NEWS
--Today is Columbus Day or by Presidential Proclamation last year called Indigenous Peoples Day in the United States, but it is still a federal holiday today. Many government agencies, federal offices, U.S. Post Offices are closed, there is no regular mail delivery however parcel services UPS, Fed Ex and 1 day or special delivery from postal carriers are running on this Monday. Banks and financial institutions are closed today for the holiday, it is possible some other places, schools or offices may be closed today. However, in the past years many businesses have opted to use Columbus Day as a floating holiday for the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve. That means that Little Falls City Hall and the Morrison County Government Center are open today and will be closed later this year around Thanksgiving or Christmas. The holiday use to have parades and many schools and offices would have celebrations on Columbus Day but that has all changed in recent years. But still best to call ahead to see what is open or closed on this Columbus Day.
--A new state-of-the-art training facility officially opened Thursday at Camp Ripley Training Center in Little Falls. It will give firefighters and other first responders the training they need to protect their community. Drills and exercises will include simulated responses to rail car leaks, pipeline incidents, tanker truck crashes, and other hazardous transportation scenarios. Twenty railroad companies transport hazardous materials and other cargo on 4,000 miles of rail line in Minnesota every day. Trucking companies regularly move hazardous materials across the state's freeways, highways, and interstate systems. Construction on the five acre facility began last year. The first training event was over this past weekend, October 8th and 9th with the State Emergency Response Teams.
--The Minnesota State Patrol has released the name of the man seriously hurt in a crash on Highway 23 east of Sauk Rapids Thursday morning. Troopers say 23-year-old Daniel Modi of St. Cloud has life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Cloud Hospital. He was a passenger in a car that the State Patrol says was turning from eastbound Highway 23 onto 35th Avenue Northeast when it was struck by another vehicle. The driver of the turning car was 53-year-old Angelina Lukere of St. Cloud. She was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was not hurt. The crash happened just before 6am.
--Police are looking for the man who robbed a convenience store in St. Cloud. On Friday just before 11pm officers were dispatched to a report of an armed robbery in progress at the River Station gas station in the 1300 block of 15th Avenue Southeast. A store employee reported that a black male wearing all dark clothing and a face mask walked into the store, pointed a gun at the employees and demanded the money from the register. There were three employees and one customer inside the store at the time of the robbery. The suspect took an undisclosed amount of money and ran from the business. No one was physically injured in the robbery. The case remains an active investigation. Anyone with information regarding the above incident is urged to contact the St. Cloud Police Department at 320-251-1200 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers.
--A car vs. pedestrian accident proved to be fatal Friday in Cass Lake. A Chevy was driving west on Highway 2 driven by 47-year-old Ryan Anderson of Bemidji when it collided with a pedestrian walking through the intersection at 6:57am Friday. The pedestrian, 52-year-old Steven Reyes of Bemidji was killed and dead at the scene.
--35-year-old Nick Lanners continues to recover from a serious automobile accident on July 13th that left with him with a broken spine. Nick is a husband and father of two, a lieutenant at the prison in St. Cloud, a farmer who raises both beef cattle and chickens and an assistant coach for the Royalton High School football team. The injury left him unable to feel anything from his chest down. Right now, Nick is doing a lot of work with stimulation therapy to try to wake up some of the nerves that were damaged. A benefit for Nick Lanners will be Saturday at the Pierz Ballroom to help with expenses as he continues his recovery from the serious injury.
--Brainerd Warrior Conner Erickson, who suffered a severe head injury during a high school football game last month, is making serious progress in his road to recovery. Conner is making significant progress in physical and occupational therapy since moving September 27th to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, according to an update on his Caring Bridge page. The 17-year-old is adjusting to Mayo well and his parents are hopeful. “He is acting and looking more like our Conner,” the page stated. According to Conner’s uncle Jared Erickson, Conner’s therapy is focused on regaining memory, moving the right side of his body and talking. There isn't a timeline or goals in place for Conner. Head injury recoveries vary from person to person, his uncle said, and it is hard to gauge how quick recovery might be. Conner’s family said they look at his progress every day, instead of counting days until he is out of the hospital.
--The Darling Lutheran Cemetery Association will host their annual Fall cleanup day at the cemetery on Saturday October 15, 2022 starting about 9am. Please bring yard tools. Call 320-632-3337 if questions. The Darling Cemetery is located at 10815 190th Street.
--AM960 KLTF will be live from the Pine Grove Zoo for their annual Boofest event on Saturday, October 22nd from 2:30-4:30-pm.
--The Pierz City Council meets tonight at 7pm at Pierz City Hall.
DEATH NOTICES
--Michael Skappel, age 63 of Little Falls.
--Susie Greene, age 94 of Little Falls.
--Brett K. Peterson, age 36 of Little Canada formerly of Swanville.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny skies, high 65.
TONIGHT= clear night, warmer temps, low 47.
TUESDAY= sunny and warm, high 77, storms overnight, low 48.
WEDNESDAY= showers and T-storms early, then turning windy with falling temps in the afternoon high 58 falling to 32 by end of night.
SPORTS
NFL= Vikings comeback to beat the Bears Sunday 29-22 with another Vikings touchdown in the final minutes of the 4th quarter to win. The Vikings (4-1) travel to Miami on Sunday at noon. In other NFL Games it was the New York Giants beating Green Bay in London Sunday 27-22 while New England shut out Detroit 29-0.
MLB= Cleveland swept Tampa Bay 2 games to 0 in wild card to move to face the Yankees on Tuesday in the division series, Seattle beat Toronto two games to none and advance to take on Houston Tuesday in the ALDS. Philadelphia eliminated St. Louis two to zero and face Atlanta in the NLDS. The New York Mets and San Diego were the only series to go to a third game on Sunday night with the San Diego Padres winning to go on to face the L.A. Dodgers.
HS= listen for the latest high school scores daily on LF Radio.