The victims of a Friday, June 4 murder-suicide in Wahpeton have been identified by the city police department.Gregory Zander, 62, lived with Karen Ertelt-Wanner, 52, at 1027 Vantura Dr., Wahpeton. Both were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds after 2:30 a.m. Friday morning.“A preliminary…
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office and Clay County joined in a high speed pursuit with law enforcement on Wednesday at around 8 p.m. on Minnesota Highway 108 near County Highway 11.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) is requesting the public’s assistance in locating fugitive Robert Thomas Baca, who was last seen in California.
Former Otter Tail County deputy Kelly Backman has been formally sentenced following a petition to enter a guilty plea with the Otter Tail County District Court for a gross misdemeanor charge of misconduct of a public officer/employee, in exchange for dropping misdemeanor fourth-degree DWI charges.
The Wadena County Sheriff’s Office received a report of protestors on the pipeline right of way in Section 6 of Huntersville Township, northwest of Huntersville on Monday. The complainant stated there were approximately 30 individuals demonstrating and some of them were climbing on equipment…
Someone contacted Fergus Falls police on Monday about a situation involving a possibly stolen dog that they had found. The person told an officer that she had found the lost or stolen dog belonging to a Facebook friend outside a home on Broadway Avenue. The person said they were waiting to h…
A business owner contacted Fergus Falls on Monday about issues with a nearby traffic light. The business owner told police that when vehicles are heading south on College Way to Lincoln Avenue with just one or two cars, that when they are trying to make a left turn onto Lincoln, the light wi…
The Fergus Falls Police Department was contacted on Monday by a neighbor of a resident who was apparently arguing with a city employee at a property on South Mill Street. The person reported that their neighbor was yelling at a city worker on the neighbor’s property. When an officer responde…
Farm Service Agency employees contacted Fergus Falls police on Monday at approximately 6:42 a.m. requesting a welfare check on an individual that had been loitering in their parking lot for about an hour. The person was apparently holding a jacket and a suitcase. Staff reported that they wer…
breaking
Former Otter Tail County deputy Kelly Backman has entered a petition to enter a guilty plea with the Otter Tail County District Court for the charge of misconduct of a public officer/employee- exceed authority, in exchange for dropping the fourth-degree DWI charges.
featured
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Fergus Falls couple who will be charged with second-degree manslaughter after a 14-year-old died allegedly from a heroin overdose while the child was in their care.
A Fergus Falls woman was sentenced for her part in a pursuit and fleeing of another individual in Otter Tail County District Court on Friday.
A Minnesota National Guard and Minneapolis Police Department neighborhood security team were fired upon early Sunday in a drive-by shooting near Penn Avenue and Broadway.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch is making it easier and more convenient for more people to make payments on their court-ordered fines and fees in criminal cases.
Jesse James Bommersbach was taken into custody Sunday in Richland County (North Dakota) according to the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Luke Ledbetter was arrested at approximately 1 a.m. Saturday on a felony charge of aggravated robbery in the second degree.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
A disturbing trend is emerging that has blindsided unsuspecting residents statewide, as well as locally, in the form of unemployment fraud.
It is common knowledge that phone scammers like to prey on the elderly so when a Henning cashier saw a chance to foil a swindle recently she took the matter into her own hands.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
James Francis Howard was found dead in his cell Sunday at the prison in Rush City.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Why risk setting off a security system by stealing the whole vehicle when you can grab the catalytic converter with the help of a chop saw or a flame cutter in 10 minutes or less and be gone without anyone the wiser?
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Tyler Kenneth Platukas faces felony charges for criminal sexual conduct, exposing a juvenile to drugs and domestic assault after an appearance before Judge Jonathan Judd Wednesday in Seventh District Court.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
ST. PAUL — The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the two men who died during an officer-involved shooting incident that happened on Saturday night in North Germany Township in Wadena County. David Jay Savela (sa-veh-lah), 42, and Shannon Michael Savela, 36, both died of multip…
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is continuing its investigation of the officer-involved shooting that happened on Saturday night in North Germany Township, during which four people were shot.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Minnesota State Patrol was investigating a one-vehicle crash Wednesday at approximately 8:30 a.m. on I-94 eastbound near milepost 52 (west of Fergus Falls – overpass bridge) when another vehicle came along and hit the driver of the original crash while she was outside her vehicle, then h…
Otter Tail County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons issued a release Monday concerning Otter Tail County deputy Kelly Backman who was charged Friday with misconduct of a public official and fourth-degree DWI during the pursuit of a wanted suspect on Oct. 2, 2020.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Cody James Freitag is scheduled to appear in a contested omnibus hearing Thursday before Judge Kevin Miller.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners learned Tuesday that Seventh District Judge Kevin Miller has agreed to secure $100,000 of the roughly $1 million needed to repair the County Highway 41 bridge on Star Lake.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Any charges that may be brought against Otter Tail County Sheriff Deputy Kelly Backman will be coming from the Clay County Attorney’s Office according to Otter Tail County Attorney Michelle Eldien.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
After passing a verdict of guilt Nov. 30 on two counts of second-degree murder in the state’s case against William Lynn Hillman, Seventh District Judge Kevin Miller pronounced the sentence by Zoom Tuesday with the defendant receiving a consecutive 51-year prison sentence.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Clydene Stangvik’s work has taken her to many different states since she joined Cisco in 1998 but she has always made Fergus Falls her home base.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Dayne Adrian Sitladeen has been charged with a gross misdemeanor in Seventh District Court for possession of a firearm without a permit following his arrest Sunday on Interstate 94 by a Minnesota State Trooper.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
On Wednesday, protesters opposed to the count and certification of the electoral votes stormed the U.S. Capitol while the U.S. House of Representatives looked to certify President-elect Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States of America.
Zach Stich
Editor
Two new laws that go into effect Jan. 1 will kick off some of the first changes of 2021. These laws are regarding prior authorization requirements of health insurance providers and requirements regarding sexual assault examination kits.
Heather Kantrud
reporter
An omnibus hearing for Cody James Freitag is set for Jan. 5 in Seventh District Court.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
On a sunny, snowless Wednesday afternoon Fleet Farm was full of heroes.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Three years after four felony charges were filed against Floyd Joseph Moen in Seventh District Court, Judge Sharon Grewell Benson handed down a jail sentence of 17 days Monday for a fifth-degree felony drug offense.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Victor Manuel Marales appeared before Eighth District Court Judge Amy Doll Friday from the Douglas County Jail on two murder charges and a a charge of arson in connection with the death of a woman Wednesday morning in Ashby.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The Grant County Sheriff's Office is investigating the circumstances of a death and fire that occured on the 100 block of Main Street in Ashby Wednesday.
Zach Stich
Editor
Seventh District Judge Kevin Miller announced in a court order Monday that he has found William Lynn Hillman guilty on two counts of murder in the second degree.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Michael Dean Buchanan was sentenced to a 60-month prison term Monday in Seventh District Court by Judge Sharon Grewell Benson.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
The sentencing of Michael Dean Buchanan is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in Seventh District Court before Judge Sharon Grewell Benson.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
Seventh District Judge Kevin Miller will decide the disposition of second-degree murder charges against William Hillman by Nov. 30.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
While Minneapolis residents have reportedly been subjected to a number of violent carjackings, Fergus Falls Police Department Capt. Terry Eldien said Monday he has not seen a major rise in local car thefts during that time.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
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.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
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.
Johanna Armstrong
Reporter
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…
The Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man that received a court-ordered furlough to attend his mother's funeral.
Kimberly Marie Dysthe Goeden received a sentence of up to three years of supervised probation Monday in Eighth District Court at Elbow Lake.
Brian Hansel
Reporter
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