NEWS
--At 6:18am Monday the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a fatal ATV accident north of Timber Lane on Emerald Road, approximately three miles north of Randall in Cushing Township. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 67-year-old Joseph Stein of Randall was traveling north on Emerald Road on an ATV. Stein lost control and was ejected off the ATV. Stein was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is still under investigation by the sheriff's office.
--The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is expanding burning restrictions in parts of northern and central Minnesota as drought conditions intensify and increase the risk for wildfires. Starting yesterday, the eastern portion of Roseau County and all of Morrison, Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Stearns, St. Louis, Todd and Wadena counties are impacted by the expanded restrictions. Under these restrictions in those counties, people are not allowed to burn campfires for dispersed, remote, or backcountry camping on all lands. People are not allowed to burn campfires with or without a ring on any DNR-managed lands. This applies to all campsites, cabins, picnic and other day-use areas. Camp stoves are permitted. Fireworks cannot be ignited on any public or private land outside city limits. The state will not issue burning permits for brush or yard waste. Attended campfires or recreational fires may be allowed on land not managed by the DNR in established fire rings associated with an occupied home, cabin, campground, or resort. Residents can contact their DNR Foresty officials or check the DNR website for latest restrictions.
--Because of the massive wildfires and grass fires in the state recently, Governor Tim Walz Sunday authorized Minnesota National Guard support for wildfire response in Northern Minnesota. The assistance is authorized through Emergency Executive Order 21-29. Of the many involved from the Minnesota National Guard’s is there St. Paul-based 2-147 Assault Helicopter Battalion is sending two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters with Bambi water buckets and two Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTs) with fueling capability, and the Duluth-based 148th Fighter Wing is sending one fuel truck to Northern Minnesota to provide support to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildfire activities by providing aerial fire suppression capabilities. Sixteen soldiers and two airmen will be activated in support of this mission. Governor Tim Walz authorized the support following a request from the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center. The assistance is authorized through Emergency Executive Order 21-29. Minnesota National Guard’s St. Cloud-based C Company, 2-211 General Support Aviation Battalion sent a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter with hoist to Washington to provide medical evacuation support and aerial fire suppression to the firefighting efforts on August 7, 2021. They were initially requested to support this fire suppression mission for two weeks, but the request for support could be extended depending on how fire containment continues.The Minnesota National Guard’s additional support will be critical to responding to these wildfires and protecting the safety of Minnesotans and their property.
--St. Cloud has shut down the second unit of the city's hydroelectric dam on the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River flows in the St. Cloud area have dropped to below 700 cubic feet per second. They have also asked that watering in St. Cloud be done once a week.
--A Royalton man died in a tree trimming accident. The incident happened around 12:30pm Friday in the 14,000 block of Sherburne County Road 35 in Big Lake Township. Sheriff Joel Brott says 33-year-old Noah Ness was trimming trees, when the saw he was using touched a power line. Ness then fell to the ground. He was airlifted to the University of Minnesota Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities says the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will determine an official cause of death.
--The Isanti County Sherriff's Office says they've made an arrest after a missing woman's body was found. Detectives from the Sheriff's Office and Isanti Police Department arrested 37-year old Richard Peterson of Isanti for the alleged murder of 32-year old Amanda Jo Vangrinsven. The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office says they have positively identified the body and say the manner of death is a homicide. The Sheriff says the case remains an active investigation. On August 10th while executing a search warrant investigators found Vangrinsven's body in rural Isanti County.
--A jury trial begins this week for a Montrose man charged with the death of a Buffalo man in 2019. Thirty-eight-year-old Alejandro Vega Jr. is charged in Wright County with two counts of 2nd-degree murder in the beating and strangling death of 34-year-old Justin Warnke. Warnke's body was found in a t-shirt, shorts and socks along a dead-end road in December 2019. Investigators say the victim had blunt force trauma on his head and chest. An autopsy determined Warnke was beaten and strangled to death. Vega was arrested on New Year's Day and told investigators he was with Warnke and they were doing drugs at his apartment. Vega said he then left for a time and when he returned Warnke was bleeding and unresponsive. Vega couldn't explain why he didn't call police at that time. Vega said he knew he couldn't have a dead body in his apartment so he wrapped it up in a blanket, put garbage bags over Warnke's head because of the blood, tied him to a cart and dumped the body.
--Little Falls Community Services is reminding those that they have a bus trip planned to the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday, August 26th leaving the high school at 8am and returning to the school around 8pm. For cost and bus information contact community services which is located inside the high school in Little Falls 320-632-7902.
--The Brainerd Ski Loons will perform their final free water ski show of the season tonight at 6:30pm at Lum Park in Brainerd.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny and warm, humid, high 91.
TONIGHT= clear night, hazy and humid, low 68.
THURSDAY= sunny and humid, high 92, low 67.
FRIDAY= thunderstorms, some severe, high 88, low 61.
SPORTS
TWINS= Indians beat the Twins 3-1 last night. The Twins finish series with Cleveland today pregame at 11:30am on Q92 WYRQ.
TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1862= The Sioux began uprising in Minnesota.
IN 1872= Montgomery Ward begins first mail order catalog.
IN 1920= the 19th Amendment of Women's Right is finalized meaning that all women in the U.S. would be allowed to vote in next election.
IN 1958= investigations into scandals of TV Game Shows begins.
IN 1961= construction the Berlin Wall completed separates Germany.