Rough landing at Fergus Falls airport damages plane and runway signage
Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A routine flight turned into a minor aviation mishap on Monday evening when a vintage float plane touched down at the Fergus Falls Airport.
On Oct. 23 at 5:48 p.m., Del Hoess, the pilot of a 1947 Stinson Voyager float plane with tail number N9493K, completed what should have been a routine landing, however, he accidentally hit one of the landing marker signs during deceleration, leading to damage to the signage and plane, but no injuries.
Float planes have wheels and normally land on grass.
According to the crash report, Hoess landed the float plane, but failed to keep its wheels down during the landing, which resulted in an unconventional touchdown.
The mishap left the aircraft’s pilot side “toon” wheel covering damaged, with two holes punched into it.
Additionally, the “13-31” runway signage was broken off from its cement pad due to the impact.
Local authorities documented the aftermath with photographs of the damage and plan to send copies to City Hall.
MnDOT seeks public input over proposed Fergus Falls rest area on I-94
The Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeking public comments for their final site selection of a new rest area along Interstate 94 near Fergus Falls.
The proposed rest area will replace the closed rest areas at Hansel Lake and Lake Iverson.
The MnDOT Safety Rest Area Program determined the best spot for a rest area near Fergus Falls would be along Interstate 94, between mile marker 50 to 60.
MnDOT has narrowed that 10-mile stretch to three potential sites between mile markers 52 and 53, and a possible fourth site a few miles south of I-94 at mile marker 60 along Highway 59.
Members of the project team are also taking emails and phone call responses from residents.
- Anthony Chevalier: Anthony.Chevalier@state.mn.us / 651-470-0115
- Jennifer Krantz: Jennifer.Krantz@state.mn.us / 651-238-8977
The new rest area is expected to be a Class 1 rest area, which is the largest rest area building, open 24 hours a day, and will include picnic facilities, lighted walkways, a tourism center, pet exercise area and a children’s playground.
Currently, MnDOT operates 43 Class 1 rest areas across the state with a majority of the facilities located along Minnesota’s interstate highway system.
A final site selection report is expected before the end of the year.
1 dead in Thief River Falls house fire Monday night
One man is dead after a house fire in Thief River Falls Monday night.
Emergency personnel from Thief River Falls Police and Fire and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office responded to the fire at 504 Knight Ave N. just before 6:00 p.m. Monday.
The man’s body was discovered inside the residence as crews were putting out the fire. His name is being withheld pending notification of family.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation and the State Fire Marshal is assisting. Authorities say foul play is not suspected.
2 West Fargo residents injured in Highway 59 crash Monday evening
Two people were hospitalized following a two-vehicle crash along Highway 59 in Becker County on Monday evening.
On Oct. 23 at around 6 p.m., 43-year-old man Robert Delmar Pearson, of West Fargo, was driving south on Highway 59 with a passenger, 69-year-old Carol Maryjane Gustafson, when they struck another vehicle that was crossing the highway in Callaway Township.
The other vehicle, a Ford Taurus was driven by an unidentified 17-year-old girl.
The 17-year-old was transported to a Fargo hospital and her condition is unknown.
Pearson sustained non-life-threatening injuries while his passenger, Gustafson, was taken to a Fargo hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
All three vehicle occupants were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.
Fergus Falls man faces multiple felonies stemming from disturbance at Fergus Falls trailer park
A Fergus Falls man is facing multiple charges including DWI, driving after cancelation, controlled substance possession and obstruction of a legal process stemming from an incident that began at a Fergus Falls trailer park Monday night.
On Oct. 23, just before 9 p.m., officers were called to a disorderly conduct report at the Green Acres Mobile Home and RV Park involving a disagreement between two parties.
After diffusing the initial dispute, officers observed 47-year-old Jamie Lee Moe get behind the wheel of a green Toyota and leave the scene.
A short time later, a green Toyota was reported to have run two vehicles off the road near Lakeview Estates.
Moe, then, went to a residence on Green Acres Lane in Fergus Falls, reportedly to confront an individual regarding the possible theft of his house keys.
The situation escalated, resulting in a disturbance and the subsequent arrival of law enforcement.
Further investigation revealed that Moe was driving with a canceled driver’s license, which led to his arrest.
Moe now faces a litany of charges including first-degree DWI, obstruction of legal process, fifth-degree controlled substance possession of methamphetamine and driving after cancellation.
He is currently being held at the Otter Tail County Detention Facility pending his first court appearance.
2 people injured in ATV crash near Little Falls
Two people suffered unknown injuries near Little Falls on Friday night when the side-by-side ATV they were on struck a deer.
The collision happened on Oct. 20 just before 10 p.m., at Twin Lakes Road near 180th Street, located about four miles northwest of Little Falls in Darling Township.
The Morrison County Sheriff’s Office says the ATV went into the ditch and rolled after striking the deer.
The driver, 31-year-old Laura Jacobs of Little Falls, and a passenger, 36-year-old Todd Jacobs of Little Falls, were taken to St. Gabriel’s Hospital by ambulance.
Man shot in leg while deer hunting with daughter in Sherburne County
A man was rushed to the hospital after being shot in the leg while deer hunting with his daughter on Sunday morning.
The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office was called at 7:50 a.m. on Oct. 22 to the 18000 block of 118th Street Southeast in Becker Township.
The 45-year-old man was supervising his 12-year-old daughter as she participated in the special Minnesota Youth Deer Hunt.
According to investigators, the girl shot a deer and accidentally fired a second time, hitting her father in the leg.
A family member used a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding until first responders arrived. Becker firefighters assisted with getting the man out of the deer stand.
He was taken to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale.
This is the second hunting accident reported over the weekend involving a juvenile injuring an adult during the youth firearms deer season.
Investigators find meth at home of police shooter near Princeton
Investigators found methamphetamine and traces of the stimulant while searching the home of a Minnesota man who’s now charged with attempted murder in the shootings of five drug task force officers.
According to a search warrant released Monday, investigators suspected 64-year-old Karl Thomas Holmberg and his wife of selling methamphetamine when they raided their house in Glendorado Township, near Princeton, on Oct. 12.
Five officers suffered nonfatal injuries when the gunfire broke out, while a sixth officer who was present in the home was unhurt. Holmberg was injured in his foot. He was charged the next day with six counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and six counts of first-degree assault of a peace officer. His wife has not been charged.
An inventory returned with the warrant released Monday said that investigators from a regional violent crime task force found a crystal-like substance that tested positive for meth in a plastic bag inside a cigarette pack, and also in a prescription pill bottle with Holmberg’s name on it.
Both items were found in the northwest bedroom of the house after the gun battle.
The inventory said they also found traces of meth in empty containers on a dresser in the bedroom, in a container found on the headboard of a bed in the room and on the headboard itself. The inventory did not give the quantities of drugs that were found. But it also listed two digital scales found in the bedroom, as well as a handgun, a short-barreled shotgun, ammunition and two shotgun barrels.
A second warrant released last Wednesday showed that a fire broke out in the same bedroom during the standoff between the initial gunfire and Holmberg’s arrest nearly four hours later. It said Holmberg exited, look back, then went back inside before eventually being taken into custody. That warrant stated that it appeared that a headboard in the bedroom had been burning.
Holmberg remained jailed Monday with bail set at $6 million without conditions, or $3 million with standard conditions such as a ban on possessing weapons or ammunition.
His application for a public defender was approved late last week after an initial rejection, but he still did not have an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
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