[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Newsletter: Thursday, December 31st 2015[/title][fusion_text]Thursday, December 31st 2015
NEWS
–Today is New Year’s Eve, as 2015 comes to a close tonight, a reminder by area law enforcement to play if safe. Don’t drink and drive and watch out for others. Many businesses may have special hours today for New Years Eve and may be closed on Friday for New Years Day so it is best to call ahead to see what is open. City Offices in Little Falls are closed today and tomorrow. There is a candle light hike tonight 5-8pm between the Lindbergh site and the Morrison County Historical Society building on Lindbergh Drive South in Little Falls. It is free for all to attend. The Franciscan Sisters will host a prayer for peace for all faiths tonight at 7:00pm at Sacred Heart Chapel.
–The ice rink and warming house on the west side of Little Falls opened for the season Tuesday night and will be open weekdays and weekends for the winter with the exception of New Years Day. The warming house will be closed for tomorrow’s holiday.
–Lake ice is still an issue across the state going into the New Year. By now many ice houses and ice anglers are out on lakes but this year has been much different due to lack of snowfall in November and early December and warmer temperatures. Lake Mille Lacs on average by December 27th has around 7 inches of thickness with some softer and thicker spots. Usually by January 1st it has, on average, around 12-15 inches. Because of this many anglers are not using vehicles or leaving ice houses on lakes. Some lakes across Mille Lacs, Crow Wing, Aitkin and St. Louis Counties are still dealing with open water and all four counties in recent weeks have had to send out rescue teams to help those that fell through the ice. The Brainerd lakes area is also getting concerned as the large Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza is less than 1 month away on January 23rd on Hole in the Day Bay off of Gull Lake. As of last week, the ice thickness on Gull Lake on average was 4-6 inches well below the safety range for the tournament. The hope is that colder temperatures and dry conditions will make the ice more clear to walk and ride on in the coming weeks. A reminder from law enforcement into the holiday weekend to use extreme caution on lakes and rivers as many waterways are still open in areas and lake ice varies in many spots.
–8th District Congressman Rick Nolan was named one of Congress’s most effective Democratic legislators Monday by the Washington Post. The study rated Nolan as second among DFL lawmakers in the 113th Congress below only Earl Blumenauer of Oregon. Congressman Nolan expressed surprise and gratitude for the recent study.
–The city of Brainerd Police and Fire Civil Service Commission Tuesday certified the top three candidates for the Brainerd Fire Department’s fire marshal/deputy chief position. Now, the three finalists will be presented to the mayor and city council at the January 4th meeting for hiring consideration. At that meeting, Fire Chief Tim Holmes will give his recommendation on who to hire. The three finalists, in order of highest score, are David Cox, Christopher Nelson and Jason Mickelson. The city hopes to have a selection by the end of Janaury. 17 people applied for the position. Cox has been with the Brainerd fire department since 1998, Nelson is currently a fire marshal for Williams County, North Dakota and Mickelson of Dayton is presently the Dayton fire chief.
–The Little Falls City Council will hold their re-organizational meeting on Monday night at 7:30pm at City Hall to get items in order for 2016. There will also be a meeting of Morrison County Mayors next Wednesday at 12:30pm at the Royalton City Center.
–The Minnesota Supreme Court won’t hear the appeal of a prison inmate who beat and kicked a fellow inmate nearly to death in 2012 at the St. Cloud prison. 33-year-old Leonard Fisherman was convicted of first-degree assault in Sherburne County District Court. He appealed his conviction to the state Court of Appeals, arguing that he is a “sovereign citizen” and therefore exempt from the criminal laws of Minnesota and that the prosecutor improperly told the jury that he had previously killed someone. He also argued that the judge presiding at his trial should have ordered a mental competency examination for him before the trial. The Court of Appeals ruled that his arguments ranged from “baseless to unconvincing” as it affirmed his conviction. Fisherman then appealed to the Supreme Court, which Wednesday refused to hear his case. Fisherman was in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint in 2011 in Itasca County. He is serving a 30-year prison sentence and was at the Minnesota Correctional Facility at St. Cloud in 2012 when the assault against the inmate happened.
–Police found 2 pounds of marijuana in a house after arresting a St. Cloud man on Tuesday. 38-year-old Damon Holland was arrested Tuesday on an outstanding warrant. While making the arrest, the deputy noticed a strong smell of marijuana in Holland’s residence. The Violent Offender Task Force was granted a search warrant and found the marijuana. Nobody else was home at the time. Police say the reports will be sent to the Benton County Attorney’s Office for review for possible criminal drug charges.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
–Chris and Tara Ramsdell of Fort Ripley, girl on December 28th
–Nathanial and Jennifer Wesenberg of Little Falls, girl December 28th
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy, light snow showers, high 18.
TONIGHT= partial clearing late, low around 10 above.
NEW YEARS DAY= sunny, breezy, high 25, low around 12.
SATURDAY= sunny skies, high near 30, clear night low 14.
SUNDAY= partly cloudy, high 25, low around 12.
MONDAY= mostly sunny, high near 20, low around 15.
SPORTS
NFL= The Vikings are at Green Bay to wrap up the regular season Sunday night at 7:30pm. The winner will be the #3 seed in playoffs and win the NFC North and will host a playoff game next weekend. The loser will be the #5 or #6 seed in the NFL playoffs and will have to go to the winner or to Washington next weekend. There are a lot of games with playoff seeding implications this weekend in the NFL and you can catch live action Sunday starting at 11:30am including the Vikings game Sunday night on AM960 KLTF.
COL FB= the national semi-finals are later today with Clemson vs. Oklahoma and then Michigan State vs. Alabama the winners play for the national title on January 11th. There are six bowl games on New Years Day including the Rose Bowl between Iowa and Stanford.
CC= Coaches Corner Saturday at 9am, get a recap from this weeks holiday high school tournaments on AM960 KLTF.
The offices of Little Falls Radio will be closed on Friday for New Years Day. There will be no newsletter on Friday. All at Little Falls Radio wish you a very Happy New Year and all the best in 2016.
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