NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reports that at approximately 9:56am Friday, their office received a report of an ATV accident on 213th Street, west of 195th Avenue, approximately five miles north of Little Falls, MN in Ripley Township. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 84-year-old David Kowalsky of Garrison was driving an ATV westbound on 213th Street. Kowalsky lost control of the ATV on the roadway and rolled causing serious injuries. Kowalsky was airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment.
--A St. Cloud man is charged with a hit-and-run crash that critically injured a pedestrian. It happened at around 3pm Thursday in the 800 block of 9th Avenue South in St. Cloud. According to the criminal complaint, officers were dispatched to the scene where they found a man lying on the sidewalk, not moving and unresponsive. The officer noted a large pool of blood next to the man's head. The victim was taken by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital in critical condition. A passenger-side mirror from a RAM pickup was found at the scene. Surveillance video showed a black pickup matching the description driving in that area around the time of the incident. The investigation eventually led authorities to an area near Promise Park at the intersection of 10th Street Southeast and 10th Avenue Southeast. Officers found a black pickup with a missing mirror matching the vehicle description. Later in the day Thursday, officers saw two men approach the truck and made contact with them. Court records allege one of the men, 63-year-old John Delante Smith, admitted to driving the pickup the night before and thought he may have hit something near Lake George but didn't stop to check. When police went to arrest Smith, he allegedly tried to flee but was quickly apprehended. Police say a search of Smith's pockets turned up just under a gram of cocaine. Smith is charged with one count of criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm. He is due back in court on August 2nd. According to the criminal complaint, hospital staff said the victim's skull was shattered and his injuries are life-threatening.
--An early morning car fire was put out before it reached an apartment complex. The St. Cloud Fire Department was sent to the 1100 block of 9th avenue north shortly before 4pm Friday morning. Officials say two cars were on fire, and the blaze was moving toward an apartment complex. No one was injured and the apartment residents were allowed back into their homes after the fire was put out. The damage was estimated at about $30,000 and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
--Thirteen-year-old Benjamin Rennie of Andover died Thursday while tubing on Lake Six in Otter Tail County at a Christian youth camp. Around 4:15pm, two people enrolled at North Central Camp Cherith, including Rennie, were on an inner tube being pulled by a boat driven by a counselor. They fell off into the water and the boat turned around to pick them up. That is when the boat struck Rennie, hurting him badly. Life-saving measures were attempted at the scene by camp staff and first responders but were unsuccessful. The incident is believed to have been an accident. The sheriff’s office says in a release that the investigation is ongoing but no criminal charges are anticipated. The boater was a 27-year-old female camp employee.
--The Pierz City Council meets tonight at 7pm at Pierz City Hall.
--Strong thunderstorms moved through Friday dropping some large hail around Sauk Centre with reports of 4-5 inches of rainfall in a short time in Todd and Stearns County. Heavy rains, some hail and wind in Morrison County led to some trees down and power outages Friday night. Rain totals varied from around 1 inch in Little Falls 1 and quarter in Randall in Pierz over 2.5 inches near Little Rock. The storms caused some events at the Morrison County Fair to be canceled. The Bean Bag Tournament Friday night with the United Way was canceled and hopefully will be made up at a later date. The rodeo on Saturday had to be postponed for the safety of animals and those involved and that will be made up a later date for those who bought prepurchased tickets they can be used at the event when it is rescheduled. More storms moved through the area on Saturday night dropping heavy rains and severe weather in parts of northwestern Minnesota where tornadoes touched down in Polk and Mahnomen Counties with large hail in Wadena, Hubbard and Otter Tail County. More heavy rain early Sunday dropped another 1.6 inches at the airport with ½ inch to 2 inch amounts in areas. Another round of some heavy downpours also in scattered areas on Sunday afternoon. Early rain today then dry into Tuesday night and then more showers and storms develop for the rest of the week.
--The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office is investigating a death in Fort Ripley. A call came in around 5:40am Sunday reporting a possible body located near Highway 371 south of Brainerd. Authorities say the body of a woman was found near the intersection of Legend Lane and Killian Road in Fort Ripley. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting the sheriff's office with the investigation. No additional information has been released.
--The Little Falls School Board meets today at 5pm at the Little Falls Community Middle School media center. Agenda items include discussion the cell phones regulations to be adopted at the Middle School. End of the school year and beginning of the next school year items and also working on letting Upsala co-op with the Little Falls Girls Soccer Team and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle co-op with the Little Falls Boys Soccer Team for the upcoming season.
DEATH NOTICES
--Gail S. Rude, age 88 of Pierz
WEATHER
TODAY= partly sunny, slight chance of PM shower, high 76.
TONIGHT= clear skies, cooler temps, low near 50.
TUESDAY= sunny skies, high 81, showers overnight, low 60.
WEDNESDAY= showers and storms, gusty winds, high near 75.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins beat Detroit 4-1 on Friday to get back over 500 for the season. Detroit held on to beat the Twins Saturday 3-2. Royce Lewis homers early, then scored the tying run in the 8th to take it to extra innings and then helped in a 3 run 10th for the Twins to take the series over Detroit 6-3 in 10 innings Sunday. The Twins travel to Atlanta tonight for a series, pregame at 5:30pm on Q92 WYRQ.
NBA= Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid has agreed to a new three-year, $42 million deal with a player option on Sunday. Reid originally went undrafted out of LSU in 2019, and then was quickly snapped up by the Timberwolves that offseason. Reid got injured before the playoffs last season and was a big loss for the team.