NEWS
--During the month of December, the Little Falls High School Student Council, DECA and FFA conducted a food drive for the Morrison County Food Shelf in Little Falls. The students recently presented a check of $4,140.50 to the Food Shelf. They also collected 1,703 pounds of food during their food drive.
--The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reports that on Monday morning around 10:38am, their office received a report of mail that was possibly stolen and dumped at the Crow Wing Power Substation located four miles east of Little Falls off Highway 27, in Little Falls Township. All the mail located came from the areas around Bear Road and Cottonwood Road, approximately five miles north of Cushing in Scandia Valley Township. Sheriff Larsen would like to remind residents of ways to protect themselves against mail theft. Mail your letters at the post office or hand them to a letter carrier when mailing items that may contain personal information or have monetary value, rather than placing them in your mailbox. Pick your mail up promptly after delivery. Don’t leave it in your mailbox overnight. Tell your post office when you will be out of town so they can hold your mail until you return. The Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to contact law enforcement immediately if you witness someone other than the mail carrier or postal worker, manipulating someone’s mail. If you do witness this type of activity, try to get a description of the person or the vehicle that they may be driving, as well as a plate number if possible. Sheriff Larsen is asking residents to contact their office at (320) 632-9233 and ask for an investigator, if any suspicious activity was observed in the last couple days pertaining to this investigation.
--At 11:44am Monday the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a one-vehicle accident on 73rd Street east of Sage Road, approximately 10 miles south of Hillman in Lakin Township. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 44-year old Susan Kenady of Milaca was traveling east on 73rd Street. Kenady lost control of the vehicle, went in the ditch and hit a road approach causing damage to the vehicle. Kenady and her 19-year old passenger Rylee Johnson of Milaca were transported to Onamia Hospital by private vehicle with unknown injuries. The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by MLMB First Response Team and North Memorial Ambulance.
--America's Ice Fishing Tournament that was held on Saturday, January 22 virtually leading up to the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza announced their big prize winners. The virtual event where they send in their catches the big winner was David Groshong. America’s Ice Fishing Tournament drew 845 contestants from across the ice belt including Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Throughout the day 1,371 fish were registered through the FishDonkey app (210 crappies, 384
pikes, 386 perch, 255 sunfish, 136 walleye). David Groshong of Brainerd registered a 46.62-inch northern pike, which landed him on the 210th spot on the leaderboard making him the big prize winner. He chose the $25,000 cash. The biggest point-valued fish on the leaderboard from Gary Wiese. This this past weekend was the event on Hole in the Day Bay of Gull Lake where thousands did their best to win prizes for the fish they caught. The winner of a new Ford Truck was Cody Sablatura of Corpus Christi, Texas but originally of the Brainerd Lakes Area won with the largest catch which was a 9.15 pound northern pike from the lake Saturday.
--Following straw poll results after Caucus Tuesday in the race for Governor, media reports show Senator Scott Jensen received 38 percent to Senator Paul Gazelka 14 percent, Dr. Neil Shah 12 percent, with Kendall Qualls and Mike Murphy 11 perfect and Michelle Benson with 7 percent of the straw poll vote with 7 percent undecided. Caucus serves as a base for the upcoming primaries in August.
--More soldiers of the 1-194 task force will return today at Cottage Grove Armory and then again Saturday in Rosemount. More than 1,000 soldiers are returning from the middle east with many coming back last week to Camp Ripley to reunite with family, friends and loved ones. This group included soldiers from Little Falls, Pierz, Royalton, Motley and Swanville in Morrison County. Brainerd, Baxter, St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Foley, Long Prairie, Isle, Melrose, Pequot Lakes and dozens of many other Minnesota cities represented.
--The driver of a car was hurt when it collided with a semi parked along the side of Interstate 94 near Albany. The incident happened at about 3:30pm Sunday when a semi had been driven by 64-year-old Robert Reicherts of Cannon Falls. It was parked on the right side shoulder of I-94. The car driven by 38-year-old Richard Jones of Minot, North Dakota was going west when it struck the rear of the semi. Jones was taken to Melrose Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Reicherts was ticketed for a non-emergency stop on the freeway. Jones was ticketed for duty to drive with due care.
--Pierz Healy High School is congratulating Joel Pohland, Band Director for being named one of Yamaha Music Top 40 under 40 Award. The awards celebrates the 2022 group of remarkable educators who triumphed before and during the pandemic to keep their programs thriving. These 40 educators, all under the age of 40, showcase numerous talents and achievements for their students.
GROUNDHOG DAY
--Today is Groundhog Day. A tradition where Punxsutawney Phil around 7:15am rises from his burrow to check for his shadow. If he sees it then 6 more weeks of winter, if he does not see it than Spring is on the way. Though Phil supporters say that the Ground Hog has been nearly perfect, factual information shows he is 40% of the time.
DEATH NOTICES
--Dorothy D. Decker, age 87 of Brooklyn Center formerly Little Falls.
--Lois M. Pelzer, age 88 of Ft. Ripley.
--Melissa Ann Scepurek, age 42 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
WIND CHILL ADVISORY UNTIL 12PM TODAY THEN ANOTHER ADVISORY OVERNIGHT TONIGHT UNTIL 9AM THURSDAY.
TODAY= sunny and cold, high 1 above, clear and cold night, low -24.
THURSDAY= sunny and cold, high 0, low -15 then rising late night.
FRIDAY= cloudy, light snow at times, high 10 above, low around +2.
SPORTS
TOM BRADY= after days of speculation, Tom Brady officially announced his retirement from the NFL Tuesday morning.
OLY= The 2022 Winter Olympics actually began with some preliminaries this morning in Beijing, China. The opening ceremonies won't be until Friday morning at 5:30am central time but then will be shown live on NBC and then rebroadcast in prime time.
NFL= Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh interviews today with Vikings.
COL BB= Gophers host Purdue tonight 5:30pm on AM960 KLTF.