NEWS --The Minnesota Military Museum has a new “Traveling Trunk” program and will loan artifact loaded trunks to schools, libraries or organizations for displays and hands on use by students. The trunks contain period artifacts that can be used in displays or in classrooms from; the Civil War, WW l, WW ll, and Vietnam. Each trunk contains period specific uniforms, posters, and items which may have been carried or used in the era. Curator Doug Thompson stated, “Our organizations mission is to educate the public on the service of Minnesota’s veterans and be an educational resource for Military History. These trunks meet our mission and we intend to add additional trunks and time periods as the program grows”.
--The Benton County Sheriff’s Office and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, recently partnered to provide a new way for the public to stay informed about crime in Benton County. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office now has an online crime map called Community Crime Map (http://communitycrimemap.com/) that maps and analyzes crime data, alerts Benton County citizens about crimes in their area, and allows the Benton County Sheriff’s Office to quickly alert the public about crimes as they occur. Community Crime Map displays all of the incidents on a map, grid and analytic dashboard along with some basic information about the incidents, including type of crime, location type, block-level address, date and time. In order to protect the identity of crime victims, parts of the victim’s address are blocked out and a random offset is applied to the plotted location on the map. This free service is an ad free website and LexisNexis does not sell data to third party vendors. This Community Crime Map is another way for the public to partner with the Sheriff’s Office in their efforts to keep Benton County safe.
--A bill that passed the Minnesota House to sell alcohol on Sunday's in Minnesota passed the Minnesota Senate Monday. The Governor is expected to sign the bill.
--Stewart Mills III Saturday addressed Crow Wing County Republicans stating he is “keeping the door open for a 2018 run” for Congress. Mills lost to current Congressman Rick Nolan in 2014 and 2016 in close races. Mills stated he has several months before having to make a decision and said it would be interesting if Congressman Nolan decided not to run in District 8 as he has been coined as a possible candidate for Governor by the DFL Party in 2018.
--Two people were taken to St. Cloud Hospital after a two-vehicle crash Thursday in north St. Cloud. The crash happened at 10:10am at the intersection of 33rd Avenue North and Veterans Drive when one vehicle ran a red light and hit the other vehicle. A car driven by 54-year-old Abdi S. Omar was heading south on 33rd Avenue when it went through the red light at Veterans Drive and hit an SUV being driven by 27-year old Ashley Ann Torblaa of St. Cloud causing her SUV to roll. Torblaa and a passenger, 57-year old Brenda Margaret Torblaa of Howard Lake, were taken to the hospital with non life threatening injuries. Omar was cited for failure to stop at a red light. He had minor injuries, but was not hospitalized.
--St. Cloud police say they took a man into custody shortly before 6:00pm Thursday after distributing a photo in the investigation of a knife incident. 51-year old David John Martie was taken into custody on possible charges of felony threats of violence. No one was injured.
--A woman has been shot and killed and a man arrested in Todd County. The Sheriff’s Office says they were called to a home on 360th Street in Clarissa just before 2:00am on Saturday. 36-year-old Lacey Kuschel was found dead inside the home. Tyler Slagerman was arrested at the home, and is being held in the Todd County Jail. No other details about the incident have been released.
--A St. Cloud man accused of attempted murder for repeatedly stomping on another man's head has been found competent to face the charge. 30-year old Solomon Edward Roundtree is charged with attempted second-degree murder. In July 2015 he was committed as mentally ill after being found incompetent to stand trial. He has since been restored to competency, and a Stearns County judge Thursday signed an order finding Roundtree competent. That means the criminal case against him can resume. His next court hearing is scheduled for May 18th.
--Two people were arrested in Sauk Rapids within the last week after related incidents in which a truck was hit by gunfire and an assault led to injuries that sent one person to the hospital. The incidents happened in the early hours of February 18th in the 700 block of Second Avenue North. In one case a resident reported that someone had shot holes in their truck and flattened a vehicle tire. A 15-year old boy was arrested in that incident and had a handgun in his possession when he was arrested. In the other incident, one person required treatment at the hospital for a head injury. Officers on February 22nd arrested 20-year old Kevin Hall Johnson. Johnson was charged with felony assault. He made his first court appearance Friday. While arresting Johnson, investigators learned information that led to a search warrant used to recover property taken in burglaries in Sauk Rapids and in Benton County.
--Coffee with the Cop event this morning 8:30-10am at Coborn's Deli.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS --Judge Joseph Wapner died Sunday at age 97. Wapner was a judge from 1959-1976 and then in 1981 became judge over TV's The People's Court from 1981-1993. The show, without Wapner, still airs on syndicated television today.
DEATH NOTICES --Herbert A. Seelen, age 66 of Little Falls --Lorraine Trout, age 87 of Browerville
WEATHER TODAY= rain and snow mix, up to 1 inch, some ice, high 37. TONIGHT= freezing rain to snow, ½ inch by midnight, low 20. WEDNESDAY= partly sunny, PM flurries, high 33, low 15. THURSDAY= mostly cloudy, high 29, clear and colder, low 8.
SPORTS GBB= Little Falls at Alexandria playoffs tonight 7pm on Q92 WYRQ WRE= Listen to State Wrestling Coverage Thursday starting at 11am for the Pierz Pioneers in team competition on Q92 WYRQ. NHL= Wild win in overtime last night 5-4 over LA Kings. Wild announced they traded to get Martin Hanzel from Arizona in a deal. NBA= Wiggins and Towns combine for 56 points at Wolves beat Sacramento last night 102-88. Wolves still a chance for playoffs. TWINS= Twins win 9-6 over Miami Monday, have Tampa Bay today.