17-Apr-2025

Man Sentenced For Shooting

A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for a fatal shooting that happened at a St. Cloud party in 2023. Deionte Parker was previously found guilty by a Stearns County jury of aiding and abetting 2nd-degree intentional murder and illegal possession of a firearm in the Oct. 22, 2023 fatal shooting. He was sentenced on Tuesday. 34 year old Antonio Harris Jr. died at the party, which took place on the 700 block of 6th Avenue South. Two others were also wounded in the incident. Police found Harris at the scene suffering from gunshot wounds to the jaw and left and right abdomen. He was receiving chest compressions when police arrived and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities later spoke with a victim who had been shot in the leg, and learned Parker carried out the shooting in retaliation for a stabbing in July that the victim had been involved in. The victim told police that Parker had pointed a gun at him while at the party and that Harris Jr. had been trying to negotiate a truce between the two. The victim says Parker shot at Harris before firing at him, striking him in the leg. A third person was also shot in the foot, according to the criminal complaint.

17-Apr-2025

Man Threatens Students

St. Cloud Cathedral High School went into a shelter-in-place for a short time Wednesday morning after a man allegedly threatened two students outside the school. St. Cloud Police responded to the 300 block of 7th Avenue North at around 7:45 a.m. The students told officers that a man had made comments about shooting them before leaving on foot. Police were able to track the man down nearby and take him into custody without incident. The suspect, 58-year-old Paul Duffy of St. Cloud, was booked into the Stearns County Jail on suspicion of making threats of violence. Police say Duffy did not have a gun on him, and they believe he didn't have the means to carry out the threat.

17-Apr-2025

Pickup/Tractor Accident

Two people were sent to the hospital after a crash between a pickup and a tractor Wednesday morning. The incident happened on eastbound Highway 10 in Big Lake Township at around 10:00 a.m. The Minnesota State Patrol says the tractor and the Chevy Avalanche were headed east when they collided at Sherburne County Road 14. The pickup driver, 43-year-old Brian Manick of Blaine, and his passenger, four-year-old Carter Manick of Blaine, were both taken to North Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor, 44-year-old Mark Wingard of Elk River, suffered non-life-threatening injuries but did not go to the hospital.

17-Apr-2025

Two People Die In Mobile Home Fire

Two Jordan residents are dead and another is hospitalized in serious condition after a devastating fire at a mobile home Wednesday morning.  Jordan Fire Chief Greg Pekarna said the first call for help came in around 3:30 a.m. at the Valley Green Mobile Homes Park. The flames started in the front bedroom and fire crews rescued two women from the home within ten minutes.  "We had the first victim out within the first seven minutes of arrival and at the time rescue efforts were initiated on that individual," shared Chief Pekarna. "And about two minutes later we got the second individual out." One man had evacuated the home before crews arrived and is now in serious condition at the hospital, according to a press release. One woman was declared dead at the scene and a second female victim died after being rushed to the hospital. The roof and ceiling of the mobile home had melted away, but flames were extinguished by 5:30 a.m. Three dogs died in the fire and the mobile home is considered a complete loss.   The fire did not spread to other mobile homes. The Minnesota Fire Marshal arrived at the scene Wednesday morning to determine the cause of the flames.

16-Apr-2025

Man Injured After Hitting Deer With His Vehicle

A Cold Spring man was hurt in a crash on Highway 23. The Minnesota State Patrol says the incident happened on Tuesday night at about 8:30 p.m. in Munson Township near Paynesville. Seventy-seven-year-old Eugene Wold was driving a pickup northbound on Highway 23 when it struck a deer. Wold was taken to Paynesville Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

16-Apr-2025

Two Vehicle Crash

An Annandale woman was hurt in a two-vehicle crash in Wright County Tuesday morning. The incident happened on Highway 12 in Cokato at around 9:50 a.m. The Minnesota State Patrol says an SUV driven by 41-year-old Israel Salinas-Cruz was eastbound on the highway while an SUV driven by 32-year-old Kelsey Zieman was westbound. The two vehicles collided near Jackson Avenue Southwest. Zieman was taken to Buffalo Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A one-year-old girl in Zieman's vehicle was not hurt. Salinas-Cruz was also not hurt in the crash.

16-Apr-2025

Vandalizations

Authorities in central Minnesota are investigating a string of vandalizations, and they're asking for the public's help. The Meeker County Sheriff's Office said between Saturday and Monday, it took 12 calls "related to damage to property, break-ins, suspicious people walking in town and a burglary alarm" in Dassel. Multiple businesses and a vehicle sustained broken windows and doors and other damage, the sheriff's office said. A social media post from Thirsty's Bar and Grill on Atlantic Avenue said it had been vandalized and showed a shattered window. Sheriff Brian Cruze is asking anyone with information or video footage to call his office at 320-693-5400 or leave an anonymous tip by calling 320-693-5411.