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Freezing rain led to numerous spinouts on icy roadways Tuesday morning. In a span of 7am to 11am Tuesday the State Patrol responded to nearly 300 accidents on Minnesota roads. Four were fatal. Also hospitals reported hundreds of falls from slippery sidewalks and parking lots from those leaving their vehicles. There is another road of mixed precipitation in parts of the state Thursday and again on Sunday. 

Icy roads led to a fatal accident Tuesday. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened at about 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday on Highway 169 in Mille Lacs County near Garrison. A KIA Sorento was traveling northbound on Highway 169 near 460th Street. A Subaru Impreza was traveling southbound on Highway 169 when it lost control during the light curve due to the icy road conditions. The Impreza crossed into the oncoming lane and was t boned by the Sorento. The driver of the Impreza, 50-year-old Nicole Freeman of Garrison, died in the crash. The driver of the Sorento, 42-year-old Leslie James Gahbow of Isle, was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. 

 A Rockville man is dead after a two-vehicle crash in Stearns County on Monday afternoon. The incident happened at the intersection of Highway 15 and County Road 146 just after 3:00 p.m. The location of the crash is in Maine Prairie Township, south of Luxemburg and near Beaver Lake. The Minnesota State Patrol says an SUV driven by 42-year-old Kristin Vanvleet of St. Augusta was northbound on Highway 15 when it collided with a pickup going west on County Road 146. The driver of the pickup, 84-year-old Manford Iverslie of Rockville, was killed in the crash. Vanvleet was taken to St. Cloud Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A seven-year-old passenger in her SUV was not hurt.

Two people were hurt in a crash in Belgrade on Tuesday morning. The Minnesota State Patrol says at about 8:00 a.m., a Freightliner Step Van being driven by 41-year-old Melissa Hostetler of Foreston was going south on Highway 71. Meanwhile, a Volvo Semi Truck being driven by 37-year-old Thomas Schroeder of Brooten was going east on Highway 55 when the two vehicles crashed in the intersection. Hostetler was taken to the Paynesville Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Schroeder was hurt in the crash but did not need to go to the hospital.

A Dassel man was hurt after crashing his snowmobile on a Meeker County lake on Saturday. Sheriff's deputies responded to Lake Willie at around 2:30 p.m. on a report of a snowmobile crash. The lake is south of Litchfield. The sheriff's office says the rider, 65-year-old Bruce Sunsdahl, was riding in circles when he rolled his machine. Sunsdahl was transported to Meeker Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A Brainerd man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a child over the course of several months. In December 2025, 47-year-old Daniel Scott Roehl was found guilty of two counts of first-degree felony criminal sexual conduct and two counts of second-degree felony criminal sexual conduct. He was sentenced on February 17. According to the criminal complaint in the case, the sexual abuse involved multiple acts committed over an extended period of time, starting in October 2022 when the victim was 13 and ending in July 2023 when the victim was 14. Roehl will also have to pay $2,588 in fines and register as a predatory offender. He will have 10 years of conditional release after his prison sentence.

Nearly 19,000 Minnesotans have helped bestow eight new plows with names like Flurrious George and Sled Zeppelin, and there’s even a K-Pop one. The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced the winners of its 6th annual Name a Snowplow contest on Tuesday. The results show that Minnesotans take two things very seriously: winter road safety and nailing a pun. Voters cast ballots in February, choosing their favorites from a list of 30 finalists that were all whittled down by MnDOT staff from a staggering 67,500 submissions. The top vote-getter, Oh, For Sleet’s Sake, will patrol Central Minnesota roads. Close behind is Flurrious George, heading to Southeast Minnesota. Rock fans will appreciate Sled Zeppelin rolling out in Northwest Minnesota, while K-pop fans can be proud that K Pop Blizzard Hunter will be keeping Southwest Minnesota roads clear. The Twin Cities metro gets The Life of a Snowgirl, a nod to Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl album from October 2025 – which makes Minnesota’s metro plow officially a Swiftie, and honestly, that tracks. MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger thanked everyone who participated. “We’re so thankful to the Minnesotans who have helped submit and select new and creative snowplow names for our agency. Let’s remember it’s not just the plows, it’s also about the more than 1,600 Minnesota snowplow operators who keep us safe, and our roads cleared all winter long.” MnDOT now has 52 named snowplows in its fleet, including hall-of-famers like Plowy McPlowFace, Betty Whiteout, and Taylor Drift. In addition to the 48 plows named through the annual contest, four additional plows have been named by MnDOT staff in acknowledgment of highways adjacent to tribal lands. Meet the Class of 2026 Oh, For Sleet’s Sake District 3 Central Minnesota Flurrious George District 6 Southeast Minnesota Sled Zeppelin District 2 Northwest Minnesota K Pop Blizzard Hunter District 8 Southwest Minnesota Minne-Snow-ta District 1 Northeast Minnesota Every Day I’m Shovelin’ District 7 South Central Minnesota O Brother, Where Art Plow? District 4  West Central Minnesota The Life of a Snowgirl Metro – Twin Cities. 

There will be Morrison County Skywarn Training for weather spotters on Sunday, March 15th 2-4pm at St. Mary's Church in Upsala. The in person training is free. The National Weather Service weather spotting training is required every two years. Register at the website: MorrisonCoSkywarn@yahoo.com

A Reminder to Students in the Pierz School District that do too the Pierz wrestlers at state school will be dismissed early today. Holy Trinity at 12:20pm, Pioneer Elementary at 12:30pm and the High School at 12:40pm. There is a fan bus leaving at 1pm today from Pierz. The wrestlers begin at 4pm today at state.

Death Notices: Daniel Joseph Blonigen, age 44 of Brainerd.

Weather: today mostly sunny, high 20, cloud increase tonight low 13 with light snow or wintry mix overnight, Thursday icy start possible then becoming sunny high near 40, clouds increase, low 28 Thursday night, mix of sun and clouds Friday high 44, windy in the afternoon into Friday night colder low 8 above wind chills below zero into Saturday. Saturday colder high 16, low -6 below zero then Sunday snow develops in afternoon, high 22, low around 10 above. Highs near 40 again by next Tuesday. 

Sports: The Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament begins today at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Team quarterfinals begin at 4pm where Pierz will take on Perham, hear the action including an extended pre-game at 3pm on AM960 KLTF where Alex caught up with a number of players, coaches and others from Pierz schools on the matchups at state. Live match coverage at 4pm then win or lose Pierz will have another match 6pm consolations or 8pm semi-finals Wednesday night also live on AM960 KLTF and streamed online at fallsradio.com. Other teams likes Staples-Motley, Brainerd, Foley and others compete also in state tournament matches Wednesday night. the 5th, 3rd and Championship matches for team will then be on Thursday night. Individuals for all classes at state from area teams start Thursday morning. Get state tournament coverage all four days on KLTF Little Falls. Pierz won their first round match last night in girls basketball 59-44 over Staples-Motley and advanced to Saturday against Duluth Marshall at Cloquet High School, time to be determined but will be live on 94ROCKS KFML. Also last night in girls Long Prairie-Grey Eagle and Browerville won play in games, Pillager was eliminated. Girls basketball playoffs continue for area teams on Thursday night Sauk Rapids-Rice at Little Falls 7pm on Q92 WYRQ. Also first round matches begin Thursday night for Royalton, Swanville, Upsala, Foley and other area teams.

The City of Little Falls will hold an open house Tuesday from 4:30-7pm with casual discussion with the Mayor and City Council members. Questions can be directed to 320-616-5500.  The...

The driver of a vehicle was taken to the hospital after it rolled into the ditch. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened just after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday...

A Richmond woman has been killed in a crash in northern Minnesota. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened on Tuesday at about 9:00 p.m. on Highway 210 in Cass...

A person is dead following a trailer fire on Tuesday morning in Clear Lake Township. According to the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and firefighters were called at 6:25 to the...