On Friday morning at approximately 9:18 a.m., the Litchfield Police Department and the CEE-VI Drug Task Force with the assistance of the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in the 300 block West Weisel Street in Litchfield. The warrant was in connection with an ongoing drug investigation conducted by the CEE-VI Drug Task Force and Litchfield Police Department. During the warrant, officers seized methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. A 51-year-old man was arrested and is currently being held on Felony Charges of Third-Degree Possession of Methamphetamine and Fifth Degree Possession of Methamphetamine. The investigation continues and more arrests are expected.
Also on Friday morning at 11:55 a.m., the Litchfield Police Department and the CEE-VI Drug Task Force with the assistance of the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in the 300 block South Donnelly Avenue in Litchfield. The warrant was in connection with an ongoing drug investigation conducted by the CEE-VI Drug Task Force and Litchfield Police Department. A 55-year-old man was arrested and is currently being held on an active Meeker County warrant for a previous charge of Fifth Degree Possession of Methamphetamine and also an active Mcleod County warrant for probation violation for felony Fifth Degree Possession of Drugs and misdemeanor violation of a Domestic Abuse No Contact Order. The investigation continues and more arrests can be expected.
On this day in music, February 27, 1993, Whitney Houston’s moving rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” became the longest US No.1 hit to date, breaking a record previously held by Boyz II Men’s “End Of The Road.” Recorded by Houston for the soundtrack to her film debut, The Bodyguard, the song spent 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and quickly became one of the world’s best-selling singles of all time.
In 1999, Britney Spears’ debut single, “…Baby One More Time,” began a two-week run at the top of the UK pop chart. The song, which also hit No.1 in more than 20 countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, and across Europe, broke first-week sales records in the UK for a female act. In the US, it became the second-highest-selling single of the year (behind Lou Bega’s “Mambo #5”), while today, it remains one of the best-selling singles of all time, worldwide.
In 1971, five months after her untimely death, Janis Joplin began a nine-week run at the top of the US album chart with Pearl. Released on January 11, 1971, the title marked Joplin’s second and final solo studio album.
In 1964, Cavern Club cloakroom attendant Cilla Black hit No.1 on the UK singles chart with her cover of “Anyone Who Had A Heart.” While the song was written months earlier by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, Black’s rendition found greater success in the UK, where it remained at the top of the chart for three weeks and eventually became the fourth best-selling single of 1964. Warwick’s original recording, however, was more popular in the US, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and Australia, among other territories.
In 1993, Marlena Davis of The Orlons died at age 48 after battling lung cancer. The Orlons had five US Top 20 hits in the 1960s, and the quartet’s first hit, “The Wah-Watusi,” peaked at No.2 on the US pop chart.
BORN ON FEBRUARY 27
1910: Winifred Atwell
1927: Guy Mitchell
1954: Neal Schon (Journey)
1957: Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden)
1960: Johnny Roy Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
1971: Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas (TLC)
1981: Josh Groban
The Meeker County Board held a couple of public hearings this past month which garnered lots of public interest. A resolution for a local option sales tax was approved following one of the hearings, and a public hearing on the shotgun zone law drew a crowd of 70 people on Feb. 17th.
Administrator Andrew Letson says 24 people spoke during the February 17th hearing and he and the Commissioners had also received a lot of written comments and phone calls prior to the hearing. He says the Legislature repealed a law last year that had limited the types of firearms that could be used to hunt deer – basically in 55 counties south of I94, but each county may keep the old law in place if it so chooses. Letson says the Board approved of a motion to take no action on the matter, which means that both shotguns and rifles may be used in Meeker County for deer hunting this fall. He says a decision needed to be made by May 1st in order for the information to get in the DNR’s hunting pamphlets for 2026.
Letson says the Meeker County Commissioners held a public hearing earlier this month regarding a half-cent local option sales tax to help with transportation funding as the money the county gets from the state for county-state-aid roads is not keeping up with costs. He says Meeker County is one of the last counties in the state to adopt a sales tax or a wheelage tax.
Letson says in many cases, the county has been replacing, but not really improving highways with the funds it has. He says the state has to yet approve of the local option sales tax, but if they do, retailers will start applying the half-cent tax in Meeker County on July 1st of this year.
Minnesota’s 1,776 townships will hold their annual meetings on Tuesday, March 10th. The day is known as Township Day, and these meetings are held each year on the second Tuesday in March.
On Township Day, residents gather with their neighbors to discuss local issues and vote directly on matters such as the township’s annual tax levy – a unique example of direct democracy in action. Citizens attending annual meetings may also discuss and vote on other township business. In addition, many townships across the state will conduct township officer elections on Township Day.
Minnesota Association of Townships Executive Director Jeff Krueger says Township Day is one of the most visible examples of grassroots democracy anywhere in Minnesota. He says it’s an opportunity for residents to come together, share their perspectives, and make decisions that directly affect their community.
If you live in a township, you are encouraged to attend your annual meeting on Tuesday, March 10th. Meeting times and locations are published in local newspapers, posted on township websites, or can be obtained by contacting your township clerk. Townships serve more than 900,000 Minnesotans and represent a truly local form of government.
