[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=”” padding_right=”” 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 Tuesday, February 23rd 2016[/title][fusion_text]
NEWS
–The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce announced last week the winners of the volunteer, large and small business of the year at their annual banquet. The Large Business of the Year is Brandl Motors. The Small Business of the Year is Subway. The Volunteer of the Year is Dr. DeAnn Adams who owns Paradox Chiropratric.
–A man named as a person of interest in the 1989 disappearance of Jacob Wetterling pleaded not guilty Monday to 25 federal charges accusing him of possessing and receiving child pornography. 52-year old Danny James Heinrich made a brief appearance in U.S. District Court to enter his not guilty pleas. His trial on the pornography charges is scheduled for July 11th. Heinrich has not been charged with any offenses related to the Wetterling kidnapping. But a search warrant unsealed when Heinrich was arrested in late October shows that investigators were at his Annandale residence this summer looking for evidence related to Wetterling’s disappearance. What investigators found were dozens of images of suspected child pornography. Heinrich has been housed at the Sherburne County Jail since his arrest and indictment. Court records filed at the time of his arrest provided details about several attacks on boys in the mid-to-late 1980s in the Paynesville area and the belief by the city’s police chief in 1990 that Heinrich should be considered a suspect in those attacks. Court records also show that DNA connects Heinrich to the abduction and sexual assault of a Cold Spring boy that happened nine months before the Wetterling abduction.
–A St. Cloud man crashed three times in five minutes as he sped around downtown St. Cloud before being arrested and charged with drunken driving. 29-year old Ricky Ray Schmatz was charged Thursday with felony DWI, driving a vehicle without the consent of its owner and leaving the scene of a collision that caused injury. On Tuesday at 10:57am police were sent to a hit-and-run collision near Seventh Avenue North and Sixth Street North in St. Cloud. A woman told police she had been rear-ended very hard by a black vehicle, which then turned east on Sixth Street North and south on Sixth Avenue North. The woman later went to St. Cloud Hospital and was told she had suffered whiplash injuries. One minute later, officers were dispatched to Sixth Avenue North and St. Germain Street. A witness told police she had seen a black car driving very fast south on Sixth Avenue North and went through a stop sign to turn east on St. Germain Street, driving onto the curb and hitting a garbage can. The witness said the driver tried to turn left on Fifth Avenue North but hit a chain link fence surrounding the construction site there. The witness described the driver as a white man with dark blonde hair. Two minutes after that, police responded to crash at Seventh Avenue South and First Street South involving the same black car and a yellow cab. The cab driver told police he had been rear-ended by the fast-moving black car. An officer attempted to talk to Schmatz, who was driving the vehicle, but he was unresponsive. The officer saw an open beer bottle on the front passenger side, and Schmatz had a bottle of prescription medicine in his pocket. Schmatz’s blood was drawn and has been sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis. Schmatz’s driving status was canceled after his three previous convictions of driving under the influence.
–Little Falls Community High School will have Parent/Teacher Conferences on Monday, February 29th from 3:45 – 6:45 pm in the High School Commons. This will be the only Parent/Teacher Conference scheduled for Quarter 3.
–Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Friday morning released the names of three semifinalists who are under consideration to be president of Central Lakes College. The candidates are Hara Charlier, Robert Griggs, and Anna Wasescha. They will visit CLC’s Brainerd and Staples campuses this week through Thursday to meet students, faculty, staff and members of the community. The candidates were recommended by a search advisory committee made up of students, faculty, staff and community leaders.
–The Morrison County Commissioners meet today at 9am at the Morrison County Government Center.
–Lake Shore Mayor John Poston announced over the weekend he is seeking the House District 9A Republican endorsement for the seat. Poston is a restaurant owner and local property management business member in the area. Poston is the third person to announce their candidacy for the District 9A Seat after Representative Mark Anderson announced he would not seek reelection in November.
–Minnesota farmers could see a squeeze in profits in 2016. Farmland prices are still slipping in the state after decades of increases. The prices of corn and soybeans are staying relatively low. Several reports show the pattern for farmland values falling through the entire central part of the United States. In Minnesota the median price for farm real estate was down 5.5% in the first 9 months of 2015.
–Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is endorsing Marco Rubio in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Pawlenty made the endorsement Monday calling the Florida senator the most electable conservative with a strong view on how to move the country forward.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
–Jonathan and Sherri Sandelin of Long Prairie, boy on February 19th
DEATH NOTICES
–Teresa Kowalczyk, age 66 of Pierz.
–Eugene Zyvoloski, age 78 of Little Falls.
–Joseph Bruce Anderson, age 26 of Little Falls.
–Margaret Rothleutner, age 76 of rural Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= snow showers with some rain, high 36.
TONIGHT= mostly cloudy, low 20.
WEDNESDAY= partly sunny, high 31, cloudy night low 22.
THURSDAY= sunny skies, windy, high 25, low 15.
SPORTS
HS BBB= Little Falls at Fergus Falls in opening section playoff action tonight at 7pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HS GBB= Staples-Motley at Pierz tonight 7:30pm on FM94 KFML.
WRE= state wrestling touranment coverage Thursday through Saturday can be heard live on Q92 WYRQ.
BHK= tickets are available for the section finals this Thursday between Little Falls and Cathedral through the High School Activity Office from 7:30-3:30pm today and tomorrow, and 7:30-12 Thursday.
TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1836= Davey Crockett and others killed at siege on the Alamo.
IN 1896= the tootsie roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield.
IN 1940= Walt Disney studios release Pinocchio to theaters.
IN 1945= U.S. Marines raise the flag in Iwo Jima, Japan.
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