NEWS
--Crow Wing County Board Chairman Doug Houge signed a Declaration of Local Emergency for the December winter storm event that caused a significant amount of public and private property damage. The strong winter storm started Tuesday and dropped heavy snow across the county that lasted until early afternoon Thursday. The heavy snowfall brought down many trees and power lines and thousands in the northern part of Crow Wing County lost power for several days. Local power companies, fire departments, county and city crews all responded to numerous reports due to the wet snow accumulation. As of Friday afternoon many are still without power and the cleanup could take several weeks. A declaration of local emergency invokes necessary portions of the county’s emergency response and recovery plan which authorizes aid and assistance under those plans. Crow Wing Power reported thousands without power starting on Tuesday of last week and could take days to even weeks to restore power to all areas due to the snapped power lines and trees. Many trees were blocking driveways, alleys and some township roads rerouting traffic around the areas.
--A reminder from postal carriers and the area fire departments with the recent snowfall, just a reminder again to clear away snow around fire hydrants which are needed in case of fire. If the hydrants are cleared of snow it makes more time available to try and put out a fire then working on the hydrant which could save lives in the home and the home in general from burning. Also area postal carriers need to reach the house or mailboxes and if you could make paths and clear away snow around the mailboxes. If they cannot get into the mailbox or the house they will likely pass you by and not deliver the mail and leave at the post office. Any help on these is greatly appreciated.
--A Waite Park man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping a woman in 2021. Forty-nine-year-old Winlaw Bramley III was convicted of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct in July. According to the charges, a woman told authorities that she had been dating Bramley for about two years when she went to his apartment in May 2021 to see him. At some point during the evening, the two went into the bedroom. Court records indicate Bramley grabbed the woman's neck, forced her head into the bed, and violently raped her. The woman said she tried to push back at Bramley and tell him to stop but was overpowered. Records show the victim has ongoing health issues as a result of the assault, including neck and spine injuries. Bramley gets credit for his time served already.
--A St. Cloud man was hurt when his semi left the road and rolled onto its side Thursday. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office got the call at around 9:15am that the big rig had crashed along County Road 10 in Albany Township. The driver, 25-year-old Cody Gravelle was treated at the scene and then taken to the hospital by ambulance. The sheriff's office says Gravelle was northbound when he began to enter the right ditch which caused the semi and trailer to roll. Authorities say weather conditions played a factor in the crash.
--The winter storm led to the arrest of a Sartell man. Friday afternoon, Sartell police officers were sent to check an address for Chad Hagen, who was wanted for several felony warrants and reported to be outside shoveling a driveway. Officials say Hagen ran into a house and locked the doors when he saw officers. After obtaining a search warrant, Sartell police were able to locate Hagen and took him into custody without incident. Hagen was taken to the Stearns County Jail and held on outstanding warrants.
--After the snow last week, now the frigid cold over this week. Wind Chill Watches are posted already from Tuesday through Thursday with temperatures staying below zero day and night during the week with overnight lows in the teens and 20s below zero, meaning wind chills will be -25 to -40 in many areas by Tuesday night.
--A recent social media most by the Morrison County Sheriff's Office is asking to please read up and educate yourself, family and friends about the fake OxyContin pills laced with Fentanyl. These pills are sometimes called Perc 30’s, Mbox, dirty 30’s, etc. Some pills are pure Fentanyl and Narcan use may not be effective. This poison does not belong in our communities, so if you or someone you know needs help, please get the help you need before it’s too late. Please check out our prior Facebook posts for phone numbers regarding facilities that can help out regarding treatment and other services or call the sheriff's office 632-9233. To see the whole story on fake drugs you can check out the post on the Sheriff's Office Facebook Page.
--A number of school concerts or programs tonight. Mary of Lourdes Elementary has rescheduled their Christmas Program tonight at 7pm at the elementary school. Little Falls Community High School has their holiday concert tonight at 7pm and Pierz Healy School has their Holiday Choir and Band Concert tonight at 7pm in Pierz. Come and enjoy some great music and items from our area students.
--The Little Falls City Council meets tonight 7:30pm at City Hall.
DEATH NOTICES
--Madeline (Brenny) Moren, age 80 of Pierz.
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy, snow likely in afternoon, high 11.
TONIGHT= snow likely, around 1 inch, then clearing, low -5.
TUESDAY= sunny and cold, high around 0, low around -20.
WEDNESDAY= snow showers, high -4, snow at night, low -15.
SPORTS
NFL= a very wild NFL game Saturday as Colts lead 33-0 at halftime against the Vikings, the Vikings battled back with big games from Cook and Osborne to tie the game 36-36, take the game to overtime and all the way to the end of OT when Joseph kicks the field goal at time expires and wins 39-36 in overtime. This makes the largest come from behind victory in the history of the NFL as the Colts led 36-7 with 4:53 in the 3rd quarter but the Vikings win and clinch the NFC North Division for 2022. The Vikings now 11-3 and will take on the New York Giants on December 24th.
HS BHK= Little Falls at Brainerd Tuesday at 7pm on Q92 WYRQ
HS BBB= Milaca at Little Falls Tuesday at 7:15pm on 94ROCKS.
AAA= Congratulations to the Pierz Healy High School Triple A Award winners for 2022-2023 as Ashley Kimman and Conner Kruse. The award goes to high school seniors with a high grade point average and also participate in athletics and fine arts activities for their high school. The District Award program is scheduled for January 18th.
Today is the final day to register for the Grand Prize of Ho Ho Dough with area sponsors and Little Falls Radio. From all the qualifiers over the past weeks and tomorrow a qualifier from each of the sponsors will be drawn and from all of those the grand prize of $500 cash and $500 ho ho dough will be announced. Get out and register today, full list of sponsors and recent qualifiers is on the home page at fallsradio.com.