THURSDAY- August 17, 2023
Cook County Officials issued a news release on Monday the 14th stating that the Cook County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, US Forest Service Law Enforcement and Cook County Search and Rescue responded to Brule Lake which is approximately 30 miles north of Grand Marais where canoeist discovered a body, that responding agencies identified as 36-year-old Justin Michael Sperl of Marshall. Sperl had been the subject of a statewide missing persons that was issued by the Minnesota BCA on the 10th of August. A Cook County Deputy had made contact with Sperl on the 11th after finding his vehicle at the Brule Lake Landing. Sperl had told law enforcement he was fine and was only out canoeing. As of the 14th, it is unclear when Sperl died. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the body discovery and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office is examining Sperl’s body to help determine the circumstances surrounding his death. Justin Sperl was a 32-year-old resident of Marshall, Minnesota. He worked as a paraprofessional at Marshall Public Schools. Sperl studied Advertising at Wayne State College and graduated from St. James Senior High School. He was originally from New Ulm, Minnesota but had been living in Marshall.
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Jackson County Sheriff Shawn Haken reported that scams are prevalent and getting more and more realistic. The Sheriff’s Department received a report of a scam medical letter that a local resident received claiming that their personal information had been compromised. The Sheriff stated the would be victim did the correct steps by following up with Sanford Hospital to determine if it was legitimate and discovered it was clearly a scam. Always check out the source of the threat BEFORE giving any personal information freely.
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Mountain Lake Police Department reported 18 calls in the week of August 7th to the 13th. Officers sent out 8 ordinance violation warnings, handled two separate domestic issues, had two separate illegal people camping calls, and two separate suspicious vehicle calls. Mt Lake Officers took reports on dog bite, parking issue, a dog at large and someone running over traffic cones in a construction zone. An officer responded to an attempted suicide call. Officers also responded to a report of Juveniles knocking and ringing door bells and conducted a welfare check. Citations were issued to a driver for driving after revocation, a curfew violation to a male juvenile and officers assisted the Minnesota State Patrol with a traffic stop.
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The Cottonwood County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday. Tom Suppes, MCIT Risk Management Consultant, met with the board to review the 2023 Member Report. The Commissioners approved all conditional use permits submitted at this meeting with conditions. Commissioner Schultz led a discussion regarding a Letter of Map Revision (LMOR) for the Des Moines River and Perkins Creek revised floodway. The Board moved to terminate the contract with John Hoscheid for parcel number 21.417.0370 due to non-compliance of contract. The Commissioners accepted the New Commercial Construction Tax Abatement application from Scooter’s Coffee and set the public hearing date for September 5, 2023, at 9:02am. The commissioners approved employee promotions and hire for a Deputy Recorder. Linda Fransen and Pam Gahler, Historical Society, reviewed the year-end report and gave their 2024 budget request. The Commissioners moved to increase rental rates 5% for 2024 as follows: DVHHS (Human Services) – $101,532.94; DVHHS (Public Health) – $41,507.80; SWCD – $24,072.00; and United Community Action – $11,214.00.
The Board set extra meeting dates as follows: Special Meeting – Tuesday, August 22 at 8:00 a.m., Special Meeting – Tuesday, August 29 following the 8:00 a.m. public hearing, Work Session – Thursday, August 31 at 10:00 a.m., and the September 5 Regular Board Meeting will be considered an all-day meeting.
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The American Lutheran Church will be having a Block Party on Sunday August 20th from 5-7pm. The Community is invited to the Church parking lot for free hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and drinks. There will be lots of games and fellowship.
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Anyone with a 2023 Minnesota fishing or hunting license can receive a free special edition orange Minnesota Twins logo cap and a ticket discount from the Minnesota Twins, through a partnership between the Twins and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Upcoming DNR Days at Twins games this season are:
- Saturday, Aug. 19 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 6:10 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. New York Mets, 1:10 p.m.
Promotion details, instructions for purchasing tickets, and information on buying a fishing or hunting license are available on the Minnesota DNR Days webpage (mndnr.gov/twins). Tickets must be purchased ahead of time using a special DNR link (twins.com/dnr) to receive this offer.
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