by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com St. Joseph Catholic School and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Sartell, along with their sister schools in the Catholic Community Schools system, will begin distance learning Nov. 30 with the hopes for a possible return to in-person learning Jan. 19.  “We know that people will be gathering over the holidays, although hopefully to a

by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com  A suspect who assaulted a state trooper and spurred a daylong manhunt that locked down Saint John’s University and Preparatory School campus Nov. 19 faces six felony charges. According to reports from the Minnesota State Patrol, Devan Dajon Wilson, 29, was arrested without incident at around 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening on the campus of Saint

by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com A free phone app is the latest tool announced by the Governor’s Office to help slow the spread of COVID in Minnesota. In the press briefing, Tarek Tomes, Minnesota’s chief information officer, shared details about the app called COVIDaware MN. COVIDaware MN runs on smartphones and notifies people who have downloaded the app and opted

by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com UPDATE 7:44 p.m.: The State Patrol is reporting that a suspect is in custody after a daylong manhunt near St. Joseph on the campus of St. John’s University.   Devan Dajon Wilson, 29, was arrested without incident at around 6:30 Thursday evening near Sagatagan Lake on the campus of St. John’s University.   The manhunt

by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com Gov. Tim Walz announced a four-week dial back to control the spread of COVID-19 Nov. 18. This new guidance, which took effect Friday, Nov. 20, pauses all adult and youth sporting events, in-person social gatherings, dining, sports and fitness centers. Retail, salons, places of worship and other activities may continue to operate under current restrictions.

by Mike Knaak news@thenewsleaders.com A majority of parents are satisfied with how Sartell-St. Stephen schools are handling hybrid and distance learning this fall, but results of the district’s latest survey shows room for improvement in communication. And parents and educators agree they’d like to have students back in school full time. The district received 1,270 responses, representing about a third

by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com Holly Zabinski’s initial anger has subsided since the announcement that St. Cloud Area School District will move to distance learning Nov. 30 for preschool and elementary students. “I anticipated it but was still disappointed,” she said. “It seemed like Kennedy wasn’t having as many COVID cases or we weren’t hearing about them. It wasn’t welcome

by Heidi L. Everett news@thenewsleaders.com Used to be that several people vied to be mayor of St. Stephen. In 2020, not so. Long-time resident Lisa Marvin won an election in which nobody even put their name on the ballot. Marvin received 48 of the 185 write-in votes that were cast on election day. The second largest number of write-in votes