NEWS
--Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A Federal holiday started in 1986 to remember the Civil Rights leader. All Federal, State, County and City Offices are likely closed today for the holiday, U.S. Post Offices will have no regular mail delivery today, banks and financial institutions are closed today and some businesses have be closed or have special hours today in honor of the holiday. Many schools are also closed today again some may be open so best to call ahead. Civil Rights and other leaders are asking the day be used as a Day of Service to give back to communities and the less fortunate across the entire nation to remember the message of Dr. King and his Dream.
--Heavy snow and strong winds Friday made for a number of accidents on Minnesota roadways. From 8am-8pm Friday alone the state patrol reported 250 accidents, and over one hundred spin outs and a number of semi trucks jackknifed due to the snowy and windy conditions. As of early Saturday there were no reports of any fatalities from the storm and only a few of the accidents resulted in injuries. Saturday saw wind gusts from over 55mph in areas causing vehicles to go off of roadways and another day of numerous accidents across the state of Minnesota. The State Patrol is reminding motorists with the cold temps today to continue to slow down and drive for the conditions.
--Representative Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, announced that he will introduce a bill requesting bonding funds for the Lake Shamineau Lake Improvement District to make the necessary improvements to prevent or alleviate flooding, as outlined in the Lake Shamineau High Water Mitigation Project. The bill, which will be pre-filed on January 31, 2020, will request up to $2,275,000 to be included in this year’s Capital Investment bill. “This is an incredibly important issue to our community, especially in light of the extreme flooding we saw this fall,” said Kresha. “The area around Lake Shamineau saw homeowners displaced, property damaged and businesses impacted because of the historically high water levels. This bill will allow the Lake Shamineau Lake Improvement District to make the changes necessary to ensure that our area will be protected from the extremely high water the community experienced in October.” Kresha called for a disaster declaration in October in response to the historically high water levels at Lake Shamineau, where the Department of Natural Resources measured water levels 3 feet higher than the ordinary high water mark.
--At the recent Little Falls School Board meeting the school voted to allow the city of Little Falls and administrator Jon Radermacher to use the 14 acre lot across the Little Falls Community High School for building a community recreational facility. Radermacher stated that the building would use about 10 acres of the land to build the facility and the wetland and wooded area near the school would not be touched as it is used for science and school projects. A timeline on the project will be discussed at a later school board meeting.
--A Waite Park man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of criminal sexual contact with a 13-year old. 30-year old Damon Recore is facing two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to a criminal complaint from Stearns County. The victim had told a friend about the assault, and that friend's mother contacted the woman, who then called police. The victim said that the sexual assault occurred on two occasions right after Christmas. Recore's next appearance in court is set for Tuesday.
--On the morning of Saturday the Little Falls Police Department received a complaint of a theft that took place in the parking lot of Coborn’s Marketplace. The complainant was approached by two male subjects with one of them taking the complainant’s purse from the complaints cart. These two subjects then fled the scene in a vehicle that was being driven by a third subject. The Little Falls Police Department is currently conducting an investigation into the incident. No license plate was observed on the suspect vehicle, a gray Ford Fusion with extensive rear end damage and no rear license plate. Please contact the Little Falls Police Department at 320-616-5570 with information or if you have seen the vehicle matching the description given by the victim.
--A teenager was taken to the hospital after a rollover in Avon Sunday morning. The incident happened just before 8am along I-94 at County Road 9 in Avon. The Minnesota State Patrol says a 16-year-old was heading west on I-94 when he went off the road and rolled. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with unknown injuries. The state patrol has not released the name of the teen, however it's believe he was not wearing a seat belt.
--The 30th Annual Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza has been issued its event permit. On January 16th the Brainerd Jaycees and Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Department checked ice conditions on Gull Lake’s Hole in the Day Bay and found 16-18 inches of ice throughout the two-square mile contest site. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Ice Fishing Contest scheduled for January 25th. The proceeds of the Ice Fishing Extravaganza are donated to more than 50 area charities with Confidence Learning Center as the primary beneficiary. The Brainerd Jaycees have donated more than $4 million since the event was founded.
--The March of Life will take on place on Wednesday in St. Paul with a service at the St. Paul Cathedral at 10:30am and a program at the capitol at noon. There are buses going from the St. Cloud Diocese, details on their website and also the KC's are sending one from Little Falls, Pierz and Buckman. To sign up call Dale at 360-7100 or contact Floyd at 632-2880 as soon as possible as seats are filling up quick. The annual Pro Life Dinner is Sunday and if you wish to attend contact Sue today at 630-7045 so they can get a head-count.
--Due to today being a holiday, the Little Falls City Council will meet tomorrow night at 7:30pm at Little Falls City Hall.
--The Morrison County Commissioners meet Tuesday at 9am at the Morrison County Government Center Boardroom.
DEATH NOTICES
--LuLu Heath, age 75 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= light snow early, becoming sunny in PM, high 14.
TONIGHT= clear skies, cold, low-6 wind chills near -20.
TUESDAY= sunny skies, high 19, clouds increase temps rising late.
WEDNESDAY= cloudy and windy, high 34, snow late, low near 25.
SPORTS
HS GHK= Warroad at Brainerd/Little Falls at 4pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HS BBB= Pequot Lakes at Pierz tonight 7:15pm on FM94 KFML.
NFL= Kansas City wins AFC title 35-24 over Tennessee and San Francisco beats Green Bay 37-20 to win NFC Title. Meaning it's the KC Chiefs and San Fran 49ers in the Super Bowl on February 2nd.