Local News

Rise ‘n’ Roam Play has been operating for the past 4 years at 715 North Sibley Avenue in Litchfield. The facility provides an indoor space for children to play.

Kayla Swenson says she was one of three parents who came up with the idea. She says there are lots of great recreational opportunities for children in Litchfield, but sometimes the weather or other factors make an indoor space more appropriate.

Swenson says Rise ‘n’ Roam is staffed, but parents and caregivers stay with their children and there are daily rates or memberships. She says they are open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-to-noon, Saturday afternoons and they will be adding Thursday afternoons in November. Rise ‘n’ Roam is also available for party rental Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.

Lisa Cox is on the Rise ‘n’ Roam Advisory Board and also uses the facility for her grandsons. She says they have made great use of their space with lots of fun play opportunities.

Cox says Rise ‘n’ Roam gift certificates make great Christmas gifts. For more information about Rise ‘n’ Roam, find it on social media or look for the Rise ‘n’ Roam Play website.

Litchfield City and School District officials and others who have been instrumental in getting the Litchfield Area Recreation Center from a dream to reality met Thursday morning – just west of the Litchfield Civic Arena – for a ground-breaking ceremony at the site of the new facility. City and School officials have met for years to get the project developed.

Litchfield Mayor Ron Dingmann recognized the various dignitaries at the ceremony and said that the project got a big boost with $6-million dollars in bonding money from the state, and with city and school leaders working together, and got a jump start years ago with a large donation from the Gordon Crider Family. Litchfield School Board Chair Alex Carlson says LARC will help the school district enhance many of the programs it offers to students and the community.

State Representative Dean Urdahl says there was talk about building a recreation center in Litchfield way back when he first started serving in the State Legislature and thanks to the persistence of local officials who kept working together on the idea, it is now becoming a reality. Former Mayor Keith Johnson and former Litchfield Superintendent of Schools Beckie Simenson joined current school and city administrators and politicians at the ground-breaking ceremony which was also attended by representatives of ICS and Wold Architects.

The Meeker County Auditor’s Office will have some extended hours in the days leading up to the election for anyone who will not be able to go to their polling site in person on November 5th. Early voting is also available during normal business hours Monday through Friday at the Court House from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Extended hours for mail ballot voting, in-person drop off, voter assist terminal or absentee voting include:
               
                Saturday, October 26, 2024                                             9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
                Tuesday, October 29, 2024                                              8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
                Saturday, November 2, 2024                                           9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
                Sunday, November 3, 2024                                             9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
                Monday, November 4, 2024                                           8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
                General Election Day – November 5, 2024                  7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
 
In addition – anyone that has received a mailed ballot can stop by and drop their ballot off.  If you are bringing another voter’s ballot back, you will need to have an ID and can only do this service for a maximum of three people. 
 
Registered voters in the ten mail ballot cities and townships in Meeker County should have received their ballots.  If these voters should choose to vote in person at the courthouse it is important they bring the issued ballot and envelopes with them.  For more information, call 693-5212.

Bail for the suspect in a cross-state crime spree that led to the death of a New London man has been set at 3.5 million dollars.  25-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh of Minneapolis is charged with 2nd Degree Murder, Attempted 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Assault and Fleeing Police in a Motor Vehicle.  In Kandiyohi County District Court Thursday morning Judge Jennifer Fischer granted him a public defender, and his next court appearance was set for November 25th.  

Matariyeh is accused of fleeing police Tuesday after a shooting incident in south Minneapolis, shooting 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak of Lake Lillian, and then shooting 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London in the head on the south side of Willmar while trying to take his pickup.  Skluzacek died at the scene.  Mayerchak, is a McLeod County corrections officer, was shot in the shoulder and is expected to survive. 
 
The criminal complaint says Matariyeh shot Mayerchak in the yard of his home after arguing with him, then continued to flee westbound on Highway 7.  At Prinsburg, he went northbound on County Road 7 and headed to Raymond at estimated speeds of 135 miles an hour, then headed east to Willmar.  He was in a stolen Chevy Malibu he had reportedly taken from a Hutchinson woman in Carver County, and Kandiyohi County Deputies were able to have the vehicle’s OnStar system disable the car while on the Highway 23 bypass by Willmar.  

It was at that time Matariyeh rear-ended Skluzacek’s pickup and tried to car-jack him, then shot him.   He then fled on foot into the median where the complaint says he discarded the gun, then surrendered without incident.   Matariyeh was reportedly on the phone with Minneapolis Police negotiators the whole time.  After his arrest, Matariyeh reportedly said he wanted to die, and had thrown his life away because his girlfriend had cheated on him. {from KWLM}