NEWS
--Two Brainerd men are behind bars after a victim called 911 reporting she was held at gunpoint by two male suspects. 25-year old Cortoren Andrew Shegog and 38-year old Andres Enrique Maier both appeared Friday, May 28th, separately in Crow Wing County District Court to hear the felony charges filed against them. Maier was charged with first degree aggravated robbery with a dangerous weapon, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping; and Shegog was charged with aiding and abetting Maier on all three felony counts. The charges stem from a call on May 27th to a report of a female victim held at gunpoint by the two men. The victim reported she was on the 600 block of James Street when two men known to her arrived and accused her of stealing a computer. The victim was inside the trailer home with two other adult victims identified as M.F. and L.C. Shegog and Maier demanded property at the trailer. M.F. gave them a television and an air conditioning unit to appease them. At one point Maier pointed the gun at the back of the woman’s head and she was ordered out of the residence to Shegog’s vehicle. Shegog then drove with Maier in the vehicle and the woman to multiple residences in Brainerd, demanding his laptop. Shegog and Maier are being housed in Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd. Shegog’s next court hearing is scheduled June 9th and and Maier’s next appearance is on June 17th.
--A popular program that gives SNAP recipients better access to healthier foods at Minnesota farmers markets has been tied up in budget talks at the state Capitol. Supporters say it not only helps consumers in need, but also boosts local economies. Market Bucks works by giving SNAP customers a dollar for dollar match when they make purchases at a participating farmers market. That match comes with a 10-dollar limit. So if they spend 20-dollars, they can get an extra 10 dollars to buy other food items. Birdie Pederson, who oversees the Little Falls farmers market, describes it as a "win-win" scenario and stated, "For the people eligible to use Market Bucks, it advances their opportunity to purchase their food locally. At the same time, to our local farmers, our local vendors, it gives us a greater profit." An annual report from the group Hunger Solutions says through SNAP and Market Bucks purchases last year, more than 600-thousand dollars in economic activity was created for communities across the state. The program is funded through a 375-thousand-dollar state subsidy, but Senate Republicans resist renewing it, citing concerns over customers misusing the funds. But program operators say there's no evidence of that.
--Another weekend of many accidents on central Minnesota roadways. Around 11:15pm Sunday, a vehicle vaulted off of Highway 29 west of Wadena injuring five teenagers between the ages of 14 to 18 with non life threatening injuries. Around 9:40pm Sunday, a motorcycle hit a deer near Menagha in Wadena County the 37 year old driver and 13-year-old passenger both of Park Rapids were treated for non serious injuries. Cass County alone reported 6 injury accidents over the weekend, including 3 on Highway 64 between Motley and Staples. An injury accident on Highway 47 east of Isle in Mille Lacs County, A Nisswa woman and her 10 year old passenger were injured Saturday on Highway 25 in Daggett Brook Township, another on Highway 371 Saturday morning when a truck hauling a boat clipped a semi-truck injuring one person from Milaca. Over the weekend the Minnesota State Patrol did report 3 fatalies on the roadways from accidents in St. Louis, Mower and Chippewa counties.
--As weather permits, Morrison County maintenance employees will be working on the following activities this week: Crews will be doing culvert work on County Road 34 east of Buckman and County Road 32 in the southeast part of Morrison county. Maintenance crews will be painting “stop ahead” symbols around the county. Maintenance crews will be installing a turn lane at the intersection of 170th Ave and CSAH 35 (Iris Road). Flaggers will be controlling traffic. Please use caution around work crews and flashing lights.
--Gas prices are nearly 1 dollar more than June of 2020 but during the pandemic and stay at home orders, less people were gasing up. The average on June 7th in Minnesota was at $2.84. Current prices are 9.2 cents higher than they were a month ago, and 88.9 cents more expensive then last year at this time. That pushes the price of a summer driving vacation up significantly. Around the state gas prices ranged in some areas as low as $2.58 and as high as $3 or a few cents over that going into the first full week of June.
--A fire destroyed a home in western Stearns County over the weekend. Fire crews were called out to the scene around 4:45am Sunday morning. The house is off of County Road 13 about a half-mile west of Elrosa. The homeowner, 44-year-old John Michels, said he awoke to find an entire side of the house was on fire. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says that the house was fully engulfed by the time they arrived on the scene. Michels was the only one inside at the time of the blaze and was not hurt. Cause unknown.
DEATH NOTICES
--Joann de Reyna, of Queehee, VT, who was born in Elmdale.
--James (Jim) Magnan born in Little Falls died in Des Moines, Iowa.
--Floyd “Red” J. Newcomb, age 93 of Randall.
WEATHER
CRITICAL FIRE DANGER IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT.
TODAY= sunny and hot, high 94, PM storms possible after 3pm.
TONIGHT= evening storm, otherwise partly cloudy, low near 70.
WEDNESDAY= sunny and hot, high 94, PM storm possible, low 68.
THURSDAY= shower early, hot high 92, PM storms likely later on.
SPORTS
TWINS= After Monday off, Twins (24-35) open series at home tonight with the New York Yankees at 6:30pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HS SB= Little Falls at Bemidji today at 2pm on AM960 KLTF if the Flyers win they would play again around 4:30pm today on KLTF.
HS SB= Pierz vs. Annandale today at 5pm on 94ROCKS. The winner advances to Thursday, the loser would play again tonight.
HS BAB= Pierz lost 1-0 last night to Albany and will now face the winner of Annandale and Cathedral tonight at 7pm at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. The broadcast scenario is if Pierz softball wins at 5pm, then baseball game tonight at 7pm would be on 94ROCKS, if Pierz softball loses and plays again around 7pm tonight than the softball game is on 94ROCKS, and the Pierz baseball game later tonight arould be moved to AM960 KLTF at 7pm. Continue to stay tuned to Little Falls Radio for details as the game progress later today.
TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1824= the first washing machine patented in Quebec.
IN 1872= Congress introduces the penny postcard in the U.S.
IN 1936= first parking meters are introduced in the U.S.
IN 1948= Milton Berle takes over as host of Texaco Star Theatre