NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office reported their saddened loss of a former Morrison County Deputy, Dave Scherping. Scherping was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident in Sherburne County that claimed his life this past weekend. Dave Scherping was a Deputy and K-9 handler for our county for a number of years. Dave is the father of current Morrison County K-9 handler Austin Scherping. The Sheriff's Office asked that you please keep Dave’s family and Austin in your thoughts and prayers. A Mass for Dave Scherping for will be Friday at 11am at St. Mary's in Little Falls.
--The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reports that at 4:58am Sunday morning, their office received a report of a one-vehicle accident on Bison Road north of 230th Street, approximately three miles west of Randall in Parker Township. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 37-year-old Jarret Hall of Long Prairie was traveling north on Bison Road. Hall lost control of the vehicle went off the roadway and rolled. Hall was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries.
--Two people were hurt in a two-vehicle crash in Mille Lacs County. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened at about 2pm Sunday in Onamia. A car driven by 76-year-old Gary Chaffins of Buffalo was going south on Highway 169. Another car driven by 95-year-old Ralph Ganz of Rice was crossing the southbound lanes of Highway 169 from Highway 27 when he failed to yield and the two cars crashed. Both men were were treated for non serious injuries.
--There was a deadly crash in Elk River over the weekend. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened at about 1pm Saturday on Highway 169. A car driven by 32-year-old Kelvin Gomez-Landero of Honduras was driving south. Meanwhile, a second vehicle driven by 23-year-old Kyle Flor of Zimmerman was also going south. One of the vehicles lost control while making a lane change and the two vehicles collided. One of the vehicles ran off the road and struck some trees. Gomez-Landero died in the crash. His two passengers, 36-year-old Walter Maradiaga of Bloomington and 26-year-old Luis Briceno were treated with non-life-threatening injuries.
--A Howard Lake man was hurt when the motorcycle he was driving had a mechanical issue and crashed. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened at about 4:45pm Sunday on Highway 55 at Maus Drive in Kimball. 36-year-old Jared Bakeberg was going west when the incident happened. He was treated for non serious injuries. --Two motorcyclists from Litchfield were hurt in a crash in western Minnesota Sunday afternoon. The incident happened shortly after 1pm on Highway 55 in Pope County. The Minnesota State Patrol says two motorcycles were going west on Highway 55 at County Road 23 in Chippewa Falls Township when they collided in the intersection. One driver, 49-year-old Joel Engler, was taken to Glacial Ridge Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other driver, 47-year-old Jeramie Linsmeier, also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office wanted to thank everyone who came out to the Chaplaincy Fundraiser at Eagle’s Landing Friday. Chaplain Gregg Valentine, Sheriff Shawn Larsen and others thank all for the support as $6,300 was raised at the event. The breakdown for the 18 holes of golf are as follows: 1st Place Men’s Division was Terry’s Titans, Women’s 1stPlace was RMS Energy/Happy Hackers and Mixed Couples 1st Place Living Hope Assembly of God. A special thank you again to all who took part in the event on Friday.
–Today on KLTF Community Program, an update from Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Purva Watten at 8:30am on KLTF.
--Little Falls Fire Chief Craig Seelen reported they responded to a grass fire Monday at 6:45am in Green Prairie Township. In the past week they assisted Pierz at a fire in Buckman on Memorial Day and assisted Bowlus Fire Department at a barn fire on June 2nd. Seelen gave no other details on any of the recent fires.
--Morrison County Administrator Matt LeBlanc spoke on KLTF Monday morning. LeBlanc mentioned there are road and non road construction activities this summer. The non-road items include patching holes, filling cracks and summer and culvert repair but also new paint on the roads which started last week, the parks department did tree removal, stump grinding and a grant to bring goats in to help with brush removal. LeBlanc reminds that that household waste removal site is open at the landfill. On construction there are $10 million dollars in road projects from last year into this year including the 4th Street Project with the city in Little Falls, box culvert/bridge work will take place in Royalton, Randall and Pierz and in Royalton at County Road 234 north of Hawthorne Road where new underwater sewer, water and storm sewer with other large items for that project and another large project will start in August on County State Aid Highway 1 in Randall. LeBlanc stated the latest on the Auditor/Treasurer position they have hired Shannon Coyle will be the interim auditor/treasurer at this time until the election item to keep the auditor/treasurer as an elected position or make it an appointed position, but will not come up until the ballot question is put to a vote in the 2024 general election vote. If you have questions or concerns on Morrison County items contact Matt LeBlanc at 320-632-0296.
--Workers at DeZURIK Inc. in Sartell are on strike. The company and members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had been at the bargaining table since the beginning of May. It appeared as of June 1st, a tentative agreement had been reached, but, members rejected it and the group authorized a labor strike on Friday and started walking the picket line at 10pm Sunday night. Members also turned down an extension of the previous agreement over the past weekend. Reportedly there are four main provisions the members want addressed, starting with the concern over a two-tier wage structure. Some other issues include paid time off, health insurance premiums, and cooperation between the union and management. It was reported that talks continue through the weekend and will reconvene again today.
DEATH NOTICES
--Dave Scherping, age 51 of Big Lake formerly of Little Falls.
--Richard “Rich” Smith, age 60 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny skies, high 82, isolated T-storms at times, low 50.
WEDNESDAY= mainly sunny, high near 80, low near 50 less humid.
THURSDAY= mainly sunny, high near 80, storms late night, low 60.
SPORTS
TWINS= The Twins (31-29) open a series at Tampa Bay tonight against the Rays, pregame at 5pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HS BAB= Albany eliminated Pierz baseball 7-0 Monday in playoffs. Upsala Swanville won and then lost and are eliminated also.
HS BAB= Little Falls vs. Rocori for the Section 8AAA Championship will be on Wednesday in St. Cloud. First game at 4pm, Flyers needs to win two over Rocori for the section title. Games live on KLTF.