NEWS
--The Bowlus Post Office will reopen to the public next Monday. The office has been vacated for the last several months to allow environmental remediation and cleaning. Postal services provided by Bowlus were temporarily relocated to the Royalton Post Office. The building in Bowlus is safe to occupy and customers will have access again. The Post Office is planning to go back to their regular weekday hours, from 8:00-9:30am Saturday and the Post Office Box lobby will still be open 24 hours a day.
--Around 5:00pm Tuesday the Crow Wing County Sheriffs Office received a call from a female who stated that she had found her husband unresponsive on the ice on Mary Lake in Emily. 70-year old John Michael Ritter was the unresponsive party. Ritter’s residence is located in Rogers and also has a cabin on Mary Lake in Emily. Upon deputies’ arrival, they found Ritter on his back near his fish house. Attempts to revive Ritter by first responders were unsuccessful. Ritter was transported to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. No foul play is suspected.
--Just that little bit of snow Monday night into Tuesday morning caused problems on our roads. The Minnesota State Patrol says they responded to a total 232 crashes statewide from 10pm Monday to 5am Tuesday. There were 28 injuries with two of them listed as serious. Troopers also assisted with 113 vehicles that spun out and went into the ditch. There was one semi that jackknifed.
--Fire crews from Motley and Pillager responded to a barn fire just before 6pm Tuesday on the 9900 block of Highway 64 Southwest in Becker Township, about 8 miles north of Motley. Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch stated when responders arrived they found a large barn engulfed in fire. The cause of the fire was unknown, nor was it known if the barn was occupied by animals or equipment. Fire crews worked through the night to battle the blaze.
--You may have noticed speed limits on some two-lane state highways increased from 55-miles-per-hour to 60 miles-per-hour in the last year. If not, many of them will be going up as soon as signs can be posted. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has released the findings of a five-year study on all two-lane roadways with a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. Some highways in central Minnesota which are increasing include Highway 23 where the highway is two lanes between Paynesville out to I-35, Highway 15 south of St. Cloud to the Iowa border, Highway 371 from Pequot Lakes to Walker, Highway 95 from St. Cloud to North Branch, Highway 25 from Monticello to Brainerd, and Highway 4 between Paynesville and Sauk Centre. MnDOT will continue to study the effect the changes have on safety moving forward.
--A man is suspected of selling nearly 13 grams of heroin in Sherburne County. 32-year old Jeremiah Anthony Roketa was charged in October with one count of first degree drug sales. According to the criminal complaint against him, Roketa met a confidential information for the Violent Offenders Task Force in March and provided heroin for cash. A BCA lab test confirmed the substance was nearly 13 grams of heroin. According to court records, on January 16th, Roketa failed to appear at a hearing. A future court date has not been scheduled. The maximum charge for first-degree drug sale is 30 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine.
--Thanks to all who came to the Twins Caravan yesterday in Pierz.
--Thousands marched to the Minnesota Capitol on Tuesday, including a bus load from Morrison County, to remember the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Roe v. Wade and push for tighter restrictions on abortion access in the state. Attendees expressed a renewed sense of optimism about the possibility of a federal abortion rollback following the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and about other judicial appointments under the Trump administration. Republican legislative leaders told the crowd they would aim to block legislation aimed at expanding access to abortions and would again bring a bill that would require doctors providing abortions let women seeking the procedures view an ultrasound of the fetus. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, said lawmakers would press forward in their efforts to reform the state's abortion laws. "That's what this cause has taken, it's step after step after step," Gazelka said. "And today I hear you talking about the fact that we want to give women the right to see an ultrasound. That's a step, but it's not the end goal." The local chapter of MCCL has their commemorative dinner on Sunday at the Falls Ballroom. It starts with the social at noon, dinner at 12:50pm and speakers around 2pm. For tickets call 630-7045.
--The Benton County Sheriff's Office will be equipped with body cameras. Sheriff Troy Heck says he first pitched the idea of getting body cameras to the county commissioners in 2017. After that request was rejected, he resubmitted his request and the commissioners voted to include the cameras in the county's budget for this year. Heck says it will cost about $40,000 to outfit his patrol staff and sergeants with the 16 cameras. He says storing the video footage was also a big consideration. Heck stated they have the good fortune of having upgraded their server the previous year because of the upgraded in-squad cameras.
--St. Cloud State University is once again getting recognition for being a great school for veterans to attend. St. Cloud State has been recognized as a 2019 Military Friendly Silver School by Victory Media in the 2019-2020 Military Friendly Schools list. Since SCSU is listed in the "silver" category it means that the institution came within 20 percent of the score achieved by the 10th overall ranked school in the large public school's category.
--Blood Drive at St. Francis Convent today 8:30-2:30pm final day.
--Due to the cold weather tonight, Oasis Share a Meal in Little Falls tonight at First Lutheran Church has been canceled.
DEATH NOTICES
--Larry Kern, age 90 of Little Falls
--Bernard “Bernie” Winzenberg, age 87 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY.
TODAY= blowing snow, gusty winds, temps drop to -8.
TONIGHT= very cold, low around -20, wind chills around -35.
FRIDAY= sunny and cold, less windy, high near 0, low -17.
SATURDAY= sunny and cold, high 7 above, low around -15.
SUNDAY= snow develops in afternoon, high 10 above.