Tuesday, December 30, 2025

A woman has been arrested for committing a second burglary in two weeks at an abandoned property in Maywood Township. On December 27th, 2025 at about 12:10 pm, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office received the report of a possible burglary occurring at an abandoned property in the 16000 block of Ironwood Rd NE in Maywood Township. The caller reported seeing a black Volkswagen SUV parked near the abandoned buildings and three individuals walking from the abandoned property back to the vehicle. The caller was able to provide the license number from the vehicle and deputies began a search of the area for the vehicle. Deputies located and stopped the suspect vehicle on Hwy 23 and Ronneby Rd NE. Deputies found the vehicle was being driven by Allison Theisen, age 19 of St. Cloud. Also in the vehicle was Darvell White, age 18 of St. Cloud, a 17-year-old male, a 17-year-old female, and a 16-year-old female. Investigating deputies learned Theisen drove to the abandoned building with her 4 passengers with the intent to explore the buildings on this property after hearing about the previous burglary that had taken place here on December 21st. Upon arriving at the property, Theisen, White, and the 17-year-old male exited the vehicle and approached the buildings. Theisen and White entered a building on the property while the 17 year-old male remained outside the buildings. While inside one of the buildings on this property, Theisen gathered up several items and took them from the building. Deputies conducted a search of the vehicle and located these stolen items. Theisen was placed under arrest for burglary and transported to the Benton County Jail. She remains in custody awaiting her initial court appearance. This case remains an active investigation. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in this investigation by the Foley Police Department. During the investigation, the suspects and the two uninvolved juveniles in the vehicle all expressed surprise at the possibility of criminal charges for exploring abandoned properties. Our office has occasionally encountered this misconception among teens and young adults and would like to take this opportunity to ensure all are aware that entering a building without consent, even just to “explore” the property, is a crime. Trespassing is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to a $1,000 fine. If someone enters a building without consent and commits another crime while inside the building, such as theft or criminal damage to property, a burglary has been committed. Depending upon the severity of the crime, a burglary conviction is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and up to a $35,000 fine. Aside from the criminal aspect of this behavior, there are serious safety concerns present in abandoned structures. It is common to find physical hazards inside derelict buildings that teens or young adults may not recognize or take seriously. This case is a lesson to all to respect the property rights of others and only enter private property with permission. Failure to do so could result in criminal consequences or serious injury.

A house is considered a total loss after a Sunday afternoon fire. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says they received a 911 call at about 3:45 p.m. from the home's owner, Wayne King, to report a house fire at 12935 Miltona Bay Road in Miltona Township, about 13 miles north of Alexandria. King told authorities there was smoke and flames coming from the home, and it had been evacuated.  When emergency crews arrived, they found the west side of the house on fire, with a carport and shed already destroyed. Authorities say the house was a complete loss due to the fire, smoke, and water damage, and the SUV inside the carport was also destroyed The Sheriff's Office says King told them he had used an extension cord to plug the SUV's block heater in about an hour prior to noticing the fire. No one was hurt in the fire, and the King family was assisted on the scene by neighbors and the American Red Cross.

Three area retailers are pulling tainted products from their shelves following a U.S. Food and Drug Administration action against Gold Star Distribution. Gold Star handles everything from medical devices to cosmetics and human and pet food. The FDA warns that Gold Star facilities were rife with pests, including rodents, birds, and insects. The products the company ships were exposed to rodent waste and bird droppings. Anyone handling the items or eating food distributed by Gold Star has a chance to become quite sick, especially from Salmonella. Salmonella can be fatal for young children, the elderly, and those with preexisting health conditions. Healthy adults will still suffer through fever, potentially bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps. Another potential disease to be concerned about is Leptospira. The FDA says St. Cloud stores Kismayo Discount Store at 2932 W. Division, Panjha Brothers at 3535 West St. Germain, and Qalinle Family Grocery at 117 East St. Germain are affected by the notice.

Chill Out and Read! Challenge yourself to read more this season with the Winter Reading Challenge at Great River Regional Library.  The 2026 Winter Reading Challenge begins Friday, January 2, 2026, and runs through Saturday, February 28. This year’s theme is “Chill Out and Read!” Whether reading more is your New Year’s resolution or you want to make the most out of the cold season, the Winter Reading Challenge is here for you. Plus, join the community of library readers and enter drawings for prizes! “Chill Out and Read” is a reading challenge for teens and adults, anyone in the 6th grade or older, and provides prize incentives to readers to help them settle into cozy winter reading habits. Each of the 32 branch libraries in the GRRL system will have prize drawings for participants. All book lovers need to do is register for the program at a branch library, online at griver.beanstack.org, or on the Beanstack Tracker app. Readers can track their winter reading using a paper log from their library or our tracker app, Beanstack. By downloading and using the app, readers can keep track of their books, get book recommendations, and earn online badges to help make reading a habit. Count your time spent reading to be eligible for online badges and prizes. Branches will have drawings for special “Chill Out and Read” coffee mugs and winter hats at the end of the challenge. The library’s first Winter Reading program took place in 2004, and participation has increased every year since. Many of the region’s libraries now host special events designed to support the program and promote winter reading activities. Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries and one to-go system in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. GRRL2GO is a locker system that allows you to pick up items at the Sartell Community Center. GRRL supplies the residents of Central Minnesota with nearly 1 million books, CDs, DVDs, 250 public computers, and information services.

Weather: cloudy skies today with light snow in the morning up to 1 inch, high 31 temps drop Tuesday night down to 9 above. Wednesday light snow before noon, less than 1 inch, high near 12 then falling temps and winds pick up 10-15mph, clear and cold Wednesday night low around -7 with wind chills around -20. Thursday sunny and cold, high 12 above, low around 0 early then rising into Friday. Friday partly sunny, high 18, low around 5 above. Saturday high 18 low around 5, Sunday warmer high around 26 low around 19.  

Sports: Minnesota sports do well Monday night, T-Wolves beat Chicago 136-101, Wild beat Las Vegas 5-2, Gopher men and women basketball teams both win. In the NFL Atlanta beat the Rams 27-24. Little Falls has a busy Tuesday today in High School Sports as girls hockey, boys hockey, girls basketball, Nordic skiing and wrestling all on the schedule for Tuesday, December 30th. The NFL goes into it final weekend with games Saturday Carolina vs. Tampa Bay at 3:30pm, San Francisco vs. Seattle at 7:30pm Saturday night, Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh Sunday at 7:20pm those games will be on KLTF all with major playoff implications. The Playoffs begins January 10th on AM960 KLTF.