Another Picture-Perfect Day!

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013, 7:01am

Another picture-perfect day is in store for us today in Albert Lea. Our afternoon high should climb to around 74, along with a mix of sun & a few clouds. Rain holds off until Wednesday & Thursday, as an upper level storm system comes through during that time.

Rivers/lakes/streams are all running a high, some even close to bank full. Typical low lying areas may be inundated with water. Levels are currently either reaching peak or on their way back down. However, with rain on the way we'll continue to monitor levels.

The weather settles down for the most part as we close out the week, however cool-than normal temperatures are looking likely for the up coming weekend.

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Operation Kidsafe Comes to Albert Lea

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Monday, May 6th, 2013, 9:31am

(ABC 6 NEWS)-- When a child is abducted, every minute that goes by is crucial to their recovery. Many parents in Albert Lea took the time today to be better prepared, should something like that ever happen to their child.

The feeling of losing a child is a nightmare that no parent wants to go through.

"They mean the world to me and you know if they are out of my sight for a few minutes I start panicking because I know what kind of people are out there,” said Todd Earl of Albert Lea.

Todd Earl is a dad of three little ones.

"You just never know, this is not just small town Albert Lea, this happens everywhere in every small town,” said Earl.

He's also the Deputy Sheriff of Freeborn County and has to deal with the danger of child abduction first hand.

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AM Snow Turns To Rain

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Friday, May 3rd, 2013, 8:05am

A rare, record-shattering snow yesterday left many places in Freeborn County with 10" to 12" of snow! Albert Lea officially picked up 11.5"! This water logged snow snapped branches causing power outages, even some buildings collapsed due to the heavy nature of the snow. Believe it or not, snow depths have since come down a little due to melting and compaction as the day went on.

Light snow will continue this morning, no where near what we saw yesterday though. New snow accumulations through the morning will be mainly east, and light, with 1" to 3" expected. We're not done with the moisture quite yet, as this morning's snow gradually switches to rain by this afternoon, with the rain lasting through Sunday! Liquid totals for the entire event will be nearing 5", leading to concerns on area rivers. We'll be tracking river levels very closely, as we head into the weekend.

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Power Outages Widespread In Southeast Minn., Northeast Iowa

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013, 6:39pm

(ABC 6 NEWS) - Widespread outages are being blamed on the strange May snowstorm rolling through the area.

RPU reported thousands of outages in the Rochester area. Alliant Energy is working to restore power to thousands of customers in the Albert Lea area.

Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services is also continuing to restore power as they too are experiencing wide spread outages.

If anyone sees downed power lines, they are to assume they are energized. Stay away and call your service provider.

Sometimes there's only so much you can do to prepare for a storm. So for utility crews, today's been a day of undoing what Mother Nature has done.

"It's caused some outages" said Austin Utilities General Manager Mark Nibaur.

But with only a handful of outages, Austin Utilities has fared better than most.

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Freeborn County Road Construction

Submitted by James Wilcox, ABC 6 News Anchor

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013, 4:36pm

Drivers can expect single-lane traffic on Highway 65 between the Iowa border and Interstate 35 beginning Tuesday, May 7, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Crews will be resurfacing the road and doing culvert repairs.Flaggers will control traffic throughout the project, which is scheduled to continue through mid- June, weather permitting.

MnDOT urges motorists to always drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones.

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Riverland Names Interim Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013, 5:11pm

(ABC 6 News) - Riverland Community College has named J.C. Turner as the new interim Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The college says Turner has a strong background in media and electronic communications and multimedia technologies. He has a bachelor's degree in speech from Iowa State University as well as a master's degree and Ph.D. in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. He also served as an Associate Dean at St. Cloud State University from 2000 to 2009.

"We are excited to have J.C. as part of our academic team," said Mary Davenport, interim vice president of academic and student affairs. "J.C.'s experience in teaching is important to growing strong faculty, while his experience within the four-year college environment will bring opportunities to enhance collaboration with our university partners."

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New Data Show Anglers Spent $2.4 Billion In Minn.

Submitted by KAAL_Web_Staff

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013, 7:18am

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - New federal data confirm that anglers who enjoy Minnesota's sky blue waters are still a powerful engine for the state's economy.

Data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that direct spending by resident and nonresident anglers in Minnesota totaled $2.4 billion in 2011. That's latest year for which information is available. That amount includes $1.4 billion on equipment and $925 million on trip-related spending. The agency also says angler spending supports about 35,000 Minnesota jobs.

However, the federal also found that angler spending declined by $315 million since the last survey, in 2006. The average amount spent per individual angler dropped by about $300.

The Department of Natural Resources notes that only three states recorded higher spending on sport fishing than Minnesota: Florida, New York and Michigan.

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