LATEST NEWS

(Undated)--We are learning more details about a fatal crash in Wright County on Wednesday that involved some area residents. Officials say that Todd County Commissioners Randy Neumann of Osakis and Barb Becker of Browerville, along with Todd County Auditor-Treasurer Denise Gaida of Browerville, were uninjured in that crash. They were one of four vehicles involved in a fatal crash along I-94. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash killed a central Minnesota man who ran into the other three vehicles.

The Pierz Pioneers boys basketball team won their last two games against nearby teams. They beat the Swanville Bulldogs in their Court 74-54 Tuesday, Dec. 5. Pioneers’ Joseph Stuckmayer was them’s leader in scoring, racking up 18 points and made 30% of his field goal attempts. Kaden Knutson followed with 13. Defensively, the Pioneers made 20 defensive rebounds and 17 turnovers. Team and individual stats from Swanville are not available The Pioneers defeated the Holdingford Huskers 77-47 Thursday, Nov. 30. The team made 57% of its field goals, including 17 shots made behind the three point line. Stuckmayer scored 28 points in the game, Followed by Jack Prokott with 13. The Pioneers played at home against Royalton, Friday Dec. 8. They travel to Crosby-Ironton Friday, Dec. 15.

The Little Falls Flyers Gymnastics team hosted its first meet Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Flyers competed with the Albany Huskies who ended up winning with a score of 120.750. Despite loss, some Flyers placed in the top five in multiple events. This includes Elise Ballou and Veronica Metz on the vault and Veronica Metz on the balance beam. The Flyers will host the Park Rapids Panthers Friday, Dec. 15.

A Public Hearing took place Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 6:45 p.m. to hear input from residents about the variance/building permit for Nilson Hardware to add onto the existing shed behind store. Council present: Sandy Lange, Norm Carlson, Tony Maciej, John Dragseth and Jim Molitor. Also present, Jason, Jim and James Dickinson, Bryan Allen, and Lonny Hutchins.

The Royalton Royals girls basketball team had a busy week playing against tough competiton. The Royals played against the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Jaguars won the game 61-58. Royals’ Haylie Wolbeck led the team with 16 points, followed by Alise Schroenbeck and Kylie Watashek with 14. The Royals put up good numbers against the West Central Area Knights, but fell short of taking the lead, losing 54-50, Saturday...

Two incidents occurred in Baxter, Minnesota this week. In the first incident, a pedestrian was fatally struck while crossing Hwy 371 at an intersection. The second incident involved numerous "swatting" incidents, where emailed bombing and shooting threats were made to schools and Jewish facilities. Fortunately, no incidents turned out to be real, and investigators found no known involvement of an individual and address mentioned in the threats.

The Swanville Bulldogs didn’t start the way they wanted after losing their first two games of the season. The Bulldogs fell to the Pierz Pioneers 74-54 Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Pioneers scored 35% of their field goal attempts and 66% of their free throws. The Bulldogs also lost to the Bertha Hewitt Bears 66-33 Friday, Dec. 1. Stats from both games are not available. The game against Bertha Hewitt was...

Husband and wife Phil and Susy Prosapio were presented with the Community Service and Philanthropy Award Dec. 4 during the Little Falls City Council meeting. Mayor Greg Zylka thanked the Prosapios for their “vision and commitment to our community’s vibrant and beautiful character” through renovating and restoring the buildings now housing the restaurant Ciao Thyme and The Falls Theatre, as well as seven other buildings. Susy said it was fun to work with Little Falls staff members, saying, “You guys are the best.” Pictured are (from left): Council Members Raquel Lundberg, Wayne Liljegren, David Meyer, Zylka, Council Member Jerry Knafla, Susy and Phil, Council Members Dave Glaze, Frank Gosiak, Leif Hanson and City Administrator Jon Radermacher.

Photo from Unsplash and unrelated to the city. For most people, it is a constant necessity of life to manage gas prices. The national average price for a gallon of regular-grade gas on Sunday is $3.158, a week ago the price is $3.243 , according to AAA.

In other business Monday, Dec. 4, the Little Falls City Council: • Scheduled a City Council retreat for Jan. 25 - 26, 2024, from 3 - 7 p.m.; • Awarded and approved the Microsoft 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC) migration agreement for XTONA to convert the city employees’ online accounts from business to GCC. The total amount paid to XTONA will be $3,750, with the one-time cost of migration to...

Having worked with Dr. Charlie Ehlen of Sartell for more than 40 years, Bob Perleberg said it has been a delightful experience. Back then, Perleberg worked as forester for the Department of Natural Resources in little Falls. Ehlen had a property in Randall that was in need of forest management. When Perleberg retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 10 years ago, he started a consulting business and has since, continued to work with several of the landowners he worked with before. Ehlen is...

The Pierz Pioneers played at home, Monday, Dec. 4 against the Esko Eskimos, unfortunately losing to them 65-44. Pioneers’ Britney Schommer led the team with 14 points, followed by Lynsey Strohmeier with 11. The team made 30% of their field goal attempts in total, including five two-point shots and 25 three point shots. In the week prior, The Pioneers also played a close game against the Osakis Silverstreaks Friday, Dec....

Auditor Janel Bitzan with BergenKDV presented the Pierz School District’s audit, virtually, at the board meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 29. Bitzan told the Board that the district has received an unmodified opinion on the basic financial statements. “Our responsibility is to express an opinion based on the results of our testing. We did issue an unmodified opinion. This is what’s considered a clean opinion or the best that you can receive,”...

The Upsala Cardinals girls basketball team won one out their first three games of the season. The Cardinals’ latest game was against Little Falls Dec. 5, losing 53-42. Dakota Soltis led the team with 14 points, Sammy Pilarski followed with 10 points and Brenna Graves with nine. The Holdingford Huskers became the Cardinal’s toughest opponent of the week. The Flyers lost 80-24 Saturday, Dec 2. Soltis scored 18 points in...

The Brainerd/Little Falls Warriors picked up a decisive home win against St. Cloud Crush. The game ended in a shutout, 3-0. The first period was scoreless, and midway through the second period, the Warriors took the lead when Molly Pohlkamp scored the first goal assisted by Levi LeMieur and Aubree Caauwe.

Normally a common area for students of the Little Falls Community Middle School, every year the space is transformed into a Renaissance-style castle, complete with banners, a (fake) boar’s head and a king, queen and full court of royal subjects. Throughout the evening, guests are treated to Renaissance-era music from the choir, brass instruments and era-appropriate recorders. It’s Sunday, Dec. 3, the evening of the 19th annual Madrigal Dinner. The event is put on almost entirely by students at the Little Falls Community High School,...

A Rice man faces a felony assault charge after allegedly brandishing a gun during an argument with his girlfriend.

Who will be performing at this year's Pierz Freedom Fest, taking place on July 20th, 2024 at the Genola Ball Park?. At this moment, we don't know who the performers will be. We asked Central Minnesota to speak up and let us know who they would like to see this year at Pierz Freedom Fest, or in years to come. We had quite the response. Over 80 comments that included some of the biggest country music performers out there, as well a ton of support to bring in our very own local talent.

The Little Falls City Council voted to pass the 2024 levy, budget and five-year capital improvement plan for the city, during its regular meeting Monday, Dec. 4. There were three total votes for this decision. The first vote for Resolution 2023-72 determined the levy, with Council Members Dave Glaze, Leif Hanson and Frank Gosiak voting against the resolution and the remaining four Council Members and Mayor Greg Zylka voting for it. The second vote for Resolution 2023-73 determined the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) levy,...

LITTLE FALLS (WJON News) -- Thursday is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and a central Minnesota museum is honoring those who were there during the 1941 attack. The Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum in Little Falls is hosting a virtual program to honor the 82nd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing that claimed the lives of over 2,000 United States service members.