[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”” padding_right=”” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Newsletter: Monday, February 15th 2016[/title][fusion_text]Monday, February 15th 2016
NEWS
–Today is Presidents Day a federal holiday meaning that all government agencies, federal, state county and city offices are closed today in honor of the holiday. Post Offices are closed. There is no regular mail delivery. Most banks are closed and some businesses are closed while others are open so it is best to call ahead. Most schools are also enjoying the day off today for President’s Day. Due to the holiday, the Little Falls City Council will meet tomorrow at 7:30pm.
–Little Falls Firefighters responded to a car fire at 10:38am on Friday at 14911 Pine Avenue. There were no injuries.
–Pillager firefighters battled a small shed fire Friday morning. Just after 8am it was reported on Cass County Road 1 north of Pillager. The shed was about 120-square feet in size and had a little barrel wood stove in it. The fire in the stove appeared to have re-ignited and caused the fire that started on the roof. The shed and its belongings inside were ruled a total loss. There were no injuries.
–Emergency responders swarmed downtown Sauk Rapids on Saturday night after being called to a house fire. A lower unit of a housing complex had caught fire. The cause of the fire was undetermined. The fire started around 6pm. There were no injuries but all the residents were told to find other dwellings for the night.
–A family was able to escape unharmed early Saturday from a house fire near Freeport. Stearns County said around 12:30am, Freeport and Melrose fire departments seeked help from Albany and Upsala firefighters for a garage that caught fire and quickly engulfed. The fire eventually spread to the attached home which quickly burned as did the garage. Both are considered a total loss. The blaze may have been caused by a wood boiler in the garage.
–Firefighters from at least four area fire departments responded to a house fire in Crosslake Saturday. Fire trucks from Crosslake, Mission, Fifty Lakes and Ideal fire departments were seen responding about 11:30am to Wilderness Trail in Crosslake.The home was destroyed from the fire. The family was able to escape without injury.
–Avon firefighters responded to a house fire last week which was their second one in a week. The fire was reported on Chinook Avenue around 4:30pm on Tuesday where the fire had started in a garage and moved into the attic. The home was actually being used as three apartments. The fire destroyed the garage and caused the tenants to be removed from the home while the home was ventaliated for smoke and repairs were made from the damage. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire was undetermined. Albany and St. Joseph firefighters assisted at the scene.
–Baxter City Council member Quinn Nystrom on Thursday announced her candidacy for DFL endorsement in the District 10A Minnesota House of Representatives seat. The 30 year old Nystrom works in public relations at the National Joint Powers Alliance in Staples and was first elected to the city council in 2014.
–The Brainerd School Board selected three candidates to advance to the next round of district superintendent interviews. The board interviewed six candidates during one-hour sessions Thursday and Friday night and decided on finalists following the conclusion of interviews Friday. The finalists are Laine Larson of Thief River Falls, Deb Olson of Clinton, Iowa and Tim Mitchell of Rapid City, South Dakota. They will return for a second set of interviews on Thursday. The board hopes to have a selection for the job by February 29th.
–The Morrison County Commisisoners at their recent board meeting recognized employees of Morrison County for their years of service.
–The Diocese of St. Cloud is moving forward with a plan to unite Catholic Schools in the St. Cloud area in one system. Bishop Donald Kettler reviewed and approved the recommendations a steering committee sent him in December. The diocese hopes the system, Catholic Community Schools, will be operational beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. 2016-17 will be a “transitional year” in which a budget is finalized. The eight schools making up the system will be All Saints Academy, Cathedral High School, Holy Cross School in Kimball, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in St. Cloud, St. Francis Xavier in Sartell, St. Katharine Drexel in St. Cloud, St. Mary Help of Christians in St. Augusta, and St. Wendelin’s in Luxemburg. Bishop Donald Kettler wrote last year that the new school system would be intended to keep Catholic schools financially viable and help foster collaboration between the schools.
–The Department of Natural Resources staff will hold a meeting on Tuesday at 5:30pm in Garrison at city hall to discuss plans for experimentally stocking Mille Lacs with walleye this spring.
–Three informational sessions for the Staples-Motley School District have been scheduled for the Re-Start Campaign proposal from administration which is up for vote on February 29th. These forums will be held Tuesday in Motley at the school choir room, Wednesday at the Staples Motley High School cafeteria and again at the cafeteria at the high school on February 25th. All starting at 7:15pm. If the proposal is approved, the district would redistribute students for the 2016-17 school year into a K-3 elementary school in Staples, a fourth- through seventh-grade middle school in Motley and an eighth- through 12th-grade high school at the current Staples Motley High School location. Preschool options remain the same.
NATIONAL NEWS
–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died Saturday at age 79.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
–Eric and Heather Brill of Little Falls, a boy born February 11th
DEATH NOTICES
–Paige Mitchell, age 18 of Onamia.
–Joan Saehr, age 83 of Little Falls.
–Judith E. Heisick, age 87 of Upsala.
–Cecilia Millner, age 93 of Pierz.
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy, high 32, few flurries tonight, low 22.
TUESDAY= light snow early, mostly cloudy, high 27, clear night low 4
WEDNESDAY= partly cloudy, high near 20, low near 10.
SPORTS
WRE= Pierz defeated Deer River and Aitkin Friday to win another Section 7A championship and advance as a team to the state wrestling tournament in St. Paul February 25-27th. Foley will also be going back to state after winning the section 6Aa title on Friday. Little Falls finished 2nd in section tournament Saturday just missing state.
NHL= The Minnesota Wild fired coach Mike Yeo Saturday following a 4-2 loss to Boston. The Wild have lost 13 of their last 14 games and 8 straight losses leading up to Yeo’s firing on Saturday. Wild name coach of the Iowa Wild AHL team John Torchetti interim coach.
NBA= Timberwolves Zack Lavine wins slam dunk, and Karl Anthony Towns wins skills contest at NBA all star weekend in Toronto.
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