NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s assistance in locating 51-year old Glenn Hoppe, from Elk River. Hoppe is approximately 5’10” tall, 182 lbs, brown hair and blue eyes. He was at a camper with a friend on Crookneck Lake in NW Morrison County. Hoppe was last seen about 1:00am Monday leaving the camper wearing a bright green shirt, blue shorts and tennis shoes. At this time the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office does not expect any foul play. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 320-632-9233.
--The Minnesota DNR announced Monday that they will stock muskellunge in several lakes including Gull Lake in Crow Wing County. Other lakes include Fairmont Lake in southern Minnesota and also will stop stocking a number of lakes in Otter Tail County including Franklin, Lizzie and Loon lakes. The decision has been met with some concerns as they feel the large musky population could hurt other fish that supply the lakes. If the stocking of lakes works for these in the next 4 years there are plans to stock more lakes including Grand Rapids, Pokegama Lake in Outing and the Sauk River Chain of Lakes through central Minnesota.
--The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a man who shot a drug dealer twice during a deal in St. Cloud in 2014. 26-year-old Cornelius Kinte Payton was convicted of first- and second-degree attempted murder, first-degree aggravated robbery, two counts of second-degree assault and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a violent crime. Payton argued that there was insufficient evidence to prove that he fired the gunshots during the commission of an aggravated robbery. He argued that the robbery was complete before the shooting and that the events were not part of a "single, continuous transaction." The incident in question happened July 8th, 2014, in the 200 block of 33rd Avenue South. Payton and 20-year-old Tyree Deville Sharp were in a vehicle with two men who were going to sell them marijuana. Payton showed a gun and asked the two men to give him the marijuana and everything they had in their possession. Payton shot twice at the driver, hitting him in the neck and shoulder, before bailing from the vehicle as it drove off. The victim survived. Payton acknowledged that he brought the gun to the marijuana deal and that the gun discharged. But he denied that he intentionally fired the gun or that he intended to hurt the victim. Payton was sentenced to 275 months in prison.
--Three people were hurt in a crash near Belgrade Monday morning. The incident happened at 10:30am at the intersection of Highway 71 and Highway 55 in Stearns County. The state patrol says that 48-year-old Jennifer Steenerson of East Bethel was driving west on Highway 55 near Highway 71 when she was struck head on by a car making a left hand turn. 88-year-old Alita Lownsbury of Lebanon, Tennessee was turning left to go north onto Highway 71 when she failed to yield the right of way. Lownsbury, Steenerson and Steenerson’s passenger 41-year-old Amy Gaebe of Paynesville were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
--As mentioned by Little Falls Fire Chief Mike Nieman last week and this week by Little Falls Police Chief Greg Schirmers the National Night Out event in Little Falls will be August 9th from 4:30-7pm at the Little Falls Fire Hall. The event features demonstrations, a view of the recent vehicles of law enfrorcement and firefighters, and a Lifelink helicopter. The event is free for all to come and see that night.
--Minnesota Power Update on Tuesday announced that as of that morning there were still nearly 1,100 customers without power from last week's storms with most of those still in Duluth. Over 300 line crew and others have come from all over the nation to help with restoring power to many hillside and forest areas that are difficult for vehicles to reach. Most of the power was expected to be restored by late Monday but that was not the case and the hope is still that the power company should have 100% of power restored by late this week. If you are still without power you are asked to contact the Minnesota Power outage line 1-800-228-4966.
--Preliminary figures from the Department of Public Safety show that 200 people have died on Minnesota roads in 2016. The Office of Traffic Safety says the 200 mark was reached Saturday, putting the number of road deaths on pace with last year, when 201 fatalities were reported on July 20. Officials say drunken driving, lack of seat belt use, distractions and speed are contributing to a majority of fatalities. Officials say each one of these factors is preventable. The deaths included 27 motorcyclists, compared with 37 reported at this time last year and 26 pedestrians, compared with 16 last year. Four bicyclists have also been killed this year in Minnesota.
--Central Minnesota's unemployment numbers may have witnessed a slight month-over-month increase, but the area's average remains well below the national jobless rate for the third straight month. The seven-county region: Benton, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties reported an average unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in June. However, the area's low unemployment rate still remains higher than the state's 4 percent unemployment rate for June.
--Brainerd firefighters had to evacuate an apartment above the Last Turn Saloon in Brainerd Monday around 1:30pm after a dryer fire. Firefighters said the fire was in the laundry room and items in the dryer were burned. There was a lot of smoke that was in the hallway and getting into the rooms above the saloon so the building was evacuated for a time as it could be ventilated. No one was injured and the fire was not suspicious.
--A bicyclist suffered severe injuries when he was struck by a vehicle Monday night near Motley. The Todd County Sheriff’s Office says it happened about 8:00pm on County Road 28 in Villard Township. A car driven by Matthew Smith of rural Motley was going east when it struck a bike being ridden by Forest Dingman of rural Motley. Dingman suffered serious injuries and was treated at a hospital.
WEATHER
TODAY= showers and storms likely, some heavy rain, high 74.
TONIGHT= a storm early, then partly cloudy, low 56.
THURSDAY= sunny skies, less humid, high 76, low 56.
FRIDAY= sunny and pleasant, high 75, low 56.
SPORTS
TWINS= Braves shut out Twins last night 2-0. Twins and Atlanta wrap up series tonight 6:30pm then the Twins have a make up game with Baltimore Thursday at 5:30 before Chicago comes to town this weekend. All games on Q92 WYRQ.
REGION 8C= listen to the Region 8C Baseball Tournament this weekend with games starting Saturday at 11am, four games Saturday and four games Sunday on AM960 KLTF.