News

National News: A gunman is dead and a bystander wounded in an encounter with Secret Service near the White House Saturday evening. Just after 6pm Eastern Time, the 21-year-old gunman was said to have approached the White House fence near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, reach into a bag, pull out a gun and start firing at posted officers. Secret Service responded and engaged with the person — multiple agents fired at the individual, neutralizing them. Secret Service announced just before 8 p.m. the gunman died at the hospital. The suspect was identified as Nasire Best, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. According to District of Columbia court records, Best was arrested in July 2025 after he attempted to enter a different White House checkpoint without authorization, didn’t heed officers’ commands to stop, “claimed he was Jesus Christ” and said he wanted to be arrested. An initial hearing was held, and a “Pretrial Stay Away Order” was issued, typically a measure ordering a defendant not to go near a person or area ahead of trial. A bench warrant was issued in August after a notice of “noncompliance” against Best, who did not show up for a subsequent hearing. A bystander was also wounded during the May 23 incident and was reported to be in critical condition. It is not clear if they were wounded by the gunman or in the Secret Service response. Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that President Donald Trump, who was at the White House at the time was not "impacted.”

Sunday, May 24th the Sons of the American Legion Post 46 will have a breakfast from 8:30-12pm at the American Legion in Little Falls. Also Sunday the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery has their Memorial Day Observance Program at 2pm, music starts at 1:30pm. All are welcome, expect delays as around 1,000 people are expected to attend the event on Sunday. There will be golf carts to give rides to and from vehicles up to the center for the event and back to vehicles. Not only does the State Cemetery north of Little Falls have an event Sunday all State Veterans Cemeteries have their Memorial Day Observances on Sunday as local events are scheduled at churches, cemeteries and schools on Monday. The other cemeteries are in Preston, Redwood Falls and Duluth are also scheduled at 2pm today (Sunday). The National Moment of Silence for Memorial Day will be on Monday at 3pm (local time). 

Little Falls Community Schools announced they will be conducting joint emergency preparedness drills over the next days at Lincoln Elementary, Lindbergh Elementary and Little Falls Community Middle School. The drill is part of the district’s ongoing effort to keep students and staff safe and to make sure school personnel and emergency responders are prepared to work together if a real emergency occurs. According the Little Falls Community Schools “These drills have been in the planning stages for several months and are not a response to last week’s incident at the high school where a student was arrested". The exercise will involve Little Falls Community Schools, the Little Falls Police Department, the Little Falls Fire Department and the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office. District officials emphasized that the exercise is only a drill. There is no active threat to any school.

Two accidents sent two separate people to the hospital in Todd County. Friday night around 9:15pm two vehicles collided on Highway 71 in Round Prairie Township south of Long Prairie. 72-year-old Bruder Lester of Long Prairie was treated at Long Prairie Hospital for injuries the other driver a 23-year-old from Sauk Centre was not hurt. Then just before 2am Saturday a vehicle left the roadway and rolled on Highway 10 in Staples Township. 41-year-old Emmanuel Montanez of Motley was taken to the Staples Hospital for treatment of non life threatening injuries. 

Fire crews from Melrose and Freeport responded to a building fire in Stearns County on Thursday night. The sheriff's office was dispatched to the 37000 block of County Road 13 in Grove Township just before 10:30pm. Deputies arrived on the scene to find a large amount of smoke coming from the top of the building. Firefighters were able to assess the situation and determined there was a smoldering fire near the roof area. Fire crews were able to use a minimal amount of water to extinguish the fire and prevent significant damage. The sheriff's office says no one was hurt, and damage to the building was minimal. There is no information on the cause of the fire.

Ten young women were named as finalists for the 73rd Princess Kay of the Milky Way. This past weekend, dairy princesses from across the state gathered for the annual May Leadership Event held May 15-16 at the Delta Hotel in Minneapolis. The weekend included opportunities for networking, leadership workshops and a chance to compete for a finalist spot for Princess Kay of the Milky Way for young women rooted with a passion for dairy. This year’s theme of “The Power of You,” provided attendees with confidence in their leadership skills and knowledge through various inspiring and educational sessions. Of the participants, ten finalists were named and will go on to compete for the title of Minnesota’s 73rd Princess Kay of the Milky Way in late August of 2026. This year’s finalists include: Kalley Christen; Lester Prairie; daughter of Keith and Angela Christen; representing McLeod County  Elizabeth Coudron; Milroy; daughter of Ron and Jennifer Coudron; representing Redwood County  Stephanie Dykstra; Bigelow; daughter of Steve and Esther Dykstra; representing Nobles County  Claudia Frenchick; St. Martin; daughter of Amanda Frenchick; representing Meeker County  Jena Hanson; Owatonna; daughter of Steve and Suzie Hanson; representing Steele County  Morgan Morrow; Princeton; daughter of Jim and Tina Morrow; representing Benton County Isabella Schiffler; Albany; daughter of John and Kristie Schiffler; representing Stearns County  Gracie Sellner; Sleepy Eye; daughter of Loran and Heidi Sellner; representing Brown County Jaiden Smith; Melrose; daughter of Jeremey and Emily Smith; representing Stearns County  Daisy Zimmermann; Sauk Centre; daughter of Mike and Lori Zimmermann; representing Stearns County. These ten young women will have their likenesses carved in butter during the 2026 Minnesota State Fair.   Midwest Dairy sponsors the Princess Kay of the Milky Way program, which is funded by dairy farmers through their promotion checkoff.   

Due to Memorial Day on Monday, the Pierz City Council will meet Tuesday at 7pm at Pierz City Hall. Also with Monday being a Federal Holiday, all government agencies will be closed on Monday, banks are closed and post offices with no regular mail delivery on Monday. The office at Little Falls Radio are closed Monday and will reopen on Tuesday morning at 8am. 

Death Notices: Ervin C. Meyer, age 82 of Park Rapids. 

Weather: Sunday, sunny skies and warmer, high 81, isolated T-storms after 11pm tonight, then clearing overnight, low 57. Memorial Day Monday sunny and hot, high 88, clear skies Monday night low 58. Tuesday sunny and hot, high 91, storms late Tuesday night low around 60. Storms early then sunny and hot Wednesday high 88 with more storms possible Wednesday night low around 53. Thursday sunny and warm, high 83, low around 51. Sunny and a bit cooler Friday, high 76, low around 48. 

Sports: Twins win 8-6 Friday night over Boston. Twins win again 4-2 over Boston on Saturday, Trevor Larnach had 4 hits, Twins try for the sweep Sunday at 12:35pm. Natasha Howard had 26 points as the Lynx win on Saturday 85-75 over Chicago to go to 4-2 on season. On Saturday the family of racecar driver Kyle Busch stated he died Thursday of a severe case of pneumonia which also turned in to sepsis. The Indianapolis 500 is raced Sunday as is the Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte in the evening, both are to have tributes to remember the racer and his career before they start. Good luck to Robert Bell of Pierz who will be golfing in June at the U.S. Open qualifier. Victory League Game of the Week Monday is Buckman at Sobieski at 1:30pm on AM960 KLTF. High School Softball playoffs resume Tuesday for Pierz, Foley, Holdingford, Little Falls and Swanville and also baseball playoffs resume for Pierz, Foley, Staples-Motley and Upsala-Swanville. Also baseball playoffs start for Holdingford and Little Falls who found out Saturday they will host Fergus Falls in playoff action on Tuesday at 4:30pm on AM960 KLTF.