Newsletter: Monday, February 17th 2020
NEWS
--Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen spoke on Little Falls Radio. Sheriff Larsen first spoke about a page was sent from their office to notify residents within a 3 mile radius of the Eastern Morrison County Sportsman Club that there will be extra gunfire heard in the area on Thursday night as they conduct a training exercise at this location. The page was inadvertently sent out to all parties in the Morrison County Sheriff’s Emergency Notification System which led to a number of phone calls, text messages and emails to their office that evening on the emergency announcement that was sent out. The sheriff's office said they are very sorry for this and want to reassure all residents everything is okay. The Sheriff continued to stress the watch out for scams as many more have been reported from their department asking for money, which they would never do, tell you that you missed jury duty without a mailing for your jury duty services or stating if you do not comply you will be arrested. Again these are all scams. Larsen said the biggest problem is untraceable phone numbers which makes it very difficult for their office to find the scammers, so if you receive a phone call, text or email that looks or sounds suspicious, hang up or delete the messages.
--One person was killed in a two-vehicle accident last Wednesday night near Kimball. 57-year-old Ricky Freitag of Rice was north on Highway 15 when he slid on the ice and collided head-on with a car in the southbound lane. Freitag was hospitalized in St. Cloud for his injuries. The other driver was 67-year-old Donald Heid. He died in the crash. Freitag was later arrested for driving while intoxicated and faces criminal vehicular homicide charges.
--A Freeport man died in a house fire on Friday. The Stearns County Sheriff's Department says deputies responded to a fire at a home south of Freeport around 9am. Authorities say a caller reported smoke coming from the house and believed the homeowner was still inside. The sheriff's office says shortly after deputies and fire departments arrived, the house became fully engulfed. Stearns County Sheriff Steve Soyka says after the fire was put out, the homeowner, 82-year-old Harvey Mayers was found dead inside.
--The Brainerd Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire at 7:26am Friday on the 8900 block of Sand Creek Circle. Upon arrival, the vehicle was fully involved. Firefighters extinguished the fire and the vehicle was a total loss. Firefighters also responded to a two-vehicle crash at 10:12am Friday at the intersection of Mill Avenue and H Street in Brainerd. Firefighters assisted with minor injuries at the scene. The fire department responded to a chimney fire at 1:56pm Thursday at Prairie Bay Restaurant, 15115 Edgewood Drive, Baxter. The fire was extinguished. No injuries reported in any incident.
--The Swanville/Sobieski Lions ice fishing contest on Long Lake is this Saturday starting at noon and then moves to Swanville at 6pm for the large raffle. Cash prizes for largest fish. First 125 kids on the ice, 12 and younger receive a free ice fishing pole. Raffle drawings will be held at 6:00 pm at Lucky's Saloon in Swanville.
--A reminder that with today being President's Day that federal and state offices are closed, county government and city halls are closed today. U.S. Post Offices are closed and there is no regular mail delivery however parcel services for packages are running today. Many schools and some business are closed today as are banks and financial institutions so best to call ahead before venturing out.
--Trading Post Wednesday and Friday at 8:15am on AM960 KLTF.
--Congratulations to Jackson Grant of the Little Falls Flyer Nordic Ski team for finishing 10th place at the state tournament Friday in Biwabik. The 10th place finish is the highest finish ever for a Little Falls boys nordic ski member. The team finished 12th at state. Others on the boys team included Cormac Shanoff, John Stockard, Ethan Yorek, Connor Grant, Eli Segler and Thomas Zupko.
--Congratulations to the Pierz Pizazz Dance Team who finished in 7th place in the Class A High Kick competition Saturday at the state tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
--Congratulations tot he Royalton Upsala Wrestling team advancing to the state tournament as a team with wins over Crosby Ironton, Holdingford and Aitkin on Saturday. The Royals will compete at state on February 27th in St. Paul.
--Governor Walz proclaimed February 16 -22, 2020, as Grain Bin Safety Week to draw attention to the rising incidence rates of accidents and deaths in and around grain bins. Ten people have died in farming-related accidents in Minnesota since June 2019. Grain bin accidents can occur in and around grain storage bins especially when grain is flowing, resulting in entrapment or suffocation. Data from the University of Purdue shows 307 reported cases of grain entrapment between 2007 and 2015.
DEATH NOTICES
--Dennis Kujawa, age 77 of Buckman
--Arvina Marie Benjamin, age 71 of Onamia.
--Daniel Peine, age 56 of Little Falls.