NEWS
--Stewart Mills III announced Monday that after the State Canvassing Board meets and verified the votes from the November 8th General Election where Mills lost to 8th District Democratic U.S. Congressman Rick Nolan 50.17% of the vote to 49.61%, that he will ask for a hand counted recount. Mills stated Monday that it's just double checking the numbers as the contest was very close for the second time in four years. Since the results were more than a quarter of a percent apart, the state will not pay for a recount. Mills said he did not know how much a recount would cost and unclear how long the recount, if it is done by the canvassing board, would take.
--St. Cloud based GNP (Gold'n Plump) Company is being sold to a Colorado Corporation. Pilgrim’s Pride, based out of Greely, Colorado, announced Tuesday they have a definitive agreement to acquire GNP Company. It is an all cash $350 million transaction. Pilgrim’s Pride says it is anticipated the transaction would close during the first quarter of next year, subject to regulatory review. GNP has production facilities in Cold Spring, Luverne and Arcadia, Wisconsin. It employs about 1,700 people. Pilgrim’s Pride has over 38,000 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared food facilities in 12 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. GNP Company was bought by The Maschoffs LLC based out of Carlyle, Illinois in November, 2013, prior to that it was locally owned.
--A Brainerd church considered a landmark was demolished on Monday. The Temple Baptist Church on Oak Street had been at that location with the large double tower since 1951. The congregation is over 125 years old in the Brainerd area. The building site had two fires prior to 1951 for previous buildings in their church family. The congregation moved to Laurel Street as Communitas Church recently and the building had been vacant on Oak Street for some time.
--More information was released on a fire near Pillager last Friday. Brainerd firefighters helped the Pillager Fire Department that responded to the the blaze on the 2100 block of 125th Street Southwest, east of Sylvan Lake just after 2:00pm. The fire did extensive damage to the roof of the home and the attic sustained moderate smoke damage. Damage to the interor of the home was minimal. Firefighters were on the scene until 5:30pm. The four inside the home all escaped without injury. The fire started in the chimney.
--A 64-year-old man was injured in a two-vehicle crash last week in Baxter. Baxter police reported on Monday that last Wednesday on Highway 371 and Clearwater Road in Baxter, Douglas Pearce of Baxter, was making a left-hand turn from Highway 371 to Clearwater Road, when he turned in front of another vehicle and the two crashed. The other driver, 42-year old Anthony Tyrone Robinson of Brainerd was not injured. Pearce was taken to the hospital and treated for what police deemed as non life threatening injuries.
--Cynthia R. Kirchoff was appointed Monday as the St. Cloud city attorney. She will begin in that role January 3rd. The city attorney position was vacated in July when Matt Staehling left it to become the St. Cloud city administrator.
--Little Falls Community High School announced their Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Monday, December 5th from 3:45-6:45pm in the High School Commons. This will be the only Parent/Teacher Conference scheduled for Quarter 2. Please contact the High School with questions at (320) 616-2202.
--The Heartland Symphony Orchestra performs “Remembrance” Saturday night at Charles D. Martin Auditorium in Little Falls and Sunday afternoon at the Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd. Music selections include Star Wars and the Nutcracker Suite. Tickets at the door are $12 for adults and free for all students 18 and younger.
--Crow Wing County Community Services is seeking residents who wish to adopt children in foster care. Fourteen children in Crow Wing County currently do not have adoptive homes, and a total of 489 children in Minnesota need adoptive families immediately. The Minnesota Department of Human Services is working with its partners, including Crow Wing County, to connect families looking to adopt with kids needing a forever home. In 2015, Minnesota families adopted 662 children from the foster care system. When courts terminate parental rights, children are placed in foster care and committed to the guardianship of the state. The goal is to find permanent homes, preferably through adoption, for all children under state guardianship. The county is responsible for identifying children's needs, finding an adoptive family and facilitating the adoption process. In 2015, Crow Wing facilitated the adoption of 10 children. By state law, child foster homes must be licensed according to the standards set forth by DHS. The licensing process takes approximately three to six months. To apply, a person must be 21 years old and pass a criminal background study, which includes fingerprinting for anyone older than 18 in their household and background studies of anyone older than 13 in the household. Foster parents can be single or married, rent or own a home, and employed full time or part time.
NATIONAL NEWS
--A Wisconsin judge has refused to order local officials to conduct the state's presidential recount by hand. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein requested the recount last week. She alleged - without evidence - that the state's voting equipment may have been hacked. The state Elections Commission has ordered the recount to begin Thursday but rejected Stein's request that county clerks conduct the recount entirely by hand. Stein filed a lawsuit seeking an order for a statewide hand recount. Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn refused to issue the order, saying Stein's team failed to show any mistakes or irregularities that would bring a machine recount into question.
DEATH NOTICE
--John Leo Anderson, age 76 of Cushing
WEATHER
TODAY= snow showers mixing with drizzle, high 36.
TONIGHT= snow showers, up to 1 inch total, low 30.
THURSDAY= mostly cloudy, high near 35, low around 25.
FRIDAY= partial sun, cooler, high 28, low around 20.
SPORTS
NFL= Vikings host Dallas Thursday 7pm on AM960 KLTF.
TWINS= The Twins have announced they have hired former players Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer and LaTroy Hawkins as assistants to work with manager Paul Molitor in the 2017 season.
WEB= check out local sports scores at fallsradio.com/sports.