NEWS
--At 1:22pm on Saturday the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a juvenile male that was hurt while sledding at Camp Lebanon which is located on the north side of Cedar Lake in Elmdale Township, west of Upsala. A 12-year-old juvenile from St. Cloud was sledding down a hill at Camp Lebanon. The juvenile fell off the sled at the bottom of the hill and hit his head on the ice. The juvenile was in and out of consciousness at the scene and was transported to St. Cloud Hospital by Life Link III with unknown injuries. The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Upsala First Response Team, Upsala Fire Department, Gold Cross Ambulance and Life Link III.
--The Morrison County ADA is searching for dairy princess candidates for 2019. Young women must be a high school senior in high school and not yet 24 years of age. Eligibility includes: 1) You or your parents are actively engaged in the production of milk for sale to a licensed plant and contribute to the dairy check off. 2) You or your parents work full time on a dairy farm. New qualifications this year include: If you or your parents custom raise dairy cattle for farmers who contribute to the dairy check off or if you or your parents lease dairy animals from a dairy farmer. Dairy Princesses who are chosen will be the goodwill ambassador of Morrison County Dairy Farmers, and promote the dairy industry throughout 2019. Please call Stacy Happke at 468-6257 or Cindy Welle 745-2615 for an application.
--A 2015 Brainerd High School graduate died after he was buried in an avalanche last Thursday at a ski resort in New Mexico. A news release from New Mexico Donor Services identified the Brainerd native as 22-year old Corey Borg-Massanari. The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper reported the avalanche happened Thursday, at a steep chute near the Kachina Peak Lift at Taos Ski Valley ski resort. A layer of snow broke free, slid down a chute and buried two skiers. The skiers were recovered from the snow. A 26-year old Massachusetts man, Matthew Zonghetti, also died at Holy Cross Hospital in Taos. The ski resort stated in a news release the avalanche occurred just before noon Thursday in chute K3 near the top of the 12,481-foot Kachina Peak, the resort's highest point.
--The murder trial of Cheryl Albert began in Foley Tuesday with pretrial motions and jury selection. The 26-year old is charged with two counts of 2nd degree murder and one count of 3rd degree murder in the 2015 killing of Keletigui Keita. Court records show Albert was a prostitute who drugged, robbed and shot her victim at his east St. Cloud apartment. Keita owned the Kilmandjaro Market in St. Cloud. Police found him dead of a gunshot wound to the abdomen on June 9th, 2015. His east St. Cloud apartment was missing several items including an iPhone, Apple computer, watches and coins. Albert’s fingerprints were found on two glasses in the bedroom. At least one of the glasses contained the drug commonly known as Xanax. The investigation into Keita's murder lasted two years and culminated with Albert's arrest at the Los Angeles Airport. She was extradited back to Minnesota to face the charges. The trial is scheduled to last approximately two weeks.
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office reported in the past week that they arrested a 27-year old for a theft at Tiny's Tavern in Lastrup. Little Falls Police also reported more suspicious activity in the city. Both the police and sheriffs departments encourage residents to call either of the offices at 616-5570 or 632-9233 to report it.
--Morrison County Public Works stated that crews will be out again this week trimming trees along various roads, (County 256), (County 257) and (CSAH 17) for better sight distance at stop signs along with clearing county right of ways. Please use caution around work crews. Maintenance workers will be out doing minor bridge maintenance this week as weather permits on various bridges within the county too. This will include clearing brush along bridges and culverts.
--On Friday, February 22nd more than 2,500 students from over 20 schools will gather on the campus of St. Cloud Technical and Community College in St. Cloud to participate in EPIC (Exploring Potential Interests & Careers). This event is designed to effectively bridge the gap between education and industry for high school students in Central Minnesota, contributing to the fulfillment of the economic and workforce needs of the area. The unique format of the event allows students to participate in hands-on, interactive experiences that simulate the activities of a variety of careers. Students will also learn the educational requirements and potential job market forecast of each career. Six career clusters will be showcased, including: Human Services; Health, Science & Technology; Engineering, Manufacturing & Technology; Arts, Communications and Information Systems; Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; and Business, Management and Administration. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a pre-event survey, designed to help them discover the top career clusters best suited to their interests and personalities. After the event, students can participate in a reflection activity constructed to immediately implement their experience and begin the creative brainstorming process about potential careers. Several Morrison County School districts have an EPIC program. The EPIC format is modeled after the highly successful Bridges Academy Career Exploration Day, held annually at Central Lakes College’s Brainerd campus.
--A 19-year-old Brainerd man suffered an injury after getting trapped in a vehicle about 2:40pm Monday on Highway 371, just south of Brainerd. According to a report by the Minnesota State Patrol, Kristopher William Anderson was driving north on Highway 371 when he lost control of the truck and rolled over. Roads were reportedly snow- and ice-covered at the time. The Brainerd Fire Department freed Anderson from the truck and he was transported to Essentia Health-St. Joseph's Medical Center to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He was wearing a seat belt.
--The Bloodmobile blood drive at the St. Francis Convent in Little Falls continues today 12-6 and tomorrow 8:30-2:30- please give blood.
WEATHER
TODAY= partly cloudy, flurries by evening, high 17.
TONIGHT= temps drop, winds get gusty, low -10, wind chills -33.
THURSDAY= cold, scattered snow showers early, very windy, temps rise to -2 then drop to -19, wind chills near -20 to -40 day and night.
FRIDAY= sunny and very cold, high -3, low around -21.
SPORTS
HS SKIING= A meet at Camp Ripley scheduled Thursday has been moved up to today due to extreme cold weather expected Thursday.
TWINS= Twins Hot Stove tonight at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ with a preview of Twins Fest this weekend in Minneapolis. The Twins today are in Pierz for the Twins Winter Caravan from 8:30-10:30am.