A procedural investigation by the Minnesota Department of Corrections related to the suicide of Derek John Sweere is currently underway according to Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office Lt. James Stewart.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Bail was set at $1 million without conditions and $750,000 with conditions Friday as Cody Freitag made his first appearance for felony charges before Judge Kevin Miller in Seventh District Court.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Four felony counts, including two for fleeing a peace officer resulted in death, and two for criminal vehicular homicide, were filed Wednesday in Seventh District Court against Cody James Freitag.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A check with the Fergus Falls Police Department Monday morning into their investigation of Friday’s crash at Union and Cavour avenues had only limited insights to offer.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A check with the Fergus Falls Police Department Monday morning into their investigation of Friday’s tragic accident at Union and Cavour Avenues had only limited insights to offer.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A pursuit of an individual with outstanding warrants by the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office ended in tragedy as a collision left two people dead and another with serious, but nonlife-threatening injuries Friday in Fergus Falls.
Zach Stich
Editor
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office continues to ask for the public’s help in locating Rafael Buenfil, a 37-year-old Moorhead man who is considered an escapee from the county jail.
enterprise
Neighbors on Otter Tail Lake discovered the Little Free Library in their neighborhood vandalized last week. All the books in the little library were stolen, a plexiglass display was broken and the racist phrase “Black N------ Matter” was written inside.
featured
The County Highway 41 bridge at Star Lake near Dent was set on fire Sept. 6. The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office reports Ryan Curtis Johnson, of Mapleton, North Dakota, was arrested for arson after allegedly trying to burn down the bridge. The bridge is closed, and a detour has been set u…
breaking
The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man that received a court-ordered furlough to attend his mother's funeral.
featured
Kimberly Marie Dysthe Goeden received a sentence of up to three years of supervised probation Monday in Eighth District Court at Elbow Lake.
No objections were presented in Eighth District Court Monday by customers of the former Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company. The court action clears the way for creditor to recover $1.45 million of their losses from a substantial embezzlement scheme engineered by a former manager, Jer…
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Kayla Marie Thompson, 27, was arrested on fourth-degree assault, obstruction with force, driving after revocation and not having car insurance Saturday after Otter Tail County Sheriff’s deputies stopped her for a traffic violation.
Zach Stich
Editor
Doug Thorson had a big “Trump” sign stolen earlier this summer and while he was not angered by the theft he admits to being disappointed.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Ryan Curtis Johnson had his first appearance before an Otter Tail County district judge Wednesday morning following a fire he is suspected of setting Sunday near Star Lake.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office had two detectives in Fargo Tuesday investigating the midnight burning of a walking bridge Sunday on Star Lake.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Creditors of the former Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company will be given an opportunity to recoup $1.45 million in losses Sept. 21 at the Grant County Courthouse according to Fergus Falls attorney Erik Ahlgren.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Kameron Erik Boudin of Parkers Prairie against former Otter Tail County deputy Jeremias “J.J.” Krupich and Otter Tail County was settled out of court Friday in Minneapolis.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A federal grand jury indicted Abbot William Aho of Fergus Falls on seven charges Thursday in Fargo.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is going to be equipping deputies with body worn cameras. To be compliant with Minnesota state law, they would like to allow the public to comment on the cameras being purchased as well as the policy they will be adopting for them. The cameras and policy info…
Charles Willis Gramith of Roseville was charged with three felonies Tuesday in Seventh District Court.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A 52-year-old Elysian man died Saturday on the east side of Otter Tail Lake in a boating accident.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Otter Tail County Sheriff’s deputies are passionate about getting impaired drivers off the road. The Minnesota DWI All-Star team will join law enforcement and traffic safety partners across Minnesota during the Extra DWI Enforcement and Awareness Campaign Aug. 14-Sept. 7. The Minnesota Depar…
A Parkers Prairie man was taken into custody Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting two minors three times.
Pierz-based award-winning author Frank Weber visited Battle Lake on Saturday to promote his investigator, Jon Frederick series of books, the third and most recent of which, “Last Call,” was released last year. His next book, “Lying Close,” is set to release in September 2020.
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
Otter Tail Power Company is aware of an uptick in scam activity in its service area. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers have been taking advantage of heightened anxieties,” said customer care supervisor Collin Kremeier. “It’s very important our customers know that we’ll never pressu…
Sage Debbie-Scott Pehrson-Alley, 23, Fergus Falls, is scheduled to have her initial appearance before Wilkin County District Court on Tuesday, July 14.
Flowers pulled from pots in southwest Perham Saturday morning were found strewn about after someone went on a tear.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Hennepin County judge overseeing the trial of four former police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd last month warned elected officials against making public statements about the merits of the case, saying they endanger the defendants’ right to a fair trial and could lead to…
A Hennepin County judge on Friday denied a request by former police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd to allow media outlets to broadcast audio and video of pretrial hearings in the case.
HERMAN — Federal prosecutors have charged a western Minnesota farmer with conspiring with grain elevator employees to get paid for more grain than he was delivering.
A former Midway school administrator charged in the 2016 hit-and-run crash that killed a Baylor University sophomore who was cycling on Franklin Avenue was indicted Wednesday on two felony counts.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Friday that ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in George Floyd’s death.
At least one person was shot and killed and some buildings continue to burn after a night of demonstrations and looting in south Minneapolis.
William Lynn Hillman’s trial could begin as early as Wednesday in Otter Tail County District Court.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
On Friday, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office announced that Kellie Anderson, 35, of Barnesville has been arrested for felony criminal neglect.
An omnibus hearing for Derek John Sweere, a 30-year-old Perham man charged with second-degree murder, will be conducted Monday at 9 a.m. at the Otter Tail County Courthouse.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Chief of Public Safety Kile Bergren and the Fergus Falls Police Department have been aware for several weeks of an online fraud employing the name of two former Fergus Falls transportation companies.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The sheriff in western Minnesota's Otter Tail County says deputies will check on seasonal properties — if those property owners stay away during the coronavirus pandemic.
Derek John Sweere was charged with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm Tuesday in Otter Tail County District Court.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Law enforcement has always held challenges for the men and women who wear a badge.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Derek John Sweere was booked into the Otter Tail County Jail early Tuesday for the probable cause of second-degree murder.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
In an interactive video conference carried out Monday at the Otter Tail County Courthouse, Judge Barbara Hanson sentenced Bobbie Christine Bishop to 10 years of prison in Shakopee for the murder of 6-year-old Justis Burland.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Bobbie Christine Bishop was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release Monday, March 30, for the second-degree murder of long-abused 6-year-old Justis Burland.
With the changing dynamics on the state and nationwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wadena County Sheriff’s Office is taking proactive steps to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 virus. Effective immediately, the list below will be implemented to mitigate as many risks as p…
Local city officials, law enforcement and healthcare providers are letting the community of Fergus Falls know they have been working toward a plan and preparing for the COVID-19 pandemics.
A high-risk sex offender has registered with the Wahpeton Police Department.
The Otter Tail County Safe Communities Coalition is a group of individuals and agencies who work together under funding from the Toward Zero Deaths Safe Roads Program via the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The mission of the coalition is to raise awareness of traffic safety issues an…
Otter Tail County has been named in a $2 million civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of Kameron Erik Boudin, 30, of Parkers Prairie.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Bobbie Christine Bishop’s decision Thursday to plead guilty to one of the six charges against her marked a milestone in a 21-month search for justice in the death of a 6-year-old boy.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Bobbie Christine Bishop entered a guilty plea Thursday to a second-degree murder for the April 9, 2018, death of 6-year-old Justis Burland.
The Becker County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a woman Monday who said she had been pulled over by someone impersonating law enforcement officer.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Disposing of unwanted prescription drugs doesn’t have to be difficult as the “Take it to the Box” program allows citizens to turn in unwanted medication.
Tyler Robert Janovsky, the man who seriously wounded Waseca police officer Arik Matson Monday evening in the southern Minnesota community, has a long criminal history, including a felony conviction in Otter Tail County in 2017.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Terry Allen Stewart was sentenced to a total of 53 months at the Minnesota Correctional Facility — St. Cloud on Friday by Seventh District Judge Barbara Hanson.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
In 2019, Fergus Falls and the surrounding community saw several positive and a few obstacles put in its way. As we enter 2020, The Daily Journal looks back at some of the most talked about, read and viewed stories from the past year.
Zach Stich
Editor
A hearing held in Seventh District Court Thursday for Jordan Jerome Dalman resulted in a jury trial date of April 20 being set for the former Vergas man.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The number of driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrests in Otter Tail County is up slightly from 2018 with four weeks of the year remaining.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
After a Monday morning session in Otter Tail County District Court Judge Barbara Hanson set a 3:15 p.m. review hearing on Jan. 16 for Anthony Dale Randklev.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Fergus Falls Police Department received a call from a father at 4:25 p.m. Wednesday seeking advice about his 17-year-old daughter’s recent activity. According to a police officer, the caller wanted to know if a registered predatory offender could get into trouble for having sexual relati…
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A complaint was made to the sheriff’s office at 12:48 p.m. Wednesday after a woman allegedly found a hidden recording device in her bedroom.
Brian Hansel
Reporter