On Aug. 24, 1960, Stevie Wonder was the first musician to reach number one on the pop and R&B charts with “Fingertips, Part 2” and number one on the album chart with “The 12-Year-Old Genius.”
In 1967, the members of The Beatles met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for the first time in London. During a private meeting, the Maharishi accepted them as disciples.
In 1968, Who drummer Keith Moon drove a Lincoln into the swimming pool of a hotel in Flint, Michigan, to cap off his birthday.
In 1979, The Cars played before half a million people in New York’s Central Park.
In 1981, Mark David Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the shooting death of John Lennon in New York.
In 1983, Jerry Lee Lewis’ wife, Shawn, was found dead at their Mississippi home. An autopsy revealed she died of a methadone overdose.
In 1988, country singer Nat Stuckey died in Nashville of lung cancer. He was 54.
In 1990, a judge in Reno, Nevada, dismissed a lawsuit filed against Judas Priest by the family of two fans who formed a suicide pact after listening to the “Stained Class” album.
Also in 1990, singer Sinead O’Connor banned the “Star-Spangled Banner” from her show in New Jersey. Some radio stations, in turn, refused to play O’Connor’s music.
In 1996, Bob Schieffer hosted his last newscast on the “CBS Saturday Evening News.” He had been an anchor for 20 years.
Today’s Birthdays: Guitarist Mason Williams is 86. Singer Marshall Thompson of The Chi-Lites is 82. Actor Ann Archer is 77. Actor Joe Regalbuto (“Murphy Brown”) is 75. Actor Kevin Dunn (“Samantha Who?”) is 69. Actor Steve Guttenberg is 66. Actor Jared Harris (“The Crown,” ″Mad Men”) is 63. Talk show host Craig Kilborn is 62. Singer John Bush (Anthrax) is 61. Actor Marlee Matlin is 59. Newsman David Gregory is 54. Country singer Kristyn Osborn of SheDaisy is 54. Director Ava DuVernay (TV’s “Queen Sugar,” film’s “Selma”) is 52. Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 51. Actor James D’Arcy (“Agent Carter,” “Dunkirk”) is 51. Actor Carmine Giovinazzo (“CSI: New York”) is 51. Actor Alex O’Loughlin (“Hawaii Five-0″) is 48. Actor Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill,” ″A Cinderella Story”) is 43. Drummer Jeffrey Gilbert (Kutless) is 41. Actor Rupert Grint (“Harry Potter”) is 36.
Ecumen of Litchfield Home Care and Hospice continues to help people within a 50-mile radius of Litchfield with various health care services. Several new people have joined the Hospice team to help people in end-of-life situations.
Care Consultant Brittany Schutz says there was kind of a lull earlier this summer, but there have been more hospitalizations lately with people needing care as they transition back to their homes after having procedures such as hip replacements and need home care services.
Schutz says if anyone is in need of home care or Hospice services, they may call 693-7367. Dawn Doty oversees the Adult Day Services for Ecumen and says they have openings. She says they often care for people so that their caregivers can have a break, and the hours are flexible.
Doty says they have activities for the people in Adult Day Services such as games and exercises; they can do administration of meds, and they have lunch and snacks. She says they can take up to 25 people as there is a 1-to-5 ratio of staff to clients. For more information, call Dawn at 320-373-6627.
Crews will be paving Highway 12 in Litchfield this week as part of the Highway 12 Litchfield to Cokato resurfacing and concrete repair project, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Paving operations will be in place along Highway 12 from Holcombe Avenue to Meeker County Road 34.
Travelers will encounter lane closures with a flagging operation and pilot car guiding traffic through the work zone. Expect delays and allow extra travel time. 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. The Phase 2 Detour is in place.
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.
On Friday morning at 7:56, the Renville County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call requesting an ambulance for a man who fell around 9 feet. The subject was located on a farm site in the 45000 block of County Road 11, north of Hector in Brookfield Township.
First-arriving personnel discovered 35-year-old Jerman Lieser of Paynesville on the ground near a scissor lift. The preliminary investigation revealed Jerman was working on the roof when he fell off the roof, hitting his head on the scissor lift.
Jerman sustained serious injuries from the fall and was flown to a trauma center. Assisting at the scene were the Renville County Sheriff’s Office, Hector Ambulance, Hector Fire & Rescue, Minnesota State Patrol, and North Memorial Air Care.
The primary election is coming up tomorrow and early voting has been available at the Meeker County Courthouse. There will be extended hours today at the Property Records and Elections office in the Courthouse until 5 p.m.
There are a small number of items locally on the primary ballot. The primary is held to narrow down candidates for offices to two finalists for the November election. Property Records and Elections Director Barb Loch says there are special interest groups who mail registration and ballot information to voters which creates confusion for some voters, as it appears the documents have come from her office. She says if you have any questions about getting registered to vote or about other election information, you can go to mnvotes.gov or call her office at 693-5212.
Loch says there is not a drop box at the Meeker County Court House, so if you have a ballot that you want to drop off, you need to bring it in to the Court House, and if you mail your ballot, you need to make sure that you allow enough time for it to arrive at her office.
Loch says the filing period for city, school district and certain township offices continues through tomorrow and candidates need to file with the appropriate clerk in each of those jurisdictions. She says most of the Townships in Meeker County still hold their elections in March, and the filing period for county offices ended earlier this summer.
