NEWS
--A Rice woman was hurt when the Jeep she was driving rear-ended a grain truck. The incident happened just before 1:00pm Friday on Highway 10 near 85th Street in Rice. The Minnesota State Patrol says 43-year old Melissa Petranek was heading south on Highway 10 when she rear ended a grain truck. She was taken to St. Cloud hospital with non life threatening injuries. The driver of the truck, 74-year old Bernard Geise of Bowlus, was not hurt.
--The Morrison County Commissioners will meet Tuesday at 9am at the Great River Arts Center in Little Falls due to City Hall being used for voting in the 2nd Ward of the City on Election Day. The will make a proclamation for National Adoption Month with Social Services and hear from other county offices at the board meeting on Tuesday.
--H5N2 low pathogenic avian influenza, a milder strain of bird flu that does not pose a public health risk or food safety concern, has been found in a Stearns County turkey flock. According to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, the flu was found during a routine test. The flock of 13-week-old hens has been quarantined and will be tested and monitored until the flock tests negative for the virus and the birds can be marketed. The bird flu affecting the flock in Stearns County is not the same strain that impacted Minnesota and other states in 2015, so it is not a public health risk or food safety concern. The board says it will increase surveillance at poultry farms near the Stearns County site, as well as any other sites linked with common equipment or personnel connections.
--Authorities responded to a three vehicle crash west of Albertville Friday morning. Around 10am in Monticello Township on Interstate 94, 40-year-old Nathan Valek, of Monticello, was heading west on I-94 when he rear ended another vehicle, causing it to rollover in the median. Valek's vehicle then swerved to the right and struck a third vehicle. The driver of the second vehicle, 34-year-old Jacob Merrill of Annandale, was taken to North Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the third vehicle, 71-year-old William Ciora of Medina, and Valek were not hurt.
--Minnesota Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Joe Martin today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin mailing ballots to eligible agricultural producers for the 2018 FSA county committee elections today. Producers must return ballots to their local FSA offices by December 3rd to ensure their vote is counted. Farmers and ranchers will begin receiving their ballots this week. Ballots include the names of candidates running for the local committee election. Voters who did not receive a ballot can pick one up at their local FSA office. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Dec. 3, 2018. Newly elected committee members will take office January 1st.
--A Level 3 Predatory Offender is moving to St. Cloud. 30-year-old Thomas Snook will be moving into the 5400 block of 40th Street South in St. Cloud on Friday. Snook was in prison for engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl. He has served his time and is no longer wanted by authorities. The St. Cloud Police Department will be holding a community notification meeting at 5:00pm Thursday at the St. Cloud police training room at 101 11th Avenue North.
--Lakes Jam in Brainerd announced that 3 Doors Down, Sawyer Brown, Little Texas, Justin Moore and Lauren Alaina will perform at next year's show that runs June 27-29th in Brainerd.
--Voters will head to the polls to cast their ballot in the General Election tomorrow. Residents who received mail-in ballots included those who live in the cities of: Bowlus, Buckman, Elmdale, Flensburg, Genola, Harding, Hillman, Lastrup, Sobieski and Swanville. Township residents who received mail-in ballots include those in the townships of Buckman, Culdrum, Hillman, Leigh, Motley, Mount Morris, Parker, Platte, Richardson, Rosing and Sobieski. For those who still need to cast a ballot, polling places are open from 7am to 8pm on Tuesday at township town halls in Agram, Belle Prairie, Bellevue, Buh, Cushing, Darling, Elmdale, Granite, Green Prairie, Lakin, Little Falls, Morrill, Pierz, Pike Creek, Pulaski, Ripley, Scandia Valley, Swan River, Swanville and Two Rivers. City Halls in Motley, Pierz, Randall, Royalton and Upsala will have voting. In Little Falls Ward 1 (southeast section of town) vote at the Initiative Foundation, Ward 2 (northeast section of town) votes at City Hall and Ward 3 the entire west side of Little Falls votes at Bethel Lutheran Church.
--Today begins Winter Hazard Awareness Week. November 5th through the 9th is Winter Hazard Awareness Week in Minnesota. Each year the National Weather Service and the Minnesota Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management promote winter safety and individual preparedness for all citizens wherever they are: in their homes, on the road, at work, and at play. Unfortunately, many people each year suffer needlessly because they are unaware of the potential dangers of the winter season. The week was selected after the Armistice Blizzard that fell on November 11th, 1940 without warning dropping 15-30 inches of snow, wind gusts that left drifts of 20 feet or higher and killed nearly 50 people in Minnesota and over 150 in the entire midwest region. Each day has a selected topic, today is Winter Storms, Tuesday outdoor safety, Wednesday fire safety, Thursday indoor safety and Friday is winter driving.
--Pierz Community Education is providing an 8 hour Driver Safety Class November 13th and 14th both nights will be 5:30pm-9:30pm at the high school. This class is for anyone 55 and older and insurance will offer a 10% discount on their auto insurance. For more information contact Sarah Funk at 468-6458 extension 7.
DEATH NOTICES
--Louise Stavish, age 85 of Randall.
--Ronald Peterson, age 87 of Hillman, Bull Dog Lake.
WEATHER
TODAY= rain by afternoon, high 42.
TONIGHT= rain changing to snow, ½ inch possible, low 32.
TUESDAY= rain/snow mix before noon, cloudy, windy, high 36.
WEDNESDAY= cloudy, possible snow flakes, high 30, low 16.
SPORTS
NFL= Vikings get 10 sacks on Lions QB Stafford to win 24-9 Sunday to go to 5-3-1 on season. Vikings have their bye week this weekend. Bears win over Bills, Patriots last night beat the Packers.
COL FB= Gophers lose to Illinois Saturday 55-31 in Champaign. Purdue beat Iowa and now will take on Gophers this Saturday.
PIERZ= the Pioneers scored six touchdowns as the Pioneers rolled to a 44-6 win over New London-Spicer to advance to the Class AAA State Quarter-Finals on Saturday against Annandale at 5pm at St. Cloud State University on FM94 KFML and fallsradio.com.