NEWS
--The Morrison County Sheriff's Office reported yesterday afternoon that they made an arrest in this stolen motor home case. The suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Roberto Rays-Park of Sauk Centre. He is being held in Morrison County Jail pending charges for Theft of a Motor Vehicle. Sheriff Shawn Larsen also wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July holiday weekend please drive safe, don't drink and drive, obey the laws and have fun this weekend.
--St. Cloud Police are investigating the discovery of a body near Tech High School. The St. Cloud Fire Department was called to the 4200 block of 33rd Street South just after 11am Monday. While fire crews were responding to a small grass fire in a natural area near the school, they found a person at the scene who had died. Authorities have not released any information on the victim or the cause of death and have called in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the State Fire Marshal's Office to assist in the investigation. No other details are available and the police department says they will release more information when they have more answers.
--A 37-year-old man was arrested Monday by Stearns County Sheriff’s deputies after a high-speed chase. They attempted to stop him in St. Cloud for traffic violations, but he took off. The pursuit lasted for about 35 miles, finally wrapping up near Melrose. Albany, Melrose, St. Cloud, St. Joseph, Sauk Centre, and Waite Park Police assisted the sheriff’s office. The Todd County Sheriff’s Office also helped end the chase. The man was booked into the Stearns County Jail for fleeing police and suspicion of driving under the influence.
--Stearns County Deputies reported that there was a large police presence near Grand Lake in Stearns County due to an active incident on Monday. The sheriff’s office says they were involved in the investigation located a little south of Rockville on County Road 8. Officials say the incident is contained and the public is not in danger. The public was asked to stay clear from the area but again no other information was released only that the public was not in danger.
--Just days before it was supposed to start, the organizers of Moondance Jam in Walker announced they have scrapped the national touring acts that would have headlined the festival and instead will only have regional acts perform. The festival was not administering refunds for tickets purchased. This year’s headliners were scheduled to be Foghat, Kansas and Creed. Other touring acts on the bill included former Journey lead singer Steve Augeri, Blue Oyster Cult and Switchfoot. On the festival’s Facebook page, ticket holders were given three options. The first was to use tickets this year and get four more general admission tickets at the gate. The second was to exchange them for upcoming events with Dueling Pianos or the Moondance Harvest Moon Festival. The third was to roll tickets over to next year.
--The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will be prowling the lakes for boaters who exceed their limit over the holiday weekend. Minnesota boating while intoxicated laws are among the strongest in the nation. Operating a boat with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher is against the law. And anyone convicted of drinking and driving will lose their driving privileges. The DNR says drunk boating is the leading cause of boat crashes and fatalities on the water. Please don't drink and boat this weekend.
--Tomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States on the ratifying of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. A federal holiday with government agencies, city halls, courthouses, banks, financial institutions, post offices and many other businesses closed today for the 4th of July holiday. There are parades around the state and fireworks shows weather permitting Thursday night also. Parades include Hillman at 11am with softball and horseshoe tournaments and food in the town Thursday and Brainerd has their large parade scheduled at 6pm, music to follow and fireworks at 10:15pm around the high school fields in Brainerd Thursday night. Others events can be views on the state of Minnesota tourism website for parades and fireworks scheduled for Thursday. Other events slated for weekend.
--H5N1 influenza, which is the same virus that causes highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry, was detected in a cattle herd in Benton County last week, according to state officials. The latest data from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health shows the initial diagnosis was made Friday, marking the seventh cattle herd in Minnesota confirmed to be infected by the virus this year, with all sickened herds discovered in June. In March, a goat on a farm in Stevens County, Minnesota became the first domestic ruminant in the United States to test positive for the virus. The latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows the number of H5N1-infected livestock herds detected in the ongoing outbreak has risen to 137 across 12 states. At least three dairy workers have been infected since H5N1 since 2022 but again the virus remains low in humans.
DEATH NOTICES
--Aleta D. Edin, age 74 of Upsala.
--Daniel Joseph Manlick, age 60 of Little Falls.
WEATHER
TODAY= sunny skies, high 81, clear night, low near 60.
4th of JULY= AM shower, some sun, PM storms, high 77, low 58.
FRIDAY= AM showers, then sunny, high 75, low near 63.
SATURDAY= sunny skies, high 80, storms possible, low near 55.
SUNDAY= AM storms, then sunny and humid, high 77, low 61.
SPORTS
TWINS= Margot and Correa homer to lift Twins 5-3 over Detroit last night. Twins continue series with Detroit tonight, pregame begins at 6:30pm, first pitch 7:10 and fireworks after the game tonight at Target Field in Minneapolis. Hear the game live on Q92 WYRQ.
LYNX= New York beat the Lynx last night 76-67 in New York.
ROX= The St. Cloud Rox will honor local breast cancer survivors at a game in July. Pink in the Park on Wednesday, July 17th will honor 9 survivors of the disease including Minnesota State Representative Bernie Perryman. The survivors will be recognized before the game and collectively throw out the first pitch. Rox players will also wear special pink jerseys at 6:35pm at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud.
Happy 4th of July Tomorrow from Little Falls Radio. Due to the holiday the offices of Little Falls Radio are closed on Thursday and there will be no newsletter on the 4th of July. The Newsletter will be back out again on Friday morning.