A 50-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man from Clara City are in custody in the Kandiyohi County Jail facing 1st Degree Controlled Substance charges and firearms related charges stemming from search warrants executed on their vehicle and residence by the CCC-VI Drug and Gang Task Force during the afternoon and evening of April 22nd.
During the search warrant execution on the vehicle, the parties were driving in Kandiyohi County and agents located over a quarter pound of methamphetamine. An additional search warrant was executed on their residence which is in the 400 Block of 3rd Ave NE in Clara City where agents located additional methamphetamine as well as a firearm and ammunition inside that residence. An additional occupant of the residence, a 21-year-old Willmar woman, was also arrested on controlled substance charges and is being held in the Yellow Medicine County jail.
The CEE-VI Task Force was assisted on this case by the Kandiyohi County sheriff’s Office, the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office and the WEST Central SWAT Team.
On this day in music, April 23, 1976, punk rock pioneers the Ramones released their self-titled debut on Sire Records. The album took seven days to make and cost $6,400, while its iconic front cover – depicting the band standing against a brick wall – was taken by renowned punk photographer Roberta Bayley and cost the record company just $125. Featuring one of the band’s best-loved songs, “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Ramones was met with critical acclaim and quickly became one of rock music’s most impactful albums, despite its initial low sales. Certified Gold in 2014, Ramones frequently ranks among the greatest albums of all time, and has been cited by countless artists as an influence.
In 1988, Whitney Houston became the first artist to score seven consecutive No.1 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 with her 11th single, “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.” The song’s success shattered a record jointly held by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. Taken from the New Jersey singer’s second album, Whitney, the best-selling track also made Houston the first female performer to notch up four chart-topping hits from a single album.
In 1991, 38-year-old guitarist Johnny Thunders, best known for his work with the New York Dolls, died under mysterious circumstances in New Orleans. Born John Anthony Genzale, Jr, Thunders (who took his stage name from a comic book superhero) co-founded the influential proto-punk group in 1972, recording two albums with them before quitting in 1975. He went on to form Heartbreakers with ex-Television bassist Richard Hell, before embarking on a solo career that yielded six albums.
In 1995, the earliest known Beatles recordings were discovered by Liverpool welder Peter Hodgson. He chanced upon a tape in his attic that contained 16 songs, including “Hello Little Girl,” an early Lennon-McCartney tune that the Fab Four never recorded professionally. The songs were recorded in 1959 by Paul McCartney on a reel-to-reel tape machine he had borrowed from Hodgson’s father.
In 1971, The Rolling Stones released Sticky Fingers, their ninth UK studio album. It was their debut LP for their own label, Rolling Stones Records, and featured a provocative front cover created by pop art guru Andy Warhol, who was paid $15,000 to design a functioning zipper showing the crotch area of a man’s jeans. The album also marked the first time that the band’s John Pasche-designed lips and tongue logo was used.
BORN ON APRIL 23
1936: Roy Orbison
1949: John Miles
1955: Captain Sensible (The Damned)
1960: Steve Clark (Def Leppard)
1960: David Gedge (The Wedding Present)
1964: Simon Matthews (Jesus Jones)
1968: Paul Clifford (The Wonder Stuff)
1985: Taio Cruz
The Litchfield High School 2026 Prom is taking place on Saturday with “A Night at the Oscars” theme this year. Students will arrive at Litchfield High School between 1:30 and 2:30 and the public is welcome to an Oscars party from 2:30-to-3:30, followed by the grand march from 3:30-to-4:30 p.m.
Superintendent Susan Burris says Adam Stern has been helping parents coordinate this year’s event with his Hollywood expertise which will include a 360 photo booth and many other special features before the students board buses for more fun in the Twin Cities. She says about 220 students are expected to participate in this year’s prom.
Burris says Scholarship Night is coming up on May 6th, followed by the Activities Awards Night on May 20th and then graduation at 11 a.m. on May 30th. She says spring sports activities are well underway, and the weather can sometimes wreak havoc with the schedule, but any changes are aired on KLFD Radio and on the school website.
Burris says the Litchfield School Board has a work session scheduled prior to its regular meeting on May 11th to talk about possible November ballot questions regarding an operating levy and/or a building referendum. She says there have been meetings with ICS to analyze future building needs in the Litchfield School District.
Burris says the Litchfield School Board approved of a revised budget during its last meeting which is a routine part of the process as the original budget is based on various predictions for revenues and expenses, and there are still unknown variables such as the actions of the Legislature. She says their goal is to keep the fund balance at 10% and it’s just below that right now.
On this day in music, April 22, 1978, reggae icon Bob Marley returned to the stage in Jamaica for the first time after he was wounded in the chest and arm by seven gunmen who broke into his house on December 3rd, 1976. Held at Kingston’s National Stadium, The One Love Peace Concert also marked Marley’s return from exile in the UK. Dubbed “The Third World Woodstock,” the reggae extravaganza aimed to unite a country being torn apart by political violence. During his performance of the song “Jammin’,” Marley famously persuaded political rivals Michael Manley and Edward Seaga to join him on stage and link hands.
In 2013, Richie Havens, the soul-folk troubadour who opened the legendary 1969 Woodstock rock festival, died at 72. Renowned for his raspy voice and highly rhythmic guitar playing, Havens recorded 21 studio albums between 1966 and 2008.
In 2003, esteemed songwriter Felice Bryant died at the age of 77. Born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto in Milwaukee, she penned many of her songs with her husband Boudleaux Bryant, including several hits for the Everly Brothers (“Bye Bye Love,” “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” “Wake Up Little Susie”) and Buddy Holly’s “Raining In My Heart.” Among those who recorded the couple’s songs were Simon And Garfunkel, Count Basie, and R.E.M.
In 1966, influential British garage band The Troggs released their single “Wild Thing” in the US, where it would soon reach No.1. The Chip Taylor-penned song spawned a host of cover versions, from Jimi Hendrix to The Damned and even Rolf Harris.
In 2008, it was disclosed by British showbusiness entrepreneur Bill Kenwright in a radio interview that Elvis Presley – who, it was claimed, had never set foot in England – secretly visited London in 1958, where he was given a tour of the city and its landmarks by entertainer Tommy Steele.
BORN ON APRIL 22
1922: Charles Mingus
1936: Glen Campbell
1937: Jack Nitzsche (Producer, Songwriter)
1950: Peter Frampton
1951: Paul Carrack (Ace)
1956: Kenny Lyons (The Lemonheads)
1974: Shavo Odadjian (System of a Down)
1984: Amelle Berrabah (Sugababes)
1990: Machine Gun Kelly