Interstate 94 reopens between Moorhead, Alexandria
Published 11:03 am Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Schools in more than 100 Minnesota cities were closed Monday or starting school late after a strong winter storm dumped up to 14 inches of snow in parts of the area.
Of that number, schools in 20 communities — including Bemidji and Fergus Falls in the northwest to Duluth, Hibbing and Chisholm on the Iron Range — canceled classes Monday.
The storm was blamed for at least two deaths in Minnesota.
Capt. Joel Brott of the Sherburne County sheriff’s office said snow-covered and icy roads contributed to a two-crash at 12:30 p.m. Sunday that killed Jason Patrick Long, 25, whose hometown was not immediately available. Brott said Long’s car was southbound on County Road 79 near Big Lake when it spun out of control and was struck by an oncoming car in the northbound lane. He died at the scene. Four people in the second car suffered minor injuries.
The Stearns County sheriff’s office said a Freeport man died Sunday night after the farm tractor he was using to clear snow from his driveway rolled on top of him. The tractor had become stuck in a ditch, and a neighbor was helping Anthony Elmer Janke, 37, pull the tractor out with another vehicle. But a wheel broke off the tractor, the sheriff’s office said, causing the tractor to roll over further and trap Janke underneath around 8:45 p.m. Janke was pronounced dead at Melrose Area Hospital.