hard on area farmers to get into the fields for the fall harvest. Dan Martens is an Extension Educator with the U-of-M Extension Office. He says with shorter days and cooler temps, it takes longer for fields to dry out. While that means farmers may have to wait to get into their fields, Martens says the possibility of those crops developing mold is a larger issue. Mold can cause significant losses to a farmer’s yield and ultimately impact any chance at making a profit when they bring their commodity to market. Martens says some farmers may be pressed into entering fields before they’re dry. That can lead to problems like getting equipment stuck, lower yields and mud-covered roads near farm fields.
--A reminder that the Homecoming parade in Little Falls is today at 2pm, some roadways around the middle school, Lindbergh Elementary, St. Mary's Church (behind it) and 5th Avenue back to the high school will be blocked for the parade. The tailgate party begins at 5pm at the middle school parking lot, game tonight at 7pm.
--Benton County will honor 7 first responders for saving the life of an 18 month old child on October 17th. Back in August, their office received a call from a mother saying her 18 month old son was not breathing. The mother had stopped her car on Highway 10 near the intersection of Little Rock Road NW to call for help. While first responders were in route to the scene, Rice Firefighter Blake Phenow was driving through the area in his personal vehicle and saw the car stopped on the side of the road. Phenow began rendering aid to the child. A short time later, Minnesota State Trooper James Orlando arrived on the scene and began assisting with CPR on the boy named Jace. Benton County Deputy Ron Thomas arrived on the scene shortly after Trooper Orlando. The three of them continued to perform CPR on Jace until the ambulance arrived on scene. Jace is currently at the Mayo Clinic awaiting a heart transplant. The three who arrived at the scene and the ambulance workers will receive recognition on the 17th for their heroic efforts.
--The Little Falls Flyers Athletic Hall of Fame induction celebration is scheduled in January 2018. Nominations are being sought for this event. Former athletes who have been out of school for at least 10 years, and former coaches who have been out of coaching for at least two years, are eligible to become members of the Flyer Hall of Fame. Any school or community member that has made a significant contribution to Little Falls High School is also eligible to become a member. Questions may be directed to Mary Larson at 320-632-8203. Nominations must be submitted before October 25th to the school.
--It is a very busy weekend of events, Saturday St. John's in Swanville craft sale, Zoo Fest at Pine Grove Zoo, Sunday- Bouja at Our Lady of Lourdes Church 10a-1pm, Living Hope Assembly of God hosting 75th Anniversary event, 10am service, open house 1pm, Blessing of the Animals at Washington Playground at noon, Court of Honor recognized at Camp Ripley at 1pm, quilt bingo at Bulldog Lake Sunday and more at fallsradio.com then community calendar.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
--Three Army Special Forces soldiers were killed in Niger in northwestern Africa after their patrol was ambushed. Two other soldiers were injured.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
--Carl Alstad and Tina Reische of Little Falls, boy on October 4th
DEATH NOTICES
--Elaine MaryAnn (Block) Jelinski, age 62 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= fog early, clouds increase, PM showers likely, high 58.
TONIGHT= showers likely, cloudy skies, low 46.
SATURDAY= showers early then turning sunny, high 64, low 42.
SUNDAY= sunny skies, high 61, clear night low near 40.
MONDAY= partly sunny, windy and cooler, high 54, low 37.
SPORTS
HS FB= Foley at Little Falls (Homecoming) 7pm tonight on AM960.
HS FB= Pierz at Howard Lake Waverly tonight 7pm on FM94 KFML
HS FB= Royalton at Browerville tonight 7pm on Q92 WYRQ.
COL FB= Gophers at Purdue Saturday 1:30pm on AM960 KLTF.