Tuesday, September 8, 2026

One person and four pets died in a mobile home fire in North Germany Township early Monday morning. The Wadena County Sheriff's Office stated deputies received the 911 call around 5am. By the time deputies got to the scene, the mobile home collapsed and was engulfed in flames. The person died at the scene, and the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office will identify them. The Wadena County Sheriff's Office stated it would release more information as it becomes available.  

Deputies in Stearns and Benton counties will climb 110 flights of stairs Friday, joining a statewide effort to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office has registered and will take part in several ways, according to Sheriff Steve Soyka. The agency’s climb starts at 10:00 a.m. Friday at the county administration building in downtown St. Cloud and runs until participants finish. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is also signed up, with Deputy Tim Kosel among those taking part. The 9/11 Stair Climb Challenge asks participants to climb 110 flights, roughly 2,200 steps, matching the number of stories in each of the Twin Towers. Some do it in shorts and a T-shirt; others in full firefighter turnout gear. Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association training coordinator Matt Luitjens sent the challenge to all 87 counties in March, and says this is the first year anyone has tried to organize it statewide. “I wanted as a 25th year, I wanted to just kind of throw it out to everybody. Get that, you know, that unity back in our communities. The intent is to continue it every year going forward, hopefully.” A few agencies have already finished their climbs; most will go Friday. In Wright County, Sergeant Kevin Triplett will lead a group of roughly 25 people up the stairwell at the justice center in Buffalo. Triplett is also fire chief in Montrose. Triplett says climbers there will take 89 steps from the bottom floor to the top, 26 times, for 2,158 steps, riding the elevator or walking back down between trips. “We’re not doing it as a race. We’re doing it as a remembrance event. So if people come and only do one flight of stairs or they do all 110, that’s great. And I think it’s just important to remember those that so tragically lost their lives.” Triplett climbed alone last year in his sheriff’s office uniform. At his sheriff’s urging, he will wear full turnout gear and an air pack this year, about 60 to 70 extra pounds. He says the anniversary is about more than the 343 New York City firefighters who died, pointing also to the ambulance crews, police officers and civilians killed, the firefighters who spent months at ground zero, and the service members who fought in the wars that followed. Luitjens was working a night shift at a prison on September 11th, 2001, and was serving in the military at the time. He re-enlisted shortly after, serving 10 years in the Army National Guard, including a nine-month deployment to Egypt in 2003 with the Multinational Force and Observers. He plans to climb with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office wearing a weighted vest. The city of St. Cloud holds its Day of Remembrance ceremony the same day at 5:00 p.m. at the St. Cloud Police Department, 101 11th Avenue North. The Morrison County Government Center will have a program at 8am on September 11th outside the court house. Hearts of Faith will host a Patriotic Rosary at 1pm Friday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Pierz. Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11th, 2001, when hijackers flew passenger jets into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. A fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers fought back against the hijackers.

Labor Day is past and now schools are back again, many schools begin classes today, while many others are heading into their second week of classes today. The Minnesota State Patrol, Morrison County Sheriff's Office and others are reminding motorists to stop for school buses when their stop arms or lights are flashing as new laws have strengthened stop arm and school bus violations in the state of Minnesota now.

The Labor Day Holiday weekend was a deadly one on Minnesota roadways. Over a dozen individuals died in multiple accidents. On Friday, an 84-year-old from Kansas was killed in Rice County, at least one person from Cottage Grove died in a two-vehicle accident in St. Louis County, a 19-year-old was killed in an accident in Norman County and two people from Rochester including a 5 year old was killed in an accident in Olmsted County on Thursday with the others on Friday. Two more fatal accidents were reported on Saturday one in Washington and another in Wabasha County. Even more fatal accidents happened on Sunday including one in Otter Tail County and another in Bloomington when an SUV struck a three wheel motorcycle. Labor Day Monday had a fatal in Dinkytown in Minneapolis and another in southern Minnesota with many critical and serious injury accidents that were still being reported to law enforcement into Tuesday morning. 

Minnesota Department of Transportation reminds motorists more road work begins today on Highway 169 in Garrison, Highway 55 at Hiawatha Avenue, Interstate 94 bridge work continues starting in areas near Fergus Falls and going into the Twin Cities Metro Area and some Morrison County projects also continue through the month of September. Remember to slow down in work zones.