Stearns County, MN

The Big Lake Police Department would like help to ID the person in the photos above. If you can help ID them please call Big Lake PD at 763-251-2996 or report the information anonymously to Tri-County Crimestoppers. Alicia Mages from Tri-County Crimestoppers says the Stearns County Sheriff's department is reporting a theft over the weekend on the 20,000 block of Freemont Road in Monson Township. Items taken include a Honda generator, an AC unit, an ice fishing sled, and a Stihl trimmer.

ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud man has been sentenced for promoting prostitution after allowing women to use his apartment for sex. A Stearns County judge sentenced 55-year-old John Elrod to five years and five months in prison. He gets credit for 134 days in the county jail. Court records...

How do I get rid of this stuff? That was the question I asked myself when I moved into my new home in St. Cloud in the late summer of 2018. There were a certain amount of things that were left behind from the previous owners that I wasn't sure what to do with; a couple of large couches which we ended up using in the man cave, and then some things that I never really knew what to do with; including a bunch of half-full paint cans, and a few other oddities that I have never used or wanted.

ST. CLOUD -- Stearns County is applying for a state grant to help complete phase one of the Kraemer Lake - Wildwood County Park development. The county is applying for nearly $1.2-million in Minnesota Parks and Legacy Grant money. The county is offering a nearly $393,000 matching grant in hopes of securing the grant.

Recent state appeals court rulings are starting to shed light on how far Minnesota counties can go to limit solar development on agricultural land. The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently ruled in three cases involving rural counties that rejected developers’ plans to build community solar farms. The court has rejected denials by McLeod County twice in the past year, though last month it affirmed Stearns County’s right to deny a solar project.

Editor's note: This weekly report includes new information about Stearns, Benton and Sherburne county criminal cases covered in the St. Cloud Times. Sarah Jean Ruedy, 34, of St. Cloud, was sentenced June 14 to four years in prison, stayed for five years, and a staggered sentence of one year in jail to be served as work release, for one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide, schedule one or two controlled substance. Ruedy will be on probation for five years. One misdemeanor count of violating a domestic abuse no contact order was dismissed. In another case, one misdemeanor count of domestic assault was dismissed. Judge Andrew Pearson presided on both cases.

The U.S. reported over 665,000 new cases of coronavirus over the seven days ending June 26, bringing the total count to more than 85.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been more than 1,005,000 COVID-19-related deaths — the highest death toll of any country. New cases continue to rise, albeit at a slowing rate. […]

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture recognized 14 dairy farms in Stearns County, two in Benton County and one in Sherburne County for low somatic cell counts. According to MDA, somatic cell counts are an indicator of milk quality, and lower counts are better for cheese production and the shelf life of bottled milk. Somatic cell counts can also be used to measure cow health, according to MDA.

(KNSI) – Of Stearns County’s four Princess Kay of the Milky Way finalists, two are identical twin sisters. Hailey Frericks says the unique situation is one she treasures. “My twin sister and I, we do pretty much everything together, but this is just the icing on the cake. I know we’re both really fortunate to do it together because it’s something we both enjoy. At the end of the day, we’ll support each other. We’ll support any of the girls,” she says.

(KNSI) – Janelle Kendall’s Perfect Storm takes the stage on July 28th at Pioneer Place to benefit Catholic Charities. Kendall, also the Stearns County attorney, says she has worked with the organization before, including earlier this year for a Mardi Gras fundraiser. Kendall says she sees the good work Catholic Charities does for the community every day as part of her job.

How do I get rid of this stuff? That was the question I asked myself when I moved into my new home in St. Cloud in the late summer of 2018. There were a certain amount of things that were left behind from the previous owners that I wasn't sure what to do with; a couple of large couches which we ended up using in the man cave, and then some things that I never really knew what to do with; including a bunch of half-full paint cans, and a few other oddities that I have never used or wanted.

One death from COVID-19 and 466 new cases were reported in the St. Cloud tri-county area this week, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Across the state, 36 deaths and 9,398 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday through Friday. No data was reported Monday in observance of Juneteenth.

Photo: Floodwaters cover U.S. Highway 10 near Randall, Minn., on Friday morning. Morrison County Sheriff's Office. Repeated rounds of thunderstorms late Thursday and early Friday brought flooding rain to parts of central Minnesota, along with hail and high winds. The Morrison County Sheriff's Office reported early Friday that U.S. Highway...

ST. CLOUD ― About 100 people gathered on the granite steps of the Stearns County Courthouse Friday evening to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to an abortion. Emotions ranged from anger and despair to outrage and determination as local Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidates and others took the microphone to voice support for reproductive rights, share their own stories of abortion and abuse and call for grassroots action. Organizers...

ST. CLOUD -- Dozens of area residents gathered Friday at the Stearns County Courthouse to protest the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Sartell resident Joe Baronenschenk says he felt now was the time to protest the changes. Our country's going backwards in the...

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.