NEWS
--On Thursday the Little Falls Fire Department responded to a fire at an adult foster home in Fort Ripley Township of Crow Wing County. The fire at 3201 Staghorn Drive was reported at 9:44am Thursday. By the time authorities arrived, the north side of the building was engulfed in flames. Everyone in the Adult Foster Home at the time of the fire escaped safely. 18-Little Falls firefighters along with mutual aid from the Camp Ripley and Brainerd Fire Departments battled the blaze for four hours. The building sustained extensive damage and might be ruled a total loss. The official cause is under investigation, however the preliminary investigation revealed it may have been caused by smoking on the deck. There were no injuries.
--At 7:42am on Thursday the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a business burglary at Kaiser Iron and Auto, located on Cable Road in Sobieski. According to the Sheriff’s Office, sometime between 5:00pm on Wednesday and 7:15am on Thursday, the suspect(s) made entry inside the building through the back window. According to the initial investigation, at least 2-3 catalytic converters were reported stolen. This case is still under investigation. If you have information regarding this burglary, you are asked to call the Morrison County Sheriff’s office at (320) 632-9233.
--Authorities have determined the cause of a fire at a downtown St. Cloud business and arrested a suspect. Following a week-long investigation, the St. Cloud Fire Department, St. Cloud Police Department, Minnesota State Fire Marshal's Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' National Response Team have concluded that the Press Bar and Parlor fire was set intentionally. The owner of the business, Andy Welsh of St. Joseph, was arrested Saturday and faces arson-related charges. State and federal authorities say the investigation is still active and no additional information is available.
--Local hospitals announced Friday that they are working with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prepare in case of a coronavirus outbreak. While they are currently assessing patients for risk, they also say the exposure risk is low at this time. Their staff is trained to manage infectious diseases and they are monitoring their supply inventory and are working closely with state and federal officials. Doctors are asking those if you're sick, stay home from work. If you think you need to be seen by a doctor, call your clinic first, don't just show up at the emergency room. The best protection for yourself and your loved ones for avoiding the flu and the virus is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, cover your cough, stay home if you're sick and if you have a fever or shortness of breath, call ahead.
--The name of the 28-year-old man found lying dead in the snow last Saturday in Crosby was identified as Ian Matuska. The Crosby Police Department released the name Thursday and reported the autopsy of the Crosby man is still pending, so the cause of death has not yet been determined. Matuska was found in an area north of the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street Northeast in Crosby. Crosby police reported the death does not appear to be suspicious in nature, but is still under investigation.
--Pierz Healy High School will host an open house/showcase night March 11th 4-7pm by using Healy Door 2. This is too show off the school's upgrades that were done and also a soup supper where you keep the homemade bowl for $10, proceeds go to food shelf.
--The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce has announce their March Employee of the Month is Lesley Pierce from Fresh Hair Professionals. Lesley has been a cosmetologist and manager
for the past 8 years. Congratulations Lesley Pierce, Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce March employee of the month.
--March is FoodShare Month in Minnesota, which means local food shelves are campaigning to collect as many food and cash donations as possible with the opportunity for matched donations from the organization Second Harvest. Last year, the Morrison County Food Shelf ranked number eight for most food shelf donations in the greater Minnesota region. Last year was her first campaign with the food shelf and Gulden said she was astounded at the generosity of the community. The FoodShare campaign runs from March 1 to April 12. In 2019, the Morrison County Food Shelf served 4,132 families, a total of 10,357 individuals, offering 314,882 pounds of food to feed community members and their loved ones. There were 155 new families last year to visit the food shelf. That number is expected to go up since the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 was amended by President Trump last year, tightening work requirements for those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
--Archbishop Bernard Hebda is urging priests and deacons in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis to follow a Minnesota Catholic Conference recommendation to "abstain from voting" in Minnesota's presidential primary on Super Tuesday. The archbishop is the latest to express concern about Minnesota's new primary law requiring voters to choose a specific party ballot and have that information recorded and shared with the parties. As a tax-exempt organization, the church generally avoids partisan political activities and usually focuses on specific issues rather than party politics.
DEATH NOTICES
--Angeline “Angee” Wilczek, age 87 of Little Falls.
--David W. “Horse” Kruchten, age 77 of Ft. Ripley
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy skies, snow showers develop late day, high 34.
TONIGHT= snow showers likely, less than 1 inch, low 23.
TUESDAY= partly cloudy, high 40, rain/snow mix at night, low 27.
WEDNESDAY= rain/snow mix early, then PM sun, high 38, low 28.
SPORTS
WRE= Gabe Nagel of Little Falls lost a tough championship match in overtime to finish 2nd at the State Wrestling Championships Saturday night, while Tanner Young when 3-2 at state and ended in 4th place. Jacob Leibold went 2-2 at State and finished in 6th place. Connor Thornston of Foley also finished 6th. Austin Litke, Will Gorecki, Matthew Kassella and Mason Novitski all competed at the State Tournament but did not get to the championship rounds.
GBB= Royalton eliminated Holdingford 67-55 Saturday and will face Albany who ousted Foley. Royalton vs. Albany Wednesday at 6pm. Pierz girls was eliminated Saturday by Sauk Centre 66-32.
BBB= Boys Basketball playoffs begin tonight for Royalton, Upsala, Swanville, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle and other teams.
BBB= Little Falls at Bemidji in boys playoffs Tuesday 8pm on Q92.
BBB= Crosby Ironton at Pierz Thursday 7pm on FM94 KFML.
BHK= State Boys Hockey Tournament begins on Wednesday.
TWINS= listen to Twins spring training baseball on Q92 WYRQ.