Gov. Tim Walz authorized the Minnesota National Guard on Monday to provide assistance as Hurricane Milton intensifies and approaches Florida.

The deployment of the state’s National Guard was announced the same day the National Hurricane Center upgraded Milton to a powerful Category 5 hurricane.

Last week, Walz signed another executive order authorizing a response team to North Carolina, which has been devastated by Hurricane Helene.

“Minnesota will provide every resource we can to support communities across the south that have been devastated this hurricane season,” Walz said in a Monday statement. “In this time of crisis, Minnesota’s first responders have demonstrated unyielding dedication. Their efforts are making a critical difference.”

In North Carolina and South Carolina, the Minnesota National Guard, St. Louis County Mobile Command Post and the Minnesota All Hazard Incident Management Team are currently on site helping with recovery efforts.

The Minnesota National Guard is currently working with the state Department of Public Safety’s division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to determine Florida’s needs and the mission’s objectives. The Minnesota Guard will remain in Florida until Nov. 6, or until assistance is no longer needed, whichever comes first.

— Staff report

2 motorcyclists killed amid 5 deaths in state

Two motorcyclists were killed in weekend crashes in Anoka County, adding to the toll of Minnesota motorcycle operators who lost their lives in recent days.

At least five deaths have been reported statewide since Thursday, according to state and local authorities.

In the Anoka County crashes, Kelly Matthew Linder, 49, of Albert Lea, was killed shortly before noon Saturday in Oak Grove.

According to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, Linder was apparently making a left turn in the 3200 block of Viking Boulevard Northwest when an eastbound SUV struck him from behind. Linder was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shortly after noon Sunday, Bradley Alan Brockel, 52, of Ramsey, was killed in Anoka when his motorcycle left the roadway on westbound Green Haven Parkway near Thurston Avenue. Brockel was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

In the other fatalities:

•A motorcyclist was killed shortly before 7 a.m. Monday in a collision with an SUV at West Arrowhead and Rice Lake roads in Duluth. The motorcyclist, who was pronounced dead at the scene, wasn’t immediately identified.

•A motorcyclist was killed shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday in Minnetonka when the operator, heading westbound on U.S. 12 from Carlson Parkway, struck a curb. Garrett Mathew Dawson, 58, of Becker, was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, a 58-year-old Buffalo woman, wasn’t seriously injured.

•A motorcyclist was killed shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday in Winona County when he left northbound Minnesota 74 near Park Road and crashed. Ross Anthony Stensrud, 61, of Rochester, was pronounced dead at the scene.

All the crashes remain under investigation by the State Patrol or local authorities.

— Staff report

Ranger dies during weekend water rescue

A U.S. park ranger died Sunday while responding to a call from a distressed civilian boat on Namakan Lake in St. Louis County.

While towing the civilian vessel late Sunday morning, the National Park Service law enforcement ranger’s boat capsized, according to a news release from Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota. High winds and rough water were reported.

The three people being assisted fell into the water and swam to safety, but the ranger couldn’t be found.

The ranger’s body was recovered from the lake at approximately 3:20 p.m. after a three-hour search. The release said the ranger’s name is being withheld until all notifications are made.

The incident is under investigation.

— Forum News Service

Judge sides with city in private airstrip dispute

Officials in Afton recently got a win in the city’s ongoing case against the owner of a private airstrip.

Washington County District Judge Doug Meslow last month granted Afton’s motion to dismiss the complaint brought by Jeffrey Walker, who city officials allege has been operating an illegal airstrip on his Afton property for decades. All claims against the city were dismissed with prejudice, according to Meslow’s Sept. 26 court order.

Meslow also granted the city’s motion for judgment on pleadings for injunctive relief based on a counterclaim. The city “is entitled to injunctive relief forbidding future violations and requiring active efforts to prevent violations of the Court’s order,” Meslow wrote.

Walker began using his property at 1022 Indian Trail South “as an airstrip in 2002 and has continued such use,” according to Meslow’s ruling.

Takeoffs and landings of airplanes are illegal in Afton, except in the case of an emergency, and city ordinance prohibits airports, airstrips and heliports within city limits.

Walker has 60 days from the date the order was issued to appeal.

His attorney, Joe Vaccaro, said Friday that Walker intends to appeal. “We disagree with the judge’s decision,” Vaccaro said.

In 2023, a Washington County jury acquitted Walker on charges of illegally operating an airstrip within city limits because of a lack of video and photographic evidence.

— Mary Divine

Harvest Fest is all in on the giant pumpkins

The organizers of Stillwater Harvest Fest have found the perfect recipe for a successful fall festival: giant pumpkins, giant pumpkins and, yes, even more giant pumpkins.

“Giant pumpkins make people smile,” said Cassie McLemore, event coordinator. “They are a smashing good time. It’s all for fun, and fun for all.”

The 19th annual Stillwater Harvest Fest, this weekend in Lowell Park in downtown Stillwater, will feature a giant pumpkin weigh-off, a giant pumpkin regatta, where participants paddle hollowed-out gourds down the St. Croix River, and a giant pumpkin drop from a 100-foot crane.

This summer’s rain and a couple of hailstorms mean the likelihood of a world record again being set at Stillwater Harvest Fest are slim, but there will still be several giant pumpkins weighing in at more than 2,000 pounds, said McLemore, who works for Summer Tuesday Inc., the organization that puts on Harvest Fest, Summer Tuesdays and Best Wings in the Valley.

A free shuttle will be provided from Stillwater Middle School, Cub corporate headquarters and Pioneer Park.

The Stillwater Harvest Fest takes place 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, at Lowell Park in downtown Stillwater. Admission is free.

For more information, go to harvestfeststillwater.com.

— Mary Divine