The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office has received several reports of people impersonating members of the Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to scam money from them. The scammer states they are a Sergeant with this office and references missed jury service for a multi-jurisdictional court. When no one is reached the scammers leave a message directing a call back on an urgent matter, however, the number left is not the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office. Law enforcement will not call you and demand money because you missed a jury summons or because you have a warrant. We don’t take payments by phone and we never take gift cards for payment of fines or for bail. This scam is not a new one but appears to be targeting a significant number of people in Meeker County and is referencing this office to further the scam. If you ever receive a call from someone claiming to be from this office and demanding you pay money, hang up and call our dispatch center at 320-693-5400 to report it.
The State Patrol reports two people were killed and one injured in a crash east of Pennock Tuesday night at 7:30 pm on Highway 12 near County Road 1. A Ford Explorer SUV driven by 69-year-old Joyce Nockleby of Benson was westbound and a Jeep Wrangler driven by 45-year-old Douglas Robinson of Waseca was eastbound when they collided. Joyce Nockleby and her passenger 83-year-old Llewellyn Nockleby were dead at the scene. Robinson was air lifted to the St. Cloud Hospital with non-life threatening injures.
Becky Simonson, Superintendent of the Ltichfield Schools gave an update from the school board meeting and said this is Prom week at Litchfiel High School and all participants are looking forward to having a great time.
She said there were good discussions on how the school fits in with LARC (Litchfield Area Rec Center) and that Mr. Cziok and Mr. Johnson are working on a Joint Powers agreement.
A newspaper was designated as the official publication and the DC Enterprise was chosen.
Simonson said insurance rates were discussed and that a new Superintendent was hired.
Simonson reflected back on her career as an Educator and Principal and then a Superintendent. She also talked about some special moments in her career and she’ll really miss the daily contact with the students and staff at the Litchfield Schools.
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2024 – Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of America’s children through school meals. Nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sugar and greater flexibility with menu planning between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. The Department arrived at these changes after listening closely to public feedback and considering the latest science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Originally reported by the USDA.
Originally reported by the USDA.
Hundreds of people came out to celebrate the life of the popular restaurant owner Sammy McDowell, 48, on Tuesday night.
His community of family, friends and fellow parishioners gathered in the parking lot of Shiloh Temple International Ministries in north Minneapolis.
Many of the adults and children arrived at the community picnic carrying balloons of various colors and shapes. At around 6:30 p.m., the crowd released the balloons in tandem with members of communities in six states around the country where McDowell had roots.
“Sammy was a pillar of this community. Sammy loved everybody,” Shiloh minister Arnetta Phillips told the crowd. “He could give you the shirt off his back if you needed it; he would do it.”
McDowell owned Sammy’s Avenue Eatery located along West Broadway Avenue on the city’s north side.
An entrepreneur who aimed to boost economic development in the area, McDowell was also remembered by friends and community members as a singer as well as a calming presence on the northside during COVID and during the unrest which followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.
McDowell was also a longtime member of Shiloh Temple. And according to Bishop Richard D. Howell, Jr. McDowell was in attendance at the church last Sunday.
“I don’t believe he was feeling well when he stepped into the church house. He was just sitting there, kind of quiet,” Howell said. “Some people noticed that he was not the same.”
McDowell collapsed toward the end of the service. He was taken to North Memorial Hospital where doctors tried to save him but he later died, Howell said.
Howell said McDowell’s death was a shock to the community.
“Some people just didn’t know how to process their grieving after the abrupt loss of Sammy,” he said. “And so we felt like well, maybe this would be a good time for the grieving community to come together, and have some Sammy stories, share some good news about him and release some balloons together.”
It’s appropriate, considering the man.
“He was all about community. He was a champion of the community. He was a gentle giant,” Howell said.
Priscilla Roberts, a senior executive admin at Shiloh, has been a member of the church for 25 years. She met McDowell the year she joined Shiloh and they were friends ever since.
“He’s always been the same,” she said. “Very giving, incredibly warm, always looking out for other people.”
Roberts met him when he was part of the choir.
“He did his own CDs,” she said. “I loved his voice.”
Roberts said elders used to say that people could move between the outhouse to the penthouse. In other words, people can interact with others the same way in different scenarios.
“That was Sammy. He would give a man a cup of coffee on the street corner and able to just serve the same coffee to Gov. Walz,” she said. “It didn’t matter to him.”
One of McDowell’s friends, Brian Bogan, attended the event with his two children.
“He meant everything because he just really wanted to see the community thrive,” said Bogan, who has been friends with McDowell for over 25 years. “Like he wanted more for the community than he wanted for himself.”
Church officials say funeral details have not yet been finalized.
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