Newsletter: Wednesday, July 20th 2016

NEWS
--Flood Warnings remain in effect for the Mississippi River in Morrison, Crow Wing and Aitkin Counties. The waters at Fort Ripley were still over flood stage Tuesday morning and are expected to remain there until Friday. Aitkin County remains nearly 2 feet above flood stage with flooding still to campgrounds and some roadways and the water is expected to remain above flood stage until at least Friday and even longer with more rain later this week. Crow Wing County reported Tuesday that a number of roads including County Road 128 remains closed west of Ironton due to high water. Law enforcement encourages not driving in high water areas.

--One person was hurt Friday on Highway 25 and Washington Street in Brainerd. 21-year-old Abby Brown of Foley failed to yield at an intersection and struck a vehicle driven by 37-year-old Lucas Stock of Bowlus. The drivers were not injured. Brown's passenger, 21-year-old James Sjoberg of St. Cloud was treated for minor injuries.

--Two were injured last Friday around 4:00pm on Highway 371 in Baxter. Authorities say 60-year-old Barbara Nelson of Brainerd struck a vehicle driven by 59-year-old Lynn Lindemann of Brandon, South Dakota on Highway 371 at Excelsior Road. Lindemann's vehicle then struck a third driven by 33-year-old Kathryn Williams of Backus. Lindemann and her passenger, 64-year-old Jerry Serreyn of Lake Benton were taken to the hospital with injuries. No others were hurt.

--A 12-year-old girl was injured Sunday after she was flipped off an inner tube when it struck a passing boat on Clitherall Lake east of Fergus Falls. Neither drivers were injured. The girl, whose name was not released was taken to the Fergus Falls hospital for treatment of injuries. Apparently the driver of the boat that struck the girl did not know it had occurred and left the scene. He was later found. At this time there are no charges expected in the case.

--Following the recent violent deaths of police officers and African-American men, the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls join in a statement made by Franciscan Action Network, a network of Franciscan congregations engaged in social justice actions. “We are horrified by the shooting of five police officers in Dallas, and the fact that someone took advantage of a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest to cause chaos and violence. We are horrified by the shootings of Alton Sterling and ‎Philando Castile by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and just outside St. Paul. We deplore violence in all it's forms. Our patron, St. Francis of Assisi, who followed in the footprints of Jesus, commanded his followers not to bear arms and to greet others with “Peace and All Good.” Violence is not the solution to violence. We hold in prayer all these victims of senseless violence and their loved ones. But now we must do more than pray. As Catholics and people of faith who support a culture of life, it is important for us to stand up and speak out against these acts of violence. We must demand more transparency and training for our law enforcement, in order to ensure that people of color are not killed by police for just being pulled over, having a broken taillight, or for selling CDs in front of a store. We must demand expanded comprehensive background checks and a ban on high-capacity weapons and magazines. We must once again start seeing each other as children of God, all created in God’s image. We invite you to urge your members of Congress to do something about these acts of violence. Urge your state legislators to act to eliminate differences in treatment based on race. Then, pray.”

--A safety message from Minnesota Power that boaters are urged to use extreme caution near the dam in Little Falls. This is due to the safety buoys that have been washed away. Unseen hazards, fast currents and dangerous conditions may exist due to the high waters.

--The Morrison County Sheriff ‘s Office reported that Saturday around 6:30pm an ATV accident with injuries occurred at the intersection of 350th Street and 70th Avenue in Scandia Valley Township, south of Pillager. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 13-year-old Emma Olson of Elk River was driving a side-by-side ATV with a passenger, 13-year-old Kaitlyn Hines of Avon. The ATV was traveling west on 350th Street, when it got to the intersection of 70th Avenue, they attempted to make a left U-turn. The ATV rolled onto the passenger side and the passenger, Kaitlyn sustained a possible broken arm. She was transported by Gold Cross Ambulance to the hospital. The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Scandia Valley First Response Team and Scandia Valley fire department.

--One woman was injured in a three-vehicle collision Monday around 7:20pm on U.S. Highway 10 near Main Street North. 56-year-old Julie Seibert of Big Lake was the driver of a vehicle that was stopped on westbound Highway 10 just before Main Street North. 46-year-old Michelle Mohlencamp was stopped behind Seibert in a car as a vehicle driven by a teen rear-ended Mohlencamp's car, which then struck the back of the Seibert vehicle. Mohlencamp suffered non life threatening injuries according to the state patrol.

--A second alligator in the Brainerd lakes area has been found. The Cass County Sheriff's Office Tuesday received a report of a possible alligator sighting in Hardy Lake in rural Pillager. Officers responded to the area and located a small alligator in the lake near the shoreline. The alligator was secured and transported to the Safari North Wildlife Park, just south of Brainerd. The first was found in Barrows July 9th.

--U.S. Senator Al Franken said Monday he is pushing three bills for better medical services in rural Minnesota. One would provide more ways to get health-care services like increasing payments to those who provide transportation, increased broadband internet funding to rural areas, find ways to attract more doctors to rural areas, get more aid to help health professionals that deal with mental health issues, and help increase payments to rural health professionals and hospital so they don't have to lag behind the larger cities medical care.

NATIONAL NEWS
--Donald Trump officially named Republican nomination for President.
--Happy Days/The Odd Couple for TV, Laverne an Shirley creator and Pretty Woman director, Garry Marshall died Tuesday at age of 81.

WEATHER
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING 1PM TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
TODAY= sunny, hot and humid, high 92, heat index around 100.
TONIGHT= a storm overnight, warm, low 76.
THURSDAY= sunny, hot and humid, high 95, heat index near 107.
FRIDAY= sunny, high 90, storms likely at night into Saturday.

SPORTS
TWINS= Brian Dozier's homerun capped off a 5 run 7th inning as Twins win 6-1. Twins and Tigers wrap up series 11:30am on Q92.
HEAT= due to excessive heat Community Services has cancelled K-5 soccer tonight and Randall tennis at Dr. Knight cancelled Thursday.