News

The Upsala Cardinals lost Thursday to the Henning Hornets 61-45 in the Class A Quarter-Finals in boys basketball at Target Center. Upsala will be in the consolation semi-finals against Southland at 10am this morning at Concordia University in St. Paul. If Upsala wins they will play on Saturday morning in the Consolation Championship. Hear the game today with pregame after 9:30am on Q92 WYRQ and fallsradio.com. 

The National Weather Service and the Department of Natural Resources has issued Fire Weather Watches and Warnings over the southern two-thirds of Minnesota on Saturday. Warming temperatures, lack of snowpack in areas including Morrison County, and very high winds of 20-45mph over western, central and southern Minnesota has the elevated risk of wildfires sparking quickly in the area. Burning is still permit only in most of the state as the frost is not out of the ground in many areas but still fires could spread rapidly this weekend with warming temps and high winds. Please use caution with any outdoor activities.

A 41-year-old man is accused of sexually abusing two girls at their home in Melrose. According to charges filed in Stearns County District Court, a woman met with a sergeant in the Melrose Police Department on Monday after a 12 or 13-year-old girl reported Jorge Esparza had been sexually abusing her. A second child, who was either 14 or 15 years old, then reported finding a camera hidden in her bedroom vent. She also said Esparza had touched her inappropriately. The younger girl reported that Esparza had been sexually assaulting her, starting when she was nine or 10 years old and as recently as this past Sunday. Court records show the girl told authorities that Esparza would sexually touch her both over and under her clothes and had offered her money if she would allow him to touch her. Esparza is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with victims under the age of 16, including multiple acts.

Charges have been filed against a man who is accused of viciously assaulting a stranger outside a St. Cloud porta-potty. St. Cloud Police were dispatched to the Stearns History Museum at around 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday. Officers met with a man who was bleeding from his face, with his left eye completely swollen shut. Police say the man had no recollection of how he got the injuries. According to the criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, the victim had been driving a work truck and stopped to use the portable restroom at around 6:15 a.m. Video surveillance from the man's work truck showed a man identified as 27-year-old Nykolas D'Heilly open the door to the porta-potty. Court records allege D'Heilly eventually got the door open and immediately began punching the victim in the head until he fell to the ground. Authorities say the assault continued with D'Heilly punching and kicking the victim in the head until he went unconscious.  The victim was rushed to the hospital with a suspected brain bleed. When police caught up with D'Heilly, they say he admitted to the assault. Officers say he also admitted to stealing a running car from a driveway after the assault and leaving it on the side of the road along County Road 75. The victim suffered a broken nose, a brain bleed, and a shattered eye socket that will require surgery. He remains hospitalized, and the assessment of the full extent of his injuries is ongoing. D'Heilly is charged with 1st-degree assault causing great bodily harm and auto theft.

Three central Minnesota high school seniors are headed to college with a little extra financial backing this fall, thanks to a competitive scholarship program. Compeer Financial’s philanthropic arm has awarded $2,000 each to Addison Dahler of Foley, Sven Storbakken of Princeton, and Isabella Schiffler of Albany. The three students are among 35 Minnesota recipients selected statewide. To be considered for the scholarship, applicants had to live within the company’s 144-county service territory, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, and either designate an agricultural major, express interest in an agriculture-related field, or have an agricultural or rural background. Final selections were based on application materials and essay responses.

Recall News: Toyota is recalling more than 144,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to a rearview camera issue that could increase the risk of a crash, according to federal safety regulators. The recall affects about 144,200 vehicles, including certain 2022–2025 Lexus NX250 and NX350 models, 2023–2026 Lexus RX350 models and 2024–2026 Lexus TX350 vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Officials said the rearview camera image may not display when the vehicle is put into reverse, reducing the driver’s visibility behind the vehicle and failing to meet federal rear visibility safety standards. To fix the issue, dealers will update the camera software or replace the rearview camera if needed, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed starting May 3, 2026. Owners can contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331 and reference recall numbers 26LB02 and 26LA02 for more information.

Events: another busy weekend of events, including many Friday Night Fish Frys including St. Mary's Church in Upsala Friday night. St. Francis of Assisi south of Upsala Journey to Jesus to Calvary Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 1pm. Glowing Easter Egg Hunt Friday night at Faith Lutheran Church in Little falls at 6pm. Heartland Symphony Orchestra presents American Travels Saturday 7:30pm at Little Falls Community High School then also on Sunday at 2:30pm in Brainerd. Haven of Mercy Churches St. Mary's, Our Lady of Lourdes and Holy Family will have bake sales this weekend. St. James in Randall doing an Easter Egg Hunt Sunday after 8:30am Mass. Buckman Lions breakfast on Sunday at the parish hall at St. Michael's in Buckman 8am-11am, Morrison County Area Foundation has their Easter Egg Hunt Sunday from 1-3pm scavenger hunt and many items to check out, $2 per person as a fundraiser. Holy Family of Belle Prairie has a Ham Bingo at 1:30pm at the church hall on Sunday. There is a quilt and ham bingo Sunday at 1pm at Bethany Lutheran Church in Ramey. Check out the events at fallsradio.com. 

Death Notices: Gerhard Boser, age 89 of Pierz. 

Weather: A Fire Weather Watch has been issued Saturday afternoon and evening. Skies becoming sunny today but breezy and very cool, high 33 winds gusty to over 30mph. Partly cloudy skies tonight, chilly temps low around 16. Saturday partly sunny and very windy, high 52, wind gusts 20-40mph in the afternoon with a high fire danger. Saturday night cloudy and breezy, high 33. Sunday winds dies down, pleasant day with sunny skies and high near 60 and low around 33. Monday sunny skies, high again near 60, low around 40 with rain early Tuesday. Tuesday rain showers, high 58, Tuesday night rain could change to wet snow overnight with lows around 30. More rain showers possible Wednesday some snow early high of 46. 

Sports: State Boys Basketball continues today with Class A and AA semi-finals, Pequot Lakes and Albany are in the AA semi finals tonight. Sartell won Thursday and in consolation finals in AAA today against Mankato East at 4pm. Alexandria and Perham lost Thursday and are done at state tournament. Upsala is in the consolation semi-finals at 10am vs. Southland on Q92 WYRQ and fallsradio.com. The Championships in all four classes are on Saturday with many 3rd place and consolation finals also. Listen to a recap in high school sports Saturday at 9:05am on AM960 KLTF. Baltimore beat the Twins 2-1 on Thursday in the season opener. The Twins are off today, then continue series at Baltimore Saturday at 3:05pm and Sunday at 12:35pm. Gopher Women's Basketball takes on UCLA Friday night at 6:30pm the winner advances to the Elite Eight on Sunday. Wild win 3-2 over Florida last night in NHL. Iowa, Illinois, Purdue and Arizona won last night in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, more games tonight.

Good Luck to the Upsala Cardinal Boys Basketball team as they compete in the State Tournament Quarter-Finals in Class A This Morning at 11am against Henning at Target Center in Minneapolis....

Police officers were called after a person allegedly threatened to shoot fellow students on St. Cloud State University’s campus. Around 2pm on Monday, officers arrived at the 800 block of 1st...

The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office reports that on Sunday morning at 1:12am, a Morrison County deputy conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Highway 10 and 93rd Street north of Royalton,...

Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen stated that "Our office has been made aware of a scam text message being sent to multiple individuals regarding an alleged traffic violation. The message...