NEWS
--The Pierz City Council gave the go-ahead to Police Chief Eric Hanneken to post for a full-time police officer position, Monday. This after accepting the resignation of full-time officer, Calvin Tschida, effective March 25. Tschida’s letter of resignation said he accepted a position of a patrol officer for the city of Little Falls Police Department. Hanneken said losing Tschida “is going to be a tremendous loss to city of Pierz. First posting the position and then interviewing candidates will be a process that will take some time.
--A two vehicle accident happened at 1:43pm Friday on Highway 371 south of Baxter in Crow Wing County. 20-year-old Austin Bird of Motley was on Highway 371 in the are of Lake Forest Drive when a vehicle driven by 70-year-old Arlen Olivier of Backus turned left in front of the Bird vehicle and they collided. Both drivers sustained non-life threatening injuries and taken to the Brainerd hospital.
--Authorities responded to a garage fire in St. Stephen Tuesday. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says the owner was working on a snowmobile when a spark ignited some fuel that had been leaking in the engine. The owner tried to put out the fire but soon the machine was fully engulfed and he fled the scene. The fire quickly spread throughout the garage as there were other snowmobiles, gasoline, kerosene and welding tanks inside adding fuel to the fire. Members of the Stephen, Sartell and St. Joseph fire departments arrived to put out the blaze. The owner suffered minor burns to his hand. Authorities say the garage is a total loss.
--Five St. Cloud residents have been displaced by an early morning kitchen fire. The St. Cloud Fire Department says units responded to a fire at a home in the 1400 block of 9th Avenue North just before 2:30am Saturday morning. The fire department says the flames were quickly put out and no one was hurt. The five family members are being assisted by the Red Cross. The damage is estimated at $50,000, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
--The man accused of shooting another man in the neck in LeSauk Township last May has been sentenced after reaching a plea agreement in the case. Thirty-four-year-old Trenell Rogers has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to having a gun after being convicted of a prior violent crime. He gets credit for already having served 283 days in the county jail. The shooting happened in the 32000 block of Oaks Lane on May 25th. Police arrived to find 57-year-old Alex Mallet lying in a pool of blood in the driveway. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. Officers interviewed Rogers at the scene who they say gave conflicting statements, including a false statement that a random individual had shot Mallet and fled the scene.
--The Little Falls Community School District the 43rd annual Massed Band Concert is tonight at 7pm in the High School Gymnasium. Admission is $3.00 for adults and $1.00 for students. In support of the Morrison County Food Shelf, we are able to offer $1.00 off admission for each food drive item brought in. Come out and support the Little Falls Band Program.
--The deadline for fish house removal was at midnight today, those left on the lakes face fines and confiscation of the items.
--The Morrison County Commissioners meet Tuesday at 9am at the government center boardroom. Items include employee recognition, Mississippi Headwaters, Health and Human Services, Land Services, Auditor's report and public works are on the agenda on Tuesday.
--The Little Falls City Council meets tonight 7:30pm at City Hall.
--Congratulations to the State Tournament Wrestlers including Alex Diederich of Royalton-Upsala a State Champion at 126 pounds. Jeremy Mugg a winner in double-overtime to win the Class A Heavyweight State Championship for Royalton-Upsala. Jacob Leibold fell just short for a championship and finished runner-up at 152 pounds in Class A. Gabe Gorecki also was State Runner-Up finishing 2nd at 170 pounds in Class A. Tucker Simmons of Royalton-Upsala 5th place at 106, Wyatt Novitsky of Holdingford finished 3rd place in 106 in Class A. Myson Patrick of Holdingford finished 4th at 120 in Class A. Trevor Radunz finished with a 3rd place win at 145 pounds in Class AA. Bryce Holm finished 4th at 220 at Class A for Royalton-Upsala. Another State Champion was Elijah Novak of Foley going undefeated for the entire season. Other wrestlers competed but did not place.
--Recently on AM960 KLTF Little Falls City Administrator Jon Radermacher spoke about Our Town 56345. The group The OurTown 56345 was created in Little Falls back in 2019 and engaged hundreds of residents, representing all ages and backgrounds, in sharing their ideas for the future of the city of Little Falls and surrounding area of the zip code. The priorities that came out of this process of public engagement is to embody the collective vision of our community. The major priorities include Health and Wellness to the community, reinforce the local economy, build on creative assets, honor the natural resources, support the next generation, be welcoming and inclusive and most important is to help find ways to keep the 56345 Zip Code striving forward for a better future. Right now they have a website and facebook in the works that show many of the local values, items and how to get involved with the group. You can find out more about their upcoming meetings and efforts by reaching out to any of the their members or Jon at 320-616-5500.
--The wintry weather missed Morrison County this weekend but caused major problems in the southern half of the state with icy roads, snow and wind. South of the Twin Cities there were heavy rains and thunderstorms, severe storms on the southern border and tornadoes that touched down in parts of Iowa. The State Patrol reported over a hundred accidents Saturday due to the weather.
DEATH NOTICES
--Wayne Leo Thompson, age 92 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= partly cloudy skies, high near 27.
TONIGHT= partly cloudy skies, low around 8 above.
TUESDAY= cloudy skies, mist and fog possible, high 32, low 5.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and colder, high 15, low around -6.
SPORTS
GBB= Pierz vs. Crosby-Ironton from Hermantown will be tonight after the game was postponed on Saturday. The game is the second of two games scheduled around 7pm on 94ROCKS KFML. Back on Saturday, Oglivie eliminated Swanville and Sauk Centre eliminated Royalton from the playoffs. Holdingford advanced on to Wednesday.
BBB= Boys Basketball playoffs begin for some teams tonight including Swanville at home in a play-in game with Laporte. Little Falls is at Alexandria Tuesday night at 8:01pm on Q92 WYRQ. The rest of the teams start on Thursday including Pierz at Eveleth-Gilbert at 6pm on 94ROCKS, Upsala, Royalton, Holdingford, Pillager, Staples-Motley and Foley all start their playoffs on Thursday.
COL BB= Gophers have Penn State Wednesday in Big 10 Tourney.