Good morning, St. Cloud.

Central Minnesota’s Public Safety Foundation announced the Shields Stars Awards to honor firefighters, officers, and paramedics for their daily service.

Winners, including Amy Inglett from Kimball Fire & Rescue and Sergeant Katie Dusing from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, will be celebrated at the upcoming Shields Stars Celebration.

Ehlinger Lawn Service is offering two snow removal packages valued up to $555 to residents (St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Waite Park and St. Joseph) with winners to be chosen on Oct.

22 and Nov. 5.

O'Brien’s Dry Goods is expanding its St. Cloud location by adding more space and new stock of vintage clothes and collectibles.

Olde Town Tattoo, a long-time St. Cloud shop at 16 21st Ave SE, closed due to the landlord selling the building on Monday night.

Several artists will continue tattoo work at local shops such as The Widows Peak.

The Benton County Historical Society in Sauk Rapids will close from Monday, Oct.

19 until Dec. 6 for renovations that will add four new exhibits. It will unveil exhibits honoring veterans, showing children’s artifacts, recounting the 1886 cyclone, and featuring a decades room in time for the Jingle & Mingle.

The Minnesota DNR urges families to purchase early licenses for the statewide youth deer season (ages 10 to 17) that begins Thursday, Oct.

15 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 18 as first-time users may need extra time with the new electronic system.

Starting Monday, County Road 4/Veterans Drive from Highway 15 to 44th Avenue North will operate with one lane each way for gas utility work — drivers should find alternate routes to avoid delays until Friday.

Stearns County Administrator Mike Williams retired this summer after 40 years of service, including 13 years as City Administrator in St. Cloud.

He now teaches and works part-time while enjoying retirement (he helped build the Waste Water Facility, Library, and Law Enforcement Center).

Local gardeners are encouraged to plant garlic this fall as the changing weather helps cloves begin rooting before the ground freezes; Master Gardener Joseph Storlien advises planting 1-2 weeks after the first frost and using mulch to protect the beds for winter.

St. John's, led by senior quarterback Trey Feeney, won 42-16 against Bethel last Saturday as coach Gary Fasching praised the team’s strong performance on offense, defense, and special teams.

The Johnnies will play at Macalester in St. Paul Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Mississippi River near St. Cloud offers plenty of smallmouth bass on Saturday, with gusty winds urging anglers to cast from rocky shores.

Fishing tips include using tubes, suspending jerkbaits + exploring nearby lakes where largemouth bass and northern pike are active.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Sauk Rapids-Rice edged the Tech Tigers 3-1 in conference volleyball (Josie Anderson had 19 kills) as the team advanced in the league.