STEARNS COUNTY

The Toys for Tots campaign in Kandiyohi, McLeod and western Stearns counties is marking its 10th anniversary this year, while the national program, run by the Marine Corps Reserve, is marking 75 years of providing holiday cheer for children. In the region, it is shaping up to be a big year with coordinator Steve Gralish hoping to provide four to five toys per child.

COVID-19 hospitalizations increased by more than 50 people in the most recent Minnesota Department of Health weekly update. The state had a daily average of about 750 new confirmed cases and seven deaths in the latest update.

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle crash reported at 12:54 p.m. Nov. 23 in Wakefield Township. The crash occurred in the 16200 block of Stearns County Road 49 after a vehicle attempting a left turn from the driveway of a residence pulled out in front of another, according to the Stearns County Sheriff's Office.

COVID-19 cases in west central Minnesota counties held steady in the last week, according to the weekly situation update released Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to increase by about 5,000 a week. Hospitalizations increased slightly in the past week, but the number of people in ICUs declined. Fifty-one people died because of COVID-19, while nearly 86,000 people got their booster vaccines.

The most recent state update indicates that Minnesota continues to report more than 5,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 each week. That does not include information about home tests. Nearly 60 people died of the disease during the week covered by the latest report, an increase over the week before.

These are the unofficial results of the 2022 election for county level offices in west central Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.

These are the unofficial results from Nov. 8, 2022, for city-level, county-level, school district and legislative offices in west central Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.

Days before an 'Unsolved Mysteries' episode aired on the disappearance of Joshua Guimond, the Stearns County Sheriff's Office released 28 images discovered on his computer. Lt. Zach Sorenson said the decision to hold on to those photos until days before the episode aired was a 'strategic investigative decision.'