Abby Faulkner stalked her colleagues with a camera to check out what they’re wearing.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Protesters settling in to occupy the Hennepin County Government Center plaza decided to break away for about an hour Friday afternoon and march to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Protesters and authorities say there weren’t any problems. Police even stopped traffic for it.

The protesters are standing up in solidarity with nationwide demonstrations against Wall Street. There are varied causes, including economic disparity and unemployment.

St. Paul resident Mary Murphy was among the marchers. She says it was a positive march. At the Federal Reserve, the group shouted chants such as: “This is what democracy looks like.”

They then returned to the plaza. A rally is planned there at 5 p.m.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights

WINONA – The SCSU Husky Sports Band traveled for the first time to a road football game on Saturday.  They went with the team to Winona.

Unfortunately, the extra support was not enough to help the football team, the #9 ranked Huskies were upset by Winona State.

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Read our story about the game

Blyleven, who won a World Series with Pittsburgh in 1979 and Minnesota in 1987, won 287 games and tossed 60 shutouts in his 22-year career.

Blyleven’s father, who died of Parkinson’s in 2004, fell in love with baseball and the Dodgers after the family moved to Southern California in the late 1950s.

“I wish he was here,” Blyleven said at Sunday’s induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. “But you know, mom, I know he’s up there looking down right now.”

The starting pitcher was elected on his 14th try.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Humphries has quietly held a basketball camp at the Boys and Girls Clubs in St. Cloud for five years now.  It wasn’t until this year that everyone wanted a piece of his time.  Humphries says it’s taken some getting use to.

Humphries’ mom, Debra, says the sudden fame has been challenging for the whole family.

Today’s (Friday) basketball camp required police barricades and heighten security.

Meanwhile, Humphries’ fiance Kim Kardashian was at the event.  She watched, signed a few autographs,  and posed for pictures, but didn’t speak to the crowd or the media.

Humphries has close ties to the community, his grandparents still live here and his mom, Debra, graduated from Tech high school.

Humphries’ grandparents, Don and Donna Lemke, are the founders of the Central Minnesota Boys and Girls Clubs.

Humphries says his fiance enjoys coming with him to the area.

The pair were followed by a film crew for the “E” entertainment network.

As for the business of basketball and the current lockout of the players in the NBA, Humphries says he doesn’t really want to talk about it, but hopes they can get back to playing soon.

They were back for lunch today while Humphries’ is in town hosting a basketball clinic for kids at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota.

– Photos by Ashli Gerdes

Here’s a look back at a long-time historic restaurant in downtown St. Cloud.

D.B. Searle’s is a popular nightspot and restaurant in downtown St. Cloud, named for one of the founding figures of the city.

D.B.  Searle was born in New York in 1840.  A graduate of Columbia Law School.  He came to St. Cloud in 1871.  He was St. Cloud’s city attorney for 6 years and Stearns County attorney for two years.

One of Searle’s claims to fame — he was in attendance at Ford’s Theater the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

He built the Searle building which still stands in downtown St. Cloud for $38,000. Over the years, the building housed two banks, Masonic Lodge, Pan Motor Company offices, and a funeral home.

In 1978 D.B. Searle’s Restaurant and Bar opened, by Bill Naegele.  In 1984 bought by Jeff Celusta and his wife Holly.  In 1989, fire set off the sprinkler system, some miner smoke damage and water damage.

In April 1998, D.B. Searle’s closed.  In August of 1998, Tom Emmer bought and opened the restaurant again.  In 2007, John Timmerman and Jocar purchased D.B. Searle’s and are the current owners.

I recently had dinner at Searle’s, a wonderful chicken Alfredo pasta and Raspberry pudding for dessert, that could feed 3 people.  A delightful evening of great food and atmosphere.

Dick Nelson talked with D.B. Searle’s manager Matt Novak about the building, its significance and its use today. Listen to his interview below.

Klug says the towns around St. Cloud area returned to normal around 9:00 p.m.  However, street crews cleared debris in St. Cloud well into the night.  It appears the hospital neighborhood was among the hardest hit.  The damage is mostly in the form of downed trees.  There are some reports of structural damage, but those reports are not widespread.  Red Cross volunteers were going house to house right now getting a more specific estimate of the damaged areas.

Klug says there’s a confirmed tornado touchdown near Rockville.  Residents in that area report hearing a train-like sound.  The damage in the St. Cloud metro area was most likely caused by straight-line winds.  Several reports from listeners of street flooding, large hail, downed trees, and power outages.

Sauk Rapids officials were busy cleaning-up downed power lines.  They were urging residents to stay home and away from areas that could have live wires.

Xcel Energy is reporting about 19,000 customers were without power in the Central Minnesota area at 8:00 p.m.

East Central Energy reports about 16,000 of their customers were without power at 8:30 p.m.  They estimate 24-26 hours before power can be fully restored to all of their customers.

There were reports of flooding on Highway 10, which backed up traffic during the storm, the State Patrol says by 8:00 p.m. the flood waters had receded and traffic was flowing once again.

McLeod County Emergency Management Director Kevin Mathews says the roof was torn off a Hutchinson animal medical center, and two semis were blown off highways.

Our WJON Facebook friends have also posted more pics and videos on our Facebook wall. Check them out as well.

And our friends at the St. Cloud Times put together a great video of the storm and its aftermath.
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ST. CLOUD – St. Cloud has five new police officers patrolling the streets.

The officers were sworn-in this (Monday) afternoon during a ceremony at the Police Headquarters.  They are: Janelle Graff, Jacob Lanz, Megan McDonald, Ryan Sayre, and Darin Vossen.

Mayor Dave Kleis says there were a lot of people who applied for the jobs, and these are the cream of the crop.

Despite ominous storm clouds at the beginning, St. Cloud successfully rounded out Granite City days with the Outdoor Expo and Family Fun Day, held Sunday at Lake George.

Here’s a photographic smattering of the day’s activities.

And you can check out our other Granite City Days coverage, too.

The National Weather Service lowered its crest projection Saturday afternoon as the river leveled off. Meteorologist Ken Simosko says the change was based on weakening flow rates upstream.

Simosko says the river may not crest until 1 a.m. Sunday, but it’s only expected to rise a tiny bit.

It was a rare bit of good news for Minot, where more than 4,000 homes have been flooded.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Mayor Curt Zimbelman said city leaders expect more than 4,000 homes will have significant water damage by day’s end.

About a fourth of the city’s residents were evacuated earlier this week because of a swift rise in the Souris. The river broke a 130-year-old record Friday and is expected to go more than 6 feet higher by this weekend.

City leaders say a top priority is getting a federal declaration that would qualify Minot residents for individual aid. They say that would allow FEMA to set up centers to begin working on transitional housing for flood victims.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Check out images of the flooding below.