On Tuesday night at 9:36, the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a shed fire in the 16000 block of 720th Avenue in Collinwood Township. Meeker County Deputies and Dassel Fire Dept. responded to the scene.
On arrival, it was learned that a 60’ x 136’ shed was fully engulfed. The property is owned by 74-year-old Galen Carlson. The shed was filled with numerous pieces of farm equipment, including a semi-tractor and trailer loaded with corn. Fire departments from Cokato, Litchfield, Hutchinson and Silver Lake also responded to assist in extinguishing the fire. The shed and all contents were a total loss. There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire. The cause remains unknown and the MN State Fire Marshall’s Office was also contacted to assist.
The 49th annual Meeker County Holiday Project is underway as money and toys are collected to help local families have a better Christmas. For many of those years, Center Bank in Litchfield has been collecting toys and cash to help in the effort.
Loree Schultz says this is the 36th year that Center Bank has been part of the Meeker County Holiday Project and they’ve helped approximately 18,000 children from 7,300 families with cash donations – at the bank alone – of about $33,000 and collected about $400,000 worth of toys. She says no donation is too small and they can use toys and gifts for all ages up to 16-years.
Schultz says the bank provides a $1,000 match and they use that money to buy extra gifts to fill in the gaps and they are collecting through December 15th at 5 p.m. She says donations may be dropped off at Center Bank weekdays from 9-to-5 and they can be dropped off on Saturday mornings if you make arrangements ahead of time – or knock on the door.
Rochelle Brummond says she already has about 200 children on her list this year as she gets referrals – mostly from the school – of families who could use some extra help, and the donations are starting to come in too. She says the Meeker County Holiday Project also helps to get food vouchers for families to make a holiday meal; they deliver food baskets to elderly residents who may be struggling; and they help others, such as residents of group homes.
Brummond says they will be setting up a store for their clients on December 15th in the basement of First Lutheran Church in Litchfield, and then the families can pick out toys for their children December 16th and 17th. She says if anyone has questions, they may call her at 320-693-7911, extension 1401 or stop at 409 North Sibley Avenue in Litchfield.
The Minnesota State Patrol responded to a 2-vehicle crash in Kandiyohi County Tuesday afternoon at 4:06. It occurred in the northbound lanes of Highway 71 at 66th Avenue Northeast.
A 2021 Subaru Outback, driven by 92-year-old Gordon Frank Steffen of Willmar, was traveling southbound on Highway 71. A 2002 Chevrolet Silverado, driven by 17-year-old Kayden Alexander Andrist of New London, was traveling northbound on Highway 71. The vehicles crashed in the northbound lanes. Steffen received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Rice Hospital.
Also responding to the scene were the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota DNR. Spicer Fire Department, and Centra Care Ambulance.
A Minneapolis man was sentenced Monday to more than 38 years in prison for murdering a New London man and shooting a rural Lake Lillian man during a police chase last year. In Kandiyohi County District Court, Judge Stephen Wentzell sentenced 27-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh to 306 months in prison on a conviction of 2nd Degree Murder and 153 months for Attempted 2nd Degree Murder.
Matariyeh’s attorney William Walker asked that the sentences be served concurrently, or at the same time, but Wentzell ordered they be served consecutively, or one after the other. Of the 38 year and 3 month sentence, Matariyeh must serve 2/3rds of that time, or 25-and-a-half years, before he is eligible for parole. He was given credit for 397 days he has spent in jail so far. In court, Matariyeh apologized to his victims and their families and to his daughter for having to grow up without a father.
On October 22nd of 2024, Matariyeh got into a fight with his girlfriend in Minneapolis, fired a gun from an apartment balcony, and then headed west. In Carver County, he’s accused of carjacking a woman at a gas station, and continuing on to Kandiyohi County where he shot Peter Mayerchak in the chest at Mayerchak’s home. Mayerchak survived.
Matariyeh then drove on to the outskirts of Willmar, where police used the Onstar system to disable his car. He then got out of the car, walked up to a pickup that had stopped because of the police and emergency vehicles, and shot and killed the driver – 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London. He was then arrested by police. Many of those involved in his arrest, including Kandiyohi County Sheriff Eric Tollefson and Willmar Police Chief Mike Holme were in the courtroom during the sentencing.
In August, Matariyeh entered a Norgaard plea of guilty to two of the charges against him, meaning he does not admit guilt but admits there is enough evidence to convict him. He still faces charges in Minneapolis for firing the gun and in Carver County for the carjacking.