Rural Perham woman found dead at Big Pine Lake residence, man arrested at scene

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A Perham woman was found dead and a man was taken into custody at a residence on Big Pine Lake, east of Perham, on Monday.

According to the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, on July 17 at 10:36 a.m., emergency dispatchers received a call from a third-party that a man had hurt a woman at a residence and that she was dead.

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Otter Tail County SWAT team, then responded to a home near 428th Street and blocked off the area to traffic.

Officers notified nearby residents of the active incident and evacuated them outside the area of operations.

A short time later, 79-year-old Paul Edward Mart, of rural Perham, was apprehended at the scene and a 77-year-old Jean Harriette Mart, of rural Perham, was found dead.

Paul Mart is currently being held at the Otter Tail County Jail  pending formal charges in connection with the incident.

Becker County Board discusses cannabis-use ordinance

The Becker County Board took its first steps in debating a possible cannabis-use ordinance for the county during their regular meeting on July 18.

The draft ordinance has yet to be written, however, Barry Nelson, the chair of the Becker County Board, said he want to get something on the county books in coming weeks since recreational cannabis possession will become legal on Aug. 1.

“I think we need to let people know that public-use, on public property, we don’t want it there,” said Nelson. “If you want to use (cannabis) it should be in your personal space.”

He also said: “We can always amend it later on, but we should have something on the books just saying that we recognize that we have to get a head of this.” 

Pat Oman, city administrator for Detroit Lakes, said he had just returned from a conference of county administrators and a legal expert tried to explain to the group how cannabis can be used under the new law without a public-use ordinance in place.

“Smoking cannabis, or using cannabis can be done in public places, and I want to say this right … smoking a cigarette, if that’s not allowed in a public space than using marijuana is also not allowed in a public space,” said Oman. “They are equivalent, is how it was explained to us.”

Oman said many of his county administrator colleagues at the conference told him they are all playing catch-up with trying to pass new use-ordinances before Aug. 1.

“They are all playing catch up and they are all going as quick as they can,” said Oman. “And we are in kind of the same boat as most counties.”

All of the Becker County board members seemed to want to expedite the ordinance passage and have tentatively planned to hold a public hearing on the during the board’s next meeting on Aug. 1, which could also include a possible approval vote and first-reading of the new cannabis-use ordinance.

A second reading of the ordinance would be required at a separate meeting before the new county regulation could go into effect.

Flip Tastic wins 2023 Xtreme Tippy Cup Tournament; beach soccer and trivia highlight Monday’s Water Carnival events

More than 20, four-person teams gathered at The Pavilion on Monday night to compete in the finest of red-solo cup relays, the Xtreme Tippy Cup tournament, which seems to be quickly becoming a fan favorite of the Northwest Water Carnival.

The teams went head-to-head in a bracketed tournament for about 90 minutes to determine which of the fastest flippers would play in the Xtreme Final Round for the a grand prize buddle of concert tickets among other prizes.

The Xtreme Final Round pitted two teams against one another as normal, but, the competitors then needed each team member to complete a final challenge, which included dressing in flip flops, swimmers goggles and fully-inflated children’s floaties before rolling a set of doubles with a pair of large dice.

In the end, only one team would emerge victorious and be crowned tippy cup champions of the 2023 Northwest Water Carnival, and they were called Fliptastic.

Kendal Pfistzer, captain of Fliptastic, said he’s been playing tippy cup for more than 20 years just for the fun of it and having a big prize just added another fun element.

“I have been playing tippy cup for years at WE Fest,” said Pfistzer. “Every year since 1999, I’ve been to every WE Fest and a WE Fest it’s great, there’s a lot of camaraderie, but this is for a prize. It makes it so much better.”

Pfistzer also said tippy cup is a lot more difficult than it looks because everything rests on the slightest movement from the finger to the red Solo cup. He also had some age old advice for individuals who may be just getting into tippy cup for the first time.

“There’s a lot of skill to it and the key is keeping calm under pressure,” he said. “You can’t let the other team distract you. Just do your part is the key.”

During the tippy cup tournament, more than 50 kids took to City Beach for the Water Carnival’s beach soccer event.

The event featured teams of various roster sizes and included young youth soccer players to high school aged kids.

Winners of the beach soccer event were awarded complimentary coupons from Dairy Queen in Detroit Lakes.

Back inside the Pavilion, following the tippy cup clean up, nearly a dozen trivia teams secured their tables and tested their knowledge against 30 questions for the highest possible point total.

The winning trivia team, the Mainstream Media Masters, which was made up of current and former members of the Detroit Lakes Tribune and KDLM News, scored a 23 out of a possible 32 points to claim the 2023 Water Carnival trivia title and the $350 cash prize.

April Asleson, event organizer for Water Carnival trivia, said her and the other Jaycees members have been working overtime to make all the events at this year’s Northwest Water Carnival memorable for all of the participants and attendees. She also said the Jaycees are always looking for new members to add to their team.

“We have a great group of people and we all work really well as a team, together,” said Asleson. “We’re very cohesive … and we make things happen and we get things done.”

She also said the volunteer service the Jaycees provide is fun work and being in service to others is a noble calling.

“This is the work and it’s fun work, we have a lot of fun,” she said. “The service of humanity is the best thing in life.”

The Water Fights, Junior Water Fights and Ice Cream Social are at the DL City Park tonight and you can find the full schedule of events online at: DLJaycees.com.

Morrison County deputy recovering after being struck by a vehicle outside a music festival

A Morrison County Sheriff’s Deputy that was hit and seriously injured by a teenage driver in an SUV Saturday night is on the mend.

Morrison County Deputy Brady Pundsack was struck while directing traffic on Highway 25 near Pierz, Minnesota as a concert was letting out from Freedom Fest.

He was airlifted to CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Morrison County Sheriff Shawn Larsen says Pundsack had successful surgery on his neck and has been taking a few steps here and there. 

Pundsack is currently listed in stable condition.

Larsen says the sheriff’s office and Deputy Pundsack’s family are grateful for the care he received at the scene and at St. Cloud Hospital, and they appreciate the prayers and support from members of the community.

Neither the 17-year-old driver of the SUV that hit Pundsack, nor their passenger, were injured during the crash.

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