NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office has temporarily relocated to the Information window in the Main Level Lobby. They are open Monday through Friday 8:00am – 4:30pm. For after hours assistance please continue to use the East Building entrance door. You will be able to access dispatch from the vestibule. FYI The Sheriff's Office medication drop box will be unavailable during the remodel phase. Please use the Little Falls Police Department's drop box if you have any medications to drop off during this time period. The relocation is estimated to last approximately six months while work is being done on the next phase of the Morrison County Government Center.
--The last of the Vision Community Design open house style forums for Our Town 56345 will be held 4-7pm tonight at the Little Falls Community Middle School commons. There will be refreshments, for those with younger kids the school is providing a place to bring your kids while parents bring their input on the vision for the 56345 zip code area. You do not need to stay the entire three hours. If you cannot attend please fill out the survey at area businesses, city hall, on the Our Town 56345 facebook site and at Little Falls Radio. The purpose to to see what works and what needs to work better to continue the future of the 56345 Zip Code.
--Mother Nature is bringing in some of the coldest weather of the winter so far starting tonight through Friday. Snow showers this morning could bring a light coating by noon then strong north winds over 35mph will blow in this afternoon and into tonight as the temps drop from the 20s this morning to near 0 by late afternoon and then teens and 20s below zero by late tonight. Blizzard warnings, winter weather advisories and wind chills advisories are in or go into effect later today. Temps stay below zero in centeral and northern Minnesota on Thursday and slowing rising as we head into Friday. Temps could be around -20 to -30 just air temps on Friday morning but a good sign is that the cold weather won't last too long and will be back near or into the 30s by President' Days on Monday. --Yesterday the 2020 legislative session began in Minnesota. Lawmakers have hopes of solving many important issues for Minnesotans, including affordable health care, transportation spending and education. Recently, Governor Tim Walz announced his $2 billion bonding plan and there is a roughly $1 billion surplus. Already, DFL and Republican lawmakers do not agree on what that money should go toward. What's been laid out so far is just an idea of what both sides will be pushing for during this session. House Democrats say they'll be working to use half a billion dollars from the surplus for early childhood education. Senate Republicans have already said they're disappointed with the push to spend that money. Instead, they say it should be used for tax cuts. The Senate has also addressed education as they're hoping for a focus on reform. Senate Majority Leader District 9 Senator Paul Gazelka said it could be more cost effective and have a better chance of passing. Another big issue this year is increasing access to insulin and decreasing its cost. That has been something Minnesotans spoke to lawmakers about at special meetings and committees last fall. The two sides continue to struggle to figure out how to handle the issue.
--The Little Falls FFA will be holding their annual pancake breakfast on Sunday at the Little Falls VFW from 9am-1pm with silent auction and items to show and promote FFA from Little Falls. All proceeds go to the local FFA program and the breakfast is a free will offering.
--Ken Solarz from Upsala/Swanville was among the six selected for induction into the 2020 Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Along with Ken Solarz other inductees include Darby Carlson, (Maple Grove), Don Dvorak (New Prague), Gary Palm (St. Anthony Village), Todd Smrekar (Cambridge-Isanti), and Herb Wolf (Fairmont). All of the inductees will be recognized during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, November 21st, 2020 at the Omni Hotel in Eagan. Congratulations to Ken Solarz on the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame honors.
--A Cass County man was sentenced to 12 years (145 months) in prison for distributing child pornography in 2018. The United States Attorney's Office stated 33-year old Jared Ross Boswell pleaded guilty in August 2019. According to the plea, from April 2018 through September 2018, Boswell used the internet to send obscene materials and distribute sexually explicit images. Specifically, the charges state Boswell sent an image depicting child sexual abuse to a minor, who he knew to be 10 years old.
--A former youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Baxter faces criminal charges from an alleged sexual assault of a student at Lake Region Christian School in Baxter more than 30 years ago. 59-year-old Todd Hogue was charged in Crow Wing County District Court on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Hogue currently serves as a pastor at Community Baptist Church in Curwensville, Pennsylvania. He has been a pastor at the church since May 2003. His first court appearance is scheduled for February 26th. The victim, who now lives in Texas and whose family continues to live in the Brainerd lakes area, contacted Brainerd police in December to file a complaint against Hogue when she was a senior at Lake Region Christian School in 1987 and Hogue was a youth pastor. During her senior year, she was 17 when Hogue sexually assaulted her, when she reported the assault to First Baptist Church, the church did not believe her. The victim said once Hogue realized no one believed her, he continued the sexual assaults further, including sexual intercourse, she said the sexual assaults were never reported to law enforcement or social services.
DEATH NOTICES
--Alma Ann Popp, age 87 of Rice.
--John T. Cameron, age 64 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
WIND CHILL ADVISORY TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY.
TODAY= snow early, windy and temps dropping later in the day.
TONIGHT= partly cloudy, very cold, low -18, wind chills near -35.
THURSDAY= sunny and very cold, high -4, low-24, winds die down.
FRIDAY= increasing clouds, windy, high 15, snow likely at night.
SPORTS
WRE= Little Falls was scheduled to open section wrestling playoffs tonight at Brainerd but due to the weather the entire section tournament was postponed to Friday.
NHL= The Minnesota Wild have traded Jason Zucker to the Pittsburgh Penguins for two players and a future draft pick.
WNBA= Five Time WNBA Champion Rebecca Brunson announced her retirement on Tuesday then announced she is joining Cheryl Reeve on the Minnesota Lynx coaching staff for the coming season.
TWINS= Twins Hot Stove tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ.