NEWS
--The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert for central and northwestern Minnesota including all of Morrison County and much of the surrounding area. The alert went into effect on Monday and is in effect through today at noon. The affected area includes Morrison County, Alexandria, Brainerd, East Grand Forks, Hinckley, Moorhead, St. Cloud, the Twin Cities, and the tribal nations of Upper Sioux, Leech Lake, Red Lake, and Mille Lacs. The air quality levels are expected to reach orange, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups. There are people who are more likely to be affected when fine particle pollution reaches an unhealthy level including people who have asthma, heart disease or high blood pressure, children and older adults. Everyone in these groups are encouraged to limit outdoor physical activities, take more breaks and contact your health care provider if you have trouble breathing or chest pains.
--Four people were hurt in an early morning house fire near Deerwood Saturday. The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office says around 4:30am, deputies and members of the Deerwood Fire Department responded to a fire at a house in the 21000 block of Wood Land Road in Irondale Township near Ironton. Authorities say the caller said he was outside, but three people were inside the home. By the time first responders arrived, two boys, ages 14 and 15, had made their way out of the house. Crews entered the home and retrieved a 35-year-old woman. She and the teens were taken to the hospital with unknown injuries. A deputy from the sheriff’s department was taken to the hospital as well, treated for smoke inhalation, and released. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
--The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is reminding Minnesotans to be careful after a truck fell through Leech Lake this week. Authorities say the report came in around 10am on Friday. Deputies arrived to find a pick-up truck with a snowplow that had fallen through the ice near Horseshoe Bay Resort. The sheriff’s office says the driver, a 19-year-old Buffalo man, had been driving on a plowed roadway on the lake when the large crack formed. Authorities say he was able to escape the truck and was not hurt in the incident. Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk says no ice should ever be considered safe and recommends checking ice conditions frequently, using lighter transportation options, and other common sense tips like making sure you tell someone when you are going out on the ice, bringing a cell phone, and not traveling on ice after dark. There were other ice related incidents in Otter Tail, Clay and Beltrami County this past weekend but those did not results in any injuries.
--Another weekend of snowmobile accidents in Minnesota. One person was killed in Hibbing Saturday afternoon, the 55 year old was pronounced dead after the snowmobile missed a turn. Authorities also stated that snowmobile accidents with injuries also occurred in Otter Tail County and Wabasha County. Last weekend Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen asked for snowmobile operators to please slow down, following safety rules and drive with care.
--Officials are investigating the cause of a fire in St. Cloud. First responders were called to the 1000-block of 10th Avenue South around 8pm on Friday night on the report of a possible fire in a two-story home. There was light smoke in the main floor’s kitchen. Firefighters performed a rapid attack and put the flames out. The fire was contained to the kitchen; however, the home sustained around $40,000 in damage. No one was hurt.
--Check out the broadcast schedule for games at fallsradio.com.
--Pierz City Council meeting last night was postponed. They will instead meet on Tuesday, January 17th at 7:00pm at Pierz City Hall.
--Three people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash in Sherburne County. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened just before 7pm Sunday on Highway 10 in Big Lake. A car driven by 20-year-old Morgan Rassatt of Ramsey was going west while a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Bryce Cameron of Big Lake was going east. Cameron's vehicle turned left onto 168th Street and the two vehicles collided. Rassatt, Cameron, and a passenger 52-year-old Suneeta Kissoon-Camoeron of Big Lake were all taken to CentraCare in Monticello with non-life-threatening injuries.
--A Waseca man has pleaded guilty to engaging in electronic communication to describe sexual conduct with a child in Stearns County. Thirty-eight-year-old Montana Wagle had been charged with three felonies involving electronic communications and sexual conduct involving a child. An undercover officer with the Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force was posing as a 15-year-old girl in an online chat room on June 20th when Wagle made contact. Court records show the conversation switched to texting and turned sexual. According to the charging complaint, Wagle asked about sex acts, requested pictures, and sent sexual pictures of himself to the undercover officer. Authorities were able to use a search warrant at Wagle's Waseca home where they seized his electronic devices and arrested him. He'll be sentenced on March 14th.
--A 38-year-old man is jailed after allegedly assaulting a police officer. Just after 11pm Thursday night, St. Cloud police were called to the Days Inn because of a trespassing complaint from the property. Officers responded and found the man, identified as Joshua Hooper, who claimed he didn’t know he couldn’t be there. The officer told him he was under arrest and asked him to stand up and put his hands behind his back. The officer had Hooper partially in custody when he pulled away and refused to comply with other commands. He then rushed at the officer and threw a punch, hitting him on the top of his head. Hooper would not get on the ground as asked and started to walk toward the officer, who TASED him. When backup arrived, the two got Hooper into custody. The judge ordered that Hooper remained jailed until next next court appearance without bail.
DEATH NOTICES
--John Wuchko, age 71 of Swanville.
--Marcella “Sally” Schmidt, age 98 of Little Falls formerly of Swanville.
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy skies, mist/drizzle and fog, high near 30.
TONIGHT= freezing rain possible, then snow 1-2 inches by morning, slippery roads are likely overnight, low around 25.
WEDNESDAY= AM flurries, then mostly cloudy, high 30, low 18.
THURSDAY= sunny and cooler, high near 20, low around 7 above
SPORTS
HS BBB= Little Falls at Pequot Lakes tonight 7:15 on Q92.
HS BBB= Staples-Motley at Pierz tonight 7:15pm on 94ROCKS.
NFL= Philadelphia and Kansas City got first round byes. Saturday Seattle at San Francisco at 3:30 followed by LA Chargers at Jacksonville at 7:15pm. Sunday Miami at Buffalo at noon then the Vikings host New York Giants at 3:30pm and the night game as Baltimore at Cincinnati. Monday night has Dallas at Tampa Bay. Hear all the playoff games live this weekend on AM960 KLTF.