NEWS
--Little Falls Fire Chief Craig Seelen stated they are training in new firefighters and you might have noticed in the past few days trucks out and lights and commotion around the fire hall at times. This has all been done for training in the new firefighters. No reason for the public to be alarmed. Seelen did state that they had some alarm calls recently but in all cases they were canceled on route to those sites.
--Public Works Departments are asking residents to remember with the warming temperatures during the day recently, snow will be melting and ask for neighbors and around the drains in the cities to please make sure they are clear of snow and ice to prevent localized flooding. If not cleared the water may not have a place to go and cause more issues around the streets and neighborhoods with water and then refreezing at night turning to ice. Some cities like St. Cloud have adopted drain programs to help with clearing snow from drains.
--Another fatal snowmobile accident in Cass County has been reported. Around 9:30am Tuesday, a 54-year-old man snowmobiling near Pequot Lakes on the Maple Leaf Trail struck a driveway approach and was ejected from the sled. Authorities stated that life saving efforts were started on the scene but unsuccessful. The body was taken to a medical examiner for proper cause of death. Cass County did not release the name. Back on Saturday a fatal accident happened near Staples. Also serious injury snowmobile crashes occurred last Saturday near Nisswa and last Friday on Cass Lake. The sheriff's office is asking snowmobilers to use caution when traveling on the trails and make sure they put safety first.
--At 7:25pm on Friday the Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a call regarding a fire involving a single family dwelling at the address 14761 Kramer Road in Luxemburg Township approximately 2.5 miles northwest of Watkins. Stearns County Deputies and the Watkins Fire Department arrived on scene and spoke with the homeowners, Dominic and Kayla Donnay. Kayla had returned home and noticed that the house was not being heated. She contacted Dominic who instructed her on how to get the furnace working. A short time later, after going through those steps, Kayla saw smoke coming from the vents in the home and she called 911.The cause of the fire is under investigation.
--At 3:30pm Saturday Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a call regarding a snowmobile accident with injuries near the address of 40746 125th Avenue in Brockway Township four miles northwest of St. Stephen. Stearns County Deputies, St Stephen Rescue, and Mayo Ambulance Service all responded to the call. When Deputies arrived, they found the operator of a snowmobile, 66-year old Kaye Heins of Sartell, being transported to the roadway. The crash occurred several hundred yard east of the roadway on a designated snowmobile trail. Deputies spoke with parties that were with Heins and found that the crash occurred when the snowmobile she was operating struck a large wooden gate post. Witnesses indicated Heins had been operating an older, vintage snowmobile, and prior to the crash, switched snowmobiles with another member of the group. Heins was transported to the St Cloud Hospital for treatment of her injuries. Heins’ group was part of a larger group of snowmobiles in a vintage run that started in the City of St Stephen.
--Zion Lutheran Church will have a Chicks for Bricks dinner tonight. The event is 5-7pm at the church in northeast Little Falls. Chicken, ham, potatoes, stuffing, dessert and more for a $10 suggested donation to help with fellowship hall debt reduction. All welcome.
--Camp Ripley has confirmed that the Norwegian Home Guard will be the guests on AM960 KLTF Party Line this coming Tuesday, February 14th at 10:05am. They recently had a large ceremony for the 50th Anniversary of the Norwegian Exchange (Norex) between the Home Guard and the Minnesota National Guard at Camp Ripley north of Little Falls. Members of the Home Guard again will live on Party Line this Tuesday on AM960 and also at fallsradio.com.
--Two local bus companies were given grants recently by the Department of Public Safety. Palmer Bus Company out of Little Falls and Trobec's Bus Company will receive over $507,000 to install stop arm cameras on their buses. This will be installed on the 170 buses between the two companies. The grants were established in the state after a number of crashes and fatal incidents where drivers went around or through the stop arms of a flashing bus. The cameras can help monitor the situations, give a better view for students coming off and on the bus and if ever an incident occurs where the drivers breaks the law for stop arm violations they would be caught on camera. Though there was no time-line given for the camera installations, the Minnesota DPS said it would be soon.
--Waite Park Police are investigating a suspicious death Monday. Authorities stated that 52-year-old Andrea Cottew was found deceased at 320 Park Meadows Monday morning. Police were called there for a welfare check. Authorities say that preliminary autopsy results have the cause of death as not determined so an investigation is ongoing. Police did state there is no threat to the public from this.
--A Sauk Rapids man who was charged in an attempted train jacking last September has pleaded guilty. 41-year-old Samuel Hohman pleaded guilty to 2nd degree assault. A charge of 1st degree criminal damage to property will be dismissed when Hohman is sentenced in March. According to the criminal complaint filed in Benton County, the train's engineer said Hohman hopped aboard the locomotive in Sauk Rapids. The victim said Hohman then wrapped his arms around his neck and told him to speed up and get out of town. Hohman then rummaged through a bag and grabbed a small folding knife before stabbing the victim in the forehead. Court records show the engineer and Hohman struggled and the rail worker was able to bite Hohman's hand, free himself and jump from the train. The train came to a stop in Sartell and Hohman was arrested nearby. Police say they found a knife matching the description about 75 yards away. Authorities also discovered that several wires inside the locomotive had been cut causing several thousands of dollars in damage. Court documents don't indicate a motive behind the attack.
WEATHER
TODAY= morning fog, afternoon sun, gusty winds high near 32.
TONIGHT= falling temps, strong winds, low near 0, wind chills -20.
FRIDAY= sunny and colder, high near 20, rising temps overnight.
SATURDAY= sunny and mild, high 36, low around 21.
SUNDAY= cloudy, afternoon drizzle, high 37, low near 23.
SPORTS
HS WRE= Royalton-Upsala at Pierz tonight 7pm on 94ROCKS.
DANCE= The Little Falls Lindy Dancers with Just for Kix will have their dance show event on Saturday at 11am at the High School.
NFL= Super Bowl 57 is Sunday in Arizona. Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs, pregame coverage begins at 1pm Sunday with the kickoff at 5:30pm, full coverage Sunday on AM960 KLTF.
WRAP= Saturday Morning Sports Wrap 8:30am on AM960 KLTF.