Minnesota News

Detroit Lakes mall fire considered accidental

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. (KVRR/KFGO) – A fire that temporarily closed Washington Square Mall has been ruled accidental and unintentional by fire investigators. The Friday afternoon blaze broke out in an apartment connected to the mall. More than 300,000 gallons of water were used to put out the fire. Many of the mall’s businesses sustained smoke and water damage, but several…

Grommesh avoids jail in child pornography case

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – A Moorhead man was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days of electronic home monitoring and seven years of supervised release after pleading guilty to child pornography charges. Twenty-one-year-old Garrett Grommesh earlier pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography and 3 counts of possessing child pornography.  As part of a plea agreement, seven other charges were…

UPDATE: Moorhead shooting suspect arrested in Rochester

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – A Rochester, Minn. man has been arrested for second degree murder in the September 10 shooting death of Abdi Abdi. Moorhead Police say Rochester Police Officers, Olmstead Sheriff’s deputies and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents took Idris Haji-Mohamed into custody without incident in his hometown. Haji-Mohamed is awaiting extradition to Clay County. Abdi’s preliminary autopsy…

Ex-cops accused of violating Floyd’s rights plead not guilty

MINNEAPOLIS  – Four former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against them. A federal grand jury indicted Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao in May for allegedly depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority.  Tuesday’s hearing was held remotely via videoconference. Chauvin appeared…

Man killed in Long Prairie shooting was from Perham

LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. (KVRR/KDLM) – Authorities in Todd County have identified a man who died after he was shot early Sunday. Thirty-three-year-old Antonio Francis Rodriguez Fortes of Perham died early Sunday morning due to multiple gunshot wounds. Two other people were shot and remain hospitalized, their names have not been released. Deputies arrived shortly after 3:30 a.m. Sunday when they…

Sanford in ‘crisis’ as COVID-19 cases surge during critical shortage of nurses

Sanford needs up to 300 nurses in the Fargo region immediately

FARGO (KVRR) – A vice-president at Sanford Health in Fargo says a growing number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients have created a crisis for health care workers across the region. “We really are in a crisis” according to Sanford Medical Officer Dr. Doug Griffin.  “Hospitals across the region are full with COVID and non-COVID patients. Here in Fargo, we are probably…

Most of northern Minnesota wildfire contained

Greenwood Fire (Fox9)ISABELLA, Minn. – Authorities say a vast majority of the Greenwood Lake wildfire in northern Minnesota is contained, one month after lightning ignited the blaze in the Superior National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service reported that the nearly 27,000-acre fire was 67% contained as of Sunday morning. The Forest Service had said last week that the fire was…

Police identify man killed in motorcycle crash

DILWORTH, Minn. (KVRR/KFGO) – Dilworth police have released the name of a Dilworth man who died in a car-motorcycle crash over the  Labor Day weekend.  He was 33-year-old Joshua Johnson. The motorcycle Johnson was riding hit a vehicle that was westbound on Highway 10 at about 2:00 p.m. on Sunday Sept. 5. Police say Johnson was dead when he arrived at…

Moorhead veteran gets surprised for 100th birthday with drive-by celebration

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) — Family, friends and even strangers came together Saturday afternoon to celebrate the 100th birthday of a U.S. Navy veteran from Moorhead. Reflecting on previous birthdays, Martin Pelkey says there isn’t one in particular that stands out. “It’s been one right after the other,” he laughed. Until now, that is. With tears in his eyes, Pelkey reluctantly…