NEWS
--The name of the man who went missing in the Mississippi River Monday afternoon has been released. The man has been identified as 49-year-old Shannon Shaw of Waite Park. Witnesses say they saw Shaw jump in the river Monday and never resurfaced. His body was found around 8:25pm Tuesday night.
--The final tally on the Sauk Rapids-Rice school referendum vote from Tuesday was 3534 No votes to 2255 yes votes- referendum failed.
--Alexandria Police and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office are searching for Eugene Harstad who was last seen by his home in Alexandria on May 4th. It was reported that Harstad was involved in a minor crash later that day and made a series of ATM withdrawals throughout west central Minnesota over the weekend and that he was seen purchasing fuel in Wahpeton, North Dakota on Monday morning. The most recent ping of Harstad's phone locates him in Wilkin County, however since then it is believed the phone was turned off. If located, please check on his welfare and call the Douglas County Sheriff's Office at 320-762-8151. He drives a 1998 Chevrolet Silverado, green/teal in color with some graphics on the cover and grille. License number- 545UUA- from Minnesota.
--A man who fled police days later was found dead. On Saturday, April 28th a St. Joseph Police officer attempted to stop a car for an equipment violation. Upon stopping, the driver, 39-year-old Michael Henry of Royalton fled the stop on foot and headed west. Stearns County Sheriff Deputies along with several police agencies responded to set up a perimeter in an attempt to locate the driver. He was not found. On May 2nd Henry’s father contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report Henry as a missing person. In an attempt to locate Henry, Sheriff’s deputies tried to ping Henry’s phone but were unsuccessful. The next day, deputies resumed the search. Around 3:30pm Thursday, a deputy searching near the southfork of the Watab River located the submerged body of Henry. The body was located approximately a quarter of a mile from the original traffic stop. Stearns County Sheriff's Office investigators responded to the scene. All indications show Henry had been in the water for some time. The river is approximately 18-24 inches deep in this location and the water temperature is approximately 50 degrees.
--A Sauk Centre woman was hurt in a crash. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened just after 3:30pm Thursday in Melrose Township. 47-year-old Krista Peters was going west on Interstate 94, taking the exit ramp to Highway 4, when her vehicle went off the road and struck a tree. Peters was taken to Melrose Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
--An Annandale woman was hospitalized after being side-swiped on Highway 24 at the intersection of County Road 6 in Corinna Township. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened around 5:30pm Tuesday. An SUV driven by 53-year-old Rochelle Rasset was heading south on Highway 24. A car driven by 82-year-old Donald Gipp, also of Annandale was heading north and crossed into the southbound lane, side-swiping Rasset. Rasset was taken to Buffalo Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Gipp was not hurt.
--Listen to live reports from the Governor's Fishing Opener at Green Lake in Spicer, Friday morning 5-9am with Al Windsperger live on Q92 WYRQ and online at fallsradio.com.
--Check out news, weather and streaming LF Radio at fallsradio.com.
--Even as Lake Mille Lacs continues to allow only the catch-and-release of walleye, another northern Minnesota lake is considering relaxing the bag limits. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will be looking for public comment on the proposal to allow anglers to keep more walleye out of Leech Lake starting in 2019. Yellow signs are being placed at boat landings ahead of opening weekend, alerting Leech Lake users of the proposal. Details on the proposal will be released at a later date, but the DNR will be discussing whether to relax the regulations after their fall survey. Public comments will be sought at that time.
--Fire officials were investigating the cause of a fire early Tuesday morning to a residence on Roger Road in St. Cloud. No one was injured in the blaze. Fire crews responded about 4am Tuesday to find the garage and the rear of the home at 25 Roger Road on fire, according to a report from the St. Cloud Fire Department. The home is near Calvary Hill Park. All St. Cloud fire units responded to the house fire along with Waite Park Firefighters. The fire had spread to the house, but no one was injured.
--Two people are dead and one more is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a crash on Highway 210 east of McGregor in Aitkin County. The Minnesota State Patrol said a Dodge Journey driven by 36-year-old Rebekah Seibert of McGregor was traveling westbound on Highway 210. Her vehicle slid on wet pavement into oncoming traffic where it was hit by a Ford pickup driven by 64-year-old Edward Ruhnke of Duluth. The Ford pickup hit the Dodge on its rear passenger side. Seibert and a 5-year-old girl were killed in the crash. A 15-year-old boy was also in the SUV at the time of the crash. He was taken to HCMC to be treated for serious injuries. Ruhnke and his passenger, 63-year-old Debra Ruhnke, were taken to Riverwood Hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.
--There will be a citywide clean up day this Saturday in Randall, for info contact Randall City Hall. There will be a citywide cleanup day for the city of Flensburg on May 19th at the fire hall from 8-10:30am.
DEATH NOTICES
--David E. Knoll, age 71 of Little Falls.
--Michael Hartmann, age 45 of Pierz.
WEATHER
TODAY= mostly sunny, cooler, high 56.
TONIGHT= clouds increase, light rain toward morning, low 39.
FRIDAY= rain showers till noon, then partly sunny, high 55, low 35.
SATURDAY= becoming sunny, warmer, high 64, low 48.
SUNDAY= sunny and mild, high 72, low around 48.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins open a series out west in Anaheim tonight with the Angels, pregame at 8:30pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HS BAB= Little Falls at St. Cloud Cathedral for a double-header in baseball today at 4:30pm on FM94 KFML and fallsradio.com.
TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1797= U.S. Navy launches first ships, the first was “United States”.
IN 1823= first steamboat arrived at Fort Snelling in now Minnesota.
IN 1876= Golden Spike driven at Promontory Point, Utah- to complete the first transcontinental railroad for the United States.