NEWS --K H “Charlie” Gunderson has announced his candidacy for Morrison County Commissioner District 5. Charlie is a life long resident of Morrison County, was raised on a dairy farm in Elmdale township and is now a resident of Upsala. Gunderson was mayor of Upsala for 18 years. He currently owns and operates KH Gunderson Custom Woodworking in Upsala and works part-time for Schultz Auctioneers and Miller Carlin Funeral Home both in Upsala. Gunderson is the 2nd to inform Little Falls Radio of his candidacy for this position that opened when serving commissioner Duane Johnson died this fall. Greg Blaine has also announced his candidacy to run for this seat.
--Around 11:25am Monday the Morrison County Sheriff ‘s Office received a report of a one vehicle rollover with the driver trapped in the vehicle on Game Farm Road, approximately 1 mile north of Highway 27, east of Little Falls. 22-year old Caroline Eden from Pierz was traveling south on Game Farm Road. Eden stated she swerved to avoid a deer, lost control of the vehicle and went off the road as it was entering a curve. Eden’s vehicle struck a tree and rolled onto its side. Eden was taken by ambulance to CHI St Gabriel’s Hospital for possible back pain.
--The Brainerd School District will ask voters to approve a three question bond referendum on April 10th. The April election allows time for the school to plan for a November 2018 election if the referendum fails. The three ballot questions involve improvements to all the elementary and secondary school buildings and the addition of a performing arts center, for an estimated total cost of $204 million. Voters will not have to pay the entire amount. The voter-approved portion would be $145.8 million, if approved. The three ballot questions broken down may be: Question 1: Concerning investment in the elementary school buildings and Early Childhood Family Education program for a total cost of $104 million; voter-approved cost is $68.4 million. Question 2: Concerning investment in the secondary buildings for a total cost of $93 million; voter-approved cost is $69.4 million. Question 3: Concerning investment in a performing arts center for a total cost of $8 million, which would be fully supported by voter-approved dollars. The third question is contingent on the second question passing.
--A trailer break-in has grounded a popular local hot air balloon. Thieves broke into the Freedom Flight trailers earlier this month while they were parked at a dealership in Waite Park. More than $10,000 worth of equipment that was stolen is essential to flying the POW/MIA hot air balloons. The two inflator fans that were taken out of the trailers are there to inflate the hot air balloons so they can. Without those balloons they are basically grounded. They do have one left that the thieves couldn't get out of the trailer. They also stole a set of burners. The Freedom Flight balloons are always a warm and popular float in the local holiday parades. If you have any information about their stolen equipment you are encouraged to call Waite Park police at 251-3281 or Tri-County Crime Stoppers 1-800-255-1301.
--A former state employee has been charged with theft by swindle in St. Cloud. She's accused of collecting unemployment benefits for her husband while he had a job. 36-year old Kati Marie Werner made her first appearance in court Monday to face two swindle charges. Her next court appearance is an omnibus hearing on January 22nd.
--Authorities in northern Minnesota say the bodies of a missing couple have been recovered from Upper Red Lake. 30-year old Melissa Siedenstricker of Princeton, and 29-year old Zeth Knyphausen, of Stacy, were on the lake ice fishing when they failed to return to Rogers Resort on the lake's south shore Sunday. The resort is about 60 miles north of Bemidji. The Beltrami County Sheriff's Department reported earlier that it found a submerged all-terrain vehicle used by the couple in a hole in the ice. The couple's bodies were recovered Monday afternoon.
--Crow Wing County has completed an updated draft of the of the County’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (MHMP) as required by the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000). Local jurisdictions are required to update the plan every five years to remain eligible for pre-disaster and post-disaster mitigation grant programs. Community involvement and feedback are vital to the success of the plan. Crow Wing County invites public review and feedback of the draft plan prior to submitting it to the State of Minnesota and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for review. A copy of the draft MHMP and a survey for public feedback is available online at https://scse.d.umn.edu/crowwing-county-mhmp. The plan review and comment period will be open until Wednesday, December 13th.
--A 21-year-old man was taken to the hospital after suffering "significant" facial injuries during an assault near Mills Fleet Farm in Waite Park Thanksgiving morning. Waite Park Police Officers were called to St. Cloud Hospital around 3:00am to meet with the man who was assaulted around two-hours earlier. The victim told police, around 1:00am he was walking in the ditch near Mills Fleet Farm and heard someone coming up from behind him. The victim turned around and was assaulted, but nothing was taken from him. The suspects are described as two men, average build, one around 5' 9" and the other around 6' 0". Anyone with information is asked to call the Waite Park Police or Tri-County Crime Stoppers.
--Police say a 15-year old boy was arrested after intentionally starting a garage fire at a St. Cloud apartment complex Saturday night. The incident happened around 8:30pm at the Wyndemere Apartments in the 3400 block of West St. Germain Street. When emergency crews arrived they found flames coming through the roof of a detached garage. Fire crews were able to put out the blaze. No one was hurt in the fire. The St. Cloud fire department says three garages sustained heavy fire damage, while the rest have minor smoke damage. Total damages are estimated at $130,000. The boy was arrested and taken to the Stearns County Jail before being transferred to a juvenile detention center. The boy faces possible charges of 2nd degree arson.
WEATHER TODAY= sunny and turning breezy again, high 44. TONIGHT= clear skies, still windy, low near 30. THURSDAY= sunny skies, less windy, high 40, low 24. FRIDAY= partly sunny, high 45, clear night, low 32.
SPORTS COL BB= Gophers vs. Miami tonight 7:30pm on AM960 KLTF. NFL= New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning reportedly will be benched Sunday for Geno Smith. If that happens this would end the 222 straight game starting streak for Eli. 2Nd only to Brett Favre.