NEWS
--On Thursday, a Morrison County District Court Jury in Little Falls found 38-year old Adam Hageman guilty as charged on three felonies: Assault in the 2nd Degree (deadly weapon), Domestic Assault and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Hageman is listed in court records as living in Motley. On August 7th, 2016 Morrison County deputies were dispatched to a domestic altercation at a residence near Motley. Adam Hageman had an altercation with one family member who ordered Hageman to leave the property earlier in the day. When Hageman returned to the property, a second family member also told Hageman to leave the property. Adam Hageman shoved the complainant, and they began to struggle with each other. The second family member had a gun in a holster on his belt and during the course of the struggle Hageman grabbed a hold of the handgun. The handgun was still in the holster, however Hageman pointed the gun at the victim and said that he was going to kill them. The victim testified that he was in fear for his life and did not know if Hageman was going to kill him or not. When family members restrained Hageman, the victim suffered a bite mark on his right forearm. Hageman has a prior felony conviction in Kanabec County, making him ineligible to possess any firearm. Hageman also has multiple other qualified domestic violence related offenses on his record in the last 10 years which enhances the current domestic assault into a felony. Assistant Morrison County Attorney Todd Kosovich prosecuted Hageman and stated that the Minnesota State Sentencing Guidelines call for sentence of at least 60 months in prison. Sentencing is set in front of Judge Douglas P. Anderson on June 20th in Little Falls. Morrison County Attorney, Brian Middendorf, stated, “I want to thank the jury for their service in rendering a just and fair verdict. We will be asking the court to sentence Mr. Hageman to the maximum prison sentence.”
--A Brainerd woman was injured Friday around 7:30am on Highway 71 in Round Prairie Township of Todd County. 34-year old Erin Bachman was turning into a looped driveway and she was struck from behind by 18-year old Paul Leinen of Long Prairie. Bachman was treated at a hospital for injuries. Leinen was not injured.
–A 31-year old from St. Francis was injured Friday around 6:30am on Highway 169 near Milaca. James Dougherty was unable to stop in time and struck the back of a semi-truck driven by 50-year old Dennis Earl of Milaca. Dougherty was treated at an area hospital for injuries while Earl was not injured.
--The monstrous bog will continue to keep its home in front of the Legionville School Safety Patrol Training Center at least for the long Memorial Day weekend. Volunteers with the North Long Lake Association, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota American Legion had hoped to move a piece of the bog before the weekend but no success. Volunteers anticipate cutting the bog into even smaller parts as a plan which may start later this week or the next. The Minnesota DNR reported the bog is about 200 feet by 800 feet and estimated to be 4,000 tons, or 8 million pounds. The bog is a natural wetland consisting of marsh, dead plant materials, cattails and a line of tamarack trees. The mission is to remove the bog from its current position on the camp's swimming beach—where about 700 children swim each summer—and place it close to where it came from. Kids are expected at the camp in June.
--Motorists who travel Highway 371 between Highway 210 in Baxter and 50th Avenue Northwest, 6 miles south of Highway 210, will encounter construction crews, heavy equipment and delays after a project to resurface the road begins today. Initially, Highway 371 between and College Drive and 50th Avenue Northwest will be reduced to a single lane as needed. Later in the project, Highway 371 segments between Highway 210 and College Drive in Baxter will be reduced to a single lane in the evenings and overnights starting each night at 6pm. Motorists should plan additional time for travel as occasional backups are expected. Motorists approaching the daily work zones should slow down, be prepared to stop, and move over to give crews room to safely complete their work. The closures are needed while crews resurface the roadway. When complete in mid-August, the project is expected to provide a smoother ride along 6 miles of Highway 371 and extend the life of the road.
--The Motley City Council has appointed officer Jason Borash to fill the role of police chief on an interim basis. The promotion will be effective May 31st, when current police chief Ron Smith retires. Borash joined the Motley Police Department in 2015 as a part-time officer, before being hired on a full time basis in 2017. Before his time in Motley, Borash served with the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office.
--The Minnesota State Patrol was kept busy this weekend with a number of accidents. The Patrol reported over 100 accidents between Friday and Saturday on state highways including the counties of Stearns, Sherburne, Cass and Mille Lacs. Two accidents in southern Minnesota and one in Sherburne County were fatal.
--Fire crews were called to a garage fire Saturday afternoon. The incident happened just after 12:30pm at 502 5th Avenue Northeast in St. Stephen. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says crews arrived on scene to find the garage fully engulfed. Authorities says the garage along with a truck parked in the yard are a total loss. The owner, 44-year old Aaron Starz, was not home at the time of the fire.
No one was hurt and the cause of the fire is unknown.
DEATH NOTICES
--Debora Mitchell, age 55 of Garrison.
--Charles Allen Houle Jr., age 68 of Garrison.
--Lorraine M. Jarnot, age 88 of Elmdale.
--Eileen D. Cramer, age 99 of Kansas passed away in Rice.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and hot, high 90, storms late day, some strong.
TONIGHT= scattered storms likely, low near 65.
WEDNESDAY= strong storms likely through the day, high 82, low 62
THURSDAY= sunny and cooler, high 76, low around 54.
SPORTS
TWINS= Seattle holds off Twins 2-1 on Friday night. Seattle gets walk off homer Saturday to beat Twins 4-3 in 12 innings, then Seattle gets the sweep 3-1 win Sunday. Twins beat KC Monday 8-5. Twins continue series with Kansas City tonight 6:30pm on Q92 WYRQ.
SB= Alexandria eliminated Little Falls in softball Monday.
BAB= Pierz won 6-0 in a shortened game due to weather last night over Milaca, Pierz takes on Kimball tonight 7pm on FM94 KFML.
LYNX= Lynx beat New York 78-72 on Friday. Washington beat the Lynx on Sunday 90-78. Lynx are at Atlanta tonight.