Fergus Falls

Angler invited officers to his house before getting busted with nearly 250 illegal fish

Ronald Wayne Johnson was recently pulling his fishing hut off a lake in Otter Tail County, about an hour from Fergus Falls, when a conservation officer stopped to say hey and see how the catching was.Johnson had gotten a few fish, he said, though not many. The officer, Shane Osborne, asked if Johnso ... More >>

Best Twin Cities albums 2012: Staff lists

The waterfall of opinion flows s'more today with a collection of the best albums released locally in the Twin Cities in 2012. As opposed to the list that appeared in this week's issue, these are 14 distinct opinions on what was impressive in the past year, and a bunch of links to the related stories ... More >>

Michael Williams convicted of stealing Hot Pockets two months after stealing a puppy

In 2012, Michael Williams has allegedly broken into trailers and stolen just everything that wasn't nailed down -- video games, TVs, Hot Pockets, and even a puppy.SEE ALSO:-- Hastings man calls police, reports roommate for stealing ice cream -- Teens face felonies after allegedly stealing cop radio ... More >>

Eight conspirators planned to kill family, burn down house over $200 in pot and some cash

Eight people from the Fergus Falls area face conspiracy to commit murder charges after they launched an ill-fated plan to kill a small-time drug dealer with whom they had a beef.SEE ALSO: Teens face felonies after allegedly stealing cop radio and broadcasting, "F**k the police" But here's the twist ... More >>

Caravan du Nord 2012 tour lineup and schedule

Eight Minnesota cities flung to the far corners of the state will host the second-annual Caravan du Nord shows this fall. Last fall, Low, Trampled by Turtles, members of Doomtree, Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles, Heiruspecs, and many more were among the acts visiting smaller communities outsid ... More >>

Fergus Falls mental hospital faces demolition, receives group hug [PHOTO]

The empty state mental hospital in Fergus Falls, a sprawling castle-like building, is in danger of demolition unless a developer is found by December 14. So the building's advocates, who call themselves Friends of the Kirkbride, gathered around the six-block-long building Saturday in a group hug to ... More >>

Emmylou Harris at the Minnesota Zoo, 6/28/12

See Also:Slideshow: Emmylou Harris, Field Report at the MN ZooField Report on Justin Vernon, Fergus Falls, and folk musicEmmylou Harris With Field Report Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley Thursday, June 28, 2012 To see Emmylou Harris perform live is a beautiful thing. Listening to her records, you hear t ... More >>

Field Report on Justin Vernon, Fergus Falls, and folk music

Chris Porterfield might be considered something of a late bloomer. Never regarding himself as anything more than a "background player" in DeYarmond Edison (the early '00's band he shared with Justin Vernon and Brad Cook, Phil Cook, and Paul Westerlund of Megafaun), Porterfield did what a lot of arti ... More >>

Jay Leno pokes fun at Minnesota newspaper during Headlines segment [VIDEO]

On Monday night, Jay Leno tried to get some laughs at the expense of the Fergus Falls Daily Journal. But because his joke wasn't that funny, he had to settle for consolation claps instead.Leno poked fun at the Journal while running down absurd newspaper content from throughout the nation in his Head ... More >>

Minnesota man arrested while mowing lawn in loincloth, swearing around children

It's a free country and all, but there are still limits.That lesson was learned the hard way on Wednesday afternoon by Matthew Swanson, a 43-year-old resident of Fergus Falls. Swanson was hauled to jail just before 5 p.m. after a neighbor reported that he was mowing his lawn in a loincloth. NIMBY, i ... More >>

Blake Buck attaches engagement ring to fish; girlfriend reels in fiancé

​Only in Minnesota.Last Saturday, Blake Buck took his girlfriend Kellie O'Leary ice fishing on Otter Tail Lake near Fergus Falls. She ended up reeling in a fiancé.Buck and his buddy, Mike Metzger, concocted an elaborate plan to have Kellie reel in a fish with the engagement ring attached, and the ... More >>

Rogue Valley tour diary, vol. 4: The benefits of local press

​Rogue Valley's tour diaries are written by frontman Chris Koza and edited by bandmate Peter Sieve. You can read their first installment here and second here, and third here. 1/18-1/19 Rogue Valley Tour Journal: "New Year Resolution" Minneapolis: 21 degrees. St. Cloud: 17 degrees. Fergus Falls: 15 ... More >>

Timothy Eugene Peterson, a.k.a. "Soul Collector," sentenced for carving up neighbor

Timothy Eugene Peterson: Soul Collector​Timothy Eugene Peterson will have to collect souls in prison from now on. Fittingly just in time for Halloween, Peterson, the self-proclaimed "Soul Collector" who tried to hack up his neighbor, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Peterson was arres ... More >>

Marijuana field found in Maplewood State Park

Marijuana being confiscated by police in Maplewood State Park.​A Maplewood hiker traveled off the beaten path and found himself in a field of green over the weekend. The hiker was walking through Maplewood State Park Sunday afternoon when he decided to step off the trail and explore the park by F ... More >>

Taylor Gehrking, serial peeping tom, busted for eyeing 10-year old girl

Taylor Gehrking: Peeping tom.​Taylor Robert Gehrking has had a busy week. Tuesday night, he was arrested for staring into a 10-year old girl's bedroom from his roof in Fergus Falls. Earlier in the week, he was busted for masturbating in his apartment -- with the door open for all his neighbors, i ... More >>

Ronald Melius arrested after comparing Fergus Falls city officials to Moammar Gadhafi

Ronald Melius has some peculiar ideas of what a dictatorship looks like.​Moammar Qaddafi is the recently deposed Libyan autocrat accused of causing the deaths of thousands of his own citizens during the civil uprising against him. Hal Leland is the mayor of Fergus Falls and the manager of the West ... More >>

Timothy Eugene Peterson, knife-wielding "soul collector," will plead guilty

Timothy Pearson, soul man.​Maybe Timothy Eugene Peterson had the Grim Reaper in mind when he came after neighbor Ivan "Skip" Mallas with a knife, uttering some weird gibberish about being a "soul collector." Or maybe he thought he was an extra in a George Romero movie. But in reality, Peterson ... More >>

Benjamin Stavaas, accused dog throat slasher, heads to trial

Benjamin Stavaas is accused of slashing a dog's throat and leaving it to die.​Benjamin Stavaas may just be the most heartless worm ever to grace a cell at the Otter Tail County jail, standing accused as he does of slitting the throat of a German Shepherd mix last June in Fergus Falls and leaving t ... More >>

Blue Ox Coffee coming soon to 38th & Chicago

Coffee comes to 38th/Chicago.​Following the commercial revival happening on South Nicollet Avenue, things are similarly picking up over on Chicago Avenue. Mike Stebnitz, Thom Pham's former business partner, is redeveloping a building at 38th Avenue and giving foodies a reason to stop on histo ... More >>

Teen murder-suicide: Dylan Taylor Cox killed Tabitha Lee Belmonte near Amor

Dylan Cox's self-portrait, from his Facebook page​Officials have released the names of the two western Minnesota teens who died this week in what appears to be a murder-suicide. On Monday, Dylan Taylor Cox, 17, shot his 16-year-old girlfriend, Tabitha Lee Belmonte multiple times, then turned ... More >>

Timothy Peterson, self-proclaimed "soul collector," carves up neighbor

Timothy Peterson, soul collector​Ivan "Skip" Mallas of Fergus Falls is lucky to be alive after a weird and bloody encounter with a neighbor who appeared at his front door and demanded his soul. The neighbor, Timothy Peterson, came at Mallas with a Bowie knife in the early hours of Sunday morn ... More >>

Conrad Plymouth, Zoo Animal, and pukin' Santa

​There's a helluva lineup at the Kitty Cat Klub this Friday  night, featuring Milwaukee Americana act Conrad Plymouth (whose four-song vinyl EP was the inaugural release for new imprint Ten Atoms, run by local blogger Kyle Matteson and Muzzle of Bees founder Ryan Matteson), and locals Zoo Ani ... More >>

Benjamin Stavaas charged with slitting dog's throat

Photo: Banspy​Remember that story back in June about Star, the shepherd-mix dog that wandered into a Fergus Falls yard with a slit throat, apparently after being left for dead? Police think they've found the perp: Benjamin Stavaas has been charged in Otter Tail County with two felony counts, ... More >>

Fergus Falls dog survives attempted throat slashing

Photo: WikipediaNot everyone can be a dog person.​There are cat people and there are dog people. And then there are people who slit the throats of dogs and leave them in the middle of nowhere to die. Star, a German Sheperd-mix, unfortunately had a recent run-in with that last one. Star stumb ... More >>

Tornado watch in Twin Cities until 9 p.m. [UPDATED]

​Updated: A twister touched down near Fergus Falls, killing one person, and Wadena has been heavily damaged by strong winds, MPR reports. But the worst of the storm gave the Twin Cities a miss. Via NOAA: A tornado watch wsa in effect for the following Minnesota counties, including those in th ... More >>

Chad Daniels

Suspected drunken driver's SUV totals Amish family's buggy

The family, including a 3-month-old baby, were injured, while the driver of a Jeep was not.

Sex offender TVs go to the vets

When Gov. Tim Pawlenty found out that the Moose Lake facility for sex offenders bought two dozen 50-inch flat-screen TVs for the common area, he was quick to call the decision "boneheaded" and told the facility to immediately sell the TVs.

Coming Soon: Burger Time (dozens and dozens of them)

Another burger chain is elbowing its way in to the Twin Cities market. It's Burger Time!

Laugh Lines Comedy Showcase

Stand Up! Records' Prolific 2009

The Twin Cities-based indie comedy label drops four new discs in early '09 -- with a fifth on the way.

Westlaw rises to legal publishing fame by selling free information

St. Paul company outprofits Gannett, McGraw Hill, New York Times

Pistachios are the new peanuts

Aw, nuts. Another viable protein source is suspected of being laced with feces.

Chad Daniels CD Release Party

Minnesota comic Chad Daniels drops his new CD at Acme this week.

Five Questions for... Ryan Anderson of MNBeer.com

Former Franken worker participated in ballot recount

As if the Republicans in Minnesota need another story to help cast doubt on the recount system. We ... More >>

Coleman's clothes a sensitive subject, he's hurt by questioning

Minnesota mostly spared in damning report on the lives of Americans

No More Pencils, No More Books

Rural schools say chronic underfunding is leading them to desperate measures

Fergus Falls vandalized by dyslexic tagger

Cable-access TV in Minnesota: complete links

Wanted: Pat robs a bank

I'm Happy When I'm Purchasing Things

Black Friday at the Mall of America: Wish you were here. Wait a minute, you are here.

A long line at the old soldiers home

Sugar Daddy No More

Sen. Norm Coleman does an about-face on a bill that will hurt Minnesota farmers

Stew Thornley's Book of the Dead

A boneyard baedeker reveals
where the bodies are buried

Meth Myths, Meth Realities

What we know--and what we don't--about methamphetamine's history, chemistry, and impact on users

The Cars of St. Bonifacius

One licensed cab for every three people--and not a fare in sight: Welcome to the Panama of the North

Go Gopher

A University of Minnesota campus landmark faces the exterminators

The Proposed Twins Park: Stadium or Ball Mall?

Take Me Out to the Strip Mall...