On Tuesday afternoon at 5:47, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a farm accident at the location of 26338 County Road 201 in North Fork Township – about 4-miles northeast of Brooten. The caller said there was a man pinned underneath a large corn planter.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they determined that two men were working on a John Deere DB66 planter which was having hydraulic issues. One of the men, 46-year-old Eric Scott Segaar of Brooten, was underneath the planter when it’s believed the hydraulic system failed, causing the planter to suddenly and unexpectedly lower to the ground – pinning Segaar underneath the planter.
Segaar was freed from the planter and provided life saving measures by multiple emergency personnel on the scene, but was pronounced deceased. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Brooten Fire Department, Brooten Ambulance, and Life Link Helicopter.
The Pork Chop Dinner at the Forest City Threshers Dining Hall will be on Sunday from 11-to-1. The menu includes grilled pork chops, au gratin potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw and strawberry shortcake.
Butch Schulte says the cost of the meal is $15, $8 for children 5-to-12, free for children 4 and under and $5 for an extra pork chop. He says proceeds will be used to finish construction in the Women’s Activity Building.
Schulte says they had a great turn-out for their roast beef dinner at the end of March with proceeds going toward the depot building which will get a coat of dark red paint, deck stain and window repairs prior to this summer’s threshing show the 3rd weekend in August. He says Craig Kimmerle will be back at this Sunday’s pork chop dinner to play the piano.
Dave Jutz says they have a model train and they are looking for someone to operate it during their August show. He says they are also looking for ladies willing to do their various crafts in the women’s activity building during the threshing show.
Jutz says the Threshers Building is located about 5-miles northeast of Litchfield – just off of Highway 24.
The Litchfield Library is offering a free mini class on seed planting in a garden or pot – hosted by Meeker County Master Gardener Chris Schlueter and intern Trish Anderson. The class will be offered twice – on Wednesday, May 14th, at 1 p.m., and on Thursday, May 15th, at 6:30 p.m. in the library meeting room. No sign up is necessary.
The informal class will cover the basics of sowing directly into a garden or pot, and tips on how to start seeds early in your home using simple methods, without expensive equipment. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions you may have about seed growing, as well. The same information will be shared at both sessions, so you may attend at the time that works best for your schedule.
The Litchfield Library is in the process of starting a seed library with the help of Chris and Trish, funded by the Friends of the Litchfield Library. More details on this exciting new resource will be announced in the near future. The library is accepting seed donations now, whether saved from your garden or left over from planting your garden. For more details about the class, call 693-2483.
The Minnesota State Patrol responded to a 3-vehicle crash on Wednesday afternoon at 4:55 on Minnesota Highway 22 near 230th Street in Litchfield Township – just south of Litchfield. Two vehicles were traveling south and another vehicle was traveling north when they collided.
A 2004 Toyota Camry – driven by 73-year-old Nancy Anne Putzier of Litchfield – and a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado – driven by 19-year-old Ethan Carl Lee of Litchfield – were both southbound on Highway 22. A 2005 Chrysler Town ‘n’ Country – driven by 47-year-old Dennis Lee Ernest Kuhnau of Litchfield – was northbound on Highway 22.
Putzier received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Meeker Memorial Hospital. Ethan Lee was not injured. Dennis Kuhnau was not injured. Kuhnau had 3 passengers in his vehicle – a 10-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old boy and they were not injured. Also responding to the scene were Litchfield Fire Dept., Mayo Ambulance and the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office.
A federal judge has strongly rebuked Apple, finding that the iPhone maker willfully violated a court injunction in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had ordered Apple to lower the barriers protecting its previously exclusive payment system for in-app digital transactions and allow developers to display links to alternative options. On Wednesday she found that Apple violated a 2021 injunction that, she wrote, sought to “restrain and prohibit the iPhone maker’s anticompetitive conduct” and pricing.
“Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” Gonzalez Rogers said in the ruling, which held Apple in contempt.
She ordered that Apple “no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases.”
Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said on X the company will return Fortnite to Apple's U.S. App Store next week.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Epic first filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2020 alleging that Apple had built an illegal monopoly around its popular App Store that makes billions of dollars annually from a then-exclusive payment system collecting commissions ranging from 15% to 30% on in-app commerce.
Although Gonzalez Rogers had rejected the monopoly claims, she ordered Apple to lower the barriers protecting its previously exclusive payment system for in-app digital transactions and allow developers to display links to alternative options. The Supreme Court rejected Apple's appeal in the case in January 2024.
“In stark contrast to Apple’s initial in-court testimony, contemporaneous business documents reveal that Apple knew exactly what it was doing and at every turn chose the most anticompetitive option,” the judge wrote Wednesday. She accused the company's Alex Roman, vice-president for finance, of “outright” lying under oath.
“Internally, (longtime Apple executive) Phillip Schiller had advocated that Apple comply with the injunction, but (CEO) Tim Cook ignored Schiller and instead allowed Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri and his finance team to convince him otherwise. Cook chose poorly,” Gonzalez Rogers wrote.
The judge referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California to investigate whether criminal contempt proceedings are appropriate.