February 21, 2025
Home » News

News

Entertainment
This Day in Music
KLFD February 21, 2025


In 1998, Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” which was already on its way to becoming the best-selling single of the year, topped the UK pop chart. Composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings, the ballad served as the theme to the blockbuster film Titanic, and quickly became the French Canadian singer’s signature hit. The song, which also appeared on Dion’s 1997 LP, Let’s Talk About Love, topped the charts in more than 25 countries, including the US a week later. It has sold more than 18 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling physical singles of all time.

In 2012, Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot staged a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to protest the reelection of Vladimir Putin. Donning colorful balaclavas, the group was escorted out of the building less than a minute after their performance began, and three of the women were arrested and charged with hooliganism. They later used footage of the event in the music video for “Punk Prayer: Mother of God, Drive Putin Away.”

In 1968, Otis Redding had his first entry on the UK singles chart with his posthumous hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay.” The song, which peaked at No.3, was the final song recorded by the legendary soul star. Across the Atlantic, it became the first posthumously-released song to top the US charts.

In 1961, The Beatles played three shows across Liverpool in one day. They began with a lunchtime performance at the Cavern Club – marking bassist Stuart Sutcliffe’s first appearance at the venue. The band later performed at the Cassanova Club before playing at Litherland Town Hall.

In 2014, Kurt Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, unveiled a statue in honor of the late Nirvana frontman. The tribute was also accompanied by the announcement of the annual celebration of Kurt Cobain Day.

BORN ON FEBRUARY 21

1933: Nina Simone
1943: David Geffen (Record Executive)
1952: Jean-Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers)
1954: Mike Pickering (M People)
1969: James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers)
1967: Michael Ward (The Wallflowers)
1986: Charlotte Church
1995: GIVÉON


0


Local News
Local News with Tim Bergstrom
KLFD February 21, 2025



0


Local News  / Newsmaker Program
Newsmaker – Litchfield Visitors Bureau
KLFD February 21, 2025



0


Local News
Wintercade was a Huge Success
KLFD February 21, 2025


The 15th annual Wintercade Ice Fishing Contest in Litchfield a couple of weeks ago was a huge success. It’s estimated that the event raised about $20,000.

Daniel Lease says over $172,000 was raised over the first 14 years of the event and half of the funds each year go to veteran’s organizations. He says the committee will meet soon to determine which organizations will benefit from this year’s Wintercade.

Lease says there were so many groups who helped to make the event possible, and they appreciate all of the donations they received for Wintercade. He says the winners of the top prizes and the winners in the fishing categories are listed on the Wintercade Facebook page.

The grand prize winner of the Farm Rite Bobcat UV34 UTV was Tim Koebnick of Litchfield. Scott Moeller of Chokio won the 1st place cash prize of $2,000. Donald Holtz of Hutchinson won the 2nd place cash prize of $1,500, and Beverly Vorbeck of Watkins won the 3rd place cash prize of $1,000. The 4th through 14th place cash prize winners of $100 each were Dillon Anderson, Lonny Bach, Lori Tierney, Mark Kruse, Savanna Pater, Barry White, Bruce Johnson, Ross Kaping, Gregg Schilling, Norm Malecek and Blake Koch. Leslie Young was the 15th place winner of $500.

The fish prize winners included $300 for Ryan Schwartz, $200 for Aaron Eckroad and $100 for Gunner Iverson in the bluegill category; $300 for Jeremy Settergren, $200 for John Spreiter and $100 for Phillip Baalson in the crappie category; $300 for Mary Krokstrom, $200 for Jesse Narr and $100 for Carter Wattenhofer in the northern category; $300 for Colleen Kotila, $200 for Phillip DeSchepper and $100 for Jesse Narr in the walleye/bass category; and the $50 perch prize winner was Ethan Geislinger.

Other notable prize winners included Leslie Young of Litchfield, Jeremiah Manwarren of Jackson and Sue Cron of Darwin who won the veterans awards; Cammy Moses who won the Eskimo fish house from Kadyl Trucking; Jaxson Piepenburg who won the Wild tickets from Hamm Seeds; and Ryan Wreede who won the $300 gift card from Scheel’s.


0


Local News
2024 Conservation Officer of the Year
KLFD February 21, 2025


In recognition of his outstanding overall career performance, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Andy Schmidt has been named the 2024 Conservation Officer of the Year. DNR Enforcement Division Director Rodmen Smith presented awards to Schmidt and 4 other officers on February 12th as part of an annual award celebration at Camp Ripley.

A conservation officer since 2008, Schmidt currently works in the Duluth West station. He’s spent his entire career working in the northeastern part of Minnesota, and recently accepted a promotion to become district supervisor in the area in early March. One of the other conservation officers honored was Shane Vernier who is stationed in Willmar. He patrols some of the state’s best waterfowl-hunting lakes and marshes and the public lands that surround them. Shane has been a conservation officer since 2015 and works hard to protect the habitat that draws waterfowl to the area. He’s committed to teaching the next generation of waterfowl hunters how to enjoy the sport ethically and safely.

Another conservation officer stationed in Willmar – Cassie Block – received the Willard Munger Wetlands Achievement Award. She’s been a conservation officer since 2020, and works in an area where waterways receive heavy pressure ranging from agriculture to recreational use. She prioritizes investigating and resolving complaints related to wetlands and water resources and emphasizes work around preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species.

REMOVE FISH HOUSE

With warm weather in the forecast for much of Minnesota during the coming week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds anyone who still has a fish house on the ice to start planning for its removal. The shelter removal deadline for inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 3rd. The deadline for inland lakes in the northern portion of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 17th. The DNR reminds all fish house owners to pick up and properly dispose of any trash as part of hauling their shelter off the ice.

LAKE MANAGEMENT

The DNR fisheries offices across Minnesota report that about 151 lakes in 40 counties will have their fisheries lake management plans updated in 2025. The DNR encourages people with thoughts on the future management of a lake scheduled for a 2025 plan update to call or email the area fisheries office listed for that lake before March 31. You can find more details on the Lake Management page at mndnr.gov. The lake management plans to be update in 2025 include Dunns, Hoff and Richardson in Meeker County; Andrew, Florida, Games and Norway Lakes in Kandiyohi County; Koronis and Rice in Stearns County; and Granite and Lake Waverly in Wright County.


0


Business
Rising food prices cause continued stress in Minnesota
Minnesota Public Radio February 21, 2025


Stephanie Sundstrom lives a half-hour out of Bemidji in the woods of northern Minnesota. She’s had it battling with high grocery prices.

A woman poses for a selfie photo.
Stephanie Sundstrom
Courtesy of Stephanie Sundstrom

“It’s extremely frustrating, like, to the point of exhaustion because it’s been going on for so long,” said Sundstrom. She said she’s thankful for what she has, but worries about others with less. How are they getting by?

“I don’t buy beef. I rarely buy pork. I don’t buy eggs, Sundstrom said. “I have to use the little money I have in my budget to make sure we can eat until the next time I get paid.”

Sundstrom said it’s less expensive to eat junk food — potato chips and all the rest — than nutritional food such as fresh produce.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates food prices will rise 2.2 percent over the course of this year, slightly below last year. If they’re correct, that increase would be way down from just a few years ago. Grocery prices jumped nearly 10 percent in 2022. They were up nearly 6 percent in 2023.

Many consumers think price gouging is driving high grocery prices. But Minnesota Grocers Association President Pat Garofalo said grocery stores, just like their customers, are struggling.

“This was not as a result of your local grocery stores making more money,” Garofalo said. “This was just a result of a significant disruption throughout the entire worldwide supply chain.”

As for egg prices — the source of a lot of recent concern for grocery shoppers — Garofalo said they’re up so much because of the toll avian flu has taken on chicken flocks.

A woman stands near a grocery fridge display.
Lauren Gaffney, co-owner of Mastel's Health Foods in St. Paul, stands by a display fridge that usually would have a supply of eggs for sale. Gaffney said it's hard for her to keep eggs on the shelf.
Mark Zdechlik | MPR News

Mastel’s Health Foods in St. Paul sells more supplements than conventional groceries, but they’re also known for their locally produced eggs.

“We have really, really high-quality eggs,” co-owner Laruen Gaffney said recently before showing an empty space in a refrigerated case intended to hold egg cartons.

Like many businesses, Mastel’s limits egg purchases to two dozen per shopper per visit. The store gets its eggs from a small-scale supplier in southern Minnesota. Although Mastel’s is struggling to keep eggs in stock, Gaffney said the amount the store pays for eggs has not increased — so she hasn’t raised what her customers have to pay.

As for other products, other stores — Gaffney, who’s worked in food sales for almost two-and-a-half decades, said she thinks higher prices are here to stay.

“I’ve almost never seen the prices come back down,” Gaffney said.

A woman stands near a grocery fridge display.
A sign to shoppers about limits on egg sales at Mastel's Health Foods store in St. Paul – though there were no eggs available for sale on that day.
Mark Zdechlik | MPR News

But Jason Amundsen, co-owner of Northeast Minnesota egg producer Locally Laid, said he believes the egg prices will come down when culled flocks are repopulated.

Amundsen said he has also kept his egg prices steady, but he’s concerned about the Trump administration tariffs — that stand to make chicken feed more expensive — might force him to charge more.

“A lot of feed comes from China, oddly enough, a lot of grains — you’re just monkeying with the markets, I guess, unnecessarily,” explained Amundsen. “It provides even more risk in an already risky environment for us for feed. So that’s not a good thing.”

Tariffs on other food inputs could also fuel grocery price increases.

Back near Bemidji, Stephanie Sundstrom said she’s hoping grocery prices will begin decreasing soon.

“We keep thinking that, ‘OK, at some point they’re going to have to start dialing back on price increases,’ but they’re not. It’s completely draining,” Sundstrom said.

For now, Sundstrom said, she’ll keep trying to stretch her budget to keep food on her table.


0


Business
IRS cuts over 6,000 jobs in the middle of tax season
Minnesota Public Radio February 21, 2025


This photo shows a close-up of an exterior wall of the IRS building in Washington, D.C. Affixed on one part of the wall are black capital letters that say "Internal Revenue Service."
The IRS is laying off more than 6,000 employees as part of the Trump administration's widespread downsizing of the federal government. The agency had added thousands of workers in recent years in an effort to improve customer service and beef up collection of unpaid taxes.
Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images

The Internal Revenue Service, better known as the IRS, is cutting more than 6,000 jobs in the middle of a busy tax season.

The cuts are part of a widespread downsizing throughout the federal government being led by Elon Musk's deputies at the informal "Department of Government Efficiency."

IRS employees were notified about the looming job cuts on Thursday. Most of the people affected are probationary workers who had been on the job for a limited time.

Landing right in the middle of tax season, the job cuts are expected to make it harder for taxpayers to get questions answered and for the government to collect all the money it's owed.

The move drew protests from government watchdogs, who worry it will compromise the government's ability to go after wealthy tax cheats.

"I just shook my head sadly," said Susan Long, who founded a data collection group at Syracuse University that tracks IRS audits. "It's just so counterproductive if your goal is to save money and be efficient. This is not what any rational person would do."

For more than a decade, the IRS was starved for resources. Customer service suffered, with 9 out of 10 phone calls going unanswered. Audits of millionaires plunged, while the government scrutinized taxpayers who claimed a credit for the working poor.

That began to change in 2022, when congressional Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $80 billion over a decade to modernize technology and add staff at the IRS. While Republicans later cut that funding by at least 25 percent, the investment still made a difference. Thousands of additional telephone operators were hired. And new revenue agents began hunting for unpaid taxes. Many of those new hires are now on the chopping block.

Tax experts say any salary savings from the job cuts will be dwarfed by the lost tax revenue that otherwise would have been collected.

"For every $1 that the IRS spends on high-end enforcement activity, the agency collects $12 in uncollected taxes," said Natasha Sarin, a professor at Yale Law School who served as an adviser on tax policy during the Biden administration.

She warned that the job cuts carried out in the name of efficiency will backfire.

"What you're doing is making it harder for us to make progress on waste, fraud and abuse, making the system more inequitable, and ultimately costing trillions of dollars in tax revenue which is owed to the government but which is uncollected," Sarin said.

The union representing IRS workers has asked a judge to halt the job cuts.

"Indiscriminate firings of IRS employees around the country are a recipe for economic disaster," said Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. "Much of the IRS workforce is outside of the Washington, D.C., area, which means these layoffs are disrupting their local economies and hurting middle-income families in every state."

The Trump administration defended the layoffs.

"There are more than 100,000 people working to collect taxes, and not all of them are fully occupied," said Kevin Hassett, director of the president's National Economic Council. He also noted that the IRS job cuts represent a small fraction of the overall layoffs engineered by Musk and his DOGE team.

Copyright 2025, NPR


0


  • Subscriber