NEWS --Shortly after 6:00am Sunday the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a motorcycle accident with injuries on Partridge Road, south of 113th Street in Hillman Township, southeast of Genola. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 53-year old Jay Saldana of Rice was traveling west on Partridge Road in the curve when he tried to avoid a deer while driving a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Saldana and his passenger, 52-year old Kim Gross of St. Cloud, were both thrown from the motorcycle after colliding with the deer. Saldana was transported by Life Link III to St. Cloud Hospital where he later died from his injuries. Gross was transported by North Air Care to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale where her condition is unknown. Neither individual was wearing a helmet and the case remains under investigation by the sheriff's office.
--Around 10:40pm Friday the Morrison County Sheriff ‘s Office received a report of a two vehicle accident with possible injuries at the intersection of 93rd Street and 170th Avenue in Bellevue Township, north of Royalton. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 16-year old Justin Ring of Royalton was traveling south on 170th Avenue when he failed to stop for a stop sign. Ring struck a vehicle driven by 27-year old Shawn Smith of Andover who was traveling east on 93rd Street. All parties involved declined medical treatment.
--In the recent Camp Ripley report, a local resident of Morrison County found and returned a military unmanned aircraft that had malfunctioned during training on Camp Ripley on August 11th. During a scheduled flight, part of an operator’s course, an Unmanned Aerial System on Camp Ripley lost signal and drifted out of Camp Ripley Airspace. The RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aerial System is suspected to have experienced a GPS failure which in turn made the aircraft uncontrollable and did not allow it to recover to the preset lost link point. A further investigation of the equipment malfunction is underway, but staff on Camp Ripley is assured that this is not a danger to the community in any way.
--The Secretary of State's Office reported that the voter turnout shows a larger response in the Primary Election in the Twin Cities Metro which and an increase of voters by over 120% from two years prior (of course there was not as many up for election), and up 50% from four years ago. The election showed less voter turnout and voter change in primary voters in Morrison and Todd County and slightly increased voter turnout in Stearns and Benton counties. There was a large increase in Crow Wing County likely because of the sheriff's race. The secretary of state showed that the lower overall turnout of voters was in the far northern and northwestern Minnesota, but overall there was an increase in voters perhaps caused by several contested high profile races. The increase overall shows leads experts to predict that many are expected to turn out and vote for the general election in November.
–A 2-year old boy is dead after an incident on a farm in Kandiyohi County. The sheriff's office says the toddler was struck by a skid steer loader about 2:00pm Sunday on a farm in Roseland Township. The boy's father took him to a hospital in Olivia, where he died. Authorities are still investigating what happened. The child's name wasn't immediately released.
--Keep listening to Little Falls Radio for the latest Pierz Oktoberfest medallion clues to win $500 in Pierz Bucks. Another clue today.
--A woman is suspected of threatening violence, a felony, after an incident Sunday evening involving a kitchen knife. 27-year old Shelia Shanell Shell is accused of stabbing a man's vehicle tire with a kitchen knife and then threatening to stab the man and run him over. Shell has a bail hearing on Tuesday.
--A Wisconsin woman died at a St. Cloud hospital a day after being found unresponsive in the water on Ponto Lake in rural Backus. The Cass County Sheriff's Office responded to the possible drowning at 4:23pm Saturday. When deputies and responders arrived on scene, they learned a 37-year old woman from Sheboygan, Wisconsin had been swimming near shore and was found by other parties in the area in the water not breathing. The victim was removed from the water and CPR and lifesaving efforts were performed. The victim was transferred to an Air Care helicopter and transported to a St. Cloud hospital, where she died Sunday. The victim's identity is being withheld pending notification of family members. An autopsy is scheduled with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office.
--A 57-year old man died early Monday after being struck by a train in Detroit Lakes. Emergency dispatchers received a report at about 12:15am Monday that a southbound Canadian Pacific Railway train had struck a pedestrian at a railroad crossing at Willow Street. The victim was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of Essentia Health St. Mary’s hospital in Detroit Lakes, where he died. The victim’s last known address is Fergus Falls. Officers encountered the man earlier when a homeowner on Campbell Avenue in Detroit Lakes called to have the man removed from the residence. The man’s name was not released, and no other details are yet available.
--The Morrison County Solid Waste Management Facility is reminding residents that the landfill will be reverting back to winter hours for the remainder of 2018 after Labor Day. The facility is open all year, however beginning September 8th, 2018, Saturday hours from Labor Day to Memorial Day will be 8:00am-12:00pm. Any questions on the landfill and their hours can be directed to 632-1944.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS --Jeremy and Amber Edelman of Pierz, a baby boy born August 17th --Jesse Vadnais and Ashley Lashinski of Little Falls, a girl born 8-17.
DEATH NOTICE --Doris A. Virnig, age 78 of Lastrup
WEATHER TODAY= patchy smoke early, then partly sunny, high 73. TONIGHT= clear skies, cool night, low near 50. WEDNESDAY= sunny skies, high 77, low around 55. THURSDAY= afternoon storms develop, high 78, low near 55.
SPORTS TWINS= White Sox beat Twins 8-5 last night, though Cave and Kepler had homers. The series moves to Chicago now after last night's make up game at Target Field. The Twins continue the series now at Chicago White Sox tonight 6:30pm on Q92 WYRQ. WNBA= WNBA playoffs begin today with two first round win or go home games, Dallas at Phoenix which is followed by the Minnesota Lynx at Los Angeles Sparks. Winners play in 2nd round on Thursday. NFL= Vikings host Seattle in preseason game #3 Friday night.