The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a fatal crash on the Highway 71 bypass on the east side of Willmar this morning. A dump truck was traveling northbound with its dump box up, around 7:15 a.m., when the truck struck a railroad overpass near Highway 12. The driver, 67-year-old, Terry Allan Vreeman from Spicer, was killed.
The Meeker County Board of Commissioners welcomed its two newly elected board members –
Cheryl Van Ort from District 2 and Darren Sombke from District 4. Paul Johnson will be serving as Chair for 2025, with Beth Oberg as Vice Chair.
The County Board approved of the final payment to Knife River of St. Cloud for projects on County-State-Aid-Highways 2 and 34 for $1,724,527.02. The Board approved of a sponsorship resolution for the City of Dassel for its active transportation grant application. The Commissioners also authorized the Public Works Dept. to set letting dates for the 2025 highway construction projects.
Public Works Director Phil Schmalz reviewed the projects that are scheduled for 2025 including a couple of reclaim and paving projects. He says those will include County-State-Aid-Highway 3 from the Kandiyohi County line to Highway 22, and County-State-Aid-Highway 12 from the McLeod County line to Highway 1.
The Commissioners approved of the 2025 federal supplemental boating safety equipment and aids to navigation grant of $4,107; approved of the position of assistant veterans service officer; approved of the Herald Journal Publishing bid for the Dassel-Cokato Enterprise Dispatch as the county’s official newspaper for 2025; approved of ratifying the 2025-2026 LELS non-licensed supervisors contract; and approved of the 2025 fee schedule following a hearing on the proposed changes.
The Board appointed three people to the Aquatic Invasive Species Board for 3-year terms – Kennedy Penk, Barry Calhoon Jr. and Jerome Wosmek. A letter of support was also approved for funding to repair the Salisbury Bridge.
On Jan. 7, 1950, country performer Hank Snow made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
In 1954, Muddy Waters recorded “Hoochie Coochie Man” in Chicago.
In 1955, singer Marian Anderson made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
In 1962, “The Twist” by Chubby Checker hit number one on the pop charts for a second time. It had previously hit number one in 1960 for seven weeks.
In 1963, singer Gary “U.S.” Bonds sued Chubby Checker for $100,000, claiming that Checker plagiarized his hit “Quarter To Three” for Checker’s song “Dancin’ Party.” The suit was settled out of court.
In 1970, neighbors of New York landowner Max Yasgur sued him for $35,000 for property damage caused by people who attended the Woodstock festival. An estimated 450,000 people attended the three-day event.
In 1992, singer Debbie Gibson made her Broadway debut in “Les Miserables” (lay mihz-uhr-AH’-bluh). She played the part of Eponine (EH’-puh-neen).
In 1994, Nirvana played their last U.S. show, at the Seattle Arena.
In 1997, Lionel Hampton’s New York apartment caught fire and burned nearly everything he owned. Hampton escaped the fire unhurt.
In 2020, Rush drummer Neil Peart died after a three-and-a-half-year battle with brain cancer at his home in Santa Monica, California. He was 67.
Today’s Birthdays: “Rolling Stone” magazine founder Jann Wenner is 79. Singer Kenny Loggins is 77. Singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman is 76. Actor Erin Gray (“Silver Spoons,” ″Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”) is 75. Actor Sammo Hung (“Martial Law”) is 73. Actor David Caruso is 69. TV anchor Katie Couric is 68. Country singer David Lee Murphy is 66. Bassist Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s) is 66. Actor David Marciano (“Homeland,” ″The Shield”) is 65. Actor Hallie Todd (“Lizzie McGuire”) is 63. Actor Nicolas Cage is 61. Singer John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting is 60. Actor Rex Lee (“Entourage”) is 56. Actor-rapper Doug E. Doug (“Cool Runnings,” ″Cosby”) is 55. Actor Kevin Rahm (“Desperate Housewives,” ″Judging Amy”) is 54. Jeremy Renner (“Mayor of Kingstown,” “The Avengers”) is 54. Country singer John Rich of Big and Rich is 51. Actor Reggie Austin (“Agent Carter,” ″Pretty Little Liars”) is 46. Singer-rapper Aloe Blacc is 46. Actor Lauren Cohan (“The Walking Dead”) is 43. Actor Brett Dalton (“Marvel’s Agents of Shield”) is 42. Actor Robert Ri’chard (“One on One”) is 42. Actor Lyndsy Fonseca (“Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “Nikita”) is 38. Actor Liam Aiken (“Lemony Snicket”) is 35. Actor Camryn Grimes (“The Young and the Restless”) is 35. Actor Marcus Scribner (“black-ish”) is 25.
Thrivent Financial is hosting a charitable planning workshop on January 18th at noon at Peter’s Ribs in Litchfield. Anyone interested may sign up or get more details by calling 593-2846.
Kyle Kalkbrenner says this workshop will be partnered with Youth For Christ, so anyone with a heart toward that organization would especially be interested in attending, but they will have to limit it to 20 attendees, so call soon. He says they also want to remind their clients that they have until March 31st to designate their Thrivent Choice dollars for 2024.
Kalkbrenner says lots of Thrivent Choice dollars go unused each year as people forget to designate them towards their favorite charities which is a shame. Jackie McGhee says with the start of the New Year, it’s a good time for people to get some financial planning done if they haven’t done so before.
McGhee says they work with clients of all ages and focus on financial planning, but for those getting ready to retire, they can help them determine when might be the best time to sign up for Social Security. Again, for more information, call the Thrivent office at 593-2846 or stop at 403 North Sibley Avenue in Litchfield.
The Litchfield City Council meeting began last night with the installation of the Council members who were reelected in November, and with a proclamation from Mayor Ron Dingmann declaring January 6th, 2025 as Dean Urdahl Day in Litchfield. Dingmann recognized many of Urdahl’s accomplishments during his 22-years in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Two public hearings were held during Monday’s Litchfield City Council meeting – one to consider property tax abatements related to the $10-million in bonds the Council authorized in December; and the other to consider the sale of public property on North Gorman Avenue to Gregg Schilling. The Council approved of resolutions related to both items.
The Litchfield City Council approved of a certificate of appropriateness application for Shelbie Cox at 134 North Sibley Avenue; approved of council committee appointments; approved of Marco providing IT services; approved of plans and authorized bidding for the Civic Arena floor project; and appointed Heather Guyan to the Library Board, Rick Beecroft and Holly Flemming to the Heritage Preservation Commission, Steve Nelson to the Housing & Redevelopment Authority, Brian Danielson to the Police Commission, and Mike Bredeson to the Library Board.
The Council had a lengthy discussion about the $2-million that the Legislature appropriated in the bonding bill to be used for preserving building facades in Litchfield’s historic downtown district, and the meetings that are being held by New History to help with the process of using those funds. A resolution was approved to hire New History for monthly meetings in 2025.
