News

Little Falls and many areas saw heavy rains, thunder and lightning Saturday morning. The Little Falls Airport reported getting .91 inches of rain by 11am on Saturday. Some areas over an inch of rain and more from the heavier downpours on Saturday. There are chances of showers Sunday morning and evening then warmer temps into the 80s the next days with more storms late Tuesday night. 

A reminder that school starts for some students in the Little Falls Community School District Monday and students for Mary of Lourdes Elementary and Middle School in Little Falls. Remember to watch for students and school buses coming and going from schools on Monday. All students in class for Little Falls, Pierz, Upsala, Holdingford and some for Royalton begin on Tuesday September 1st. 

The City of Little Falls and Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce sent out reminders that there will be a public information session September 17th on Highway 27 and the railroad crossing.  The City of Little Falls continues working to address safety and traffic operation issues along the Highway 27 (Broadway Avenue) bridge crossing over the Mississippi River. These issues are caused by the at-grade railroad crossing at the west end of the Highway 27 bridge. With information provided in the 2017 Feasibility Study, the City, in partnership with MnDOT, received funds through a Federal Rail Authority grant program to develop alternatives, evaluate the options and complete the environmental review process. The project began in summer 2025 to gather community input, identify key issues and concerns, and begin the preliminary design process. The project is now entering Phase 2, during which bridge alternatives will be presented to the public. As a business and property owner along Highway 27 (Broadway Avenue), your input is essential to the success of this project. At the meeting, the project team will share updates, including goals, timeline, and discuss potential impacts on local businesses. This is an opportunity to share your concerns, priorities, and input. We will have coffee and donuts at the meeting which will be at 8am on September 17th at the Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce in the Cass Gilbert Depot. The meeting will include a presentation at 8:10am introducing the alternatives and design process. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session and an open conversation with the project team. To learn more about the Hwy 27 River Crossing, please visit the project webpage at: bit.ly/hwy27-river-crossing.

The Minnesota State Patrol has released the name of the Foley teenager who was killed in a fatal crash in Benton County. The crash happened at around 4:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in St. George Township.  The crash happened at around 4:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in St. George Township. The State Patrol says 27-year-old Tyler Hurtig of Brainerd was driving a pickup and pulling a trailer on Highway 25 when the crash happened. Troopers say another pickup driven by 18-year-old Keegan Midas of Foley made contact with the trailer at the intersection of Highway 25 and County Road 10 before rolling. Troopers say Midas was not wearing his seatbelt and was killed in the crash. Hurtig and his passenger, 49-year-old Daniel Phelps of Wadena, were not hurt.

No one was hurt after an SUV caught fire after a crash on Thursday afternoon. The Stearn County Sheriff's Office says they received a report about a crash with a vehicle on fire at about 3:40 p.m. at the intersection of County Road 17 and County Road 13 near Melrose. Once on the scene, deputies found an SUV driven by 23-year-old Jose Montanez Botello of Sauk Centre fully engulfed in flames and in the ditch with the fire spreading into the surrounding area. Botello and two passengers in his vehicle, 23-year-old Guadalupe Botello Ambriz of Sauk Centre and 3-year-old Noah Montanez Botello, were all able to escape the vehicle without injury. The Sheriff's Office says through its investigation and witness accounts, they were able to determine that an SUV being driven by 33-year-old Vivian Okutoyl of Grey Eagle was going east on County Road 17, failed to yield the right of way, and proceeded through the stop sign. She entered the intersection and pulled out in front of Botello, who was going north, and the two vehicles crashed. Okutoyl was also not hurt in the crash. The Melrose Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Melrose Fire Department, and Melrose Ambulance assisted at the scene. It was also reported that Little Falls Fire Department was called out on Friday afternoon, they said it was a small grass fire north of the city and was extinguished before firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported. Friday morning a driver and passenger had injuries from a one vehicle accident near Avon when the vehicle went off the road as the driver had reportedly fallen asleep both were treated at a nearby hospital. Then Saturday around 8:45pm a two vehicle accident in St. Cloud at St. Germain Street reportedly injured three teenagers in one of the vehicles, the two 16 year old's and a 13-year-old were checked out with the 13 year old going to the hospital. The other driver, a 38 year old from Sauk Rapids was not hurt.  

The Minnesota State Fair in the first two days have set two attendance records, over 155,000 Thursday breaking the record by over 18,000 people, then Friday nearly 205,000 attended the fair shattering the attendance record by over 30,000 people that day. Saturday just missed a record with around 199,000 at the Fair. The fair runs through Labor Day just east of St. Paul. Fair officials stated the weather definitely played a factor with temps in the upper 70s and low 80s both days and dry conditions.

Congratulations to this year's Pierz Oktoberfest medallion hunt finder, Weston Walcheski (assisted by younger brother Wyatt)!! Here they are receiving the $600 Pierz Bucks from committee member Shawn Janson. It was hidden under a nest behind the red porta-potty between Co Rd 39 and the north softball field.

 

Weather: cloudy with few showers early Monday, then sunny skies, high 85, clear Monday night low 57. Sunny skies, high 84, showers Tuesday night low around 59. Sunny Wednesday high 84, showers possible late Wednesday night low 60. Sunny and warm Thursday high 86, storms possible again Thursday night low around 63. Friday, Saturday and Sunday continued warm into Labor Day weekend, highs in the mid to upper 80s and lows in the lower 60s.  

Sports: Saturday: St. Martin 3-1 over Buckman and Raymond beat Nisswa 4-2 eliminating both the Billy goats and Lightning from the Class B State Amateur Tournament in Shakopee. Beau Thoma saves the Sobieski Skis season with a 2 run walk-off single in the 9th for Skis to win 3-2 over Kimball late on Sunday after the game before went 12 innings. Sobieski advances to Saturday night. White Sox beat the Twins 7-4 Friday, White Sox win 3-2 Saturday, Twins win Sunday 5-1 to take 1 of the 3 over the White Sox. Twins host Detroit Monday night at 6:40pm at Target Field. Denver routed the Vikings 34-6 in Denver Friday for the final preseason game. Vikings open regular September 13th vs. Green Bay. Atlanta oust the Lynx 89-81 on Sunday as the Lynx are 31-9. The WNBA is off for two weeks for the FIBA World Basketball Cup. Tennis Friday Little Falls beat Aitkin and Mora in an invite. Little Falls Girls Soccer 8-2 win over Sauk Rapids-Rice. Royalton Volleyball 2-2 at their tournament defeated Pillager and Pierz in pool play then lost to Foley in finals. Swanville went 2-2 at the tournament in Mora in Volleyball. Saturday Little Falls Boys Soccer beat Fergus Falls 3-2 both boys and girls soccer are 2-0. Little Falls Cross Country had Rose Jarnot finish first in her race at the invite in Perham as girls win the Black Division they ran in 1st place. Boys finished 10th. 

Little Falls Radio was informed by Pierz Oktoberfest Committee that around noon the Pierz Oktoberfest Medallion was found and turned in in Pierz. More details to come on this at...

A message from Little Falls Township. To all concerned and all people using the public roads within the Zebulon Shores Neighborhood, there will be Chip-Sealing operations on Thursday, August 27th,...

Country music icon Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80. Her family announced her death Tuesday in a video posted to Parton’s social media accounts. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver,...

The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reports that on August 21, 2026, at approximately 1:26pm, their office received a report of a four-year-old child who had been run over by a lawn...