NEWS
--The Morrison County Board of Commissioners announced a grant program for non-profits in the county. The announcement comes after the county had success with its business assistance grant program. Both programs were made possible with funding from the CARES Act. The county received $4 million in aid and plans to use at least 5%, or a little over $200,000 for the non-profit grant program. The county will partner with the non-profit, United Way, to administer applications, complete paperwork and answer questions about the program, Gruber said. After the application period is complete, the Board will review and disperse grant awards. United way will collect an administration fee of about 10% of the total awarded grants through the program, which is pretty standard, Gruber said. The positive of the fee is that it’s supporting a local non-profit in a different way. All non-profit organizations are eligible to apply for the grant program. To qualify, the organization must show an impact to their operations due to COVID-19 and include documentation on eligible expenses incurred since March 1. The program cannot replace lost revenue, including from fundraising or gambling. If an organization doesn’t employ staff or have regular expenses, they may not qualify for the program. The application period for the Morrison County Non-profit Assistance program started Tuesday and runs through Friday October 9th. The application will be available on the Morrison County website or can be picked up and dropped off in person at the administration desk in the basement level of the Government Center.
--Two people were hurt in a four-vehicle crash near Sauk Rapids Saturday afternoon. The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. on Highway 23 at County Road 1. The Minnesota State Patrol says an SUV and a car headed east on Highway 23 were stopped in the left lane at a red light and a second car was stopped in the right lane when all three were hit by a pick-up truck. Authorities say the driver of the truck had dropped his earbuds and was looking down for them. The driver and passenger in the SUV, 61-year-old Michael Gregersen and and 53-year-old Joanne Gregersen of Milaca, were taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The drivers of the cars, 16-year-old Cole Paulson of Sauk Rapids and 27-year-old Lisa Fox of Avon, and the driver of the truck, 27-year-old Jacob Collison of Milaca, were not hurt.
--A St. Cloud woman is charged with 1st-degree arson after allegedly trying to burn down a garage. According to the criminal complaint, 46-year old Lisa Rueckert called 911 just after 1:30 in the afternoon Wednesday to report she had set her garage on fire. Records show Rueckert had told another person in the home that she started the fire and wanted to go to prison. The witness was able to get a garden hose and put the fire out before fire crews and police arrived. Records show Rueckert smelled of alcohol at the time of the incident and showed visible signs of being drunk. The St. Cloud Fire Marshal arrived at the home in the 700 block of 13th Avenue South and determined an accelerant was used. Authorities discovered a small gas can that appears to have been used to start the fire. No damage estimate is available.
--Morrison County maintenance employees will be hauling gravel on County Road 234 south of Buckman. Public Works will also be repairing entrance culverts on CSAH 34 east of Buckman. Please be watchful for workers on our county and local roadways.
--Little Falls Mayor Greg Zylka spoke on KLTF Tuesday and praised the local school districts on their work to get students back to classes starting yesterday. Zylka spoke on the city level of the 73 loan/grants to businesses and also the CARES Funding from county on federal dollars to cover the loan part of it and hopefully make that a full grant with no payback in time. The city is working with the county and federal requests on the monies asked for with businesses and also non-profits. Zylka is also looking at some of the CARES dollars to help promote businesses and outside traffic into the community with the Arts and Crafts, Antiques and Collectibles and the Lone Eagle Car Show being cancelled this year which would have been this weekend. Zylka said he is always available to talk to business owners and city residents on questions and concerns at 232-9336 and also you can call City Hall for information on funding at 616-5500.
--The numbers from the Department of Health on Tuesday were down because of lower testing being conducted yesterday because of the Labor Day holiday. There were 387 new cases and 2 new deaths. No newly reported cases yesterday in Morrison County staying at 149 cases and 1 death linked to COVID-19. Schools will be watching the numbers daily and keeping a close look on spikes as they continue with in class learning in central Minnesota schools.
--The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind everyone that this week our kids are heading back to school. They want everyone to arrive to their destinations safely, so please pay attention to the school buses as they will be making periodic stops. Be aware of the flashing lights on the school bus which indicates the bus is preparing to stop. Motorists need to slow down and keep their vehicles a minimum distance of 20’ away from the bus when the flashing red lights are displayed and the extended signal arm is out. Kids, please cross the street in front of the bus and make eye contact with the driver before approaching the bus. Be respectful to your bus driver and make sure to follow the rules. Please do your part to keep our children safe. STAY ALERT, SLOW DOWN AND DO NOT BE IN A RUSH. Let’s all do our part to make sure our kids arrive safely.
--Congratulations Keagen Rudolph of Pierz who was the grand prize winner Sunday in the raffle at Holy Cross in Harding winning the top prize of $1,000. On Sunday, also congratulations to Eric and Jennifer Smude and Julie Plante who were the two $5,000 winners from the raffle drawing done at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Little Falls.
DEATH NOTICES
--Jesse Peterson, age 40 of Little Falls.
--Margaret Ronyak, age 78 of Holdingford.
WEATHER
TODAY= clearing skies, cool temps, high 57.
TONIGHT= frost likely overnight, clear and cool, low 32.
THURSDAY= sunny skies, a bit warmer, high 63, low 40.
FRIDAY= showers develop in afternoon, high 63, low 55.
SPORTS
TWINS= Bomba squad goes deep 3 times Tuesday to beat St. Louis in game 1 of a double header 7-3, the Cardinals then came back to beat the Twins in the 2nd game 6-4. The Twins (27-18) is only a half game behind Chicago and Cleveland in the AL Central. They have two days off now after the 1 day series in St. Louis. They return to action Friday night against Cleveland on Q92 WYRQ.