Morning Newswatch with Jay Caldwell

The annual Catfish Festival on the Chain of Lakes in Richmond has been cancelled this year due to ice conditions. The event was scheduled for February 9-10. The official website for the event indicates fishing tickets will be honored for next year's event.

The Sherburne County Sheriff's Department are reporting a fraud where someone received a phone call claiming to to be a local police department official saying the victim missed a court date and needed to pay fines to avoid facing criminal charges.

Bird watching is gaining in popularity in Central Minnesota. Jerry Carlson is a longtime fan of the outdoors and that includes bird watching. He joined me on WJON to get into detail on the dos and don'ts when it comes to bird watching.

The Twins Caravan is underway throughout Twins Territory and will be making a stop in St. Cloud Monday January 29. Twins Vice President of Communications and Content, Dustin Morse, joined me on WJON.

The St. Cloud Police Department are reporting a stolen vehicle on the 700 block of 4th Street South. Alicia Mages from Tri-County Crimestoppers says the vehicle is a 2010 gray Kia Soul with Minnesota license FDC 656. The vehicle has a broken back window and tail light.

Late January, early February is the typical peak for respiratory illnesses/viruses in Minnesota. Dr. George Morris from CentraCare joined me on WJON. He explains a couple weeks after the holidays is when these illnesses spike and that leads to more people needing hospitalization.

Melrose is a town of 3,598 people in western Stearns County along Interstate 94 and Highway 52. The town was named after Melrose, Scotland because the early settlers were Scottish.

Melrose is a town in western Stearns County in Central Minnesota with a population of 3,598. Melrose is along Interstate 94 and Highway 52 with other access points coming from County Road 13 and Main Street.

The Minnesota deer harvest was down this year compared to last year by approximately 8%. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He explained the DNR released the final 2023 numbers and with all the seasons combined Minnesota had 158,746 deer harvested.

January is human trafficking awareness month and a local organization is working with trafficked individuals to help them get out of it. Kate Lepage is the East Central Safe Harbor Regional Navigator and Program Manager with Lutheran Social Services in St. Cloud and Brainerd.