NEWS
--Storms Thursday night continued to wreck havoc in the area with many downed trees and power lines. Minnesota Power at one point reported nearly 11,000 customers without power from Long Prairie to Little Falls and then northeast all the way into the Duluth area from the storms and worked all day and night Friday and through the day Saturday with some without power into Saturday afternoon. At 4:30pm Saturday Minnesota Power stated that they have no new outage reports to address, they did continue late Saturday and through Sunday working on maintenance on items that may have caused some intermittent power outages on Sunday. Little Falls Community Schools Superintendent Stephen Jones reported a large tree struck the middle school, large trees down around the High School loop and near Lindbergh Elementary Friday morning but all were bundled and cleared out of the way so students could be picked up and buses could arrive in the afternoon. Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen stated there were reports of downed trees in Randall, Cushing, Scandia Valley, Swanville, Sobieski and Little Falls that were called into the sheriff's office. Power lines down near Royalton with sparking wires, Basswood Road near Cushing, power pole down in Elmdale and a transformer of power was on fire and had to be put near Pierz. Multiple fire departments, power company crews, law enforcement, public works departments and others have been working around the clock to address the damage done by the storm. On Thursday alone the Little Falls airport reported 3.5 inches of rain from morning and evening storms, another 1.7 inches on Wednesday and over 6 inches of rain from Sunday to Thursday night.
--Crow Wing County Sheriff's officials stated that around a half-dozen funnel clouds were reported to dispatch Thursday and there was a national weather service report of a tornado the ground for a short period of time between Pillager to Nisswa which led to down trees and power lines in their county. No other reports of tornado touchdowns from the storms through central Minnesota on Thursday.
--An emergency manager in Kandiyohi County is reporting one person was killed in south central Minnesota during Thursday's line of severe storms. A person was killed when a grain bin fell on an occupied car in Blomkest, Minnesota, about 20 miles south of Willmar.
--On Saturday Dr. Scott Jensen won the Republican endorsement for Governor. Jensen received over 65% of the vote on the 9th ballot for the endorsement. The other candidates had pledged to honor that they would forgo their right to run in the primary August 9th. This would include current District 9 Senator Paul Gazelka of Nisswa. Jensen's running mate is former Minnesota Viking center Matt Birk.
–In accordance with a proclamation issued by President Joe Biden, Governor Tim Walz has directed all flags at state and federal buildings in Minnesota to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on today, May 16th, 2022 to remember, mourn, and honor the one million American lives lost to COVID-19. Every person lost was somebody’s somebody according to Governor Walz. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations are also encouraged to join in lowering their flags to honor Minnesotans who have lost their lives to COVID-19 and also remember their families living with the loss.
--The 2022 Little Falls and Pierz Garage Sale Days are later this week starting May 18th and going to May 21st. The two cities are working together with a number of others during the days to get those out to the garage sales around the area. Also the annual Pierz Clean Up Day will be held on May 21, 2022, questions call Pierz City Hall for info.
--A Sauk Centre woman was killed in a crash in Morrison County on Friday. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened just before 11am on Highway 27. Twenty-five-year-old Stephanie Hagfors was driving east at Dove Road when her vehicle crossed the center line and made contact with a semi. Her vehicle then left the road and rolled multiple times. Hagfors died in the crash. The semi driver, 58-year-old Jake Prickett of Mitchell, South Dakota was not hurt.
--At 6:05am Thursday the Little Falls Fire Department was dispatched to Morrison County Public Works at 1208 West River Road on a possible fire. Public Works Staff arrived to work and found smoke inside a storage building. When the fire department arrived, they found smoke inside the building but no active fire. Firefighters opened overhead doors and ventilated the building. The fire appeared to have started in a street sweeper and consumed most of that vehicle. There was heat and smoke damage to other vehicles in the building. The fire is believed to have started earlier in the night and burned itself out. Later in the day the Little Falls Fire Department assisted law enforcement and public works with assessing storm damage throughout the city. There were numerous trees and power lines down in the city and around the county. Fortunately, there were no serious emergencies in Little Falls as a result of the weather.
--There is free nitrate testing today through Friday 9am-4pm at the Morrison County Government Center from Morrison Soil and Water to test your water for nitrates. Bring your plastic sandwich bag filled with one cup of your well water for testing. Please run your water for about 5 minutes before placing in the bag. For more info 631-3551.
--Charles “Chuck” Parins announced he will be running for House Representative for the newly-drawn District 10A, which encompasses portions of the redistricted counties of Aitkin, Crow Wing, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Morrison, as well as the Mille Lacs Reservation. Parins will run as a candidate in the August 9th GOP primary. Parins is a resident of Morrison County, having lived in Little Falls Township with his wife, Peggy, for 31 years. Parins worked at Camp Ripley as a National Guard technician for 20 years, coupled with a 30-year career with the U.S. Army and the National Guard.
--Little Falls City Council meets tonight at 7:30pm at City Hall.
--Little Falls School Board meets a 5pm today at the Middle School.
DEATH NOTICES
--Rebecca “Becky” L. McClain, age 62 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= mostly sunny, cooler temps, high 65.
TONIGHT= mostly clear skies, cool, low around 40.
TUESDAY= sunny in morning, rain in afternoon, high 64, low 47.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and warmer, high 72, evening shower, low 50.
SPORTS
TWINS= Royce Lewis hit a grand slam as part of a 4 homer night for the Twins as they beat Cleveland in a slugfest 12-8. Cleveland beat the Twins Saturday 3-2 in 10 innings. Twins win 3-1 on Sunday to take the series over the Guardians. The Twins (20-15) are in Oakland tonight pregame starts at 8pm on Q92 WYRQ.
TOWNS= Minnesota Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns underwent stem cell treatment and platelet-rich plasma injections in both knees, his left ankle, left wrist and right finger. Towns played through his injuries during the recent playoffs. He hopes to be ready to go by training camp later this fall.