103.7 THE LOON

ST. CLOUD -- Local leaders are voicing their opinion on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade this morning. Bishop Donald Kettler from the Diocese of St. Cloud praised this morning’s decision. Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is good news for the protection and...

WAITE PARK -- The splash pad in Waite Park is officially opened for the season. The city announced the popular water feature at River's Edge Park opened earlier this week. The city delayed its opening due to a mechanical issue. The splash pad will be open daily from 11:00 AM...

COLLEGEVILLE -- A new scholarship program is giving Saint John's Prep students a guaranteed admission to Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Lewis and Clark College has partnered with Saint John's Prep to give students who graduate with a 3.5 GPA or higher a $100,000 scholarship. The scholarship would be for roughly $25,000 per year.

SAUK RAPIDS -- The Rapids River Days in Sauk Rapids kicked off Thursday night with the Miss Sauk Rapids Pageant. The event was held at 7:00 p.m. at The Waters Church in Sartell. The new Miss Sauk Rapids is Maggie Fernholz. The two new Princesses are Maycee Britz and Saige...

ST. CLOUD -- A new bank is coming to downtown St. Cloud. Chase Bank is opening a branch at 211 5th Avenue South in the same building as Chipotle and Noodles and Company. Banking for Chase Market Director Andy Gahan says, “St. Cloud boasts an inviting, vibrant community with a diverse business and retail environment." Gahan says they'll be opening their first branch in St. Cloud later this year.

With the Saturday's Powerball jackpot approaching $335 million, it's Powerball fever for a lot of people. I realize the odds are astronomical, so I rationalize buying a ticket by telling myself I'm renting hope for a couple of days. It does tend to lift my spirits. Powerball is currently played...

ST. CLOUD -- Some eye-popping rain totals are coming in from overnight. The Minnesota Climatology Office says the highest total they've seen so far is 7.4 inches of rain in Randall. Weather observes say 5.93 inches of rain fell northwest of Sartell, there are reports of 5.50 and 4.86 inches both from Sauk Rapids, 4.61 inches in St. Joseph, and 4.20 inches in St. Cloud.

In a landmark decision on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court is overturning Roe v. Wade, the decades-old ruling which legalized abortion nationwide. The decision came while the high court was considering a case out of Mississippi where the state attempted to ban abortion after 15 weeks. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito...

ST. CLOUD -- With the inflation rate at 8.6%, the highest since 1981, financial counselors have seen more families worried about their household budgets. Emily Bezdicek is a HUD-certified Financial and Housing Counselor with Catholic Charities in St. Cloud. She says the best thing to do now is compare how much your family spends versus last year.

St. Stephen has a population of 851 people. They are this week's focus on WJON's Small Town Friday feature.

WJON is featuring small towns in Central Minnesota once a month on a Friday. The first edition of "Small Town Friday" focuses on the town of St. Stephen. St. Stephen is the oldest Slovenian population in the United States. The town was founded with the Church of St. Stephen in 1903 and incorporated in 1914. The town has a population of 851 and is located in northeast Stearns County.

The Minnesota State Fair, otherwise known as the "Great Minnesota Get-together" was somewhat back to "normal" last year. Attendance was still down not just because we were still in the pandemic, but also because of the severe storms that happened the first few days of the fair. People don't want to go to the fair when it's a stormy day.

An immersive Alice In Wonderland experience is set to open in Minneapolis next month! "The Alice" will temporarily take over Stillheart Distillery and Cocktail Lounge from July 20th to October 23rd. Lewis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland" was first published in 1865 and has since been adapted dozens of times on...

RANDALL -- Residents in Randall in Morrison County are dealing with flooding issues Friday morning. The Morrison County Sheriff's Office says they are checking on residents in the community after heavy rain fell overnight. Also, flood waters have covered Highway 10 in both the northbound and southbound lanes. The Minnesota...

Minnesota is about to get an internationally known bakery sometime late this year, or early next year! The bakery, Tous les Jours which translates to Every Day, is a French-Asain-inspired bakery, that has locations across the globe. According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the bakery will be taking over...

ST. CLOUD - Granite City Days continues Friday evening with the annual Liberty Block Party at Whitney Park. The headliner is the Little River Band with the opening act Ambrosia. The concert is free to attend, it starts at 6:00 p.m. You're encouraged to bring a lawn chair. Granite City...

UNDATED -- A line of strong to severe storms will move across the area overnight. Large hail and damaging winds will be the main threats. The highest risk is in western Minnesota where an isolated tornado can not be ruled out.

Have you ever wondered if those steel cables on the side of the highway do anything to protect drivers? There is a whole team of experts working for us behind the scenes, at finding ways to protect us from vehicle crashes. INNOVATION IS SAVING LIVES. Just think about some of...

ST. CLOUD -- After several inches of rain fell overnight, there is a lot of street flooding in the St. Cloud metro area. The National Weather Service says St. Cloud officially had .79 inches of rain up until midnight on Thursday. They say we've had an additional 3.32 inches of rain since midnight (as of 6:00 a.m.) for a total of 4.11 inches of rain officially at the St. Cloud Regional Airport.

The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southwestern Benton and northwestern Sherburne counties until 3:15 a.m. Quarter size hail is associated with this storm. Locations affected by the storm include the St. Cloud Airport, Duelm and Parent. This storm is moving at 15 miles an hour.