NEWS
--The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce has announce their April Employee of the Month is Marc Fritz from Lincoln Elementary School of the Little Falls Community Schools. Marc has been a 4th Grade Teacher for the past 20 years. Congratulations Marc Fritz, Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce April Employee of the Month.
--The Minnesota Department of Health stated Tuesday there are 629 positive cases of COVID 19 in the state. Of those 12 deaths, 26 in the ICU and 288 no longer needing isolation. They also showed an age demographic that most of the positive cases are between the ages of 20-44 with 277 cases, 209 cases between 45-64 and 123 in the age demographic of 65 and older. However the deaths that occurred range in age from 58-95. There have been 20 reports of those 19 and younger. As of Tuesday morning still no positive reports in Morrison, Crow Wing, Todd and Mille Lacs County. Stearns at 5, Benton, Cass, Otter Tail, Douglas have 1, Sherburne now has 8 positive cases.
--High winds and heavy wet snow that moved through late Saturday night is still impacting some residents Tuesday. East Central Energy says work continues to restore power to 33 of its members, mostly in Morrison County. All remaining outages are directly related to broken poles. At the height of the power outage on Sunday morning as many as 7,000 of East Central Energy's customers lost power. By Monday morning they had that number down to about 500 thanks to the help of crews from neighboring power companies.
--Recent precipitation this past weekend, along with a melting snowpack, has led to rising area rivers. Some locations are expected to reach minor flood stage later this week, especially with more precipitation forecast for Wednesday through Friday. The main area of concern is along the Mississippi River over east-central Minnesota. Be careful of rising rivers, creeks, and streams that may impact area roadways. If you encounter flooded roadways, turn around and find another route. The Mississippi River at Aitkin is above flood stage and around Brainerd to Fort Ripley is near flood stage at this time.
--Minnesota’s state veterans cemeteries will remain open during the Stay at Home order, but with a few changes in response to COVID-19. The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs says that starting Monday all veterans cemetery grounds will be open to visitors, but some services and access will be restricted until further notice. Cemetery administration offices and restrooms will be limited to staff members only. The MDVA says the locations will still be open for direct transfer and direct internment, but no committal service or honors will be held onsite. Families will be given the option to schedule future onsite memorials instead. Visitors are also being asked to follow social distancing guidelines.
--Tuesday morning the Minnesota National Guard transported 250 cots from Camp Ripley to St. Louis County to assist them as they set up a COVID-19 quarantine shelter near Duluth. The Minnesota National Guard continues to be ready to support the people of Minnesota during this ongoing crisis.
--Grandma's Marathon in Duluth is the latest victim of the coronavirus. Organizers Tuesday announced all of that weekend's events have been canceled. It was scheduled for June 19th and 20th. For anyone who was already registered for any of the events, you will be automatically entered into a virtual version of your race. You will also receive a 20 percent discount toward next year's Grandma's Marathon Weekend Race of your choice.
--In accordance with guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health, the Department of Natural Resources has adjusted services, events and operations to protect Minnesotans and prevent further spread of COVID-19. State parks, state forests, recreation areas and other public lands remain open. The following facilities will remain open at state parks: outdoor areas, campgrounds, camper cabins, yurts, remote campsites, overnight lodging facilities and some group centers. Also Highway rest areas at Grand Portage, Gooseberry Falls and Tettegouche state parks Bathrooms, shower buildings and vault toilets that are already open for the season will remain open. The following public buildings, however, are closed Park offices, visitor centers, nature stores, trail centers, indoor interpretive exhibits and enclosed picnic shelters. Most park bathrooms with running water are still closed for the season, but will remain closed.
--New information from the IRS shines more light on what people can do to get the checks from the government as quickly as possible. For Americans eligible for stimulus cash under the new relief law, the fastest way to receive it is to make sure they've filed a tax return for 2019 or 2018 with bank information so the government can directly deposit the money. The IRS says it will use a person's 2019 return to calculate eligibility and automatically send the money to those who qualify. If they haven't filed a 2019 return, it'll be based on the 2018 return. Payments up to $1,200 per person, with an additional $500 per child under 17, will be made to U.S. residents with a Social Security number who earn under $75,000. The amount decreases by $5 per every $100 earned after that, zeroing out at $99,000. For married couples, the phaseout range is $150,000 to $198,000. The IRS said Americans who weren't required to file taxes in the last two years will have to file a "simple tax return" with basic information like filing status, number of dependents and bank information so the government can send the money. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said payments will go out "within three weeks" for people who have their direct deposit information on file with the IRS. Mnuchin stated "We will create a web-based system for people where we don't have their direct deposit they can upload it, so that they can get the money immediately as opposed to checks in the mail."
--Elmdale Township has cancelled recycling day this weekend.
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy skies, breezy conditions, high 52.
TONIGHT= rain likely overnight, windy, low 34.
THURSDAY= rain, possible thunderstorm, high 49 early then temps drop and winds pick up, rain changes to freezing precip late, low 28.
FRIDAY= snow showers and windy, colder, high 35, low around 20.
SPORTS
MLB= another classic Twins game tonight at 6pm, the final game at the Hubert H. Humphery Metrodome which was game 163 between the Detroit Tigers and The Minnesota Twins. Catch it on Q92.
APRIL FOOLS DAY HISTORY
--April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.”