Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Purva Watten of Little Falls Chamber of Commerce and Tourism spoke on AM960 KLTF Tuesday about the upcoming 53rd Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair this weekend. Over 500 craft vendors, over 40 food vendors are coming into Little Falls. Purva stated that starting at 5:30pm Friday 1st Street North and South of Highway 27 at Bank Square will be closed to all motorized traffic for set up and remain closed until after the event is torn down late Sunday evening, she stated that all the roads will reopen by Monday for back to school and work travel. This year also there will be no vendors along Highway 27 at all through the downtown area and also on the west side. All vendors will be on 1st Street North and South of Highway 27 and east and west from the courthouse area, 2nd Street and then down Kidder Street heading toward the Dam. Also this year the marketplace will be between on the south end of 1st Street South heading toward the Maple Island Park area. There will be an information area that the Chamber will have set up downtown adjacent to the courthouse. There is plenty of information by calling Purva at 320-632-5155 or go to the site https://www.littlefallsartsandcraftsfair.com/.
An Albany man was killed in a motorcycle crash. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office says the incident happened at about 11:50 a.m. on Friday in Wakefield Township, about 1 1/2 miles north of Cold Spring. Deputies determined 64-year-old Stephen Gretsch was traveling southbound on County Road 50 with two other motorcyclists. As the group entered the curve near Glenwood Road, Gretsch's motorcycle continued straight and left the roadway, entering the southbound ditch. The motorcycle sustained extensive damage consistent with having rolled during the crash. A fiber-optic cable box and utility pole were also struck and damaged.
An Avon man who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a crash that critically hurt a St. Cloud woman and killed her unborn baby has been sentenced to six years in prison. Thirty-three-year-old Christopher Otte pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Vehicular Operation, causing the death of an unborn child with a blood-alcohol level of .08 within two hours of driving, and one count of Criminal Vehicular Operation, causing great bodily harm with a blood-alcohol level of .08 within two hours of driving. He gets credit for having served 203 days in the county jail. According to the criminal complaint, two witnesses saw Otte's SUV speeding westbound on 5th Street North in St. Cloud before hearing a loud crash and seeing smoke arise from the crash scene. Video from a nearby business on 5th Street also allegedly showed Otte running a stop sign at the intersection of 25th Avenue North. The woman, 34-year-old Nastaho Amare, was pinned between the driver's seat and the steering wheel. St. Cloud firefighters helped get Amare out of the minivan as the front end caught fire. Amare's baby was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital. Court records show Amare needed surgery to fix her hip, femur, knee, and fractures to her ankle and foot. Police say Otte was unsteady and had slurred speech after the crash. He was given field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, which the charges alleged showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.20. During a search, police say they found a receipt from a sports bar that showed the purchase of four Crown Royal Cokes that morning. Police say in Otte's mirandized statement, he admitted to only having two Whiskey Cokes and twice commented that the crash was his fault. Otte has a previous DWI conviction in Stearns County from 2019.
The Wright County Sheriff's Office has released more information about a homicide investigation. On Thursday at about 7:30 a.m., deputies were called to 9127 State Highway 25 Northeast in the city of Monticello for a report of an unresponsive man. He has been identified as 57-year-old Daniel Ferdelman of Monticello. Evidence gathered at the scene indicated he had been in a recent altercation with another man identified as 48-year-old Steven Stahlberg of Monticello. Ferdelman's cause of death was later ruled a homicide by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office. An extensive statewide search was conducted by the Wright County Sheriff's Office and other Law Enforcement agencies. Stahlberg's vehicle was found at about 9:45 a.m. on Thursday by the Cass County Sheriff's Office and agents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
A St. Cloud man faces several charges after a police chase early Monday morning. A St. Cloud Police officer initiated a traffic stop in the 600 block of 11th Street South at around 5:20am for a seatbelt violation and a turn signal violation. Police say the driver then tried to flee, striking several parked vehicles before veering into a yard where it crashed into the porch of a house in the 1000 block of 15th Avenue South. The driver tried to flee on foot but was quickly caught and arrested. The driver was identified as 44-year-old Vernon Spoden. He was taken to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and an assessment. When released, Spoden will be booked into the Stearns County Jail. A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up a large amount of methamphetamine, other drugs, drug paraphernalia consistent with drug sales, and a handgun with ammunition.
Authorities have issued an appeal to find two 15-year-old girls who have been missing from their homes in Willmar for a week. The Willmar Police Department says Brooklynn Greenwaldt and Paige Wollman were last seen on September 1st, and that there is a “concern for their well-being.” It’s possible that the pair are traveling together. Their descriptions are as follows: Brooklynn has blonde hair, blue eyes, is 5’1″ tall and weighs around 110 lbs. She was last seen wearing a camo hoodie, black sweatpants, tennis shoes, and gold earrings. She also has a septum piercing, both nostrils pierced, and an eyebrow piercing. Paige has blonde and pink hair, brown eyes, is 5’5″ and weighs 145 lbs. She was last seen wearing a black zip-up sweatshirt, black t-shirt, skinny jeans, white Nike socks, and brown sandals. Anyone with information should contact Willmar Police Department at 320-235-2244 or call 911.
The 2026 Minnesota State Fair wrapped up on Labor Day with reportedly 159,101 people attending the final day of the Fair. Overall the total attendance numbers is 1,923,325. The numbers were down from the 2025 fair, but matched around the total of 2024 fair.
Death Notices: Barbara Ann Madden, age 78 of Chanhassen originally from Buckman.
Weather: morning fog, then sunny and breezy, high 74, clear and cooler tonight low 47. Thursday sunny skies, high 79, clear Thursday night low around 60. Friday sunny and warm, high 83, showers and storms develop later in the day. slight risk of severe storms Friday evening then clearing skies, low 56. Saturday partly sunny and breezy, high near 70, cooler Saturday night few showers late, low 49. Showers at times Sunday, partly sunny, cool, high 64, showers Sunday night low 46. Showers likely Monday high near 65.
Sports: Kody Clemens homerun gave the Twins a 3-2 win last night over Detroit. The Twins wrap up the series at Detroit today at 12:10pm, Twins off on Thursday and host Cleveland Friday night. The NFL Kickoff is tonight for the 2026 season with a Super Bowl rematch as New England travels to Seattle. Hear the action live with kickoff around 7pm on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com. High School action Tuesday, Richelle Thompson scored 5 goals in an 8-1 win over Little Falls Girls Soccer over Albany, while coach Scott Orions got his 100th career win. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4-0 over Little Falls in boys soccer. Volleyball Pierz beat Little Falls, Foley beat Royalton and Holdingford beat Upsala last night. Tennis Osakis 4-3 over Pierz. Listen to the sports update throughout they day on Little Falls Radio.
A programming note that Thursday, September 10th is the 1 year anniversary of the death of Charlie Kirk. Salem Radio will be running a 1 hour retrospective on Kirk called Faith over Fear at 11am with the interview that Kirk did with Dennis Prager in 2022, hear from Salem hosts and others on the impact he made in his young life and tragic end. You can hear the special at 11am tomorrow morning on AM960 KLTF Little Falls.