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The 93-year-old driver and the 83-year-old passenger have been hospitalized.

ELLSWORTH TOWNSHIP (WJON News) -- Two people were seriously hurt in a Meeker County crash Wednesday afternoon. It happened just after 4:00 p.m. at the intersection of County Roads 18 and 14 south of Darwin. The sheriff's office says a minivan driven by 93-year-old Gloria Ruzicka of Hutchinson collided with...

Two people were injured in a crash south of Darwin in Meeker County Wednesday afternoon. The Sheriff’s Office says a mini van driven by 93-year-old Gloria Ruzicka of Hutchinson was traveling east on Highway 18 and collided with a pickup, driven by 30-year-old Kyle Johnson of rural Dassel, that was traveling southbound on Highway 14.

On Wednesday afternoon at 4:03, the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an injury crash at the intersection of County State Aid Highways 18 and 14 in Ellsworth Township, south of Darwin. Meeker County Deputies, MN State Patrol, Dassel Rescue, Allina Ambulance, and Life Link III all responded to the scene. Deputies learned a mini-van driven by 93-year-old Gloria Ruzicka of Hutchinson was traveling east on CSAH 18 and collided with a pickup truck that was southbound on CSAH 14. The pickup truck was driven by 30-year-old Kyle Johnson of rural Dassel. A passenger in the Ruzicka vehicle, 83-year-old Doris Stubson of Hutchinson, received serious injuries as a result of the crash and was airlifted from the scene to St. Cloud Hospital. Ruzicka also received serious injuries and was transported by ambulance to Hutchinson Hospital and later airlifted to HCMC. Johnson was not injured. The crash is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the cause appears to be the result of a failure to yield right of way.

Man was sentenced to 21 months in prison and was ordered to pay more than $8,600 in restitution for receiving stolen property. Cody Ryan Sander was sentenced on the amended charge on March 7, 2023, in Meeker County District Court. According to the sentencing order from Judge Stephanie Beckman, Sander was also ordered to pay $8,659.31 in restitution before paying other court fines and fees.

A Dassel man who was found guilty earlier this year on multiple charges stemming from a standoff last August was sentenced in recent days in Meeker County District Court. The Dassel-Cokato Enterprise Dispatch reports that 32-year-old Aaron Peterson was sentenced to a year in jail and five years of probation.

A two-vehicle crash Wednesday in Ellsworth Township left two Hutchinson women seriously injured. According to a Meeker County Sheriff's Office news release, Gloria Ruzicka, 93, of Hutchinson was driving a minivan east on County State Aid Highway 18 and collided with a pickup truck driven by Kyle Johnson, 30, of Dassel, which was traveling south on CSAH 14.

Ninety-foot transmission towers could rise several miles west and north of Litchfield and on the outskirts of several other Meeker County communities starting as soon as 2025. The towers and power lines they carry are part of a 140-mile, $500 million power line that Xcel Energy calls the MN Energy Connection project.

University of Minnesota Extension in Wright, McLeod and Meeker counties recently announced the addition of two interns to support the work of Agriculture and Natural Resources Systems this summer. Natalie Neumann will be Extension crops and horticulture intern, and Allison Wright will return as the Extension intern in livestock. This...

The ACGC School Board met last night and approved of a couple of candidates for the interim superintendent position. During a special meeting earlier this month, the Board accepted the resignation of current Superintendent John Regan. Regan is nearing the end of his first year at ACGC. The Board, on...

Meeker Area Ministries is continuing its mission of providing housing to homeless people in Meeker County and helping them transition into permanent housing. Any donations to the organization may be sent to Post Office Box 192 in Litchfield. Rochelle Brummond from United Community Action Partnership is on the MAM board...

05/21/23, 4:40 am, Alarm, Central Av N, City of Watkins: Handled By Officer/Deputy. 05/21/23, 8:54 am, Alarm, Meeker Av W, City of Eden Valley: Handled By Officer/Deputy. 05/21/23, 9:30 am, Public Assist, CSAH 42, Litchfield Twp: Handled By Officer/Deputy. 05/21/23, 3:20 pm, Abandoned Vehicle, Mies Outland Inc: Clear. 05/21/23, 7:23...

The Peanut Butter & Milk Festival Committee met earlier this week. Members of the Committee are getting ready for summer fundraisers, and for this fall’s trip to Alabama. The 2023 student delegates to Alabama will be William Carlson, Cole Huffman and Ole Rogness. There was discussion about how these three would be able to attend the national FFA convention in Indianapolis at the end of October and then be part of the trip to Alabama early in November as they would be returning from Indiana on the same day that the delegates from the PB&M Festival Committee typically fly to Alabama. Final details on this matter will be worked out over the next few months. The Litchfield High School FFA Parliamentary Procedures Team took first place last month at the state FFA convention.

Update: I have been trying to publish part two for two days but it looks as if NewsBreak isn’t allowing me to do so. Part two is a huge story that will have major effects on the future of the CEE-VI Task Force. Thanks to the readers of tis story and the correspondence they sent. It details a certain type of intiwomen . I need to find somewhere to publish this if NewsBreak won’t let me on their platform. I am waiting to hear from them as of 1AM May 25. Original article follows.