NEWS
--Four new Morrison County Dairy Princesses were crowned Saturday night in Little Falls at the Falls Ballroom. The six candidates were all named Dairy Ambassadors and will help promote the dairy industry in the next year. Of the 6, Megan Borash, who was also named Miss Congeniality, Annika Gunderson, Emily Popp and Alexis Krebs were crowned the 2019 Morrison County Dairy Princesses. Those four will now move on to the May event at the St. Cloud Convention Center to where 10 finalists will be selected this year to compete for Princess Kay of the Milky Way crowned the night before the State Fair.
--It was an ice jam on the Crow Wing River, causing the river to overflow and surround the home of Dan and Elizabeth Posner on Azalea Road between Pillager and Motley in Morrison County on Friday morning. Conservation officers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Brainerd West Station used their waterfowl hunting boat and rescued the couple. An ice jam caused the water to overflow the river bank, flooding the area where about six houses are located which caused for the occupants to flee their houses. Morrison County Emergency Management Communications Supervisor Victoria Ingram said the county is monitoring the areas when there is a potential for ice jams to develop and causing flooding, including the Crow Wing River near the Azalea Road area and near the Mississippi River at Fort Ripley. Ingram said if any residents are concerned about flooding or for their safety, they are asked to call the sheriff's office at 320-632-9233.
--The City of Brainerd is notifying the public that many city parks are flooded with high water and that includes the playground areas, parking lots and walkways. The city of Brainerd is asking residents to wait on attending parks over the next weeks. Vehicles could stall with high water in parking areas, and muddy conditions and high water in the park itself could cause harmful accidents to those using the facilities. Please use caution in high water areas.
--Early voting for the Staples-Motley School District’s $58.67 million referendum has begun. The period started Friday with the special election scheduled for Tuesday, May 14th. According to the district’s website: the referendum will consist of two ballot questions. The first is whether to approve spending $48.22 million to repair and upgrade the district’s existing buildings. The second question is whether to approve $10.45 million for a new Staples-Motley Activity Center. The current concept is to have gym space, an aquatic area, meeting rooms and more which could be used both by the district and the community as a whole. If both questions were approved, property taxes for a home valued at $125,000 would increase by $310.32 per year, or $25.86 per month. If the first question only is approved, the increase would be $20.78 per month, $249.36 a year. Applications for early voting are available at the District Office located 905 Fourth St. NE in Staples or on the District’s website. Early voting must be done in the district office. Polling locations are at the Staples Community Center and Motley City Hall in Motley. On May 14th, polls will be open from noon until 8:00pm. Two community sessions to discuss the referendum will be held Tuesday, April 9th and Thursday, April 11th. The meeting on April 9th will be held at the Staples Elementary School and the April 11th meeting at Staples High School. Both start at 6pm.
--The Little Falls Radio Cash Cube will be at Tourright Bicycle Shop in Little Falls this Friday at noon. Listen to LF Radio for more details.
--The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce has announced their April employee of the month as Nichole Stotz. Stotz started as the office manager at REMAX Central MN in Little Falls 3 years ago. Congratulation to Nichole as the chamber employee of the month.
--A 21-year old was injured in Brainerd Wednesday when he turned from River Hills Circle and collided with another vehicle. Patrick Kope was taken to the hospital and treated for a back injury. The other driver, 79-year old Douglas Livingston and his passenger 73-year old Sharron Livingston were not injured in the accident.
--The Rice police department is investigating a theft at the Holiday Station store at about 6:30pm on Thursday. Responding officers learned that three male suspects had gone into the business separately. The clerk says the suspects were trying to distract the employees. One suspect went behind the counter and stole one electronic cigarette device as well as a cartridge for the device. The suspects are believed to have left in a 2000's model Buick LeSabre, which is dark in color. If you have any information, you are asked to call Rice Police at (320) 393-3280.
--A St. Cloud woman was hurt in a two-vehicle crash in Mille Lacs County. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened at about 12:45pm Thursday on Highway 169 north of Princeton. 39-year-old Nicole Rierson of St. Cloud was driving west on 80th Street when her car collided with a pickup going south on the highway. The pickup was driven by 45-year-old Joshua Willis of Onamia. Both Rierson and Willis were taken to Princeton hospital and treated for injuries.
--The Minnesota National Guard recognizes April as the Month of the Military Child. Throughout the month there will be several opportunities to highlight the contributions of these children whose sacrifices often go unnoticed. A large celebration to honor military children will be April 12th at the Mall of America in Bloomington.
--The Little Falls City Council meets tonight at 7:30 at City Hall.
DEATH NOTICES
--Patricia Altrichter, age 88 of Swanville.
WEATHER
TODAY= mostly cloudy skies, high 45.
TONIGHT= partly cloudy skies, low 22.
TUESDAY= sunny early, breezy with rain showers afternoon, high 50.
TUES NIGHT= rain showers to wet snow in evening, low 25.
WEDNESDAY= sunny skies, high near 44, low around 28.
SPORTS
TWINS= Indians defeated Twins Saturday 2-1, great pitching by both teams as the Twins Jake Odorizzi struck out 11 in his regular season debut. Nelson Cruz homered and the Twins bats came alive on Sunday for a 9-3 win to take the series over Indians. The Twins are off today and take on Kansas City Tuesday.
NCAA= Texas Tech upended Gonzaga and Virginia beat Purdue Saturday, while Auburn defeated Kentucky and Michigan State ousted Duke to advance to the Final Four this Saturday at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The National Title Game will be April 8th.
COL HK= American International stuns St. Cloud State in hockey Friday 2-1 knocking out the #1 overall seed in the tournament. Mankato also lost on Saturday while Duluth survived an overtime thriller Saturday and won Sunday to advance to the Frozen Four.