On Dec. 23, 1964, The Beach Boys made their first appearance on “Shindig!”
In 1967, the Rolling Stones album “Their Satanic Majesties Request” was released.
In 1969, Diana Ross began her final engagement with The Supremes in Las Vegas. The last show was a few weeks later. Ross was replaced with Jean Terrell.
In 1972, Grand Funk Railroad’s rehearsal for a live album in New York was interrupted by former manager Terry Knight, two deputy sheriffs and an attorney. Knight had a court order giving him the right to seize $1 million or equivalent assets, and he took the band’s equipment after the show.
In 1982, actor Jack Webb died of a heart attack in West Hollywood, California. He was 62. He’s probably best known for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in TV’s “Dragnet.”
In 1985, two fans of Judas Priest killed themselves after listening to the band’s “Stained Class” album. Raymond Belknap died instantly, and James Vance died in 1988 after lapsing into a coma. In 1990, a judge decided Judas Priest did not place subliminal messages on the album.
In 1997, Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in a secret wedding in Venice, Italy. Previn is the adopted daughter of Allen’s ex-partner, Mia Farrow.
In 2003, New York Governor George Pataki issued a pardon to comedian Lenny Bruce, 37 years after Bruce’s death. Bruce was convicted of obscenity for using more than 100 words considered dirty during a concert in 1964.
In 2015, musician Richard Marx married actor-TV host Daisy Fuentes in Aspen, Colorado.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Ronnie Schell (“Gomer Pyle, USMC”) is 93. Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna) is 84. Actor-comedian Harry Shearer (“The Simpsons”) is 81. Actor Susan Lucci (“All My Children”) is 78. Musician Adrian Belew (King Crimson) is 75. Guitarist Dave Murray of Iron Maiden is 68. Actor Joan Severance (TV’s “Wiseguy”) is 66. Singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is 60. Jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield is 47. Actor Anna Maria Perez de Tagle (“Hannah Montana,” ″Camp Rock”) is 34. Actor Spencer Daniels (“Mom”) is 32. Actor Caleb Foote (TV’s “The Kids Are Alright”) is 31.
The Litchfield Visitors Bureau held its Light Up Litchfield contest earlier this month. Eleven businesses participated and 436 votes were cast in the contest.
Janaye Prieve says first place went to the Fieldgate Cheese Store with 180 votes; second place went to It’s Knot Hair, Radiant Glow Spa, Kristie Isakson Accounting with 86 votes; and third place went to Center Bank with 85 votes. She says there’s a committee that organizes the Light Up Litchfield contest and the lighting of Central Park.
Prieve says if anyone is willing to serve on the committee, they may call the Chamber office at 693-8184. She says the two big events for the Litchfield Visitors Bureau each year are the Parade of Bands in June and the Light Up Litchfield contest which are meant to attract visitors to Litchfield and they advertise in other parts of the state to try to get people to visit Litchfield and spend money here.
Litchfield Visitors Bureau chair Shane Zeppelin has led the organization since it began in 2018, and after two terms, he has to step down, but he will continue to serve on the Parade of Bands committee. He says several people from Litchfield attended a Blandin Foundation conference in 2016 and one of the wishes from that event that became reality was the creation of the Litchfield Visitors Bureau, and one of their sources of income is a half-cent sales tax gathered by the City.
Zeppelin says the Litchfield Visitors Bureau also gets revenue from grants, including one from Explore MN. He says the sales tax in Litchfield comes from the two motels and the campground. For more information about the Litchfield Visitors Bureau, go to litchfieldmn.com.
On Friday, Meeker County Sheriff’s Office Detectives arrested 20-year-old Jonah Nauman of Marshall. The arrest is the result of an active criminal sexual conduct investigation.
Detectives learned Nauman had contacted a twelve-year-old girl on social media. After making contact, Nauman traveled to meet with the victim on two separate occasions, once in Paynesville, and once in Grove City and engaged in sexual activity with the victim.
Nauman was booked into the Meeker County Jail on 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct charges and is awaiting a first appearance in Meeker County District Court. Paynesville PD, Marshall PD, CEE-VI Task Force and BLRR Task Force assisted with the investigation. The investigation is active and ongoing and no further information is available at this time.
Historical Events
1952 – French government of Pinay, resigns
1965 – Belgian government shuts 6 coal mines
1970 – Treblinka SS commander Franz Stangl sentenced to life imprisonment
1976 – East Germany grants rock singer Nina Hagen her request to leave the country, after refusing her stepfather re-entry
1983 – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with PLO leader Yasser Arafat
1997 – Scotty Bowman’s Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 giving him 200 wins with Detroit, and making him the first NHL coach to record 200 wins with 3 different teams; also Montreal and Buffalo
Famous Birthdays
1624 – Tomas Micieres, Spanish composer and chapel master, born in Villaescusa de Ecla, Spain (d. 1662)
1832 – Edward Hatch, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Bangor, Maine (d. 1889)
1922 – Jim Wright, American Democratic politician and Speaker of the House (1987-89), born in Forth Worth, Texas (d. 2015)
1953 – David Leisner, American classical guitarist and composer, born in Los Angeles, California
1980 – Chris Carmack, American actor, born in Washington, D.C.
2000 – Joshua Bassett, American actor and singer (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series), born in Oceanside, California
Famous Deaths
1738 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer, dies at 56
1917 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American saint (1st American saint, founded Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart), dies at 67
1947 – Therese Brandl, German Nazi concentration camp guard (Auschwitz), and convicted war criminal, executed by hanging in Kraków, Poland at 45
2002 – Joe Strummer, British lead singer of the punk band “The Clash” (Rock the Casbah), dies at age 50
2020 – Claude Brasseur [Espinasse], French actor (Bande à part; La Boum; Pardon Mon Affaire), dies at 84
2022 – Ronnie Lamont, Irish rugby union #8, flanker (12 Tests Ireland; 4 Tests British and Irish Lions), dies at 81
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2024 – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced that the United States has prevailed in its dispute under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) challenging certain Mexican biotechnology measures concerning genetically engineered (GE) corn. The USMCA panel agreed with the United States on all seven legal claims, finding that Mexico’s measures are not based on science and undermine the market access that Mexico agreed to provide in the USMCA.
Originally reported by the USDA.
Originally reported by the USDA.