NEWS --The Little Falls Fire Department on Sunday at 11:52am responded to a kitchen fire at the Jeremy and Lisa Culbertson address of 505 9th Street SE in Little Falls. 20-firefighters were on the scene for around an hour. The home did not sustain a lot of fire damage but did receive heavy smoke damage. Jeremy Culbertson was home at the time of the fire and may have been checked out by medical personnel after the incident but all who were home escaped the residence safely. Little Falls Fire Chief Mike Nieman was not aware of any serious injuries from Sunday's fire.
--The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce announced that the November employee of the month is Phil McCoy. McCoy is a Minnesota Power Distribution Service Representative.
--A 58-year-old Eagle Bend man was killed Sunday morning when his vehicle collided with a semitrailer in Todd County. Jeffrey Ahrendt was driving east on 380th Street north of Eagle Bend shortly after 9:00am when at the intersection of U.S. Highway 71, his truck collided with a semi heading north driven by 51-year old Craig A. Olson of New Hope. The semi left the road and rolled. Ahrendt died in the accident. Olson was not injured.
--A Sauk Rapids woman has been accused of stealing over a half million dollars from her employer. Court records show that on December 30th, 2015 a manager with a car dealership in Waite Park called police to report suspected employee theft. Management told police that they were missing $105,700 from their petty cash accounts and suspected a recently fired employee had taken the money. The next day police met with the former employee, 41-year old Catherine Madonna Murray and asked her about the missing money. After investigation prosecutors found $519,542.68 missing from the business. The money was taken between September 8th, 2014 and December 30th, 2015. Court files show the money was taken from the petty cash account by Murray issuing herself checks and by allegedly altering other account records. Murray will appear on December 12th to face six counts of theft by swindle.
--The St. Cloud Public Library will resume normal operations on Thursday, November 3rd, two and a half months after it was damaged in an arson fire.
--A Bloomington man was injured Sunday in a truck-versus-train collision near U.S. Highway 10. The State Patrol said the collision took place just before 11:00am east of Clear Lake. The pickup driven by 33-year old Dayton Ledlow was eastbound on Highway 10. The truck began to go off the road and into the ditch, where it continued and struck an eastbound train. Ledlow was taken to St. Cloud Hospital for injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
--The State Patrol and Cass County responded to a fatal accident early Saturday on Highway 200 near Walker. 31-year-old Phillip Nelson of St. Paul was on Highway 200 when the vehicle ran off the roadway and struck a tree rolling several times. Nelson had non-life threatening injuries and was treated at the Park Rapids hospital. Nelson's passenger 23-year-old Samuel Wilson of Federal Dam was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident is under investigation.
--The Morrison County Historical Society (MCHS) is looking for people of varying talents to serve as volunteers on the following committees: Community Visibility, Finance, and Personnel. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer on one of the committees, please contact Mary Warner at (320) 632-4007 for more information.
--Two county parks will be closed to the public during the month of November for deer hunting opportunities for the disabled. Spring Hill County and Rockville County Park and Nature Preserve will be closed to the public from November 5th- 16th. Spring Hill will also be closed from November 26th-30th. The hunt is put on by Midwest Outdoor Unlimited, a group focused on providing outdoor opportunities for disabled veterans and individuals.
--U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency announced that producers on farms with base acres under the safety net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill, known as the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs, can begin visiting FSA county offices starting today to sign contracts and enroll for the 2017 crop year. If a farm is not enrolled during the 2017 enrollment period, the producers on that farm will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs for the 2017 crop should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks established by the program. Producers who made their elections in 2015 must still enroll during the 2017 enrollment period. For more information call your local FSA office. In Morrison County the number is (320) 632-5477 extention 2.
--Tonight is the Vietnam Veterans ceremony at the Swanville High School starting at 6:00pm. All veterans from the area that served during the Vietnam era 1955-1975 are encouraged to attend with their families. RSVP is required by calling the Veteran Service Office in Morrison County at 632-0290. It starts tonight at 6:00pm.
--The Little Falls Community High School will be performing “Junior Miss” this Friday and Saturday as their fall play. Show times are 7pm both night at the Charles D. Martin Auditorium. Tickets $5 adults and $3 for students and seniors. No passes will be accepted. The school also announced their 40th annual Indoor Marching Band Concert will be Monday November 21st and Tuesday November 22nd at 7pm at the Charles D. Auditorium. Call for ticket info at the LF Activities Office.
DEATH NOTICES --Douglas DeZurik, age 60 of Little Falls. --Meredith Anderson, age 80 of Wahkon.
WEATHER TODAY= partly sunny, less windy, high 54. TONIGHT= mostly cloudy, low around 40. WEDNESDAY= mostly cloudy, high near 60, clearing night, low 35. THURSDAY= sunny skies, high near 60, low around 40.
SPORTS NFL= Vikings offense stalls as Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears beat the Vikings 20-10 last night. Vikings 5-2, host Detroit on Sunday. HS VB= Melrose at Pierz in playoffs tonight 7pm on FM94 KFML. HS FB= Royalton vs. Rush City at Esko in the section 7AA championship, Thursday 7:30pm on Q92 WYRQ. HS FB= Mora vs. Pierz at SCSU Friday 8pm on FM94 KFML. WS= Cubs at Cleveland tonight for game 6, Indians need 1 win to clinch for World Series title since 1948, Cubs need to win to move series to a game 7 on Wednesday night in Cleveland. CC= Congratulations to Tyler Moore and Hunter Zupko of Little Falls and Jordan Malikowski of Royalton for advancing to state cross country meet Saturday at St. Olaf College.