NATIONAL NEWS
--The U.S. House of Representatives last night voted to impeach President Donald Trump. The full House voted to approve two articles of impeachment against the president: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The vote was 230-197 on abuse of power and 229-198 on obstruction of Congress. No Republicans voted in favor of impeachment. It makes the 45th president only the third commander in chief to be impeached after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon resigned before the House could vote. Now the process heads to a Senate trial where it is likely the President is expected to be acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate and allowed to finish his term and run for another one. The Senate acquitted both Johnson and Clinton before Trump.
NEWS
--With Christmas under a week away Little Falls Fire Chief Mike Nieman wants to share a few safety tips this holiday season to keep your homes safe. The first tip is never overload a circuit. A typical household circuit can power 70 strings of 50-bulb mini lights, or 300 to 600 strings of 50-bulb LED lights. If you plan to use more than these amounts, spread the light strands across multiple circuits to prevent an overload. Take any major appliances into account if you plug lights into the same circuit. The next tip is keep your tree hydrated. Just two or three days without water could be enough to dry out a Christmas tree, so water it every day. Once a tree is dry, it can catch fire easily so it should be discarded. Another tip is use candle safety. Candles may provide a festive ambiance and delightful fragrance, but they’re also responsible for starting two out of every five home decoration structure fires each year. This is especially true during the holidays when the top three days for home candle fires are Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Christmas Eve. Consider replacing traditional candles with flameless, battery-operated types, but don't forget to turn them off when leaving the house as LED lights do get hot. Never leave a candle burning unattended and, if you're going to be stepping away from the candle for several minutes, it's safer to blow it out rather than risk a potential hazard. Always use a sturdy candle holder to keep it from tipping over or touching flammable surfaces. When decorating, keep candles at least 12 inches away from all flammable items.
--Camilla Johnson and Cormac Shanoff, Little Falls Community High School seniors, have been selected to represent Region 8AA in the Academics, Arts, and Athletics Award program. Camilla, the daughter of Robert and Christina Johnson, has participated in band, cross-country, Nordic ski, track and field, and volleyball. Cormac, the son of Julie Rayhorn and John Shanoff, has participated in choir, football, Nordic ski and track and field. Triple “A” Award recipients are selected through a multi-level process involving member schools of the League, the League’s administrative regions, and a special committee of educators, business leaders, and members from the fine arts and athletic communities. The top two award finishers from each region will be invited to a state banquet. Award recipients-a boy and a girl from both a Class A and a Class AA School – will receive a four-year $1,000 scholarship.
--Mary of Lourdes Middle School on the west side of Little Falls, presents their Christmas program today at 1:30pm and tonight at 7pm at the middle school gym.
--Pillager Area Fire and Rescue responded to a structure fire around 7:30pm Tuesday on Big Water Drive in Pillager. Upon arrival, a trailer home was fully engulfed. No one was in the residence at the time of the fire. The homeowner had a place to stay, as the structure was a total loss. Firefighters were on scene for about two hours.
--A Litchfield woman is dead after a rollover crash Tuesday morning. The Meeker County Sheriff's Office says 32-year-old Michelle Bengston died at the scene of the crash after she was ejected. The sheriff says Bengston was heading west on Highway 21 southwest of Kingston just after 8:00am when she lost control, left the roadway and rolled multiple times.
--Brainerd City Council members approved bids for the police department remodel project during their meeting on Monday. With city hall now under construction, the next phase of Brainerd’s multi-facility building revamp project is the police department, which will see a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and an indoor remodel. During the $306,809 project, the station will be reconfigured with a secure waiting room near the newly designed interview rooms, which will allow for those coming in to give statements to be out of the public eye. Also included in the designs is a secure, enclosed vestibule entrance at the building’s main doors and a new intercom system. The police department’s server room will be relocated to a spot with its own dedicated HVAC system, and investigator rooms will be reconfigured.
--Great River Arts in Little Falls presents Harpers Chord for a Christmas show Friday night. Tickets at greatart.org.
NATIONAL NEWS
--The Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is being ruled unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals made the judgment Wednesday. The ruling says the mandate "can no longer be read as a tax" and there's "no other constitutional provision that justifies this exercise of congressional power." The panel is ordering a lower court to look at the rest of Obamacare to see if the rest of the law should be thrown out. The appeals court decision likely means any Supreme Court action won't happen until after the 2020 election.
WEATHER
TODAY= partly cloudy skies, high 23.
TONIGHT= freezing drizzle and light snow overnight, low 14.
FRIDAY= mist, drizzle and fog, icy at times, high 27, low 15.
SATURDAY= sunny skies, mild, high 36, low 24.
SUNDAY= sunny, continued mild, high 38, low around 25.
SPORTS
NFL= Vikings will be represented with three in the Pro Bowl on January 26th at 2pm in Orlando, Florida. Harrison Smith, Danielle Hunter and Dalvin Cook were named to the team Tuesday night. For Smith 5th time, Hunter his 2nd and Cook first time to Pro Bowl.
HS= with Christmas on a Wednesday next week, some schools have moved their holiday tournaments to this weekend. Little Falls Community High School will hold their boys and girls basketball tournament today, Friday and Saturday with Upsala and Staples-Motley. Next week Thursday through Saturday the boys hockey tournament at the Exchange Arena in Little Falls while the Brainerd/Little Falls girls hockey team will be at Edina starting next Thursday. Holdingford girls are at Kimball next Friday and Saturday.