On August 3, 1963, The Beatles appeared at the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the last time.
In 1966, comic Lenny Bruce died of a drug overdose. He was 40.
In 1968, the band Yes played their first show, at a café in London.
In 1969, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys was indicted for failure to report for civilian duty at a hospital in lieu of military service.
In 1971, Paul McCartney announced the formation of Wings, which featured his wife Linda on keyboards. Other members included former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine.
In 1974, guitarist Jeff Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder left Steely Dan. Baxter joined the Doobie Brothers and Hodder produced and did session work.
In 1979, The Knack topped both the album and the singles charts, with their album “Get the Knack” and the single “My Sharona.”
In 1987, Def Leppard released its “Hysteria” album.
In 2002, Bob Dylan played the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island for the first time in 37 years. In 1965, the crowd was outraged when he played electric guitar at the festival.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Martin Sheen is 84. Singer Beverly Lee of The Shirelles is 83. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 83. Movie director John Landis is 74. Actor JoMarie Payton (“Family Matters”) is 74. Actor Jay North (“Dennis the Menace”) is 73. Actor Philip Casnoff (“Oz,” “Strong Medicine”) is 70. Actor John C. McGinley (“Scrubs”) is 65. Bassist Lee Rocker (Stray Cats) is 63. Actor Lisa Ann Walter (“Abbott Elementary”) is 63. Singer-guitarist James Hetfield of Metallica is 61. Singer Ed Roland of Collective Soul is 61. Actor Isaiah Washington (“Grey’s Anatomy,” ″Soul Food”) is 61. Keyboardist Dean Sams of Lonestar is 58. Guitarist Stephen Carpenter of Deftones is 54. Musician Spinderella of Salt-N-Pepa is 53. Actor Brigid Brannagh (“CSI,” “Army Wives”) is 52. Actor Michael Ealy (“Think Like A Man,” ″Barbershop”) is 51. Violinist Jimmy De Martini of Zac Brown Band is 48. Actor Evangeline Lilly (“Lost”) is 45. Actor Mamie Gummer (“The Good Wife”) is 41. Singer Holly Arnstein of Dream is 39. Actor Georgina Haig (“Once Upon A Time”) is 39. Bassist Brent Kutzle of OneRepublic is 39. Rapper D.R.A.M. is 36.
Litchfield Community Theatre will present “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” later this week – Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium. Tickets are available at litchfieldcommunitytheatre.com or at the Litchfield Community Education office in the Wagner Education Building.
Adam Stern is back in his home town for the summer in the lead role of Joseph as he’s able to do his publicity work for Disney TV in L.A. via the internet. He says he and Jane Lind are the only two people in this cast who were also in the cast back in 1998 when Litchfield Community Theatre last produced the show, and he feels this version has even more energy than that one.
Stern says there are no bad seats in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium and he’s hoping lots of people come and see “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” as it’s a fun, family show. He says they have lots of talented people in the cast from Waverly to Willmar.
Rick Beecroft is in the role of Pharaoh and says they’ve been having so much fun rehearsing. He says the cast performed last Thursday evening in Litchfield’s Central Park to give people a sneak peek at the show.
Beecroft says people might want to consider eating somewhere in Litchfield and then attend one of the performances of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” later this week. For more information about the show, call 693-2354.
The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident that occurred between 6 and 7 a.m. on Friday, July 19th in the 68800 block of 233rd Street near the Darwin-Dassel County Park. An 18-year-old female was out jogging when she was approached by a male described as in his 20’s, skinny, approximately 6 foot 1 inch tall, blond hair, and wearing grey sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt, and driving an older grey truck.
The victim was unable to get a license plate number on the truck. The victim described the incident as the male confronting her so she ran off into the woods. The suspect ran after her. The victim said a Good Samaritan, who was also out jogging, came by during this time and scared the suspect away. The Good Samaritan was described as a male in his 50’s with white hair wearing blue shorts, blue shirt and glasses.
This is an active and ongoing investigation and detectives would like to talk with the Good Samaritan. The Sheriff’s Office is also seeking video from any surveillance cameras in the area. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office at 320-693-5400 or leave information on the Sheriff’s Office confidential tip-line at 320-693-5411.
The Highway 12 Litchfield to Cokato resurfacing and concrete repair project has completed Phase 1, and the Phase 1 Litchfield-to-Dassel detour has been removed, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The Highway 12 and Highway 15 intersection has reopened, and the Phase 2 Detour is now in place.
Highway 12 traffic is being detoured from Darwin to Dassel via county roads 14 and 21, and Highway 15. The work zone extends from Litchfield to Cokato and segments of Highway 12 will close during the different phases of construction requiring three separate detours.
Crews are working from Litchfield to Darwin for most of the summer in 2024. Work is taking place under traffic. Use caution and be alert for workers and heavy equipment as Highway 12 is a busy work zone.
The Phase 2 Detour is in place now through October 4th of this year. Highway 12 is closed from Darwin to Dassel. Traffic is detoured to Highway 15 and county roads 14 and 21. Highway 12 will be closed from Dassel to Cokato during construction in 2025 (Phase 3 Detour). Traffic will be routed to Highway 15 and county roads 21 and 3.
During road closures, people who live, work, or visit homes and businesses along the project route will have access to/from Highway 12, usually from the nearest intersection to their location. Expect changes and the use of alternate entrances as work progresses.
In the 2024 project from Litchfield to Dassel, Highway 12 will be resurfaced from Holcombe Avenue in Litchfield to east of Meeker County Road 14 in Darwin. Sidewalks and pedestrian ramps will be upgraded to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards in Litchfield and Darwin. New sidewalk will be created from Davis Avenue to Hubbard Avenue in Litchfield.
A culvert will be replaced at the county ditch 1.5 miles east of the Highway 12 and Meeker County Road 34 intersection in Litchfield. A pedestrian push button station will be installed at Davis Avenue in Litchfield. The concrete will be repaired, and asphalt shoulders will be replaced on Highway 12 from east of Meeker County Road 14 in Darwin through the Highway 15 intersection in Dassel. The Darwin Rest Stop will be resurfaced, and ADA improvements made to sidewalks.
Duirng the 2025 portion of the project, the concrete will be repaired, and asphalt shoulders will be replaced from east of Highway 15 in Dassel to the end of the concrete section in Cokato. Sidewalks and pedestrian ramps in Dassel will be upgraded to meet ADA standards. Ramps along the trail from Dassel to Cokato will be upgraded to meet ADA standards.
On Thursday evening at 6:21 p.m., the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a single vehicle motorcycle crash with injuries. The crash happened in the 15000 block of Caldron Road in Maine Prairie Township, approximately two miles north of Kimball.
The driver of the motorcycle, 75-year-old James Neises of Annandale, was with a group of motorcycles when the motorcycle he was operating went off the roadway while going around a curve. Neises had minor injuries and was transported to the hospital for evaluation. Neises was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on the scene by Watkins Ambulance and the Kimball Fire Department.