Newsletter: Wednesday, December 9th 2020
NEWS
--The state website Tuesday showed 3,080 new cases of COVID-19 and 24 new deaths. Morrison County reported 9 new cases only Tuesday with 2 probable cases on the report. Morrison County Public Health reported last week the trend continues to see numbers go down and Morrison County website Tuesday reported 307 active cases and all the zip codes Little Falls 123, Pierz 63, Royalton 41 and others still continue that downward trend which is a good thing for businesses to reopen hopefully soon, possible high school sports starting up before Christmas with practices and getting schools back in class after the first of the year.
--A Zimmerman man was taken to the hospital after a semi crash near Sauk Centre. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened Monday around 2:30pm on I-94 in Sauk Centre Township. A semi driven by 64-year-old James Tulowetzke was traveling east when it went off the road and into a culvert drainage ditch. Tulowetzke was taken by ambulance to Sauk Centre Hospital with non life threatening injuries.
--An Albany woman was taken to the hospital after an early Monday morning crash near Freeport. The crash happened just after 6:00am at the intersection of County Road 30 and County Road 75 in Oak Township, four miles southeast of Freeport. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year old Brianna Lange was westbound on County Road 174 and said she was unable to see the stop sign at the intersection of County Road 30 due to dense fog. The fog, coupled with icy roads, caused Lange’s car to slide off an embankment and into Getchell Creek, where it landed in an upright position. Lange was taken to Melrose Hospital with non serious injuries.
--A Rice woman was taken to the hospital after a two vehicle crash north of Sartell Sunday night. The incident happened around 7:30pm at the intersection of County Road 1 and 390th Street in Brockway Township. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says 34-year old Jacob Halverson, of Rice, was heading north on County Road 1, while 68-year old Debra Schmitz was heading east on 390th Street. Both vehicle's collided in the intersection, causing Schmitz vehicle to roll and trapping her inside. She had to be extricated by St. Stephen Fire and Rescue. Schmitz was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Halverson and his two children were treated at the scene. Dense fog is believed to be a factor.
--No one was hurt when an aerial lift became entangled in a power line north of Sartell Sunday and caught fire. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office responded to a home in the 38000 block of County Road 1 just before 5:00pm. Authorities say a homeowner, 40-year-old Jonathan Boerger, had been hanging Christmas lights in a tree when the lift struck the power line. The sheriff's office says two people were trapped in the disabled lift approximately 30 feet off the ground as a fire broke out on the machine. Sheriff's deputies and others nearby used fire extinguishers to put out flames. Xcel Energy was called to shut off the power and remove the tangled line.
--A reminder again from Oasis Central Minnesota they are continuing to do gift wrapping for gifts for a donation to Oasis to help their fight against hunger in the area since their Share a Meals and other fundraisers got cancelled or put on hold. Please call 632-9140 and they will let you know when to drop off the gift at the Morrison County Government Center, they wrap it and bring it back out to you.
--Get your Dairy Recipes in for the contest, another today on KLTF.
--Governor Tim Walz addressed plans for a vaccine rollout in Minnesota. Health officials have said that health care workers and long-term care residents would be among the first to get the shots in the state. In a three-phase approach, where each phase has sub-criteria in Phase 1a will be hospital workers, state health care workers and those in long-term care facilities will be first along with other workers on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second part of the phase will include other care workers and people who are most at risk for serious complications from the virus. Then the third phase includes the general population. Vaccinating is expected to begin in Minnesota for the first phase around the final week of December.
--The Minnesota Department of Health has adopted updated COVID-19 quarantine guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it could mean shorter quarantine periods for certain people. For months, the CDC has recommended a 14-day quarantine period for all people who may have been exposed to the virus. After further study, the agency now says some people could be able to quarantine for only 10 or seven days depending on symptoms, test results and living/work situations. Full details on the CDC website.
--The Leech Lake Tribal Police reported Tuesday that 10-year-old “Mika” Whitefeather has been located safe and is currently with authorities and her family. Thanks to all that helped in the search for the 10 year old girl who left with her estranged father on Sunday.
NATIONAL NEWS
--Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier (going faster than the speed of sound in the early days of the space program) back in 1947 has died at the age of 97.
DEATH NOTICE
--Margaret “Margie” D. Snipstad, age 89 of Little Falls