On Tuesday night at 8:03 p.m., the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked at the St. John’s Catholic Church cemetery in Darwin. A responding Deputy located the vehicle and attempted to make contact with the driver. The driver fled from law enforcement and a pursuit was initiated.
The short pursuit ended when the driver parked the vehicle and fled on foot. The driver, 35-year-old Brady Lietzau of Darwin, was caught and arrested without further incident. Through a preliminary investigation, it was learned that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Wright County. Lietzau was booked into the Meeker County Jail pending a first court appearance. His charges include Fleeing a Peace Officer, Receiving Stolen Property and Reckless Driving.
The Litchfield City Council has approved of the specifications and advertising for bids for the campground road. The roadway from Highway 22 to the south end of the campground along Lake Ripley was last overlaid in 2007. Mayor Ron Dingmann says the road is in very poor condition and it’s hoped that this project will significantly extend the life of the road.
Mayor Dingmann says the estimated cost of the project is $275,000 and the date of construction has yet to be determined, but it will likely begin later in the summer and they will try to work around any events going on at Lake Ripley Beach. He says the Council also approved of a recommendation from the Planning Commission on Monday evening for a future land use amendment which will allow the 4Bz Event Center at 905 West 5th Street to be converted to a single family residence, and a first reading of an ordinance to rezone the property from B1 to R1 was approved.
Mayor Dingmann says Councilman Bob Powers also brought up a request Monday evening to amend the parking ordinance to ban parking on city streets in Litchfield from November 1st to April 1st from 2-to-7 a.m. and Council members will be seeking public input on this issue over the next couple of weeks. He says Powers also wanted the City to keep flying the old state flag instead of the new flag, but a resolution to do so failed as a majority of the Council wanted to get more public input on the issue.
On Monday afternoon at 3:21, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a crash involving a school bus on Jay Avenue, south of Highway 23 in Munson Township, in Stearns County. The preliminary investigation indicates a bus operated by Richmond Bus Service was traveling southbound on Jay Avenue when it left the roadway near a curve, entered the west ditch, struck a tree, and came to rest straddling a driveway.
The driver was identified as 72-year-old Thomas Gordon Hedburg of Sartell. Approximately 30 children of various ages were on board the bus at the time of the crash. Several occupants sustained minor injuries, primarily small cuts caused by broken glass from the front window after impact with the tree. The bus sustained heavy damage to the front end and passenger side.
Emergency personnel from Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Cold Spring/Richmond Police, and Mayo Ambulance responded to the scene and confirmed the injuries were minor. Parents were notified, and the children were released to their parents or guardians at the scene. The bus was removed from the scene by a local towing company. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be contributing factors in this crash.
Meeker Area Partners in Prevention is once again hosting a summer scavenger hunt. The 7th annual event officially begins on June 1st and will conclude on September 11th.
Participants are encouraged to enjoy various summer activities under the categories of Fun in the Sun, Get Active, Fun at the Fair, Feed Your Soul, and Be Kind. You can find more details and the official rules on the mapplitch Facebook page. The completed game cards can be turned in to the Meeker County Health & Human Services office at 114 North Holcombe Avenue in Litchfield. Winners will be drawn on September 15th and will be notified by phone.
The Meeker County Board has awarded a 7-point-4-mile paving project on County-State-Aid-Highway 14 from U.S. Highway 12 to Highway 24 – north of Darwin – to Knife River of Sauk Rapids for an estimated total cost of $1,594,311.33. The project will include minor pavement widening and the installation of 2 lifts of new asphalt pavement. The project is expected to begin in August and be completed by October of 2026.
The Board also awarded the Meeker County Justice Center parking lot paving contract to Hanson Paving of Sauk Rapids for an estimated cost of $112,423; and awarded consultant services for the Justice Center parking lot to Apex Engineering Group of Minnetonka for an estimated not-to- exceed cost of $10,016.45.
The Commissioners approved of a conditional use permit for Gopher Campfire for a Landscaping Project at 24718 County-State-Aid-Highway 7 of Hutchinson in Section 35 of Collinwood Township in the Shoreland District of Lake Byron; approved of a conditional use permit for Schiefelbein Farms for expansion of a slaughter beef steer facility and animal units on the property located in Section 33 of Kingston Township; renewed an interim use permit for Mark Ailie for aggregate mining and processing in Section 24 of Dassel Township; and approved of an interim use permit for Sheila & David Pollmann for a second dwelling for a blood relative on the property located at 50975 County-State-Aid-Highway 23 in Acton Township.
The Board moved to approve the State of Minnesota 2026 Federal Boating Safety Supplemental Patrol grant contract agreement. The grant is for $3,500 which will be used towards helping pay for salaries, supplies, equipment and any other expenses eligible under the grant program.
The County Board moved to approve a quote from Cyberforce Q for the purchase and implementation of a Security Information Event Management (SIEM) solution and Security Operations Center (SOC) solution. The 2026 approved budget included $40,000 for a SIEM solution, and this quote comes in slightly under that.
The Board moved to appoint Rochelle Kranz to represent District 2 on the Meeker County Park Board for a 3-year term; and moved to approve a resolution adopting the County’s performance measures and approving the 2026 draft report with the State Auditor’s office. PACT For Families Executive Director Sarah Vonderharr gave an annual report to the Meeker County Board. Meeker County Sheriff’s Office staff also presented an annual report about the jail to the Meeker County Board of Commissioners.
