NEWS
--The Little Falls Community Schools have informed us of a new scam in our area. The scam is from a caller named Jesse who claims to be selling “Flyer Ads” at $169. The caller will leave a return phone number that is disconnected. Little Falls Community High School Activities Director Kevin Jordan stated this is a scam.
--An Albany woman has pleaded guilty to stealing money from the Holdingford Chamber of Commerce. 34-year old Sarah Schmidt has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft-by swindle. A third count will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement. A complaint filed in Stearns County shows Schmidt was hired at the end of 2013 to manage the chamber's gambling account. The organization's treasurer told investigators they had noticed a large sum of money missing from the account. Records show Schmidt had stopped attending meetings and instead texted the account balances to the treasurer. Bank records from March of this year showed the account balance at $8,900, but court records show Schmidt's last reported balance was $42,000. Members of the chamber told police they thought Schmidt was taking cash payments from raffle drawings and failing to deposit them. She was accused of taking a total of just under $35,000 between 2014 and 2016. Court records show Schmidt told investigators she had misplaced a small amount of the funds to be deposited, but didn't know why there would be discrepancies in the other deposits. Schmidt will be sentenced January 12th.
--The Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division (LADID) executed a search warrant on the 28000 block of County Road 4 in Breezy Point. The search was the result of a three month investigation into the sale of methamphetamine in our communities. Two firearms were recovered in the search and the investigation into the sale of methamphetamine continues. Five people were taken into custody. 25-year old Brook Alexander, 36-year old Michael Olson, and 50-year old John Mertens were each arrested for drug possession. 26-year old Joshua Mcaninich was arrested for a warrant and drug possession. 25-year old Brienna Rodriguez was arrested for drug sales. LADID was assisted by the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, Breezy Point, Pequot Lakes and the Crosslake Police Departments.
--A Princeton man was hurt in a collision early Tuesday morning. The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened at about 2:45am on Northbound Highway 169 at School Street Northwest in Elk River. 22-year old Zachariah Carlson of Princeton was stopped at a red light, as he began to proceed through the intersection he was rear-ended by a semi. Carlson was taken to Princeton Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the semi, 24-year old Lance Rayburn of Pine City was not hurt.
--The 41st Annual Indoor Marching Band Concert is next week. This year’s theme is present the Electric Guitar. Hear the music of Guitar Greats: Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton and The Foo Fighter’s Dave Grohl in the Charles D. Martin Auditorium at Little Falls Community High School. The Flyer Senior High Bands will wow you with music, features, and skits. You have two chances to see this musical extravaganza. All tickets and seats are general admission. Performances next Monday and Tuesday at 7:00pm. Tickets are $3 for children, $7 for adults. No passes will be accepted. Call 616-2262 for information.
--The Santa Parade is 6:00pm Friday, November 24th in Little Falls.
--Minnesota firearms hunters registered 145,054 deer through the second weekend of deer season, according to the DNR. Preliminary results through the second weekend show that the number of deer registered was up 10 percent from 2016. Of the deer harvested, 54 percent were bucks, compared to 63 percent during the same period in 2016. Based upon the number of antlerless permits available and the number of permit areas that allow multiple deer to be taken, the DNR is projecting the 2017 total deer harvest to be around 200,000. The 2016 total harvest was 173,213. In much of Minnesota, the firearms deer season ended November 12th. Additional deer will be harvested during the northern rifle zone season, which continues through Sunday. The late southeast season, which runs Saturday, through Sunday, November 26th. The muzzleloader season, begins Saturday, November 25th and continues through Sunday, December 10th.
--Profits are expected to remain steady for Minnesota corn and soybean farmers despite a slight production dip in 2017. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the state's corn production will be 1.45 billion bushels, a 6 percent decrease from last year. The department predicts the state's soybean production will be 373 million bushels, down 4 percent from last year. The scattered production problems and hail damage have caused the slight declines. U of M grain-marketing economist Ed Usset says a global surplus of grains means profits aren't increasing significantly even with a healthy export market for corn and soybeans.
--St. Cloud Police are searching for the father of the three-year-old boy who was shot in Southeast St. Cloud Monday. St. Cloud Police Commander Brett Mushatt says the boys father, 28-year old William Dickerson, is wanted by police for being a felon in possession of a gun, and negligent storage of the weapon. Police were called just after 11:15am to the 1500 block of 15th Avenue Southeast for a report of a child bleeding. Further investigation uncovered the child accidentally pulled the trigger on a loaded gun and shot himself. The child remains in stable condition, with non-life threatening injuries.
--Around 6:45am Tuesday authorities were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on County Road 197 near Highway 71 in Crow River Township of Stearns County. 25-year old Brianna Schmiesing of New London, was driving on County Road 197 as her vehicle left the road and rolled over due to the foggy weather conditions. Schmiesing was taken by ambulance to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
--Republican Jeff Johnson of Hennepin County made it official Tuesday that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2018. Johnson lost to Governor Mark Dayton in the 2014 election.
DEATH NOTICES
--Kathleen Allord, age 84 of Little Falls
--Harry Schulz, age 96 of West Fargo, North Dakota.
WEATHER
TODAY= mostly cloudy, falling temps and gusty winds.
TONIGHT= partial clearing, low 20 temps rise toward morning.
THURSDAY= mostly cloudy, breezy, high 34, rain/snow after midnight
FRIDAY= snow early, then rain, high 40, back to snow by evening.
SPORTS
HS FB= Pierz vs. Jordan Saturday 2pm in the Class AAA State-Semi-Finals from U.S. Bank Stadium on FM94 KFML and fallsradio.com.