WORTHINGTON (LEARFIELD) – New public hunting land will be dedicated Friday afternoon (10/14)  in Nobles Country as part of the Minnesota Governor's Pheasant Hunting Opener. Nearly 300 hundred acres will be added to the Ransom Ridge Wildlife Management Area near Rushmore.   The land features rolling hills and prairie restorations that buffer the Little Rock River. The Governor's Pheasant Opener returns this weekend after being cancelled the past two seasons due to COVID-19.  This is the second time the Worthington area has hosted the event.

UNDATED (LEARFIELD) - More than a dozen commercial turkey facilities in Minnesota reported cases of high-path avian flu during September. Minnesota Turkey Growers Association executive director Ashley Kohls says this year’s outbreak is somewhat similar to 2015. "But what's changed from 2015 is the understanding of how to respond to high-path AI," said Kohls. She adds that now state and federal partners continue to pool and refine their resources. "If they have the unfortunate situation of finding high-path AI in their flocks, they’re able to respond in a timely manner so they are able to get back on track with turkey [...]

PORTER (KMHL) – The Highway 68 detour between Porter and Taunton was removed yesterday, however, the detour from Marshall to Minneota remains in place. The Minnesota Department of Transportation says drainage repairs near Porter were part of the project – that portion of the work has been completed, however the culvert replacements and shoulder widening along 11 miles Highway 68 from North Grant Street in Minneota to the Redwood River in Marshall continue. MnDOT still has not said when that work will be completed.

MARSHALL (KMHL) – A Marshall man is dead following a farm implement accident that occurred just south of Marshall Monday afternoon. According to a press release from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department, Edward Gary Wyffels was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. There are not a lot of other details available at this time. The sheriff’s department says the cause of the crash is under investigation.

ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) - Republican candidate for governor Scott Jensen is using the 'Feeding our Future' fraud scheme to go after Governor Tim Walz. Jensen is calling for former Legislative Auditor James Nobles to investigate the Walz administration's involvement in what he calls "the cover-up" of the 250-million-dollar scandal. "So I would ask that we call for a special investigator to give a report by October 17th so that Minnesotans can chew on it," said Jensen. "And then at the debates on October 18th and 28th we can a conversation including that topic." Jensen's push comes after a judge said Friday [...]

EAST LAKE LILLIAN (LEARFIELD)  --  A weekend crash in Kandiyohi County has left two drivers dead and a passenger hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Emergency responders were called to the two-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon in East Lake Lillian Township.  Both drivers were killed when the two S-U-Vs collided – 86-year-old August Faber of Lake Lillian and 35-year-old Jacob Dahlheimer of Faribault. Eighty-three-year-old Gertrude Faber of Lake Lillian was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment.

CANBY (KMHL) – The Minnesota State Patrol says alcohol was a factor in a crash that left a Hendricks woman dead and seriously injured two others, south of Canby Friday evening. Maria Christine Hanson, 32, of Hendricks, was killed when the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu she was driving collided with a 2017 Ford F-150 pickup along Highway 75 south of Canby. The patrol says alcohol was a factor for Hanson at the time of the crash. The driver of the pickup, Steven Bednarek, 42, of Canby, and a passenger in the pickup, Sarah Bednarek, 42, of Canby were transferred to Sanford Health [...]

UNDATED (LEARFIELD) - House Republican Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (DOWT) says the Walz administration didn't do enough to end payments to the fraudulent "Feeding our Future" program -- the target of a federal investigation resulting in over four-dozen indictments. The state Education Department suspended payments -- but the program sued, alleging discrimination, and a judge ordered the payments be resumed.  Daudt says state officials should have appealed. "It's one thing if you want to say, well, we caught it as quickly as we could and then we stopped it as quickly as we could," said Daudt. "They paid 200 million dollars [...]

GRANITE FALLS (KMHL) – The body of a missing 26-year-old Granite Falls man was found Tuesday morning. According to the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Department, Jonathan Knutson left his home around 2:45 Saturday morning. Authorities say Knutson’s body was found on Tuesday after a search that used drones, dogs and a multitude of agencies and rescue workers. Authorities say there is no foul play suspected and there is no danger to the public, but the investigation into Knutson’s death is ongoing.

ST. PAUL (LEARFIELD) - Anyone with information on the $250 million Feed the Future Fraud case is urged to contact U-S Attorney Andrew Luger's office or the local FBI. That's in the wake of Tuesday's announcement that at least 47 defendants are charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery in the case. Minneapolis FBI Agent Michael Paul says it was a complicated scam, but serious scam. "What is spelled out in the charges details a blatant display of greed the programs at stake were created to feel to feed children these individuals were stealing taxpayer funds taking key support [...]