NEWS
--The Little Falls City Council met Monday night. The council set the 2017 budget at $10,744,655. The property tax levy was set for 2017 at $3,679,800. The property tax levy overall was increased $133,500. However the property tax rate which involves the valuation of property is down .07% when compared to 2016. The council extended the contract with City Sanitary for trash collection. The city is currently attempting to work out a deal with the option of trash bins instead of bags. The latest on this discussion is Little Falls may end up using a hybrid system where the resident can choose either bags or bins, though nothing has been decided yet. The contract extension runs through next year or until the switch over ocurs. Also, the overlay assessment policy was voted down by a 4-3 margin.
--The St. Cloud City Council approved Monday the final 2017 levy at $24.1 million, an increase of about $760,000 over this year's levy.
--Sauk Rapids Police Department responded to a robbery about 8:15pm Monday. A 48-year-old Sauk Rapids man reported to police that he was walking in the 1600-1700 block of Second Avenue North in Sauk Rapids when he was confronted by a man who demanded his wallet, struck him and took a few dollars from his pants pocket when he fell to the ground. The suspect then fled the area. The victim walked to a nearby convenience store and called police. The victim described the suspect as a black male, about 5'9" with a medium build and wearing a gray sweatshirt and baggy sweat pants. Anyone with information should call the Sauk Rapids Police Department.
--The owners of a St. Cloud video production company are suing the Minnesota commissioner of human rights and attorney general, challenging state laws that force them to accept same-sex couples who want their marriage ceremonies video recorded as clients. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on behalf of Carl and Angel Larsen, challenges provisions of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. The Larsens, who own Telescope Media Group, believe that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman, and they use their company to "create media productions that honor God," according to their lawsuit. They are filing the lawsuit to prevent the human rights department from charging them with violations of the Human Rights Act if they turn down a same-sex couple, or people posing as a same-sex couple, who request their services. A violation of the Human Rights Act can be charged as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and/or 90 days in jail. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to find two state human rights statutes unconstitutional.
--The local squadron of the Civil Air Patrol will celebrate the patrol's 75th anniversary with an open house this weekend. Crow Wing Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol invited the public to join in an open house celebrating the anniversary 1-5 p.m. Sunday at 16142 Airport Road, Brainerd. Displays will highlight cadet program opportunities, emergency services training and aerospace education. Eventually, the Civil Air Patrol, known as CAP, was formed under the Office of Civilian Defense on December 1, 1941, a week before the Pearl Harbor strike. Within just a few weeks, it was said that new CAP commander Major John F. Curry was the only active military general commanding an army of more than 200,000 civilians. Oversight of CAP was eventually transferred to the Army Air Force, and later to the newly formed U.S. Air Force.
--The Brainerd City Council Monday night approved the 2017 operating budget and 5-year capital plan for Brainerd Public Utilities. The budget is broken down between revenue and expenses across the electric, water and wastewater departments. The budget proposes an overall revenue increase of 2 percent and an overall increase of 2.5 percent for expenses. The overall projected revenue for 2017 is $25.4 million.
--Motorists who travel Highway 24 near the Mississippi River bridge in Clearwater will find all lanes of the road open until further notice. Intermittent road closures of up to 15 minutes were originally scheduled to begin this past Monday. Those closures have been postponed until water levels on the Mississippi River recede below the project’s temporary causeway.
--Events today include the 10th Annual St. Nick Night in Pierz. Christmas Boutique at 3pm and Santa at 4pm at Pierz Ballroom, Mrs. Claus at F&M Bank at 4pm with cookies, trolley rides 5-8, reindeer at Hartmanns at 4pm and many more events including extended shopping hours at Pierz businesses tonight for St. Nick Nite.
NATIONAL NEWS
--Today is the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, early Sunday morning December 7, 1941 which caused the United States to enter World War II. The attacks killed 2,403 and injured 1,178 others. Destroyed aircraft, ships, submarines and destroyers. There are memorial events throughout the nation including at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii today. Some state Veterans organizations and groups are hosting events today in honor of those who lost their lives in the deadly attacks 75 year ago. According to national records as of November 1, 2016 there were around 600,000 of the 16-million of World War II Veterans that are still alive today.
DEATH NOTICES
--Duane O. Osmonson, age 85 of Staples.
WEATHER
TODAY= snow showers, blustery and cold, high 18, wind chills -10
TONIGHT= light snow showers, low 14, wind chills below zero.
THURSDAY= mostly cloudy, flurries, windy, high 19, wind chills -5.
FRIDAY= sunny and cold, high 10 above, low 3 above.
SPORTS
TWINS= Second Baseman Brian Dozier stated Tuesday at the Winter Meetings of Baseball he would prefer to remain with the Minnesota Twins if that was his decision. Teams such as the Dodgers, Yankees and Reds have made inquiries about trading to get Dozier in the offseason. One major trade made on Tuesday is that the Chicago White Sox have traded pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox.
COL BBB= Gophers beat NJIT 74-68 last night, now 8-1 on year.
HS BHK= Wadena-Deer Creek at Little Falls Thursday 7:15 Q92.
HS BBB= Pierz at Pequot Lakes Thursday 7:15pm on FM94 KFML
TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1787= Delaware is the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution making them the first colony to become a U.S. State in the nation.
IN 1934= first use of term Jet Stream in weather forecasts.
IN 1945= the microwave oven is patented.