NEWS
--Today marks the 47th Anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the United States. Each year a March for Life from Pro Life members is done to try and get the ruling repealed in the U.S. Supreme Court. There will be a Pro Life Rally in St. Paul today with a service at the St. Paul Cathedral at 10:30am and a march on the steps of the St. Paul Capitol at noon. Buses from all over the state will be converging in St. Paul including one from the St. Cloud Diocese and another from Morrison County which picks up at Coborn's at 7:30am, St. Joseph's in Pierz at 8am and near St. Michael's in Buckman at 8:20am today and will be back later this afternoon after leaving St. Paul at 3:30pm.
--The Morrison County Sheriff ‘s Office reports that Tuesday morning just before 8am, their office received a report of a two-vehicle accident with injuries at the intersection of Nature Road and 210th Avenue, approximately three miles east of Royalton, in Bellevue Township. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 84-year-old William Vouk of St. Stephen was traveling north on 210th Avenue and 34-year-old Nichole Bueckers of Royalton was traveling west on Nature Road. Vouk failed to yield at the intersection and was struck by Bueckers’ vehicle. Vouk was transported by Mayo Clinic Ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital with unknown injuries. Bueckers was not injured.
--Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce President Deb Boelz spoke on KLTF Tuesday. She mentioned that the historic downtown of Little Falls became the “City of Lights” in 1991 with the installation of lights rimming the roof lines of 56 buildings centering out from Bank Square. In 2008, energy efficient, cost effective, long lasting LED bulbs were retrofit into the project. What is showing its age is the wiring, which is original, 29 years old, cracked and brittle. The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce has been the main funding source for this project over the years and is looking for individuals and service organizations to gather to discuss the future of the City of Lights. With changing ownership and remodeling projects, a few of the original buildings have removed their lights over the years, diminishing the visual impact. With the damaged wiring, other sections of the lights do not work. The lights are turned on annually from Thanksgiving for the Santa Parade until New Years’ Day. If you are interested in being part of the discussion on the future of the City of Lights, please contact Deb at the Chamber of Commerce at (320) 632-5155 or dboelz@littlefallsmnchamber.com
--A 24-year-old Brainerd man faces felony charges for allegedly touching an 11-year-old girl at a Brainerd residence. David Douglas Doberstein was charged Jan. 10 in Crow Wing County District Court with two felony counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under age 13. According to the statement of probable cause filed against Doberstein, the girls' mother reported her daughter was inappropriately touched by Doberstein while at a slumber party at a Brainerd residence. Doberstein has remained jail in Crow Wing County. This next court appearance is scheduled for January 28th.
--A triple bill of big County names are coming to U.S. Bank Stadium in August. It was reported George Strait, Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town will perform on August 22nd at U.S. Bank Stadium. Tickets got on sale January 31st at 10am. It was reported earlier this month of a huge classic rock concert will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium on June 27th of Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and others to perform. Tickets on sale already for it.
--Little Falls Fire Chief Mike Nieman has requested the public's help in clearing snow around fire hydrants. Nieman mentioned you don't need to clear a path from the road, but please remove the snow about three feet around fire hydrants. In times of an emergency, the time saved by having easy access to fire hydrants can make a big difference when battling fires. With all the snow we have had this winter it is a big help to clear the nearby snow so hydrants can be quickly located to improve response times in battling fires.
--Governor Tim Walz announced Tuesday the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is awarding $23,270,933 in Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program funds to 30 broadband projects across the state. The projects will bring high-quality broadband access to underserved and unserved areas of Minnesota, providing fast, reliable internet access for more than 10,900 businesses, homes, and community anchor institutions. Altogether, DEED received requests for $70 million in funding for 80 different applications during the latest grant application round. The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program is primarily targeted towards communities in Greater Minnesota, where broadband infrastructure is not as likely to be at a level that is needed to support economic equity. The State of Minnesota has set a goal for universal access and high-speed internet so that by no later than 2022, all Minnesota businesses and homes have access to high-speed broadband that provides minimum download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and minimum upload speeds of at least three megabits per second. This is the fifth year of the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. The grants announced today bring the number of homes and businesses provided broadband access through the grant program since 2014 to a total of 49,900.
--A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Minnesota rock and roll legend Prince has been dismissed. Reports suggest that the family members had worked out a settlement agreement against the doctor who saw Prince just before his death and the Illinois hospital that had treated Prince for an opioid overdose seven days before his death. Prince died from an overdose of fentanyl on April 21, 2016 at his home near Chanhassen. Prince was 57 years old.
BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
--Travis and Sarah Kahl of Buckman, a baby girl born January 20th.
WEATHER
TODAY= cloudy skies, mild, high 35.
TONIGHT= snow after midnight, low 27.
THURSDAY= snow and freezing drizzle, around 1 inch, hi 32, lo 29.
FRIDAY= light snow early, then cloudy, high near 30, low near 27.
SPORTS
TWINS= Twins Hot Stove is tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ.
COL BB= Gophers vs. Ohio State Thursday at 5pm on KLTF.
NFL= More Vikings have been named to the AFC/NFC Pro Bowl game on Sunday giving them the most players on the NFC side since the 2009 game. Quarterback Kirk Cousins, Defensive End Everson Griffin, Linebacker Eric Kendricks, Cornerback Xavier Rhodes will now join fullback C.J. Ham announced Monday and Defensive End Danielle Hunter, Safety Harrison Smith and Running Back Dalvin Cook for the pro bowl this Sunday at 1:30pm in Orlando live on AM960 KLTF.