News

The Meeker County Auditor’s Office will have some extended hours in the days leading up to the election for anyone who will not be able to go to their polling site in person on November 5th. Early voting is also available during normal business hours Monday through Friday at the Court House from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Extended hours for mail ballot voting, in-person drop off, voter assist terminal or absentee voting include:
               
                Saturday, October 26, 2024                                             9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
                Tuesday, October 29, 2024                                              8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
                Saturday, November 2, 2024                                           9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
                Sunday, November 3, 2024                                             9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
                Monday, November 4, 2024                                           8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
                General Election Day – November 5, 2024                  7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
 
In addition – anyone that has received a mailed ballot can stop by and drop their ballot off.  If you are bringing another voter’s ballot back, you will need to have an ID and can only do this service for a maximum of three people. 
 
Registered voters in the ten mail ballot cities and townships in Meeker County should have received their ballots.  If these voters should choose to vote in person at the courthouse it is important they bring the issued ballot and envelopes with them.  For more information, call 693-5212.

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Bail for the suspect in a cross-state crime spree that led to the death of a New London man has been set at 3.5 million dollars.  25-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh of Minneapolis is charged with 2nd Degree Murder, Attempted 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Assault and Fleeing Police in a Motor Vehicle.  In Kandiyohi County District Court Thursday morning Judge Jennifer Fischer granted him a public defender, and his next court appearance was set for November 25th.  

Matariyeh is accused of fleeing police Tuesday after a shooting incident in south Minneapolis, shooting 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak of Lake Lillian, and then shooting 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London in the head on the south side of Willmar while trying to take his pickup.  Skluzacek died at the scene.  Mayerchak, is a McLeod County corrections officer, was shot in the shoulder and is expected to survive. 
 
The criminal complaint says Matariyeh shot Mayerchak in the yard of his home after arguing with him, then continued to flee westbound on Highway 7.  At Prinsburg, he went northbound on County Road 7 and headed to Raymond at estimated speeds of 135 miles an hour, then headed east to Willmar.  He was in a stolen Chevy Malibu he had reportedly taken from a Hutchinson woman in Carver County, and Kandiyohi County Deputies were able to have the vehicle’s OnStar system disable the car while on the Highway 23 bypass by Willmar.  

It was at that time Matariyeh rear-ended Skluzacek’s pickup and tried to car-jack him, then shot him.   He then fled on foot into the median where the complaint says he discarded the gun, then surrendered without incident.   Matariyeh was reportedly on the phone with Minneapolis Police negotiators the whole time.  After his arrest, Matariyeh reportedly said he wanted to die, and had thrown his life away because his girlfriend had cheated on him. {from KWLM}

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The Litchfield Education Association hosted a forum on Tuesday night for the five Litchfield School Board candidates. Three people will be elected on November 5th to begin serving terms in January on the Litchfield School Board.

Alex Carlson is the incumbent who was elected to the Litchfield School Board 4 years ago and is currently serving as chair. He taught for 6 years in Sartell before returning to Litchfield in 2010 with his wife and children to begin a career in business. He graduated from Litchfield high school in 2000. He says he would like to continue serving the community in his role on the School Board and to continue to make the District better.

Adam Boerema works as a yardmaster for BNSF Railway in Willmar. His wife, Candace, teaches in the Litchfield School District. They have 3 children, two of whom have graduated from Litchfield High School, and another who is junior. He says Litchfield is a great place to raise a family. He says the school needs to make kids marketable as they head into the world, but also needs to continue to retain its strong traditions.

Stephanie Danielson is a retail bank manager and she and her husband and 3 children have lived in Litchfield for 6 years. She says she wants to listen to any issues people have and help to bridge gaps that may exist.

Tim Oster graduated from Litchfield High School in 2015, then entered the Marine Corps, and after being honorably discharged as a sergeant, returned to Litchfield with his wife and two children. He says he had the best time of his life attending Litchfield High School and wants his children and other children to experience the successes that he enjoyed.

Mick Spillane is an advanced senior manufacturing engineer at Honeywell Aerospace and moved to Litchfield 7 years ago. He says he’s seen his 7 children flourish in the Litchfield School District, and this generation will face challenges never seen before and the school needs to help get them prepared.

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Several activities have been taking place in the Litchfield School District this fall, and many more are coming up. Conferences took place on Monday at Litchfield High School and Middle School and Lake Ripley Elementary will have them later in November.

Superintendent Susan Burris says it’s so important for parents to attend the conferences. She says this has been a busy week with the Litchfield School Board candidate forum on Tuesday night, the showing of the documentary “Letters to Eleanore” – featuring Litchfield Middle School student Olivia Haralson – last night, and then celebrating the success of the Litchfield High School Girls Tennis team, and the send-off for the Litchfield High School parliamentary procedures team to the National FFA convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Burris says the Litchfield High School football team has a play-off game on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Litchfield against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. She says the drama department will present “Footloose” October 31st, November 1st and November 2nd at 7 p.m. and November 3rd at 2 p.m. in the Bernie Aaker Auditorium; and then the Indoor Marching Band concert will be held on November 8th and 9th at 7 p.m. in the Litchfield High School gym. Burris says amongst all of the activities, she’d like to thank the community for all of their support to her so far.

Burris says there will be Veterans Day programs in the Litchfield School District next month, and the Student Council is hosting a blood drive on November 14th from 7-to-3 in the High School gym.

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