NEWS
--Back on Tuesday, Tasha Radel of MNN Radio joined Little Falls Radio in a look back to the top stories around the state. As many in this area can understand her top story was the tough year on agriculture and farming. The fact that we had a wet spring, barely no summer in many areas, a hard freeze early and wet fall led to a tough harvest for many and a lot of farmers saying good riddance to 2019 and hopes for a better 2020. Politics will be watched very closely in 2020 either the Presidential Race which includes current Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, local races following the recent votes in the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate that will have many seats up for election in November. Other stories includes the 5 year old boy thrown from Mall of America and his recovery, Hands Free law back on August 1st in the state, the vaping epidemic and illegal drug use on the rise from heroin to methamphetamine. The big sports stories included to be the rise of the Minnesota Twins, the recent death of college hockey legend Doug Woog, the Gopher success going to the Outback Bowl and especially the work of high school teams in state tournaments including Pierz winning the state championship in football in November. Tasha said one big story in 2020 will the U.S> Census that is being done, she said that Minnesota population has gone down in the past few years and that could mean the loss of a congressional seat in the U.S. House if that is the case next year. In all 2019 has come and gone as has the last decade with hopefully brighter days area for Minnesota in 2020.
--Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen announced that his office, in cooperation with all local police departments in the county, have recently completed the annual Predatory Offender Registration (POR) verifications for Morrison County. Each year the sheriff’s office organizes a verification check for all predatory offenders who are on the registry and residing within the county. Only those offenders who have been sentenced to prison and who were released after January 1st, 1997 have been assigned a risk level. Offenders sentenced to probation or juvenile offenders are not assigned a risk level. During the most recent round of checks, 51 predatory offenders were checked by the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office, Pierz Police Department, Motley Police Department and Royalton Police Department. Of that number; 24 were Level 1 offenders, 5 were Level 2, 1 was Level 3 and 21 offenders were not assigned a risk level. 48 predatory offenders were checked by the Little Falls Police Department, which are not part of the breakdown. All but one individual was found to be compliant with conditions imposed upon them. 30-year old Harlan Davis Swanson has charges pending through the Morrison County Attorney’s Office for failing to register his current address, which is a felony. Sheriff Larsen said it is important for us to keep tabs on the predatory offender registry. As he feels it is extremely important that these people remain aware that their office will continue to hold them accountable.
--The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce their January Employee of the Month is Betty Roehl, Vocational Rehabilitation Services at the Little Falls CareerForce Center. Betty has been a Vocational Rehabilitation Services Technician for the past 4 ½ years. Congratulations Betty Roehl, Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce January Employee of the Month.
--A reminder to watch for school buses as many of the schools return to class today, there are a few that don't go back until Monday.
--One person is in custody and two more are sought by police after the fatal stabbing of a St. Cloud man over the weekend at the Red Carpet Nightclub in downtown St. Cloud. 27-year-old Bryant Stephenson of St. Cloud was arrested Monday night by officers from the St. Cloud Police Department and booked into Stearns County Jail on second-degree murder charges. Police are searching for 26-year-old Christopher Johnson and 28-year-old Lawrence Johnson, both of St. Cloud. Authorities intend to charge both men with second-degree murder. Officers were called to the Red Carpet on Sunday around 1:30am. When they arrived, they found 29-year-old Unity McGill, who had been stabbed during an argument inside the nightclub. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital where he later died.
--A 16-year-old girl was hurt in a two-vehicle crash in western Stearns County. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened at 4:45pm Monday at the intersection of Highway 4 and County Road 14. Brooke Wuertz of Melrose was driving east on the county road, while 67-year-old Dennis Zimmerman of Paynesville was going south on the highway when the two vehicles collided. Wuertz was taken to Paynesville Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Zimmerman was not hurt. Troopers say the roads were snow and ice covered.
--A head on crash Tuesday at 11:15am in Milaca sent two to the hospital. The State Patrol said 88-year-old Elroy Hanenburg of Milaca was west on 23 when he turned left into an oncoming vehicle. Hanenburg and the other driver 24-year-old Kalyn Zurawski of Buffalo both were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
--The Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site, Lindbergh State Park and the Weyerhauser Museum as asking for volunteers this Saturday still to help place the luminaries on the grounds between the sites for the annual Candlelight Hike event on Saturday from 5-8pm. The event is free of charge for all to come and enjoy with refreshments at the sites. If you can volunteer an hour on Saturday to help the set up and many also after an hour to tear down call Melissa at 616-5421.
DEATH NOTICES
--Kathryn Tonder Jongewaard, age 88 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= freezing drizzle early, then cloudy high 32 then dropping.
TONIGHT= cloudy skies, snow after midnight, low 14.
FRIDAY= snow showers likely 1-3 inches, high 27, low near 16.
SATURDAY= sunny skies, high near 20, temps rise late with snow.
SUNDAY= snow likely, wintry mix, and gusty winds, high 34.
SPORTS
COL FB= Gophers get two touchdowns by Tyler Johnson and hold on to be Auburn 31-24 to win the Outback Bowl and finish season 11-2.
NHL= It was announced yesterday that the Winter Classic in 2021 on January 1st will be at Target Field in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Wild will face an opponent to be named later in the match. The Wild had been asking for the game to be played in Minnesota for some time, yesterday the Winter Classic was played in Dallas.
NFL= The 2020 Vikings opponents were named this week prior to the start of the NFL Playoffs. Besides their 6 division games next year the Vikings will host Jacksonville, Tennessee, Dallas, Atlanta and Carolina and they will face Houston, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Seattle on the road in 2020.
HS GBB= Little Falls at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle tonight 7:15 on Q92