Friday, August 28, 2026

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 LF Radio. 

The Minnesota State Patrol has released the name of the 37-year-old Brainerd man killed Wednesday when his vehicle struck a train west of Baxter on West Gull River Road in Sylvan Township. Keith Donovan died from injuries in the accident. The State Patrol said he was not wearing a seatbelt. 

An 18-year-old from Foley is dead after a two vehicle accident around 4:15pm on Highway 25 in St. George Township of Benton County on Thursday. The 18-year-old made contact with a trailer being pulled by a pickup which caused the 18-year-old to veer off the road and rolled. The State Patrol said he was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene. The name has not been released. The other driver from Brainerd and a passenger from Wadena were not injured in the accident. 

A garage and all of its contents are considered a total loss after an early morning fire in Stearns County. Sheriff's deputies and Kimball firefighters were dispatched to 50 Cherry Street South in Kimball at around 4:15am. Thursday morning. The caller reported their neighbor's garage was on fire and it was spreading to nearby trees. Authorities say another nearby garage was also starting to catch fire. The occupants of the home were able to safely escape before the fire departments from Kimball and Watkins put out the blaze. The sheriff's office says the cause of the fire was accidental when a minor child tried to dispose of a mattress by burning it in the garage. He believed he had put out the flames by putting water on the mattress and returned to the house. The fire was discovered when the homeowner's dog was barking, and he looked outside to see the garage engulfed in flames. The garage and its contents, including a vehicle, are considered a total loss.

Two Twin Cities area men face felony charges after two separate Stearns County robberies. Waite Park police responded to an apartment in the 400 block of 7th Street South at around 3:15 a.m. on July 20th on a report of an assault and robbery. The victim said he was jumped by 19-year-old Anthony Johnson of Crystal and 20-year-old Ethan Weckman after he invited the men and two women into his apartment. The man said when the group was leaving, he noticed Johnson's pockets were full, and his watch was missing. Weckman is accused of pulling the victim's shirt over his head, and the two men allegedly began hitting and kicking him. The group then left with the watch and a replica handgun. Both men are charged with aiding and abetting 1st-degree aggravated robbery. On August 23rd, St. Cloud police responded to the 1700 block of 7th Street South on a robbery complaint. A man told police that he was in the area taking photos when two men approached him, pointed a gun at him, and robbed him of his backpack containing a wallet, iPad, camera, and cell phone. Officers viewed surveillance footage from a nearby business showing Johnson and Weckman entering the store before the assault and later running toward a car with Weckman carrying a backpack. Brooklyn Park police found the suspects' car two days later and arrested Johnson and Weckman. Officers searched their car and allegedly found two 9mm handguns, two extended magazines, ammunition, and a baggie containing what's believed to be ecstasy. The men each face two additional charges of aiding and abetting 1st-degree aggravated robbery involving a gun and possession of a gun after being convicted of a crime of violence as juveniles.

The area of Minnesota in extreme drought grew nearly fivefold in a single week, and almost the entire state is now abnormally dry or worse. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, released Thursday, August 27th, puts 3.50% of Minnesota in extreme drought, up from 0.71% a week earlier. Extreme drought is the second-most severe of the monitor’s five categories. Conditions worsened at every level. Severe drought now covers nearly half the state, 48.08%, up from 44.86%. More than three-quarters of Minnesota, 78.34%, is in at least moderate drought, and 95.29% is abnormally dry or worse. Only 4.71% of the state is drought-free, down from 11.83% the week before. Central Minnesota, including Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties, remains inside the band of severe and moderate drought stretching from the western border across the middle of the state. The slide has been fast. Three months ago, just 0.40% of Minnesota was in severe drought, and no part of the state had reached extreme drought. A year ago, 96.80% of Minnesota was drought-free. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center expects the drought to persist into October. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has placed the Mississippi Headwaters watershed under its Drought Warning Response Phase, citing what state climatologists call a “storage drought,” a critical depletion of lake levels, soil moisture and groundwater. St. Cloud sits within the affected watershed. The city says it is working with the DNR for guidance. The Mississippi River remains a reliable source of drinking water for St. Cloud, but officials say conservation is a key part of the response. The city is encouraging residents to cut back on water use both indoors and out.

Four people were injured Thursday morning around 9:40am in Stearns County. The four drivers were heading east on Interstate 94 in Lynden Township near Clearwater and collided with each other when the vehicle had to slow for congestion ahead. The injured from Minneapolis, Clearwater and Browerville all received non life threatening injuries and treated at nearby hospitals. 

More than 80 years after he was listed as missing in action while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Pvt. Duane Payne’s remains are coming home from Europe and will be buried with honors at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery. An obituary for Payne who was from Motley, noted he was born on March 4, 1917, in Motley. On Oct. 24, 1940, he married Lorna A. Hagen in Todd County. With World War II underway, Payne answered the nation's call and enlisted in the Army on Feb. 11, 1944, in Brainerd. He arrived in Liverpool, England, on Feb. 24, 1944, before landing in Normandy, France, on June 14, 1944, as allied forces fought to liberate Europe. He served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, where he fought in the European Theater. Payne’s unit eventually fought its way to the area around Aachen, Germany. The battle of Aachen in World War II was fought in and around Aachen, Germany, between Sept. 12 and Oct. 21, 1944. It was one of the largest urban battles fought by U.S. forces in World War II and is considered one of the toughest urban encounters of the war. A German counterattack developed on Oct. 8. During those combat operations in Germany, Payne was wounded and reported missing in action on Oct. 9, 1944 and declared deceased after a year of uncertainty. For almost 40 years, family members continues to search and get in contact with someone in the Department of Defense who works on finding those who are declared MIA. On April 3, 2026, the family was notified by the Army Casualty Department that World War II Private Duane Payne had been DNA test and located and will be returning from Europe to complete their story. 

Lots of events this weekend. Harding Days Friday rodeo at 7pm, gates open at 4pm, then Saturday full day of events including parade at 11am, rodeo at 5pm gates open at 2pm and live music after the rodeo on Saturday night in Harding. There is a 5K run to support a Veterans Memorial in Pierz Saturday at 8:30am at the high school, register before the race that morning. Then Walkin' Wings is 3-7pm in Pierz on Saturday afternoon evening, lots of wings, food, beverages, kids games and music all happening on Saturday in Pierz. Helping Hands 365 has their fundraiser family fun event Saturday from 12-4pm at LeBourget Park in Little Falls, carnival games for 1 buck, paper airplane drop, Lego Contest, food and beverages, lots of fun and all goes to Helping Hands 365 as they give back to those in need in the community. Sunday is Pierz Oktoberfest with parade at 11am in Pierz starting and ending at the High School, then festival in the park from 12:30-4:30pm, food, games, water wars, kids pedal pull and much more. Wear your Pierz Oktoberfest Buttons to win prizes and the grand prize drawings at 4:30pm Sunday in Pierz. More events can be found by going to fallsradio.com and community calendar. 

Weather: some morning fog today, then sunshine, high 81. increasing clouds tonight with showers and thunderstorms after 4am low 62. Showers and thunderstorms before 10am Saturday then partly sunny with isolated thunderstorms possible again after 1pm, high 83, clearing skies Saturday night and humid, low 65. Sunday sunny and warm, high 86, chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms are possible, low 61. Monday sunny and warm, high 85, evening storms possible low 63. Tuesday sunny and 86, showers again Tuesday night low 63. Wednesday still a chance of showers and storms, high 84, low around 60.  

Sports: Twins (64-70) open series with the 1st place Chicago White Sox (70-63) tonight at 7:10pm at Target Field, Saturday and Sunday games are at 1:10pm this weekend. Vikings finish preseason tonight night at Denver at 8pm. Minnesota Lynx are at Atlanta on Sunday at 2pm. Little Falls Girls Soccer win opener 6-2 over Detroit Lakes on Thursday, and the Little Falls Boy Soccer also won their opener 3-0 over Detroit Lakes to start the season. High School Tennis Thursday Little Falls went 1-1 at the Detroit Lakes meet. Pierz also went 1-1 Thursday in Duluth in Tennis. Class B State Tournament Baseball this weekend Buckman vs. St. Martin at 4pm Saturday in Shakopee, then Nisswa vs. Raymond at 6:30pm in Shakopee Saturday. Sunday at 1:30pm it will be Sobieski vs. Kimball in New Prague. Hear all the action this weekend on AM960 KLTF. Also catch a number of interviews done by JB Canyon of Little Falls Radio Saturday morning on football, cross country, soccer and swimming and a recap of high school sports at 9:05am on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com.

For Pierz Oktoberfest information and medallion clues their link is here https://www.facebook.com/pierzoktoberfest/.