NEWS
--White Dog Labs announced Tuesday that Morrison County District Court has approved its bid to acquire the Central Minnesota Renewables plant (formerly the Ethanol Plant) north of Little Falls. White Dog Labs, established in 2012 is a biotech company focused on animal health and nutrition. The former ethanol plant, was upgraded in 2016 to produce butanol and has several of the unique production capabilities required to produce ProTyton which is a feed additive used in dog food and other animal nutrition products. Cargill and White Dog Labs have recently announced an off-take agreement for ProTyton, an alternative protein to fishmeal which is a critical feed ingredient in aquaculture. ProTyton, made up of 80% protein, is sustainable and scalable as it is made from corn, but is also affordable as it shares production costs with its co-product, MiruTyton. While White Dog Labs has developed and scaled up the anaerobic fermentation process for these products, its plant operation will be supported by the management of Midwest Renewable Energy.
--A reminder from Camp Ripley that they are still training this week. Their training requires the use of large equipment and flares. You may at times notice large exploding noises and also illuminating flares in the skies during both the day and nighttime periods.
--The Brainerd High School was evacuated just before 1pm Tuesday after a report of a fire at the north campus. Officials evacuated nearly 1,500 students at the north campus that serves 10th- through 12th-graders. There was an initital report of flames but when firefighters arrived Capt. Rahn Findlay of the Brainerd Fire Department said firefighters climbed the ladder to get to the roof and met with construction workers, who guided the fire crew to where the fire was. Firefighters found the fire and extinguished it. It was due to the roofing construction. As a precaution classes were dismissed early yesterday at Brainerd High School. There were no injuries and by Tuesday night the building was deemed safe after a thorough walk through by officials. School resumed on Wednesday.
--In an effort to protect the secluded park from further vandalism, the Crow Wing County land services director said a solar-powered gate is planned for installation this spring. Dozens of interpretive signs were damaged or removed, including this one, in two separate vandalism incidents at Milford Mine Memorial Park last summer. Vandalism at a park honoring the memory of 41 men lost in the state’s worst mining disaster is prompting county officials to install a security gate and cameras. Milford Mine Memorial Park near Crosby memorializes the lives lost 96 years ago on Feb. 5, 1924, in the span of mere minutes. In that short stretch of time, 48 men more than 160 feet below the surface found themselves surrounded by a slurry of mud and water as it quickly filled the vertical shaft of the Milford Mine. Just seven miners made it to the surface alive. Last summer, two separate occurrences of vandalism at the park left graffiti in a number of places, dozens of damaged and removed interpretive signs, broken benches and destroyed cable tensioners along a lengthy boardwalk featuring the names of those who lost their lives. County staff members spent several days after those incidents reinstalling signs, painting over graffiti and fixing up the damage. Crow Wing County environmental services supervisor. Walls and other surfaces in a restroom were spray-painted by vandals last summer at Milford Mine Memorial Park near Crosby.
--Police are looking for a group of men suspected of robbing another man at gunpoint in St. Cloud. St. Cloud Police officers were called to the 1100 block of 4th Avenue South Tuesday just after 7pm. According to the police report, a 24-year-old male victim was walking through a nearby parking lot when a car containing three or four men pulled up next to him. One man pointed a gun at the victim, got out of the car and grabbed his headphones. The victim then ran into a nearby business to call for help. The suspects are described as black men, between 18 and 24-years old, dressed in dark clothing and driving a dark colored Ford Fusion with black rims. Police have not located either the suspects or the vehicle. Anyone with information is asked to call the Tri-County Crime Stoppers 1-800-255-1301.
--The Todd County Sheriff's Office reported during the week of January 26th through February 1st, they responded to 160 calls for service. The following were the types of calls: 65 traffic stops, 29 civil process, 3 suspicious activity type complaints, 5 assist other agencies, 3 car/deer accidents, 3 welfare checks, 2 disturbances or domestics, 2 vehicles in the ditch, 5 phone/email scams, and 2
accidents. Todd County Dispatch received 92 - 911 calls in that time.
--Law enforcement is sending out a notice that a false evacuation alert was sent to residents in several northern Minnesota counties Wednesday morning, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. DPS reported the message was sent to residents in Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Pine and St. Louis counties. The Itasca County Sheriff's Department also reported residents in the county received the message. The message was a part of an internal weekly test of the system and the message was not meant to be delivered to the public. DPS confirmed authorities are investigating how the message was delivered to the public.
--A level three predatory offender is moving to St. Cloud. Twenty-five-year-old Cody Duncan will be moving into a home in the 100 block of 12th Avenue North on February, 18th. Duncan was found guilty of having sex with a minor on several occasions. He has served his sentence and is not wanted by police. The St. Cloud Police Department will be holding a community notification meeting at 6pm next Monday night. If you have any questions or concerns call the St. Cloud Police Department at 320-345-4148.
NATIONAL NEWS
--The Republican controlled Senate has acquitted President Donald J. Trump on both charges for grounds of impeachment. The President was found not guilty 52 to 48 on the first charge and then 53-47 on the second thus ending the impeachment trial.
DEATH NOTICE
--Janice M. Dahlke, age 82 of Little Falls formerly Hillman.
WEATHER
TODAY= increasing clouds, snow in late afternoon, high 25.
TONIGHT= snow likely, around 1 inch, low 14.
FRIDAY= snow ending early, then cloudy, high 20, low near 0.
SATURDAY= sunny, colder, high 17, temps rise overnight into 20s.
SUNDAY= snow likely 1-3 inches, high 23, low around 10.
SPORTS
HS BBB= Pierz at Pillager tonight 7:15pm on FM94 KFML.