NEWS
--Yesterday afternoon Chuck Zwilling announced that ICE Fest 2024 is changing to a “Beach Fest” due to poor ice conditions and the warmer temperatures. The village (activities & warming/food tent) will be at the Darling/Green Prairie Township Park and beach area next door to the landing. They will have lots of space to host the fun activities everyone has been looking forward to, and even some additional ones. Zwilling said if the ice is appropriate, they will still have hockey and curling yet too, right off the shore and, they are holding out hope of an Ice Carousel still but that depends on the conditions and weather. There will still be events, food, fireworks at 4pm on that Saturday, prizes and games donated by many organizations. Again the event will be February 17th and 18th 10am-6pm both days but now most of the events that would have been on the ice will be now be at the park nearby. Zwilling said they still need help with volunteer opportunities for the weekend of and the week leading up to the event. More details at mnicefest.com.
--The Brainerd Jaycees on Monday put up the map for the Hybrid Fishing Extravaganza they are doing this Saturday February 3rd and the hours will be 8am-2pm. The map shows that lakes from Pillager to Sylvan Township, Baxter to Lake Edward Township through Brainerd and east to Mission Township are all in the 90 minute vicinity to be used for the event on Saturday. Full details are on the Brainerd Jaycees website and on their social media page for the event.
--Last night if you were trying to call the Benton County Sheriff’s Office they were undergoing scheduled maintenance on our telephone system between 4:30pm and 8:30pm. This maintenance caused brief intermittent disruptions of service for the non-emergency telephone lines coming into the sheriff’s office. 911 service was not effected. The Benton County Sheriff's Office appreciated those understanding the situation and informed the public on social media to use 911 for emergencies and if need assistance to contact the sheriff's office through that means.
--Two people are dead after a crash Saturday night near Fairhaven. Just after 11:15, police were called to a crash in Southside Township. Investigators say a Honda Civic went off the road and appeared to have rolled and hit several trees. The driver, identified as 25-year-old James Mancini of Kimball, was ejected. A passenger, identified as 24-year-old Samantha Benoit of Champlin, was found in the front passenger seat. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The exact cause of the crash is under investigation.
--Two men face felony charges for assault and aiding aggravated robbery after allegedly assaulting a man with a baseball bat at a south Brainerd residence. Jade Nickels, 45, of Coleraine, and Samuel Page, 26, of Brainerd, were both charged with felony second-degree assault and felony first-degree aiding and abetting aggravated robbery in Crow Wing County District Court. Nickels made his first court appearance on the charges and is being held in Crow Wing County Jail on $100,000 non-cash bond with conditions or $150,000 bail or bond with no conditions. His next court appearance is Wednesday. Page made his first court appearance on the charges and is being held in the Crow Wing County Jail on $100,000 bail or bond with conditions or $150,000 bail or bond with no conditions. His next court appearance is February 8th. The assault incident happened at a residence all were staying at back on January 10th.
--There will be NO BINGO today at the Pierz Senior Center.
--The Minnesota Court of Appeals Monday upheld the sentence of a man convicted of deliberately crashing an unoccupied SUV into the Cold Spring home of a multi-racial family. Benton Louis Beyer was convicted in September 2022 of stalking, violations of harassment restraining orders, first-degree criminal damage to property, theft of a motor vehicle, and multiple counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Judge Andrew Pearson sentenced Beyer to 105 months, or just under nine years, in prison, which was an upward departure from guidelines due to the aggravating factors. Beyer appealed the sentence, saying the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the assaults were committed “because of” another’s actual or perceived race or color. If a second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon is committed “because of” another’s race or color, the statutory maximum sentence is increased by 25%, from 84 months in prison to 105 months. Beyer argued in his appeal that the facts proved he was acting out of a jealous rage because he believed his girlfriend was carrying on an affair with Robinson’s adult son. He maintained because the person with whom his girlfriend cheated was biracial, it would only make sense he would single out a person of color and not a white male. The panel says there is sufficient evidence to support the jury’s determination the crimes were racially motivated and that there is a causal connection linking Beyer’s racial bias and his commission of the assaults.
--The Wright County Sheriff’s Department is releasing more information about a swatting incident at the home of Congressman Tom Emmer. They said just after six Saturday night, deputies responded to Emmer’s home after getting a call regarding a possible homicide and hostage situation. Authorities made contact with Representative Emmer and his security detail from U.S. Capitol Police. The report was quickly determined to be unfounded. This incident, along with other similar incidents targeting political figures, is under further investigation by the U.S. Capitol Police. Members of Congress and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is running for president, have also been targeted. There are no specific laws targeting swatting, but falsely reporting a crime is a gross misdemeanor in Minnesota. The FBI has launched a database to collect and study information about these incidents.
DEATH NOTICES
--Evelyn Boser, age 85 of Pierz.
--Darrell W. Melby, age 75 of Little Rock.
WEATHER
TODAY= mainly cloudy skies, high near 40.
TONIGHT= cloudy skies, fog overnight, low 27.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and very mild, high 51, low near 35.
THURSDAY= sunny and still mild, high 43, low near 30.
SPORTS
HS BHK= Little Falls at Fergus Falls tonight 7:15pm on Q92 WYRQ
HS BBB= Pequot Lakes at Pierz tonight 7:15pm on 94ROCKS
KLTF Party Line will be live today from Mary of Lourdes Middle School in Little Falls for Catholic Schools Week. Hear the program live on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com.