Crime & Safety News

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding lake property owners to carefully check boats and trailers, docks and lifts, and all other water- related equipment for invasive species when removing equipment for seasonal storage. This is important, as several new zebra mussel confirmations in recent years were initially reported by people removing docks, boats,…

Stearns County deputies were called to a home on 93rd Avenue in Maine Prairie Township, a few miles north of Kimball, at 3:19 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, for a possible house fire. Charles Nystrom and Vickie Fosjord were asleep inside the residence when they heard a loud boom outside. They smelled smoke, and believed the…

Just past 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, two cars collided on Highway 12 near 735th Avenue in Dassel Township. Mark Kenney, 20 of Buffalo Lake, was driving a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta west on U.S. Highway 12 near 735th Avenue when his car was rear-ended by Ginger Oberpriller, 51 of South Haven. The road was wet,…

At 11:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, a two-vehicle crash was reported to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office near the intersection of County Road 154 and 185th Avenue in Avon Township. Steven Sand, 37 of Avon, was driving his 2002 Mazda Protégé eastbound on County Road 154 near Pelican Lake when he observed a 2004 Chevrolet…

At about 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, Matthew Butzer, 51 of Amery, Wis., was driving his 2013 Ford F-150 pickup eastbound on County Road 75 in Lynden Township when he lost control and swerved into the south ditch. He hit a field approach sending his vehicle airborne. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.…

On August 24, Stearns County Deputy Craig Pogatshnik was called to Casey’s General Store in Kimball. Store employees had found a loaded handgun in the women’s restroom. Another customer saw the handgun in the restroom and reported it to staff who collected the gun and called the Sheriff’s Office. Pogatshnik and the store manager reviewed…

There were 90 calls for service for Kimball Police during August 2019. These included: one 911 hangup, 3 alarms, 1 medical alarm, 1 animal complaint, 4 agency assists, 3 bar checks, 3 citizen contacts, 6 contract calls, 1 accident, 3 dog complaints, 1 drunk driver arrest, 1 vehicle fire (the trailer fire on Main Street,…

Just past 2:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a single-vehicle crash. A 2018 Chevrolet Silverado was traveling eastbound on County Road 44 near County Road 143 in Lynden Township when it left the roadway and traveled about 200 yards before hitting a field approach when it became…

At 1:12 p.m. the Cass County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an ATV crash with injuries in the Spider Lake Recreational Area in the Foot Hills State Forest in rural Backus. Deputies and responders arrived and learned that Sherri Weikert, 54 of Kimball, was operating a 2019 Suzuki ATV when she lost control and…

At 1:12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an ATV crash with injuries in the Spider Lake Recreational Area in the Foot Hills State Forest in rural Backus, Minn. A 54-year-old woman (whose identity was not yet disclosed as of press time) from Kimball was operating a 2019…