One person injured in roll over accident on Highway 53 near Perham

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

A resident of West Leaf Lake, north of Henning, was scammed out of $15,000. The incident was reported to sheriff deputies on Oct. 6.

Several months ago the county resident paid $15,000 in advance of work at the Leaf Lake home. However, the other party never did show up to do the work.

The Leaf Lake resident will forward a fraud report to a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).

Homeowners, according to law enforcement personnel, should never pay more than 10 percent to 20 percent before work begins at a house. There are exceptions, such as when preordering custom-specialized materials.

Traffic injury

One person was injured Oct. 6 in a one-vehicle rollover on Highway 53, near Perham. The accident took place at 1:40 p.m.

Sheriff deputies said the vehicle was northbound when the driver, a male, fell asleep. The vehicle then hit an approach, landing on the driver’s side.

The man sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital in Perham. 

Driver dies in

crash on I-94

A West Fargo man, 64-year-old Duane Paul Hiedeman, died in a traffic accident shortly after 6 p.m. on Oct. 4 on Interstate 94 in southwestern Otter Tail County.

Sheriff deputies, in conjunction with the Minnesota State Highway Patrol, said the driver was westbound when his pickup left the roadway and rolled into the median.

He was not wearing a seatbelt. The accident took place in Fergus Falls Township.

Fires destroy

two houses

Sheriff deputies, On Oct. 5, reported the loss of two homes to fires. One fire took place near Highway 73 in southeastern Otter Tail County and the second fire took place near Highway 117, southeast of Dalton.

Firefighters were called to the fire near Highway 73 at 11:19 a.m. Responding to the scene were fire crews from Bertha and Hewitt, south of Wadena.

The house, which was a total loss, had an estimated value to $150,000. Repairs had been made earlier in the day. The house was not occupied at the time of the fire.

Near Dalton, that fire was called into authorities at 2:53 p.m.

Eight people escaped from the blaze, although two dogs and several cats reportedly died in the fire.

Responding to the scene were firefighters from Dalton, Battle Lake and Ashby.

Cause of the fire was accidental and took place during a repair of the home’s heating system in the attic.

Several items

taken from cabin

Several items were stolen from a cabin and nearby buildings close to Highway 38, near Spitzer Lake, in the extreme south-central section of Otter Tail County. The thefts were reported on Oct. 5.

Taken were two jet skis, a trailer, riding lawn mower, horse trailer, golf cart and safe. The items were in the cabin and the attached garage.

Driver injured

The driver of a vehicle was extricated from his car after being injured on Highway 67, on Oct. 4, at 8:46 a.m. near New York Mills.

This took place during a one-vehicle rollover.

Power lines fell on the vehicle and had to be removed, prior to the extrication, by Pelican Rapids-based Lake Region Electric Cooperative (LREC). The driver received non-life threatening injuries.

Vandalism reported

Vandalism was reported Oct. 2 east of Undewood, near Highway 210.

Lug nuts on a trailer were loosened. The owner of a rental facility believes the lug nuts were loosened during overnight hours.

Theft reported

A county resident who lives near Highway 10 in eastern Otter Tail County reported on Oct. 3 that his cell phone was stolen. 

This, in turn resulted in the thief tapping into an Amazon account and ordering approximately $1,000 worth of items.

Amazon officials say a person’s first line of defense in any account is to have in place a secure password. Don’t use your child’s birthday or anything that can be guessed.

If it’s something that other people readily know about you, it’s a terrible password.