NEWS
--Two law enforcement officers and another first responder were shot and killed early Sunday morning in Burnsville. The City of Burnsville said the two Burnsville police officers and a firefighter/ paramedic were responding to a domestic abuse call when they were fatally shot. First responders were called to the 12600 block of 33rd Avenue South just before 2am on a report of a domestic situation involving a man who was barricaded in a house with family members, according to a release from the City of Burnsville. The city identified the three men killed in the line of duty as Burnsville Police Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, along with firefighter/ paramedic Adam Finseth. A fourth police officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott was injured and taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was reportedly dead during the gunfire and other family members left the home safely. The department is asking the public to stay away from the area until further notice. Elmstrand joined the Burnsville Police Department as a community services officer in 2017 and was promoted to officer in 2019. The 27-year-old worked in the department's mobile command staff, peer team, Honor Guard and field training unit. Ruge joined the department in 2020. The 27-year-old was part of its crisis negotiations team and was a physical evidence officer, the city said. Finseth, who was 40, had been a firefighter/paramedic for the city since 2019.
--On the calendar today it is President's Day, a federal holiday meaning that government agencies, city halls, government centers, banks, financial institutions, post offices (meaning there is no regular mail delivery today) and other businesses may be closed today. Most stores and restaurants are open today. Many schools are off today and many Morrison County schools made it a 4 day weekend with last Friday off also. May be a good idea to call ahead before heading out to see what is open today. Officially there is a no legal definition of Presidents' Day, the holiday was formed to be the third Monday of February between Lincoln's Birthday on February 12th and Washington's Birthday February 22nd which were both legal holidays before the making of one day for both. The Federal Holiday is still called Washington's Birthday which was formed back in 1879. In the 1950s Lincoln's Birthday became a state holiday in many parts of the nation, in the 1980s Lincoln's and Washington's Birthday were both being announced on February 22nd and in 1994 it moved to the third Monday of the month and now used by many just as a long weekend.
--Due to City Offices being closed today from the federal holiday, the Little Falls City Council will hold a special work session tomorrow prior to their regular meeting on Tuesday night at 7:30pm at City Hall.
--The Morrison County Master Gardeners will host a gardening workshop on Saturday, April 6th at the Little Falls Community High School. The program will begin at 8:30am. Participants will choose classes in each of three sessions. Session one is the choice of “Soil: Starting from the Ground Up”, “Pollinators and Pollinator Gardens” or “Basic Tree Care”. Session two is either “Lawn Care 101”, “Busting Common Soil & Gardening Myths”, or “Natural Pruning of Trees”. Session three will offer “Houseplants (Hands-on Class)”, “Popular Plants & Their Native Alternatives” or “All About Small Fruits”. The workshop will conclude around noon. There is a fee for the workshop, which includes all course materials and refreshments. Registration is due by March 29th. Contact Gloria at 320-632-0161 to register.
--Congratulations to the Little Falls Flyer Wrestling Team winning the Section 7AA Championship Saturday and the Flyers will head to the State Tournament for the first time as a team since 2012. They will wrestle on February 29th with live coverage on Q92 WYRQ and fallsradio.com. Also Congratulations to the Holdingford Dance Team for the first time in School History they are State Champions in High Kick Saturday in Class A, they also finished 7th in Jazz on Friday. Brainerd won the Class AAA State Title in Dance on Saturday.
--A 15-year-old girl from Pope County was found in St. Cloud with a stranger. The incident happened back on January 26, but the Pope County Sheriff's Office just released the information Thursday. They say on the morning of January 26th they received a report of a missing 15-year-old girl. They learned she had possibly been picked up by a 22-year-old man from Ohio she had been corresponding with on social media. She was found in St. Cloud several hours later.
The man fled the area and went back to Ohio. Twenty-two-year-old Trevor Beisser from Zanesville has been charged in Pope County with multiple felony counts including kidnapping. He has been arrested and is awaiting extradition back to Minnesota.
--Minnesota State Trooper Nick Diederich was recognized as the 2023 Trooper of the Year earlier this month. The commendation read that Trooper Diederich, a 15-year veteran of the State Patrol, demonstrates exemplary work performance, initiative, leadership and interpersonal relations. Last year, he initiated 1,591 traffic stops, investigated 45 crashes and offered public assistance 134 times. Diederich grew up in Pine River and is a member of the State Patrol district that serves Brainerd and the surrounding area.
--A Level 3 sex offender is moving to a Sherburne County home. The Sheriff's Office says 39-year-old Matthew Fischer was convicted of sexually abusing a child in Hennepin County and has served his sentence. He is moving to a home in the vicinity of 275th Avenue Northwest, rural Zimmerman, in early March. A community notification meeting is February 27th at 6:00pm in Zimmerman.
WEATHER
TODAY= mostly cloudy and mild, high 38.
TONIGHT= partly cloudy skies, low near 22.
TUESDAY= sunny skies, high 41, low near 32.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and very mild, high 48, low near 28.
SPORTS
WRE= Staples-Motley defeated Royalton-Upsala and then Holdingford on Friday to advance to state as a team. Becker won their section which Foley competes in and Bertha Hewitt/Verndale Parkers Prairie won their section to advance to state wrestling. On Saturday Little Falls beat Pine City 65-6 and Pierz thumps North Branch 71-3 in section quarter-finals. Little Falls beat Rush City/Braham 57-15 to move to the finals while Grand Rapids defeated Pierz in the semi-finals 34-23. Then Beau Robinson, Hank LeClair, Alexander Schmitz and Ivan Petrich win the last 4 matches for Little Falls to tie 27-27 Grand Rapids. Because Little Falls won 7 of the 13 matches they win the 7AA Championship by a 1 point criteria.
BHK= Little Falls will open the playoffs at home Tuesday night against Princeton at 7pm from Exchange Arena on Q92 WYRQ.
DAYTONA= due to rain, Daytona 500 in racing moved to today.