NEWS
--Little Falls School Superintendent Greg Johnson spoke yesterday on KLTF and said the school year has been moving well and fast as winter sports playoffs have started and discussion on end of the year items are underway too. Sickness has been an issue recently Johnson stated that he understands that students don't want to miss school but still feels if a student a sick or has any symptoms of illness they should stay away from the school so not to spread it to others and Greg said staff and other students are always willing to help get their assignments to the sick students if need be. Johnson said that the child care facility will start construction in April with groundbreaking at the end of March and working with getting programming to the center together which will be located at Lincoln Elementary School on the west side of Little Falls and plans to open early 2025. Johnson said that Level Banding is coming together making Lincoln Elementary preschool, kindergarten and first grade only and Lindbergh Elementary grades 2, 3, 4 and 5. They have had four community meetings and now have asked the School Board for approval which will be decided at the school board meeting February 12th. If the board approves the decision of level banding for the elementary schools, Johnson feels that this could be implemented by next school year. Johnson continues to talk with local law enforcement on safety issues in schools as talk around the nation still centers on safety at schools and will continue to work to follow through on safety protocols at are community schools and asks students, parents, faculty or others to come forward and please talk to Johnson if there are issues with a student or problems that could arise to be a bigger situation. If you have questions for Superintendent Johnson, he can be contacted by email or by calling the Community High School at 616-2200.
--The City of Pierz recently announce they have hired Laura Wacker as their new city administrator replacing Bob Otremba who stepped down. Wacker will start February 20th. They also have moved Sarah Fyten from City Treasurer to the new City Clerk. The city will now look for a city treasurer position. The city of Brainerd also announced their new City Administrator is Nick Broyles. Broyles had worked for a number public works department in South Dakota.
--The main building at the historic Lutsen Lodge Resort has been destroyed in an overnight fire. The Cook County Sheriff's Office said its dispatch team was notified of a fire alarm at the resort at 12:24am Tuesday. Staff at the resort, a popular location for skiers and hikers located at 5700 W. Highway 61, reported smoke coming from the floor in the lobby area, with multiple fire departments arriving to find the building completely engulfed in flames. No guests were on site at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The State Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire.
--The Brainerd Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the area at 8:20am Friday at Crow Wing Recycling, 714 Industrial Park Road. Fire Chief Tim Holmes said when fire crews arrived on scene they found a scrap pile burning and workers at the center attempting to contain the fire. Holmes said the nearest hydrant was across the street on Industrial Road and the Crow Wing County Highway Department temporarily shut down the road to allow the fire department to access the hydrant. Firefighters were on scene for over two hours with no reported injuries.
--A Waite Park man wanted in connection to a 2022 fatal drug overdose has been found and booked into the Stearns County Jail. Thirty-year-old Jibril Mohamed Ibrahim is charged with one count of 3rd degree murder. He is accused of supplying a St. Joseph woman with a fentanyl-laced blue pill. The woman was found unresponsive on the morning of October 24th, 2022. Efforts to save the victim, including administering Narcan were unsuccessful. Authorities say a piece of tin foil containing a charred blue pill was found near the woman. According to the criminal complaint, authorities used the woman's phone to search her phone logs, text messages, and social media. Investigators learned the woman was communicating with Ibrahim and had purchased the pill from Ibrahim just hours before her death. Court records show Ibrahim evaded authorities until he was arrested by Stearns County sheriff's deputies on Friday.
--The St. Cloud Police Department are reporting a stolen vehicle on the 1500 block of Clearwater Road. It's a silver 2012 Cadillac SRX with tinted windows with Minnesota license WAYNE26. St. Cloud Police are also reporting a burglary on the 4000 block of 2nd Street South where a door to a business was forcibly entered. An investigation into that is underway. Also Police and law enforcement continue to send out information on the latest scam attempt circulating around the St. Cloud area involves text and emailing messages coming from someone claiming to be with the USPS explaining they have a package for you. The United States Postal Service doesn't usually have your local phone numbers or email addresses of residents unless you have given it to them to use and will not reach out to residents that way. Police say best to delete the message or contact your local post office for information. If you have information on any unsolved crimes in central Minnesota you can always reach out to the Crimestoppers tip line at 1-800-255-1301.
DEATH NOTICES
--Gerald “Jerry” R. Kuklok, age 58 of Rice.
--Sherry E. (Orton) Anderson, age 69 of MD formerly Sauk Centre.
WEATHER
TODAY= mostly cloudy, breezy and mild, high 51.
TONIGHT= cloudy skies, rain late night, low 44.
THURSDAY= rain likely, gusty winds, high 50, low near 30.
FRIDAY= snow showers, gusty winds and colder, high near 32.
SPORTS
TWINS= another Twins “Hot Stove” Inside Twins show on the team can be heard tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ.
TODAY IN HISTORY
IN 1914= Charlie Chaplin first movie debut “The Tramp”.
IN 1935= the game Monopoly is introduced by Charles Darrow.
IN 1936= first Felix the Cat cartoon debuts in theaters.
IN 1940= Walt Disney's “Pinocchio” debuts in theaters.
IN 1944= Bing Crosby releases “Swinging on a Star”.
IN 1964= The Beatles land at JFK Airport for their first U.S. Tour, fans flocked around to see the fab four, 2 days later on Ed Sullivan.
IN 1974= Mel Brooks “Blazing Saddles” opens in theaters.
IN 1992= Right Said Fred hits #1 with “I'm too Sexy”.