NEWS --The Sartell bridge will be closing for three weeks as crews work to complete scheduled repairs. The bridge will be closed to traffic starting today and will last approximately three weeks. Traffic will be detoured to the Bridge of Hope on Highway 15. Officials are concerned falling temperatures could create slippery and hazardous conditions for construction workers. The bridge had been open to single-lane traffic as the repairs were being completed. The work consists of replacing the expansion joints in the bridge deck, new concrete barrier wall, and metal railing. Underneath the bridge, crews are repairing the concrete bridge beams, repair the concrete pier caps and reposition the beam bearing pads.
--A man who told police he killed a woman in his St. Cloud home will have a psychiatric evaluation before the case continues. The man's lawyers filed a motion to have him deemed incompetent. Stearns County Judge John Scherer filed an order Tuesday to have an evaluation be completed. 38-year old Daniel Walter Kenning told an investigator September 29th that he had just killed someone and that "God had told him he needed to kill someone so he would be able to resurrect them." St. Cloud police identified the victim as 45-year old Jennifer Lee Moy of Blaine. Kenning was charged with one count of second-degree murder. The evaluation will take place at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center within the next 60 days.
--A Benton County judge has denied a motion to dismiss the indictment against a man suspected in a February Sauk Rapids shooting. A motion filed in August on behalf of 21-year old William Demont White, Jr. of St. Cloud asked the judge to dismiss the grand jury indictment that charged White with several counts of murder based on potential grand juror bias. 38-year old Vance DiWayne Laster of St. Cloud, and 26-year old Nokomis Lee Jefferson of Chicago, were also indicted on several counts of murder and gang-related crimes in connection with the shooting. According to court documents, a transcript indicated a grand juror may have personally witnessed events surrounding the February shooting. A private review found the juror did not personally observe the events and had no bias. The grand juror observed many police vehicles go past their home that night, but he or she did not live close enough to witness the alleged crime. The grand juror did not see police stop any cars, did not visit the scene of the alleged crime, did not observe any people at that location and does not know how many were involved.
--One person died in a two-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon on Stearns County Road 75. The driver who died was identified as Amina Mohamed Abdi, a 29-year-old woman from St. Cloud. Abdi was the only person in the vehicle. The crash happened around 2:30 and involved a car and a semi truck near the 23000 block of Stearns County Road 75. Cody James Richert, a 28-year-old man from Becker, was driving the semi truck. Richert was not injured in the crash. An investigation, according to a release from the St. Cloud Police Department, indicates Abdi was traveling southbound in the northbound lane. No criminal charges are expected.
--A reminder that students from most to all Minnesota schools are off today and tomorrow for what was originally called MEA break. In past year some schools have just called it fall break. Just a reminder to watch for access students out and about today and Friday as there is no school for any public and some private K-12 schools in the state.
--Trail Life USA Troop 19 is hosting an informational meeting on Tuesday at 6:00pm at Faith Lutheran Church in Little Falls. The Trail Life program centers on outdoor experiences that build a young man’s skills and allow him to grow on a personal level. Living the Trail Life is a journey established on timeless values derived from the Bible. If you have a son in grades K-12 and are interested in joining with others on this trail, please RSVP by calling (320) 232-8205 or through email at traillifetroop19@gmail.com. More information can be found at www.traillifeusa.com.
--The Minnesota Department of Health says a seventh child has been struck by a rare, paralyzing illness that has been reported across the country. Health specialists say the symptoms in the latest case match those of the other children in Minnesota who have been diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. The polio-like illness causes limited mobility or paralysis. U.S. health officials on Tuesday reported a jump in cases of AFM. At least 62 cases have been confirmed in 22 states this year, and at least 65 additional illnesses in those states are being investigated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says similar waves of the same illness occurred in 2014 and 2016. CDC officials say they haven't found the cause.
--Minnesota communities and schools wanting to develop safer routes for students to walk and bicycle to school can apply for planning assistance grants through the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program. Application deadline is January 4th, 2019. Since 2006, MnDOT has worked with communities around the state to fund nearly 300 schools’ plans to develop and advance safe routes to school. For more information, go to mndot.gov/saferoutes/planning-grants.html.
--First Lutheran Church of Little Falls will hold their Fall Fling fundraiser this Saturday with a concert at 7pm, pie auction and silent auction to follow that night. There is no cost to attend the concert. Proceeds from the other items go to help the upkeep at the church on Riverview Drive in Little Falls.
DEATH NOTICES --Raymond Philip Bayer, age 85 of Fort Ripley. --Arnold Gene Wheeler Sr., age 85 of Little Falls. --Father Bernard W. Kahlhamer, age 87 of Pierz.
WEATHER TODAY= sunny and very mild, high 68. TONIGHT= mostly cloudy, low 48. FRIDAY= partly sunny, turning windy, high 60 early then falling. SATURDAY= rain/snow mix early then cold & windy, high 36, low 21. SUNDAY= sunny skies, less windy, high 47, low near 30.
SPORTS HS FB= Pierz wins 66-0 over Rockford to go to 8-0. KMS hands Royalton their first lost of the year 29-8. Royals are 7-1. Milaca beat Little Falls 54-20. Upsala/Swanville beat BBE, Holdingford and Pillager also won last night. The seeding for playoffs will take place this morning. Listen to Little Falls Radio later today for games and times. COL FB= Gophers at Nebraska Saturday 1:30pm on AM960 KLTF NFL= Denver at Arizona tonight 7pm on AM960 KLTF. MLB= Dodgers and Red Sox both win last night to take series leads in their matches against Milwaukee and Houston.