NEWS
--The Pierz City Council has named Bob Otremba as its city administrator. The Council announced its decision after they interviewed four of 15 applicants. Otremba has worked with the City of Pierz for 19 years in different capacities, most recently as director of public works/parks and recreation.
--A 50-year-old drowned Friday on Lake Knaus in Cold Spring. Barry Schramel was retrieving an inflatable swimming toy when he was struck twice by a wake from oncoming boats on two occasions. The second time he did not resurface from the water. Schramel was under water for over 20 minutes before authorities could find him in about six feet of water. He was revived but later died at St. Cloud Hospital.
--An argument between a father and daughter allegedly led to a deadly fire that killed the 22-year old Paynesville woman. The Paynesville Police Department responded to a call from Jamey Newport shortly before 7:00pm on Tuesday saying her father, 46-year old John Newport, was pouring gasoline inside their trailer home and was threatening to light it on fire. According to the criminal complaint, following an argument with his daughter, John Newport posted on Facebook that he wanted to burn down the trailer. He allegedly dumped gasoline inside the home and set it on fire. Authorities say Jamey Newport was trapped inside and screaming. John Newport made multiple attempts to enter the home but was unable to get inside. Officers who arrived at the scene were also unsuccessful in getting Jamey out. After the flames were put out, Jamey was taken to Paynesville Hospital where she later died. John Newport has been charged with second degree unintentional murder. He made his first appearance in court Thursday and his next court hearing will be held on Monday, August 5th.
--Around 8:20pm on Thursday the Morrison County Sheriff's Office received a report of a missing juvenile near Hidden Acres Drive and 160th Avenue in Little Falls Township. A search of the area was conducted by law enforcement, utilizing a Drone and Minnesota State Patrol Helicopter. The juvenile was later found and is safe.
--A Stearns County jury has found a St. Joseph man guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl multiple times over the last three years. The jury convicted 36-year old Joseph Langner on two counts of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 16-years old and a significant relationship. St. Joseph police met with a 14-year old girl who had been living at a home with Langner. The girl told officers she moved into the home when she was 11-years old and that's when the sexual assaults began. According to the criminal complaint, Langner forced intercourse and other sex acts on the girl multiple times from early March 2015 until mid August of last year. Langner will be sentenced October 3rd.
--Five vehicles were involved in an accident Friday afternoon on Highway 15 near St. Cloud. Around 4pm, 46-year-old Caroline Mccabe was northbound on 15 when she rear-ended a vehicle stopped by Rachelle Fratzke age 56, who then rear-ended a third vehicle driven by 18-year-old Lillie Rau which caused her vehicle to strike one drive by 72-year-old Thomas Thorne who then hit a fifth vehicle driven by 24-year-old Alina Miller. According to the State Patrol website only the first driver Mccabe was injured but was not hospitalized according to the report.
--Stearns and Crow Wing County Fairs begin on Tuesday while the Benton County Fair begins Wednesday in Sauk Rapids.
--St. Cloud got the brunt of Friday afternoon storms this time. Storms dropped hail and heavy rains from Camp Ripley, Swanville, Flensburg and then moved south of Little Falls toward Royalton, Sartell and to St. Cloud. When it reached St. Cloud winds picked up and large hail the size of baseballs struck vehicles and homes. The storms continued through Sherburne, Mille Lacs, Isanti and other counties through the evening hours. More storms moved in on Sunday.
--The Morrison County Veterans Service Office based in the Morrison County Government Center in Little Falls received high marks recently from the Minnesota Association of County Veterans Service Officers who has been tracking the efficiency and effectiveness of county offices since 2012. Out of 87 Minnesota counties, Morrison County has consistently ranked at the very top of these reports. For 2018, we ranked No. 2 in “Compensation and Pension Award Amounts per Veteran,” No. 4 in “Dollars Spent per Veteran at VA Medical Center,” and No. 4 in “Overall VA Expenditure Amounts per Veteran.” In the state of Minnesota, approximately 7 percent of the population are veterans. Of those 360,000 veterans, 36 percent are Vietnam veterans, 21 percent are Gulf War veterans, and 19 percent are Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. In Minnesota and across the U.S., 10 percent are female veterans. Contact VSO at 632-0290.
--Cow manure is believed to be the cause of a building fire that happened near St. Stephen on Friday afternoon. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says they responded to a fire at 10781 385th Street in Brockway Township shortly after 1pm. The owner of the building, 62-year-old Victor Legatt, says he was stacking manure in the building when it started to smolder. He says he believes bales of hay from last year that were also inside may have helped start the fire. No animals or equipment were stored in the building and nobody was hurt. The fire caused a moderate amount of damage to the building and destroyed numerous bales of hay.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS
--Jonathan and Lacey Smieja of Little Falls, a girl born on July 25th
--Ben and Danielle Schultz of Swanville, a girl born July 26th.
DEATH NOTICES
--Joseph L. Lindberg, age 72 of Cross Lake
--Harvey H. Flaming, age 90 of Little Falls.
--Marvin W. Krumrei, age 80 of rural Little Falls.
--Betty Dudycha, age 86 of Cushing.
WEATHER
TODAY= partly sunny and dry, breezy, high 73.
TONIGHT= clear and unseasonably cool, low 48.
TUESDAY= sunny skies, high 76, clear night, low around 50.
WEDNESDAY= sunny skies, high 78, clear night, low around 55.
SPORTS
TWINS= Max Kepler hit homerun 200 for the Twins as a team this season Friday leading to a 6-2 win over the White Sox. White Sox beat the Twins 5-1 on Saturday. Twins get four more homeruns Sunday in an 11-1 rout of the White Sox to win 3 of 4 in the series. The Twins are off today, at Miami against Marlins Tuesday.
REGION 8C= Nisswa, Ft. Ripley, St. Stephen and Avon win on Saturday. Due to the rains yesterday all four games were postponed to Saturday and will start at 11am Saturday in Pierz on KLTF.