NEWS
--Today is Tax Day in the United States. Remember you must have your income taxes filed and in the mail before U.S. Post Offices close today to not receive a penalty on your income taxes by the U.S. Government. Many post offices have extended hours today.
--Governor Tim Walz signed the Hands Free Cell Phone bill into law Friday morning. The bill makes it illegal to hold cell phones while driving. This law takes effect in Minnesota on August 1st.
--Two people were arrested in Rice after being found with a stolen vehicle. During a traffic stop, authorities learned the plates belonged to a 2008 Toyota Highlander reported stolen in St. Cloud, but the vehicle’s VIN number matched a 2011 Toyota Highlander that had been reported stolen in Minneapolis. Police arrested 30-year old Dwayne Henning of Aitkin and 36-year old Rebecca Trowbridge of Foley. Both were taken to the Benton County Jail and face charges of possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
--A St. Cloud man was hurt when he lost control of the car he was driving and rolled. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened at about 7:15pm Thursday on Interstate 94 in Monticello. Troopers say 26-year-old Mustafa Alabdrabalnabi was trying to pass another car when he lost control, went into the median and rolled. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
--A West St. Paul man and a St. Cloud woman are in custody, suspected of orchestrating a robbery of a Holiday gas station and adjoining Subway restaurant where the woman worked on Monday. According to criminal complaints filed in Stearns County District Court, 22-year old Isaiah Lee Claiborne of West St. Paul faces a possible felony charge of burglary in the third degree. 18-year old Candace Eleanor Stofflet of St. Cloud faces a possible felony charge of aiding and abetting burglary in the third degree. Police located Stofflet and Claiborne together and arrested them. In her statement, Stofflet denied any involvement or knowledge of the burglary. Claiborne described the burglary in full. He told police Stofflet was planning on moving to California and "needed the money". Claiborne claimed Stofflet orchestrated the Subway theft with him by giving him the code to the safe and advising him to "strike the safe with a rock so that it would not look like an inside job". In return for committing the theft, Claiborne told police Stofflet promised him her vehicle when she moved as well as all the items he took from the Holiday store. Claiborne and Stofflet are being held in Stearns County Jail.
--Senators Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., introduced new bipartisan legislation to help rural communities access renewable energy. The Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act will assist rural communities and rural electricity cooperatives to overcome the barriers to renewable energy storage and grid improvements by providing access to relevant resources and expertise. In 2013, the Department of Energy created the Solar Utility Network Deployment Acceleration project, in partnership with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, to increase the adoption of solar energy in rural communities across the country. The SUNDA project ended in 2018, but the EASE Act would implement similar initiatives and make it as easy as possible for rural communities and their electricity cooperatives to plan, implement and maintain their own renewable energy storage and microgrid projects.
--The Little Falls City Council meets tonight at 7:30pm at City Hall.
--The Morrison County Historical Society has collected photos of tattoos and their stories from people around central Minnesota and opened their exhibit of these tattoos back on Saturday at The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum in Little Falls, MN. In addition to tattoos, the exhibit will also feature information on the tattoo shops and artists who produce tattoos in central Minnesota. The exhibit is on display through the end of the year the Charles A. Weyerhauser Memorial Museum on the southwest side of Little Falls. For more information contact Mary Warner at 632-4007.
--Most of a storage building was destroyed in an early morning blaze Friday in Staples. The west end of building on the 1400 block of Eighth Street Northeast was engulfed in flames when the Wadena County Sheriff's Office and Staples Police Department responded just after 3am. Some contents in the east end of the storage building were saved, while the rest of the building and items were a total loss. The cause of the fire was not determined.
--A young boy is hospitalized after a man threw or pushed him from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America Friday morning according to Bloomington police. Bloomington police said through Twitter they are investigating an incident in which a 5-year-old child suffered injuries. Emergency responders performed CPR on the child in the southeast corner of the mall before he was taken to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. Who either pushed or threw the boy off the balcony fled the mall and was soon arrested by local authorities.
--Two kids are dead and their father is in critical condition after a house fire in Big Lake early Friday morning. Four children and their father were inside during the blaze. Sheriff Joel Brott says the family was taken to area hospitals, where 2-year-old Landon Parker and 1-year-old Spencer Parker later died. The father, 36-year-old Anthony Parker, and his two other children, ages 9 and 7, remain hospitalized. Brott says it's believed the father intentionally started the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
--A Sauk Centre man was injured when his vehicle was struck by a snow plow Thursday in Stearns County. The snowplow, driven by 47-year old Matthew Voller of Sauk Centre was westbound on Sterling Road. Voller slid through the stop sign at County Road 18 and struck a northbound SUV driven by 29-year old Marcus Krahn of Sauk Centre. Krahn sustained minor injuries and was taken to the Sauk Centre Hospital. The snow plow driver was not hurt.
DEATH NOTICES
--Janice “Jan” C. Hartmann, age 67 of Hillman
--Buford Faust, age 84 of Onamia.
WEATHER
TODAY= showers develop in afternoon, high near 50, low near 30.
TUESDAY= sunny skies, mild, high 62, rain late, low near 40.
WEDNESDAY= rain likely, some downpours, high 51, low near 40.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins game postponed Friday, Saturday Twins hold on to win 4-3 over Tigers. Twins wins again Sunday 6-4 over Tigers. Twins host Toronto tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HOK= UMD wins 2nd straight NCAA title beating UMASS 3-0 Saturday.
GOLF= Tiger Woods wins the Masters at -13 on Sunday, it is Woods first Masters win since 2005, and his best tournament in a decade.