NEWS
--Father Aaron Nett, pastor in Pierz, Buckman, Lastrup and Harding stated that it has been brought to his attention that there have been texts and emails claiming to be from him (Father Aaron Nett) asking for a favor, to get gift cards, or to call him back. Please know that this is a scam, do not reply to these messages. It has been reported to the local authorities and if you receive such a message, delete it. St. John Nepomuk in Lastrup also will have their cash raffle after the 4pm on Saturday with a meal for free will offering and raffle winners. Raffle tickets can be purchased by members of the parish of Lastrup.
--Almost 40 workers at a Foley-based vegetable farm have filed a federal lawsuit charging the farm with four counts of violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court, claims Svihel Vegetable Farms and its owner John Svihel created a work environment of fear, psychological abuse, sleep deprivation, and seclusion that led to a cycle of forced labor and financial coercion. The complainants are mostly from Central America, working on the farm under H-2A Work Visas. They claim the farm used their inability to read or speak English to force them into 17-hour workdays, poor living conditions, limited access to fresh water and restroom breaks, and paychecks that did not reflect the total number of hours worked. The almost 40 former workers claim physical and mental trauma as a result of their employment at the farm. The complaint has been filed, but a court date is not yet.
--The U.S. Department of Labor has finalized a rule that will expand overtime to thousands of salaried workers in Minnesota. Starting July 1st, the rule states: The annual salary threshold under which salaried workers will be eligible for overtime will be $43,388. On January 1st, 2025, the threshold will grow to $58,656 per year, a 64% increase from the current level of $35,568 per year. U.S. Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su says the new rule strengthens protections for millions of workers nationwide. This rule will restore the promise to workers that if you work more than 40 hours in a week, you should be paid more for that time. Too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay. The new overtime rules include additional requirements for employers, Officials with the Department of Labor say the salary thresholds will be updated every three years based on new data.
--The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office is warning about a potential scam targeting seniors. A contractor from out of state is currently soliciting door-to-door for blacktopping projects. The group then does shoddy work that is incomplete or of poor quality. Several residents have complained that the men then intimidate them into paying more than what had been verbally agreed upon. Officials say there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. First, get a signed quote for a project and avoid paying until the work has been completed in full. They also remind you to properly vet anyone who shows up unannounced offering a service, if you have reached out to them.
--The Pierz Music Department will host Music in the Park a fundraiser for the music department at Pierz Healy High School. The event will be on Sunday at 2pm at the Pierz Golf Course shelters, bring your own lawn chair and support the Pierz Band. There will be games for the kids, bake sale, craft vendors, silent auction and many other items to come and enjoy Sunday to help the Pierz Music Program.
WEATHER NEWS
--Minnesota mostly saw rain Friday through Sunday with 1.1 inches in Little Falls Friday into Saturday morning, then another 1.3 to 1.5 inches in Little Falls on Sunday and more this morning. It was a much different story elsewhere. A tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday, damaging hundreds of homes and other structures as it tore for miles along farmland and into subdivisions. Some injuries were reported but there were no immediate reports that anyone was killed. Multiple tornadoes were reported in Nebraska and Iowa on Friday, but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people. Photos on social media showed the small city of Minden, Iowa, about 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) northeast of Omaha also sustained heavy damage. Three people were injured in Nebraska's Lancaster County when a tornado hit an industrial building, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated and the injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said. Another tornado hit an area on the eastern edge of Omaha, passing directly through parts of Eppley Airfield, the city's airport. The passenger terminal wasn't hit by the tornado but people rushed to storm shelters until the twister passed. After passing through the airport, the tornado crossed the Missouri River and into Iowa, north of Council Bluffs which did damage, reports of tornadoes doing damage around Des Moines and parts of Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.
The Weather Service said more strong thunderstorms affected parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas with heavy rains, lightning and strong winds Sunday. Another round of strong thunderstorms are in the forecast for Tuesday in the same areas around Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri along with some parts of southern Minnesota that could see some severe weather.
WEATHER
TODAY= showers likely before noon, cloudy, high around 45.
TONIGHT= clearing skies, frost possible, low near 30.
TUESDAY= increasing clouds, PM t-storms, high 64, low 48.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and breezy, high near 70, low near 45.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins win 5-3 Friday to win 5th in a row, beating the Angels in Anaheim. Twins get 17 hits and 16 runs on Saturday to blast the Angels 16-5 for their 6th straight win. Twins get the sweep on Sunday winning 11-5 and now have won 7 in a row. The Twins open a series at Chicago against the White Sox tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ.
NBA= Timberwolves go up 3-0 in the best of 7 series with Phoenix Friday winning 126-109 in game 3 of the NBA playoffs with 6 players in double figures then Game 4 was Sunday night and Wolves get the sweep as Anthony Edwards score 40 and the Wolves win 122-116 to win the series 4-0 over Suns. However, Wolves Coach Chris Finch was injured during a collision in the game last night. The collision occurred with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter when Minnesota point guard Mike Conley was driving down the court and forced out of bounds by Suns guard Devin Booker, who was called for a foul.
Conley collided with Finch who had to be helped off by players and staff. The team later confirmed he ruptured his patellar tendon.
HS BAB= Little Falls at ROCORI today at 4:30pm on AM960 KLTF the 5pm news will be heard shortly after 4pm today.