[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Newsletter: Thursday, November 19th 2015[/title][fusion_text]
NEWS
–A Randall man has pleaded not guilty to all four charges he faces including one count of first degree attempted murder. Along with the murder charge Kyle St. Martin-Smith also faces one count of first-degree assault, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and a charge of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance. The charges are related to a May incident at a Randall trailer park in which St. Martin-Smith allegedly shot a Little Falls resident, attacked him with a baseball bat and repeatedly threatened his life. The attorney representing St. Martin-Smith, Adam T. Johnson said he and his client intend to argue self-defense in regards to the incident. Johnson said that the defendant was protecting himself, his dwelling and another person, St. Martin-Smith’s girlfriend, who was present during the incident. Johnson also successfully filed a motion to remove Judge Conrad Freeberg from the case. Instead, Judge Daniel Benson will preside over the court proceedings. A pretrial date has been set for January 20th at 1:00pm, with a trial to be scheduled no fewer than 30 days after that.
–A Little Falls man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison following his conviction of Assault in the 4th Degree (Assault on a Peace Officer/ Transfer of Bodily Fluids). 39-year old Nathaniel Donald Brimson was arrested August 17th for a disturbance at the county fairgrounds. Little Falls Police officers responding included Officer Jake Heffron. Brimson was placed in Officer Heffron’s squad car. The squad car’s video shows Brimson yelling at and threatening the officer. The squad car video also shows Brimson spitting on Heffron through the squad’s protective screen that separates the driver from the back seat of the car. Brimson pled guilty in front of Judge Conrad Freeberg Wednesday morning. Brimson waived his right to a pre-sentence investigation and was immediately sentenced to prison.
–A 30-year-old Pillager woman was injured when the all-terrain vehicle she was driving crashed at 12:35pm Tuesday on the 100 block of Cedar Avenue in Pillager. The woman was transported via ambulance to Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd hospital with unknown injuries. No more details were released.
–The University of North Dakota officially changed their names to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The school made the announcement Wednesday morning. The school nickname was previously the Fighting Sioux but they were forced to change their name after years of controversy over the name. The results of the nickname runoff vote, held online November 12-16 for eligible voters, were tallied and the final results of the vote were: Total votes: 27,378. There were 15,670 votes (or 57.24 percent) for the Fighting Hawks and 11,708 votes (or 42.76 percent) for the Roughriders.
–The Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a Brainerd fire that appears to be suspicious. The Brainerd Fire Department was called to a structure fire at 8:30pm Monday at an apartment on the 800 block of Quince Street in Brainerd. When crews arrived on scene they found heavy smoke coming from the basement door and the windows from the main level of one of the apartment units. Crews entered the structure and quickly extinguished the fire in the basement. The origin of the fire was on the north side of the basement. The fire appears to be suspicious because of what firefighters found on the scene. Fire crews were on scene for several hours checking for fire extension in the walls and floor and conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire.
–Cream of the Crop Theater in Randall has closed its doors for the last time. Owner Beth Selinger cited a lack of available actors as a reason behind the closure.
–A Benton County judge has ruled that a jury should decide whether a former Sauk Rapids police sergeant was acting as a city employee when he made a posting to an Internet site that is the subject of a defamation lawsuit. Benton County District Court Judge Robert Raupp denied a motion from the city and its insurance carrier that asked Raupp to declare that Tom Roy was not acting as a city employee when he made the post. If Raupp had declared that Roy made the post outside the scope of his official duty, the city and its insurance carrier could deny legal representation to Roy. Roy is being sued by Ryan Larson, the man who was arrested in the hours after Cold Spring-Richmond police officer Tommy Decker was killed. Larson was held in jail but wasn’t charged in Decker’s death. No other suspects were arrested in the Decker investigation. Investigators later identified Eric Thomes as a person of interest in Decker’s killing and said he would have been arrested had he not killed himself. Larson is accusing Roy of defamation for the contents of a letter Roy posted to a website dedicated to officers killed in the line of duty.
–A Sartell man was arrested Tuesday, four days after police say he placed a gun in another man’s mouth during a robbery. 23-year old Orlando Johnson was one of three people arrested in connection with a robbery that was reported on Friday morning. The Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force says a male victim was with two women using drugs that morning at 41 Third Avenue NE in St. Cloud. The VOTF said the three people went to an ATM, where the man withdrew cash, and then returned to the residence. Authorities say one of the women, 49-year-old Chyvonne Lewis of St. Cloud, left the apartment and let Johnson into the building. Johnson went to the victim’s apartment where the other woman, 23-year-old Amanda Schrupp, let him in. Johnson then punched the man, pointed a handgun in his face, and placed it in his mouth while demanding cash. Authorities say Schrupp told Johnson where the money was in the apartment. Police pulled over a vehicle driven by Schrupp later that day and arrested her. Lewis was arrested the next day while walking on the east side of St. Cloud, and police say Johnson was arrested Tuesday after fleeing his car during a traffic stop at Fifth Street South and Seventh Avenue South.
WEATHER
A wet stretch of days in Little Falls as since Sunday night the area received over four inches of rainfall.
TODAY= partly cloudy, cold, high 29 and gusty 40mph winds.
TONIGHT= flurries early, then clearing, low 19 and breezy.
FRIDAY= sunny and cold, high 30, clear night low 17.
SATURDAY= sunny and cold, high 25 breezy, low around 10.
SUNDAY= mostly sunny, high 32, low around 25.
SPORTS
NFL= Tennessee at Jacksonville tonight 7pm on KLTF
HS BHK= Hibbing at Little Falls Friday 6:30pm on Q92 WYRQ
COL FB= Gophers host Illinois Saturday 10am on KLTF.
NBA= The Houston Rockets fired Kevin McHale on Wednesday. McHale was fired in Houston after leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011. He the took the team to the conference finals last year but lost to Golden State. The Rockets started 4-7 in 2015.
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