NEWS
--Little Falls City Administrator Jon Radermacher spoke on KLTF Monday and said that the 4th Street Project is in full swing and will continue through the summer. They are not planning any other large road projects but mill and overlay will be done on city streets and some clean up work still on 11th and 13th Streets in northeast Little Falls. The City and the School District have worked out the details to start the progress on the child care facility on the west side of Little Falls this is still in beginning phase and more updates are still to come. The Apartment Complex will break ground shortly and they have another 45 unit affordable housing project that is still being worked out and likely won't happen to 2025 if all goes as planned. There will be another council retreat in June to discuss the work on the police station, fire hall, city hall and also the use on the clubhouse at the Little Falls Golf Course. Input is first taken by the council and then a decision to see if what input on the public on where and what can be done with the facilities. The clubhouse is likely the first to be worked on and bids should be starting soon. If you have questions from Jon contact their office at 320-616-5500.
--A fatal motorcycle accident occurred Sunday at 1:30pm on Highway 55 in Paynesville Township of Stearns County. The driver of the motorcycle 53-year-old William Clough of Mora died at the scene and his passenger 49-year-old Melissa Clough was taken to St. Cloud Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. Both were thrown from the cycle. The other driver, 60-year-old Thomas Groby of Long Prairie was not hurt in the crash, the investigation into the accident continues.
--Other accidents over the weekend include an Elk River man was injured when he struck a turkey on Highway 10 near Becker Sunday around 5:50pm. 28-year-old Matthew Egeberg was treated for non serious injuries. Three people were injured in a two-vehicle accident near Henning in Otter Tail County just after 10am Sunday. All three including a 14-year-old were treated at an area hospital for non life threatening injuries. About an hour earlier two people were hurt in a one vehicle accident near Rush Lake in Otter Tail County both were treated at the Perham hospital. Saturday just before 1pm, two vehicles collided on Highway 169 near Onamia in Dailey Township. Both drivers from the Mille Lacs Area were treated for non serious injuries. There were also a number of accidents on Highway 23 from St. Cloud to Cold Spring to Paynesville reported Friday through Saturday night. The State Patrol is increasing the number of patrol officers through June 4th to ticket for distracted driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and DWI. The DNR is doing the same watching for impaired boaters this weekend on the Minnesota waterways.
--A Breezy Point resident and former city council member was sentenced to a year and one day in federal prison Thursday for his role in a scheme to hijack dormant publicly traded shell companies and then pump and dump their stocks to unwitting buyers. 45-year-old Mark Miller of Breezy Point, is the last of three men to be sentenced for the securities fraud scheme, which became public through an indictment filed in June 2021 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. Miller, Christopher James Rajkaran of Queens, New York, and Guyana, and Saeid Jaberian of Hopkins devised and carried out a scheme to surreptitiously hijack and assume control over dormant public shell companies. They used their control over the companies to fraudulently manipulate and pump up the price of the companies' stock so that they could profit from selling the stock to investors.
--A Brooklyn Center man was airlifted to the hospital after crashing his motorcycle over the weekend. The incident happened around 9:45pm Saturday night about four miles east of Pierz, in Granite Township. The Morrison County Sheriff's Office says 47-year-old Charles Gerardy was heading west on 153rd Street when he hit a deer with his motorcycle. Gerardy was airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital with unknown injuries.
--The Minnesota Legislature worked through the weekend, passing several bills, including the omnibus tax bill, which will make up for a $3 billion reduction in revenue. It passed both chambers after vigorous debate over the weekend. The bill eliminated the worldwide reporting requirement, which would have forced businesses with foreign subsidiaries to report their income from outside the U.S. That was dropped in favor of global intangible low taxes income, or GILTI. According to the Tax Policy Center, GILTI is “the income earned by foreign affiliates of U.S. companies from intangible assets such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights.” It phases out the standard and itemized deductions from those earning an adjusted gross income of over $300,000, creates a new tax on investment incomes, trusts and estates and changes how dividends are deducted from domestic subsidiaries. All told, the increases add up to more than $1 billion. The bill gives a one-time rebate check to qualified married filers of $520. Single qualified filers would get $260. Families meeting income guidelines would also get an additional $260 per child for up to three kids for a grand total of up to $1,300 per household. It also secures tax exemptions on Social Security benefits for 75% of Minnesota recipients. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had called for a complete elimination of the tax, but top Democrats said no because it allows higher earning Minnesotans to avoid paying taxes.
--Today at 11am, there will be a graduation ceremony for 23 new troopers following their successful completion of the Minnesota State Patrol’s 67th Training Academy. The graduates are made up of traditional and Law Enforcement Training Opportunity (LETO) program applicants. The LETO program offers the education and training to candidates who have a two- or four-year degree but no law enforcement experience.
DEATH NOTICES
--Anna Lochner, age 93 of Pierz.
--Curtiss D. Baumgart, age 79 of Pierz.
--Louise E. Valentine, age 85 of Pierz.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and warm, high 84.
TONIGHT= showers & t-storms after dark, low around 50.
WEDNESDAY= showers early, cooler and breezy, high 62, low 46.
THURSDAY= sunny skies, a bit warmer, still breezy, high near 72.
SPORTS
TWINS= Giants score 4 in the 1st inning and beat the Twins 4-1 last night at Target Field. Game 2 tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ.
HS SB= Detroit Lakes at Little Falls playoff action at 4:30pm today live on Q92 WYRQ win or lose they play again on Thursday.
HS SB= Pierz beat Royalton 13-0 on Monday and will now face Eden Valley-Watkins in round 2 of the playoffs today at 5pm at Waite Park. Hear the action live on AM960 KLTF. The 5pm news will be at 4:30.