The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an ATV crash on Saturday morning at 2:28 in the 10000 block of 199th Avenue Northeast – just northeast of New London. 57-year-old Christopher Schaeffer of New London and 47-year-old Paula Schaeffer were riding on a Polaris Sportsman ATV on 199th Avenue when Paula became separated from the vehicle. She was not wearing a helmet. She was transported to Rice Hospital in Willmar with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Wednesday morning at 3:02, the Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call from the homeowner at 16218 County Road 9 in Eden Lake Township who was being woken up to loud popping noises outside their house. They observed flames and black smoke coming from a large outbuilding on their property.
The homeowners are 52-year-old David Nieman and 49-year-old Jodine Nieman. The outbuilding was located approximately 115 feet from their house. When first responders arrived on the scene, the 50×50 foot outbuilding was fully engulfed in flames. Several agencies worked to extinguish the fire; however, the outbuilding and items inside were believed to be a total loss.
There were no reported injuries associated with the fire. The cause of the fire is still currently under investigation. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on the scene by the Eden Valley Fire Department, Watkins Fire Department, Watkins Ambulance, and the Chain of Lakes Fire Department.
With the abundance of rain this summer, no-wake zones were issued for several area lakes. The first lake in Meeker County to have a no-wake zone was Lake Arvilla which was issued by the Sheriff about a month ago, but that has now expired.
Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says the no-wake zones in some of the other lakes may expire by next week, but each situation will have to be analyzed. He says the purpose is to prevent erosion and to assure boater safety as there is often debris floating in lakes when the water levels are high.
Sheriff Cruze says he has water patrol deputies in the summer months who spend time on the lakes making sure that boaters are following the laws, have adequate numbers of life jackets on their boats, and are not boating while intoxicated. He says passengers on a boat may be intoxicated, and the driver is allowed to drink, but cannot be intoxicated.
Sheriff Cruze says if you are pulling a skier or tube you need to have a mirror or a spotter. He says it’s a good idea to wear your life jacket at all times (children under 10 are required to have their life jacket on in a boat), even if you know how to swim, because you could get injured or knocked out if you get in an accident and are thrown into the water.
Sheriff Cruze says if you’re going fishing alone, make sure someone knows where you are going and when you plan to return, and you should always be aware of weather conditions when you are venturing out onto the lake. He says they’ve had incidents over the years of people being run over by boats and cut by propellers; and one-third of all boating fatalities involve alcohol.
