Friday, August 29, 2025
The 66-year-old man accused of shooting five police officers as they served a warrant at his home in 2023 has been convicted on all 15 counts, including seven counts of attempted murder of a police officer. Karl Thomas Holmberg was also found guilty of assault and drug charges stemming from the October 2023 incident at his Glendorado Township home. A Benton County jury returned the verdict on Thursday after a nearly two-week trial that began on August 18th. The confrontation started when members of the Sherburne County Drug Task Force arrived at Holmberg’s home. After knocking and announcing their presence, officers entered the home, where Holmberg immediately opened fire, hitting five officers. They ran out of the house and called in negotiators, who worked for hours before successfully convincing Holmberg to surrender peacefully. Two officers were hit in their bulletproof vests, another was shot in the hand, one was hit in the right arm, and another was shot in the chest and hip. Holmberg’s wife, Doreen, was also charged in the incident, pleading guilty to selling drugs from their home. Their sentencing dates weren’t immediately set.
A lawsuit has been filed by Byron Smith, who is currently serving a life sentence in prison without parole for the 2012 murders of 17-year-old Nicholas Brady and 18-year-old Haile Kifer in his Little Falls home, filed a defamation civil lawsuit against the former Morrison County Sheriff’s sergeant who served as the lead investigator on the case. In his lawsuit, filed August 8th in Morrison County District Court in Little Falls, Smith, 77, alleges Jeremy Luberts’ 2023 book about the murders and investigation, “Murder on Elm Street,” contains numerous false statements, misrepresentations and omissions that defame Smith and mislead readers. Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is the book’s publisher, St. Paul-based Beaver’s Pond Press. Smith, reportedly who is representing himself in the lawsuit, claims his counsel, Minneapolis-based Marshall Tanick, notified Luberts and Beaver’s Pond Press in writing of the inaccuracies and requested cessation of further publication and distribution. No court date has been set in Smith’s civil case against Luberts.
This is the start of Labor Day weekend. Many will out for the what is called the Unofficial End of Summer in the days ahead. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reminds motorists to watch speeds, don't drink and drive, avoid distracted driving and maybe check 511mn.org website by clicking on it to see where the road work and constructions, delays and information on what to expect slow downs or avoid this weekend. There will be extra law enforcement out on Minnesota roadways watching for violators.
Monday is Labor Day a federal holiday meaning that most government agencies, courthouses, city halls, post offices, banks, financial institutions will be closed Monday for the holiday. There is no regular mail delivery on Monday. Some businesses, offices, dining establishments and schools are also closed on Monday for the holiday so best to check ahead. Also schools return in Minnesota for some grades on Tuesday so reminder to watch for the school buses out and about Tuesday morning.
Following the recent shooting in Minneapolis at Catholic School, District 10 State Senator Nathan Wesenberg made the following statement in his words he stated: This morning, our community was shaken by an unspeakable act of violence at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Families are grieving, children are traumatized, and we are once again confronted with the devastating consequences of ignoring truth in favor of ideology. This tragedy demands that we stop pretending lies will heal broken lives. The shooter was a young man. He was not a girl, no matter how much he tried to live as one or how much others may have “affirmed” him in that falsehood. What he needed was adults willing to stand firm in truth and guide him through his mental health struggles, particularly his gender dysphoria, with real help and accountability — not affirmation of delusions. By affirming confusion instead of treating the root issues, society is failing young people. We are normalizing instability, loneliness, and self-destruction. This is not compassion; it is neglect dressed up as acceptance. When hurting young men and women are left without real direction and their deepest struggles are affirmed instead of addressed, it does not lead to peace — it leads to despair and, too often, tragedy. We must demand a cultural shift: away from appeasing confusion and toward confronting the mental health crisis with honesty, courage, and truth. Our children deserve better than the lies of false affirmation. We must also face the truth about gun control: it failed today, and it fails every day. Red flag laws did nothing to prevent this shooting. More restrictions would not have stopped this young man from carrying out his evil plan. What they do accomplish is stripping law-abiding citizens of the ability to defend themselves and their children. “Gun-free zones” are not safety zones — they are hunting grounds. They create soft targets where killers know they will face little to no armed resistance. Evil thrives where good people are disarmed. The reality is simple: criminals do not follow laws, and gun control only punishes those who would follow them. The answer is not more gun control laws or legislation by unscrupulous politicians. Our nation must return to God. America was founded on Christian principles, and if we do not return to a strong foundation, we lose order, peace, and hope for a better future. We must restore the foundation of strong families — a mother and a father committed to raising principled children. When the family breaks down, when fathers are absent, when God is pushed out of schools, homes, and public life, evil rushes in to fill the void. What we need is not more laws, but more masculine fathers present in their children's lives, more loving mothers raising children in faith, and a culture unashamed to fight for morality and cast the devil into the ocean with a millstone tied around his neck. Evil will always find a weapon — the question is whether we will have the courage, under God, to fight back by restoring families, rebuilding communities, and standing for truth. Again this was written statement in Senator Wesenberg's words.
Little Falls Police Department reported a number of calls on speeding on 11th Street Northeast around 4th and 5th Avenue there some traffic spots made their this week. Also police reported stops of vehicles without license plates, and suspicious vehicles and activity reports. Continue to call those in if need be so that police and the sheriff's office can investigate at 320-616-5570.
A Watkins man was seriously hurt when a car collided with the side-by-side ATV he was driving. The crash happened on Meeker County Road 34 south of Eden Valley just before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Meeker County Sheriff's Office says 61-year-old Daniel Sullivan of Watkins was traveling north when his machine was hit by a car that was also traveling north. The crash happened in the 35900 block of County Road 34 in Forest Prairie Township. The sheriff's office says Sullivan was airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital with serious injuries. His passenger, 61-year-old Janet Sullivan of Watkins, was transported by Mayo Ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital with non-serious injuries. The 16-year-old driver of the car was not hurt. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Waite Park police have been getting calls from local garage door and repair businesses warning consumers to be sure they are shopping local when looking for goods and services online. These businesses are getting calls over the past several weeks from people who thought they had called a company based on web ads and potentially misleading Google listings, but were instead calling a different garage door company. They believe the customer is talking to a call center that then just schedules with the most local person they have, usually from the Metro Area, and charges three to four times the amount of what a local company would charge. The Police Department was informed that people can verify they are using someone local by checking the address and phone number, and by looking at reviews before going online to place orders.
The Little Falls City Council will meet Tuesday night at 7:30pm next week due to Labor Day with City Offices being closed on Monday for the holiday.
Weather- after a line of steady to heavy rains last night some areas nearly 2 inches in rainfall including the Morrison County Airport today partly sunny with again some showers and T-storms with locally heavy rains, high 77, low around 58. Saturday drier, partly cloudy, high 76, low around 54. Sunday sunny and warm, high near 80 low around 60. Labor Day showers and T-storms possible, cloudy, high 74, low around 51. Tuesday showers and storms possible again high 75, low around 57. Wednesday cooler with highs around 63.
Sports- after Thursday off, the Twins open series with San Diego at Target Field tonight, pregame 6:30pm, Saturday at 5:30pm and Sunday Inside starts at 11am. Then Labor Day Twins open series with Chicago White Sox at Target Field with day game on Labor Day at 12:30pm pregame on Q92 WYRQ. Lynx have a good first half and then get blown out in the second half outscored nearly 60-30 to lose to Seattle last night at Target Center 93-79. Lynx are at Connecticut tomorrow. Gopher football opens the season with a 23-10 win last night over Buffalo. High School Football tonight Little Falls at Annandale at 7pm on A960 KLTF and fallsradio.com. Also Friday night football includes Upsala-Swanville at Parkers Prairie and Brainerd opens season at home against Buffalo. Last night Pierz wins 42-12 over Sauk Centre, Royalton wins opener 26-20 over Kimball, Holdingford routs Cathedral 42-7, Pillager beat Warroad 45-20, Foley beat Glencoe Silver Lake 28-12. The Class B and Class C State Baseball Tournaments wrap up this weekend. In Class B Nisswa vs. Cold Spring at 4pm Saturday in Brownton followed by Foley vs. New Ulm at 6:30pm. In Class C Pierz Lakers take on Howard Lake also at 6:30pm Saturday from Hutchinson. Get the call of the games Saturday on AM960 KLTF. If the teams win Saturday then they play Sunday with championships Sunday night in C, Monday in B.