NEWS --On KLTF Party Line Friday, longtime manager of Coborn's Marketplace in Little Falls Greg Zylka talked about his 40+ years with the store, where he started back in 1977. Zylka is retiring effective April 2nd and a retirement party for Greg Zylka is Friday night at the Falls Ballroom in Little Falls. Open house style as Greg is covering the bill from 5pm-10:30pm. Music, food and fun thanks to Greg Zylka.
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office held an ALICE training at the Swanville Public School Friday. ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate. The need for ALICE training has increased from the number of school related tragedies in the past months. Their agency is willing to help out schools, businesses or organizations. Please call (320) 632-9233 and speak with Deputy Al Yoder or Deputy Bill Vanden Avond if you have questions.
--36 high school juniors were recognized for leadership and community service including three locally. Each of the statewide winners of the ExCEL award were honored during ceremonies at the girls basketball state tournament Saturday. ExCEL stands for excellence in community, education, and leadership. It is a unique recognition award that is given annually to high school juniors who are active in League sponsored activities, leaders in their schools and who demonstrate a strong commitment to community service. Congratulations to Brandon Young of Upsala, Nathan Popp of Royalton and Scout Strickland of Staples-Motley who were amongst those honored on Saturday.
--The 8th Annual Day of Caring will be May 2nd in Little Falls, Randall and the villages of Sobieski and Flensburg. Little Falls Community Schools and Live Better Live Longer announced that registration forms are being placed around town that can be filled out and returned for homes to have outdoor work, raking and cleanup done that morning from 8am-12pm. Forms are available at Little Falls Radio to be picked up and returned to the LBLL with address on the registration form. For information on the Day of Caring you can call Tim Bjorge at the Little Falls Community High School at 616-2200 or Mary Kenna at Live Better Live Longer at 631-5677.
--A tattoo artist accused of criminal sexual conduct with a woman while she received a tattoo now faces three felonies after he allegedly threatened someone expected to testify against him. 36-year old David Stephen Charpentier of Pequot Lakes, was booked in the Crow Wing County Jail March 8th. He appeared March 9th in Crow Wing County District Court, charged with two counts of aggravated first degree tampering with a witness and an additional count of first degree tampering with a witness—all felonies. According to a criminal complaint filed against Charpentier, he wrote threatening notes directed toward a former tattoo client. That client was part of the investigation into Charpentier's alleged criminal sexual conduct in November 2016, after Charpentier apparently sent her and others sexually suggestive messages through Facebook using a pseudonym. The witness told police she was fearful for her life after receiving the notes from Charpentier of a violent and sexual manner. A subsequent search of Charpentier's tattoo shop revealed paper of similar shape and style to that found on the outside of the witness' door, according to the complaint. The two felonies for aggravated first-degree witness tampering carry a possible penalty of not more than 20 years in prison, a $30,000 fine or both. The third felony could result in five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
--Benton County Sheriff’s Office K9 Ragnar will receive a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. Delivery is expected within eight to ten weeks. The donation to provide one protective vest for a law enforcement K9 is $950.00. Each vest has a five year warranty, and an average weight of 4-5 pounds. In a press release Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said, All of us at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office are very grateful for the generosity and support of Vested Interest in K9s and all the other organizations, businesses, and community members who have made our K-9 program possible. It is difficult to overstate the importance of a police K-9 in modern law enforcement as these dogs do so many things to assist in the mission of keeping Benton County safe. We look forward to receiving the protective vest to help ensure that Ragnar is able to safely carryout his duties for many years to come.
--Records reveal that investigators executed a search warrant seeking information from two vehicles owned by a man who claimed to be the last man to see missing TV anchor Jodi Huisentruit before she disappeared. The report by FindJodi.com says a gap in two orders to seal the court files allowed a reader who follows Jodi's case to access those records from the Iowa Courts public file database and see that a warrant was granted. Documents indicate the search warrant was executed on March 20th, 2017 to get GPS data on the comings and goings of a 1999 Honda Civic and a 2013 GMC 1500 pickup truck. FindJodi.com says what was 'not' available was what probable cause investigators presented to the judge to get the search warrant issued. The person associated with the vehicles is a man who moved from Mason City to Arizona more than 20 years ago. He publicly claimed to be the last person to see Jodi alive before she was kidnapped from her apartment parking lot June 27th, 1995. He told investigators he and some friends spent the weekend before water skiing with the Long Prairie native.
--Little Falls Radio will be broadcasting live today from 9-2 from the Health Fair at the Little Falls Community High School. CHI St. Gabriel's and Community Services are sponsoring the event from 8am-2:30pm. Listen to Little Falls Radio today for more details.
DEATH NOTICES --Kenneth L. Larson, age 81 of Little Falls. --Muriel A. Kliber, age 97 of Pierz formerly of Little Falls.
WEATHER TODAY= cloudy skies, turning breezy, high 36. TONIGHT= snow after midnight, low around 28. TUESDAY= snow likely, 1-2 inches in morning, cloudy, high 38. WEDNESDAY= partly sunny, high 41, low around 25.
SPORTS GBB= Sauk Centre wins first AA Girls State Basketball title Saturday. BBB= The State Boys Basketball Tournament begins later this week. COL BB= Gopher Women beat Green Bay Friday then lost 101-73 Sunday night to Oregon and are out of the NCAA Tournament. COL BB= first time ever a 16 seed beat a #1 seed in the men's tournament as Maryland-Baltimore County beat Virginia 74-54. Sunday was one of the biggest days for upsets in the NCAA Tournament as 5 of the 8 higher seeds were knocked off in upsets.