NEWS --Around 10:40am Sunday authorities responded to a vehicle crash that injured two in Little Falls. 21-year old Yiyi Liu of Minneapolis was heading westbound on 183rd Street as 31-year old Sarah Waaraniemi of Little Falls was heading south on Haven Road. The vehicles collided in the intersection. Waaraniemi was taken to St. Gabriel's Hospital for non life threatening injuries. One of the seven passengers of Liu's vehicle Shulang Yue sustained non life threatening injuries but was not hospitalized. All of Liu's passengers were listed on the report as foreign exchange students from China. The State Patrol, Little Falls Police Department, Morrison County Sheriffs Office and Little Falls Fire Department all assisted at the scene. All were wearing seatbelts.
--The Brainerd Police Department is requesting the public's help in locating a missing Brainerd man. 44-year old Theodore Erickson was last seen in Brainerd on November 2nd and has not been seen by family or friends since. Erickson has health concerns and does not have any of his medications so authorities are concerned for his welfare. Erickson is listed at 6'0” tall, 240 pounds, with reddish brown graying hair and hazel/blue eyes. He walks with a limp and has a scar on his throat from a tracheotomy. Authorities are asking people to check their properties for someone who might have sought shelter. If you have information on the whereabouts of Theodore Erickson please contact the Brainerd Police Department or 911.
--One of three men charged in a Sauk Rapids murder last February has pleaded guilty to an amended charge of aiding an offender and being an accessory after the fact. 38-year old Vance Laster made the plea Monday just before his jury trial was to begin. Laster, 21-year old Willie White, and 26-year old Nokomis Jefferson were indicted on 1st degree premeditated murder charges in the shooting death of 25-year old Joe Ditthideth and the wounding of 29-year old Nathan Phrachomphonh. According to the criminal complaint, the group traveled to a St. Paul bar in the early morning hours of February 16th but returned to Sauk Rapids a few hours later. That's when surveillance audio and video caught the men arguing and gunshots being fired at 3466 Old Creek Place. The victims were taken to the hospital where Ditthideth died from multiple gunshot wounds. Phrachomphonh suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen and underwent successful surgery. Jefferson and White are then accused of torching Ditthideth's car. The plea agreement calls for 11 to 13 years in prison. Laster will be sentenced March 13th. As part of the plea agreement, all remaining charges against Laster are expected to be dismissed. White and Jefferson go on trial in late February.
--The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office received a report of a truck through the ice at 2:55pm Sunday on South Long Lake off of County Highway 23. A deputy responded to the incident and learned the truck—which broke through at a depth of about 2.5 feet—was pulled from the lake by someone else on scene. Conservation officers from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources arrived and issued a citation to the driver for careless driving. General ice thickness guidelines from the DNR state ice should be 8-12 inches thick to handle the weight of a car a small pickup truck and 12-15 inches thick for a medium-sized truck. The ice thickness on Upper South Long Lake was a lot less than that and some areas had open water.
--The Horse'n Around Parade and bake sale is Saturday in Harding. The parade starts at 5:00pm followed by pictures with Santa.
--A 26-year old St. Cloud man is facing felony charges, accused of choking a woman and threatening a girl on Sunday. Aaron Cordell Carter was charged Tuesday with one felony count of domestic assault by strangulation and two felony counts of domestic assault.
--A Richmond woman is being held in the Stearns County Jail after allegedly pointing a gun at another motorist Sunday morning. Waite Park Police say the incident originated on Highway 23 in Rockville around 11:30am when a driving complaint was called in. An SUV was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed and was passing cars on the left shoulder. Another driver followed the SUV into Waite Park in an effort to get the license plate number. When the suspect pulled into a parking lot, the victim says the driver got out and pointed a handgun at them. The victims left the scene and called 911. Police identified the suspect as 46-year-old Janene Willner. After the incident in the parking lot, police say Willner went into the store and also called 911. Officers were waiting when she went back out to her SUV. Police say they recovered an uncased handgun inside the vehicle. Willner was arrested at the scene and is expected to be charged with 2nd-degree assault and making terroristic threats.
--The Heartland Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Corbett will present their winter concert on Saturday, December at 7:30pm in Little Falls at the Charles D. Martin Auditorium and Sunday at 2:30 in Brainerd at the Tornstrom Auditorium. A highlight of the concert will be the performance of Howard Blake’s “The Snowman” as narrated by Bill Satre. The theme song will be sung by Jennifer Pelowski. Tickets may be purchased online, at the concert, or by calling 1-800-826-1997. Adults $12, seniors are $10 and all K-12 students are free of charge.
--The annual Toys for Kids program is this Saturday from 12:00-8:00pm at the Green Lantern Bar east of Brainerd. Santa will be there. Games and events for kids. The Toys for Kids program provides Christmas Gifts for southern Crow Wing County families. Last year over 1,200 kids up to 15 years old from 515 families received gifts.
ENTERTAINMENT --The creator of “SpongeBob Squarepants” Stephen Hillenburg died Tuesday at the age of 57 from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Hillenburg created the series under the sea for Nickelodeon back in 1999.
DEATH NOTICES --June Lorraine Johnson, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. --Karen M. Olson, age 75 of Little Falls.
WEATHER TODAY= cloudy, snow by late afternoon, high 25. TONIGHT= snow likely, 1-2 inches, low 21. THURSDAY= snow mixing with freezing rain, high 32, low 22. FRIDAY= mostly cloudy, warmer, high 38, low near 20.
SPORTS TWINS= The Twins claimed first-basemen, DH C.J. Cron after he was designated for assignment by Tampa Bay last week. Cron is a possible replacement for Joe Mauer who retired from the Twins after this past season. Find out more about Twins baseball in the offseason tonight with Twins Hot Stove at 6pm on Q92 WYRQ. NFL= Vikings at New England Sunday at 3:25pm.