NEWS
--Three individuals have been charged with third degree murder for alleged involvement in the overdose of 22-year old Travis James Scherping. 23-year old Jerad Michael Whitford of Little Falls, 21-year old Callie Mains Statema of Little Falls and 35-year old Jason Lee White with residence unknown, have each been charged with third degree murder for a June 14th, 2016 incident, which resulted in the Little Falls Police Department responding to a possible drug overdose at a Little Falls home. Officers were informed Scherping wasn’t breathing and had allegedly overdosed on heroin. He was found unconscious in a bed with a weak pulse. Paramedics attempted to render aid and transported Scherping to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead four days later. The Ramsey County Medical Center officer completed a final autopsy of Scherping. According to the criminal complaint, he died of complications from opiate toxicity. Heroin is a Schedule I opioid drug. All three of their first court appearances are set for Monday, February 13th at 10:00am in Morrison County District Court. If convicted, White, Whitford and Statema face up to 25 years in prison and/or a $40,000 fine each.
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office filled in details on the cabin fire Monday morning in Hillman. The address was at 26673 Spring Lane in Hillman. The owner who was contacted this week by authorities was Greg Smith of Richfield, MN. 12-Pierz firefighters battled this fire but the cabin was believed to be a total loss. No one was home at the time as this cabin did not have a heating source and was likely a summer getaway. There were no injuries.
--The Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza is on Saturday at Hole in the Day Bay in Baxter starting at noon. Because of the warmer conditions recently no cars or trucks will be allowed on the ice. The ice was checked last week to be safe for the event. The Minnesota State Patrol is asking if you are going to the event Saturday expect delays on Highway 371 before and after the event takes place. If you are not planning to attend you may want to find an alternate route around the Hole in the Day Bay area. Also motorists are to be advised of a ride for 18-year-old Devin Alexander, the Pillager High School Senior killed in a car accident earlier this month. A ride for Devin through Baxter and Brainerd with police assistance will be around 1:00pm on Saturday. Many will be going along Highway 210 which again will likely cause delays in the Brainerd/Baxter area.
--A 60-year-old woman was injured in a single-vehicle crash on I-94 Wednesday morning. At 6:39am Kathryn Marie Soland of Monticello was driving west on I-94 in Lynden Township when her truck spun out of control, striking the median barrier and eventually coming to rest on the median. Soland sustained non life threatening injuries. Road conditions included snow and ice at the time of the incident.
--More issues with unsafe ice in the area. Ben Olmsheid of Breezy Point was driving a pickup on Pelican Lake near Breezy Point when the ice gave away and he dropped ino the water. Olmsheid and his passenger escaped uninjured through the sunroof of the truck. The DNR is reminding everyone that with the warmer conditions recently the ice is unpredictable on area waterways where in some spots feet of thickness and in others only a few inches of ice.
--The 20th Annual Pierz Knights of Columbus Buffalo Feed and raffle will be Saturday 4-8 at Pierz Ballroom with raffle at 8:15pm.
--More than 120 Soldiers from the Monticello-based 257th Military Police Company will be deploying to U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in support of Joint Task Force Guantanamo. The unit will provide safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees at the Joint Task Force Guantanamo detention facilities. Prior to deployment, the Soldiers will receive specialized training and certifications based on the strictly enforced standard operating procedures within the facilities and will receive additional on the job training once they arrive. The 257th Military Police Company deployed to Iraq from 2004-2005 (as D Battery, 216th Air Defense Artillery) and to Afghanistan from 2012-2013 where they were responsible for coaching, teaching and mentoring members of the Afghan National Army. This will be the first time a Minnesota National Guard unit has deployed to Guantanamo Bay. The public is invited to attend the deployment ceremony Saturday at 10:00am at the Monticello High School Auditorium.
--The defense contractor Textron is buying the snowmobile maker Arctic Cat in a deal valued at about $247 million. Textron said Wednesday that it will pay $18.50 per Arctic Cat share, a 41 percent premium to its Tuesday closing price. The transaction also includes debt, though no exact figure was provided. Arctic Cat Inc. will be folded into Textron’s specialized vehicles business, but the brand, as well as its manufacturing, distribution and operational facilities, will be maintained. The Minneapolis company employs around 1,600 people. Textron Inc. is based in Providence, Rhode Island. Arctic Cat got the approval from the St. Cloud city council back in September for a major expansion of their production facility in St. Cloud.
--Due to budgetary constraints, there will be a change in public hours at the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum. Starting in February, the museum will be open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The museum will be closed on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. In determining public hours, staff tracked museum visitation over a couple of months in 2016 and discovered that Thursdays saw the least public visitation, hence this arrangement of hours. For further questions about the change, please call (320) 632-4007.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
--Mary Tyler Moore, best remembered for her work on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and the Dick Van Dyke show died Wednesday at age 80. A statue of Mary Tyler Moore was installed at Nicolet Mall years ago to remember her Minneapolis tie to Mary Tyler Moore Show.
DEATH NOTICES
--Donald V. Vnuk, age 89 of Little Falls.
--Virginia Borash, age 94 of Royalton.
WEATHER
TODAY= scattered flurries, cloudy and breezy, high 25.
TONIGHT= flurries, breezy, low around 15.
FRIDAY= mostly cloudy, flurries possible, high 28, low 17.
SATURDAY= light snow showers, high 24, low 12.
SUNDAY= morning flurries, PM sunshine, high 20, low 10.
SPORTS
HS BBB= Eden Valley Watkins at Pierz tonight 7:15pm FM94 KFML