NEWS
--The Veterans Program for the Pierz School District is today at 9:30am at the MAC in Pierz. Tomorrow is the Mary of Lourdes Middle School Veterans Program at 1:30pm heard live on AM960 KLTF.
--The Department of Natural Resources says Minnesota hunters registered about the same number of deer during the first two days of the gun season as in the same period last year. The DNR says of the 70,724 deer registered, 57 percent were bucks compared with 67 percent during the first weekend last year. The agency predicts about 200,000 deer will be taken during this year's hunt. The total harvest last year was about 173,000. The deer season in most of the state continues through Nov. 12. The northern rifle zone season continues through Nov. 19. The late southeast season runs Nov. 18 to Nov. 26. The muzzleloader season begins Nov. 25 and ends Dec. 10.
--More information on school referendum votes from Tuesday. In Pillager as mentioned had a vote on their building expansion from an operating levy referendum which failed, the numbers go 679 (61.23%) no to 430 (38.77%) yes votes. The levy in the Melrose school district passed 52 percent to 48 percent. Superintendent Greg Winter says it's a six-year levy at $200 per student each year. He says $27 of that is a renewal, and $173 is additional money. The technology levy in the ROCORI school district passed with 870 "yes" votes and 789 "no" votes. It means the district will get an additional $250,000 a year for the next 10 years in revenue to help pay for technology upgrades.
--Motorists who travel Highway 169 between Zimmerman and Princeton will encounter crews, trucks merging onto and off of the roadway, occasional lane closures and potential delays while crews remove trees along the road right of way. The trees are being removed to improve sight lines at intersections and other areas, remove debris from the road’s clear zone and improve overall safety along nine miles of the busy, four-lane freeway. After analyzing crash data from the past 10 years, MnDOT estimates that 44 of the 66 crashes on this stretch of road may have been avoided or reduced with fewer trees in the road right of way. The tree work and any required lane closures will occur on both directions of Highway 169 between County Road 4 in Zimmerman and 313th Avenue NE in Princeton, Mondays through Saturdays, sunrise to sunset. The project began Tuesday and will be complete in early to mid December.
--The Minnesota Department of Transportation is taking public comments on the Freight Investment Plan. The plan will help the agency and its stakeholders make freight capital improvements that improve freight mobility, safety and first- and last-mile connections over the next 10 years. The public can comment on the plan until December 18th. The investment plan identifies $99 million in freight capital improvement projects, including interchange and intersection reconstructions, highway improvements and port terminal expansions. They were selected through a statewide grant application process. After the Freight Investment Plan is finalized, it will be amended into MnDOT’s Statewide Freight System Plan, which was revised to address requirements of the federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act legislation passed in 2015. The investment plan and project list is on the MNDOT website.
--The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was called around 1:20am Thursday morning to the address of 28083 County Road 12 in St Martin township, northwest of St. Martin for a structure fire. One of the turkey barns for St Martin Farm Inc was fully engulfed. The 1000 foot barn is divided into sections where the east section was a total loss. The other sections had minimal damage. Approximately 6,000 turkeys perished in the fire. No humans were injured.
--A Paynesville woman has died after hitting a truck on Friday that police say ran a stop sign. 45-year old Char Peltz grew up and lived in Paynesville after she was born in St. Cloud. Around 3:00pm Friday Peltz was driving south on Stearns County Road 33 when she struck a truck pulling a flat-bed trailer. The driver of the truck, 51-year old Danny Heine of Tripoli, Iowa, failed to stop at a stop sign before entering the intersection from Stearns County Road 16. The crash is still under investigation.
--An Illinois man was arrested early Wednesday morning in connection with the short lived disappearance of a Bemidji girl. According to a release from the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, the 13-year old girl’s parents reported her missing at about 9:00am Tuesday, after discovering she was not home and had not arrived at school. Investigators learned that the girl might have left the area with Chris Morales of Oswego Illinois. Morales is now in custody. The pair met through social media. The girl and the man were found in Minneapolis. Morales is being held in the Beltrami County Jail on suspicion of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and deprivation of custodial or parental rights.
--A man who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography will have to spend two weeks in Benton County Jail. He could go to prison if he violates the conditions of his 5-year, supervised probation. 35-year old Samuel Teachman of St. Cloud pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of child pornography in mid-August. Seventh Judicial District Judge Shan Wang sentenced Teachman on Wednesday.
--The USA (Upsala/Swanville) Community Chorus will present their Veterans Concert this Saturday night at 7:30 at the auditorium in Swanville. The cost if $5, but if you are a member of a Veterans organization and wear your Legion of VFW hat, and if you are active or retired military and come in uniform, you are free of charge. The concert will also have time for speakers who fought in World War II.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and cold, high 18 wind chills near or below zero.
TONIGHT= clear and cold, low 4 above, wind chills below zero.
FRIDAY= increasing clouds, high 25, light snow after midnight.
FRI NIGHT= snow/sleet in overnight, temps rising to low 30s.
SATURDAY= becoming sunny, warmer, high 38, cloudy night, low 25.
SUNDAY= sunny skies, high 33, clear at night low around 20.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins Byron Buxton and Brian Dozier both received Gold Gloves earlier this week for their stellar defense in 2017 season.
NFL= Seattle vs. Arizona tonight 7pm on AM960 KLTF.
HS FB= State Quarter-Final football begins for some teams tonight, but most will play Friday and Saturday. Pierz takes on Proctor Saturday at 3pm in Brainerd live on FM94 KFML. There are tickets available still from the District Office in Pierz but call today.
MN= both the Wild and the Timberwolves lost their games last night.