NEWS
--After 12 years as sheriff and a total of 35 years with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Tom Burch announced he will not seek reelection for another term as sheriff and he will step aside at the end of his term allow for the next sheriff to have the opportunity to mold the way the department moves into the future. “It's just time,” Burch said. “You know, 35 years is a long time. And, you know and this is good time just want to get out and do some other things and see some other things.” In his announcement, Burch said it was with mixed feelings that he chose not to seek reelection in 2022 but will continue to serve the citizens of Cass County as sheriff through the end of his third term. The Cass County Sheriff's position is up for election this November with the next sheriff then to take office.
--A former Mille Lacs County sheriff's deputy faces charges of sexually assaulting a girl when she was as young as 6 years old. 73-year old Russell James Bankey of Garrison was charged January 12th with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection to sexually assaulting the girl from about 2009 to 2015. In August 2021, the victim recorded a call with Bankey, according to the criminal complaint. The charges state he apologized and said he assaulted her because “I guess I was lonesome.” He also allegedly said he'd be in a "lot of trouble" if it ever got out about what he did. According to the complaint, the victim told the Benton County Sheriff's Office in August that Bankey sexually abused her as far back as she could remember. Almost all the acts occurred at Bankey’s residence in Garrison, the complaint stated hundreds of times until she was 10 or 11 years old. Other times, the assaults happened in his camper during trips in the summer.
--Fire Crews responded to a building fire south of Paynesville Friday morning. The call came in around 10am at Ted's RV Land on Highway 55. Authorities say the fire was located in a cold storage building on the property. The building contained two trucks, a boat, an RV and other miscellaneous supplies. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze. Authorities say substantial damage was done to one of the vehicles inside the building and the building and other items inside sustained smoke damage. No one was injured and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
--A Sauk Rapids man is charged with receiving profits from prostitution after an investigation in December uncovered the crime. The Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force began a sex trafficking investigation at a St. Cloud apartment complex. During that time, officers separately discovered 45-year old Bobby Jones was taking profits from one of the victims who was having sex for money the month before. Court records show officers made contact with the woman who reluctantly admitted she was prostituting herself at a St. Cloud hotel and sharing the profits with Jones. Police say Facebook messages between the two show Jones was aware she was having sex for money and that the money came from prostitution. Court records show Jones told police he was aware of what she was doing but denied receiving any profits.
--The worker strike at Sysco in St. Cloud has ended after about 30 hours. Teamsters Local 120 spokesman Grant Bendix says they ended their strike early Friday morning and the roughly 50 drivers have returned to work. He says they feel they have sent their message that unfair labor practices would not be tolerated. He says right now the ball is in Sysco's court as the contract negotiations continue.
--The Pierz City Council has their regular meeting tonight at 7pm.
--According to the Zwilling family Sunday morning they were able to get the Ice Carousel rotating in their attempt of setting a new world record with unofficial specs of 405 Meters, 1328 feet wide, 31.8 acres, 80,000 tons of ice moving with just 2 outboards and 2 trolling motors propelling it. They do need a formal surveyor to get the measurements but the family reported that all was going well to break that world record so when official results are tallied many can wish a big congratulations to them. Zwilling also stated there is still time to get your donations in for I.C.E. Fest 2022- proceeds go to Flyer Pride Pack (weekend food backpack program) and Kare Kloset (a resource for students that don’t get their basic needs met at home). Donations are being accepted via https://thrivent.cotribute.co/events/599055/detail or by check, payable to Pay It Forward Foundation, mailed to 21296 Forest Rd, Little Falls, MN 56345. Pay It Forward Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible.
--A St. Cloud man is accused of choking a woman and then raping her while she was unconscious. 29-year-old Markus Ost is charged with 1st and 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of felony domestic assault. St. Cloud Police got a call on Tuesday reporting that Ost had raped a woman and they were asking police to do a welfare check on the victim. The victim then called police later in the day to report what had happened. According to the victim, Ost allegedly became verbally and physically aggressive. Ost is accused of taking the victim's credit cards, keys, license, and cell phones. Court records show Ost then pushed the woman onto the bed, stripped her of her clothes, punched her in the face, and began choking her. The woman told police she lost consciousness and when she came to, Ost was giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and was raping her. Ost has previous convictions of violating a domestic abuse no-contact order and domestic assault in 2015.
--A man is dead after an exchange of gunfire with an officer following a pursuit Saturday morning on Highway 55 just outside Eden Valley.
According to a press release from the Meeker County Sheriff's Office, an officer with the Eden Valley Police Department attempted to make a traffic stop just before 2:30am Saturday. The release says the driver fled on Highway 55 and at one point the vehicle went into a ditch. The driver then exited the vehicle and at one point, authorities say, and there was an exchange of gunfire. The release goes on to say that the officer immediately started life-saving measures, but the man died at the scene. Officials say a handgun was recovered at the scene, and no officers were injured. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is leading the investigation.
DEATH NOTICES
--Marian E. Yost, age 83 of Hillman.
--Betty Bengston, age 94 of Little Falls.
--Arvin L. Kurowski, age 82 of Little Falls formerly of Swanville.
WEATHER
TODAY=partly cloudy skies, high 11 above, clouds overnight, low 0.
TUESDAY= snow developing in afternoon, high 25, low around 14.
WEDNESDAY= becoming sunny, very windy, temps falling to -14 late.
SPORTS
HS GBB= Osakis at Little Falls tonight 7:15pm on Q92 WYRQ.
NFL= The Los Angeles Rams have won Super Bowl 56 last night defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Los Angeles.