Tuesday, February 24, 2026

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 Little Falls Community High School is holding an open house community event Tuesday at 6pm to discuss the upcoming referendum. All are welcome to meet and learn from the team, tour the high school, hear the proposal and share your feedback at the event Tuesday at 6pm at the high school. The program will start at the Auditorium. Questions can be directed to the school at 320-616-2200. 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is asking anglers to start making plans for removing their ice houses ahead of the spring deadline. All ice houses must be off by 11:59 p.m. on March 2nd for the southern two-thirds of the state, March 16th for the northern one-third of the state, and March 31st for Minnesota-Canada border waters, including Lake of the Woods. The DNR is reminding anglers to take all garbage and materials off the ice with them. They say if you brought something onto the ice, it is your responsibility to bring it off. After the deadline, fish houses can still be out on the ice, but must be occupied if the houses are out between midnight and one hour before sunrise. However, shelters cannot be stored at public access points. If shelters aren't removed by the deadlines, owners may be prosecuted, and structures left behind may be confiscated or destroyed by a conservation officer.

One person was hurt in a crash involving a semi and a passenger vehicle. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened at about 4:20 p.m. on Sunday on Highway 210 in Todd County near Staples. A semi was going east on Highway 210 while a car was going south on County Road 21 then they collided at the intersection. The driver of the car, 35-year-old James Criss of Bertha, was taken to Staples Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the semi, 32-year-old Brady Greenwaldt of Baxter was not hurt.

The man accused of killing a woman in Wisconsin and dumping her body in Michigan was caught in Minnesota following a high-speed chase through Monticello. Authorities say 29-year-old Robert Chilcote shot his girlfriend, Gabriella Cartagena, in the head following an argument in his car in Marinette County, Wisconsin, on February 4th, leaving her body just across the border in Menominee County, Michigan. On February 5th, investigators tracked Chilcote to Minnesota using cell phone tower data, eventually alerting a Wright County Sheriff’s deputy to his whereabouts and that he was wanted in connection with an aggravated assault and possible homicide. Deputies attempted to pull him over, but he fled, sometimes reaching speeds of 100 miles an hour, allegedly swerving toward – and narrowly missing – a deputy who had deployed stop sticks, forcing the deputy to jump out of the way. The chase ended in Otsego when Chilcote’s car became stuck at a roundabout. He was arrested at gunpoint. Inside his car, police say there was a loaded AR-15. Chilcote is charged in Wright County District Court with one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and fleeing police. Meanwhile, he is also charged in Wisconsin with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Cartagena after police say he called them from the Wright County Jail, telling them he wanted to talk. Chilcote allegedly admitted to shooting Cartagena during an argument, claiming he fired the gun to scare her and that the shooting was accidental. Her body was found the next day. He is being held in the Wright County Jail on a $50,000 bond. He will not fight extradition to Wisconsin to face charges there, and is set to appear on the Minnesota charges on May 1st.

An Alexandria home is believed to be a total loss after a fire on Monday morning. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says around 9:37 a.m., they received multiple 911 calls about a house fire at 3960 Latoka View Lane Southwest.  Authorities say there were visible flames coming from the home at the time of the call. The Alexandria Fire Department, along with the Garfield Fire Department, responded to the fire. The two adult occupants of the home both made it out safely, and authorities believe the home to be a total loss. The State Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire. The Sheriff's Office and Fire Departments were aided by North Ambulance, the Red Cross, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshall.

Former Minnesota state Representative Tama Theis and her husband, Greg, are among the thousands of Americans being told to shelter in place as riots erupted over the weekend following the killing of drug kingpin and notorious cartel leader known as El Mencho. Theis said in an interview that she and her husband are vacationing north of Puerto Vallarta and were set to come home when things quickly unraveled. She was told Sunday that a shelter in place was established and all the flights were canceled. Theis praised the staff for quickly executing safety procedures. “We can’t go on the beach, that’s blocked off. We were told not to go outside. The front doors were locked.” An ominous, thick black cloud of smoke hung over the water from fires burning across the area, but she said they don’t feel there is an impending threat where they are. Both Tama and Greg praised the staff who quickly rearranged accommodations for stranded travelers. “The staff here has been phenomenal. They’re working 16 to 20 hour shifts, so it’s very skeleton crew because nobody new could come and help them,”. Residents and tourists are essentially trapped as roads are blocked by burning vehicles and debris. Greg added the guests are trying to be upbeat and help the staff where they can. Tama explained many staff stayed put Sunday night and are keeping a positive attitude, even though they may not know what’s happening with their families. Security forces have been deployed to Jalisco state, which Mexico’s Defense Secretary, General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, said has restored normalcy to the region.

A weekend-long human trafficking sting in Central Minnesota resulted in five arrests and multiple ongoing investigations. On Monday, the Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force announced the results of an operation conducted February 21st and 22nd in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), targeting individuals attempting to purchase sex in the area. Four of those arrested face gross misdemeanor charges related to attempting to solicit someone for prostitution. A fifth individual was arrested on a felony charge of soliciting a person under the age of 18. All five are expected to be charged by complaint through the Stearns County Attorney’s Office and are awaiting court appearances. Authorities say additional arrests are likely. The operation also generated several active electronic solicitation of a child investigations, which remain ongoing. Task force officials declined to comment further given their active status. The Central Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force is made up of officers from the St. Cloud Police Department, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sartell Police Department.

The 59th annual Central Minnesota Farm Show takes root at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud. The free two-day show runs 9am to 4pm today and 9am to 3pm on Wednesday and has drawn crowds of 3,000 to 4,000 in the past between the two days. With over 150 exhibitors and 270 booths already sold out, it’s shaping up to be a bumper crop of an event both days in St. Cloud. 

Weather: chances of snow and freezing rain before noon today, high 34, winds get gusty from the southwest this morning then northwest later today 15mph gusting to 30mph which could cause some visibility factors, minor accumulation of snow and ice. Windy tonight and cold, low around 2, wind chills near -15 below zero. Wednesday winds die down, sunny and colder, high 19, low around 10 with snow Wednesday night  Around 1/2 inch Wednesday night. Thursday becoming sunny and warmer, high near 40, low around 20. Friday sunny and mild during the day, high 44, then windy and cold Friday night low around 3 above, wind chills near -10 into Saturday. Saturday sunny and colder, high 18 low around 0.  

Sports: Girls basketball playoffs begin tonight, Staples-Motley at Pierz at 6pm on 94ROCKS KFML and fallsradio.com. Other teams like Little Falls, Royalton, Upsala, Swanville, Holdingford and Foley begin playoffs on Thursday night with winners moving on to Saturday. Boys playoffs begin next Monday. The Wild returns to Q92 WYRQ this weekend Sunday at 4pm against St. Louis now that the Olympics are over. State Wrestling Team Competition starts Wednesday at 4pm live from St. Paul as Pierz takes on Perham, Alex has interviews with many players and you will hear them starting after 3pm live on AM960 KLTF and fallsradio.com. Interviews with Little Falls and Royalton-Upsala wrestlers will be heard later this week around individual updates Thursday through Saturday on KLTF.