MCGREGOR, Minn. — The Sandy Lake Recreation Area will reopen for camping in May following a two-year updating project on the Sandy Lake Dam, the Army Corps of Engineers announced. The Corps replaced six gates and deteriorated walls in the lock chamber. It also  installed a new slide gate in the log sluice chamber and  replaced  the 130-year-old timber upstream apron. The dam is midway between Brainerd and Duluth.

Basketball (men): Winona State 67, Wayne State of Nebraska 63

Basketball (men): Saint Mayr’s 57, St. Scholastica 54

Basketball (men): UW-LaCrosse 81, UW-Stevens Point 58

Basketball (women): Wayne State of Nebraska 60, Winona State 56

Basketball (women): Saint Mary’s 83, St. Scholastica 69

Basketball (women): UW-LaCrosse 58, UW-Stevens Point 48

Hockey (men): Saint Mary’s 7, Saint Benedict 3

Hockey (women): Saint Benedict 3, Saint Mary’s 2

STOCKTON, Minn. – A deputy found marijuana wax, marijuana-smoking paraphernalia, and 1.4 grams of marijuana in a car during a traffic stop on the Highway14 crest at Pumpkin Road. Arrested was Autumn Jade Gile, 21, of Winona. This was about 7:20 p.m. The deputy said that Gile had been speeding. When she opened her window, the deputy said, the marijuana odor was unmistakable.

Gile. Marijuana wax is a felony.

CANTON, Minn. – A Canton man, old enough but apparently too drunk to know better, was arrested after a struggle with a state trooper during a traffic stop. The arrest of Jacob Erickson, 30, came only after three taser shots. This is the account of the state trooper of what happened:

> The trooper spotted Erickson in a car with expired car plates on Highway 52 in Canton. Erickson fled northwest on rural County Road 21.

> After Erickson finally stopped, the trooper walked to the car and smelled alcohol and marijuana. He also spotted an open case of beer inside.

> The trooper asked Erickson to shut off the engine and get out of the vehicle. He did.

> When the troopr said he wanted inspect Erickson’s vehicle inside, the man ran and attempted to reach for the keys in the ignition of his car. In response, the trooper announced that Erickson was under arrest and ordered him to the ground.

> The trooper radioed for help as Erickson threw snow and ice, which stuck the officer on the face and head.

> Erickson attempted to get inside his car. The trooper tasered him twice. Erickson blocked the electrodes by shielding himself with a doubled-up jacket.

> Erickson was temporarily incapacitated by a third taser shock but resumed fighting as the trooper attempted to take Erickson’s car keys. In the struggle Erickson gained grabbed the taser gun and shot the trooper in the  left forearm.

> The trooper regained control and holstered  the taser.

> The trooper ran back to his squad car, which he used to push Erickson’s vehicle, a Chevrolet Impala, into the ditch.

> Erickson tried to flee on foot.

> The trooper  grabbed Erickson’s upper body, but Erickson kicked his legs out from under him, knocked him to the pavement, and pinned him.

> Two passing motorists pulled Erickson off the trooper and held Erickson on the ground with his hands behind his back

Sequel to the violence

Erickson was taken 60 miles by ambulance to a Rochester hospital. His injuries were non-life-threatening. The trooper was taken in a squad car o to same hospital. He was not seriously hurt. Police said a search of Erickson’s car found a small amount of marijuana, a marijuana pipe, and two folded one-dollar bills with a white powder residue that tested positive for cocaine.

LEWISTON, Minn. – A dozen snowmobilers were caught speeding in the first law enforcement crackdown of the season. A sheriff’s deputy with a radar gun and a game warden on a snowmobile stationed themselves five hours on trails north of Lewiston al on Rupprecht’s Valley Road. Most stops resulted in a verbal warning. Sheriff’s spokesperson Jeff Mueller said the snowmobile patrol usually goes out three or four times a winter.

STAPLES, Minn. –A 65-year-old Staples snowmobiler died, apparently instantly, when the track on his machine sled dislodged. The machine to crashed into a tree. The man was ejected. This was shortly before 5 p.m. Deputies responding to the crash found the rider’s fellow snowmobilers trying to resuscitate him but to no avail. The man and his family were heading home when the accident happened.

NISSWA, Minn. – A Coon Rapids mother driving a snowmobile with her teen-age son on back were injured when the machine  left the trail at a curve and struck a tree. Both were ejected. The son, age 16, was was airlifted 75 miles to a St. Cloud hospital with serious injuries. The mother, age 49,  was transported 12 miles to the Brainerd hospital. This was shortly before 11:40 a.m.

OSAKIS, Minn. – A fire in a farm silo blew the top off and rained debris on two fire trucks and a firefighter. The firefighter was taken 20 miles to the Alexandria hospital. His injuries were described as non-life threatening. This was about 11:30 a.m. at 13461 Cemetery Road Southeast. Douglas County Sheriff said fire crews were working to put out flames in the silo when the top blew off. The top crashed down on two fire engines, putting one out of service.

GOODVIEW, Minn. — Firefighters poured gargantuan quantities of water on a fire that started on a loading dock at Mississippi Welders Supply on Goodview’s main drag. Employee had evacuated by the time fire crews arrived. This was about 11:30 a.m.. One employee suffered a minor injury.. The backside of the multi-building complex was damaged heavily. For a while firefighters considered evacuating  the whole neighborhood for fear of massive new explosions, but they got control in time. Eight emergency agencies were called to the fire, The cause of the fire was not determined immediately. The loading dock was stocked with propane cylinders. . The business, at 5150 West Sixth, expected to be back in operation Monday.

Young eagle. Atop a snag, this bald eagle eyes for trout in Garvin Brook just below Farmers Park. Spring-fed, this  stream never freezes over. Image: Steve Lunde

WINONA, Minn. —  A woman punched a man at the Mankato Bar. Who knows why? The bartender didn’t care but threw them out. Then outside on Mankato Avenue the man punched the woman back. She fell to the sidewalk. An ambulance crew treated the woman, age 45, on scene for a swelling, blackening eye. Then she went home to a Far East End address. The man, 54, had gone home already to a separate address. This at least was the scenario that police put together from witnesses. There was no immediate arrest pending a review of surveillance video from the bar. This was about 1 a.m.

WINONA, Minn. – After a quick database check of car-owners, a city police officer was waiting when Cody James Allen, 37, drove into his apartment parking lot. An anonymous tipster about 11 p.m. had called the police dispatcher that a very drunk man had just driven off from the hospital. The caller had a license plate number. Through online records,  the dispatcher traced the car owner in seconds to the apartment complex on the Cottonwood Drive dead-end at the far end of town from the hospital – four miles away — and sent an officer. When Cody drove in, the officer walked up and engaged in casual conversation. Common signs of intoxication showed, the officer said: Bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, stumbling. Then came empirical evidence. A sobriety testing device showed Allen’s blood contained 0.28% alcohol – 3-1/l2 times the threshold for drunkenness.

Basketball (men): Winona State 74, Augustana 69

Basketball (women): Augustana 79, Winona State 71

Gymnastics (women): UW-LaCrosse 192.000, UW-Oshkosh 188.600

Hockey (women): Saint Benedict 3, Saint Mary’s 1

WINONA, Minn. – A 14-year-old boy was charged with assault in an ongoing school feud that ended up with a 13-year-old being punched and getting a black eye. Police were called the Middle school about 3:40 p.m. The parents had been called in. The black eye was expected to heal. The assault charge was fifth degree, a misdemeanor.

WINONA, Minn. – A downtown apartment dweller reported a theft of $4,000 cash and two cashier’s checks worth thousands of dollars more. The person said he was not in the habit of locking the apartment. The theft was reported about 1:30 p.m.

CRYSTAL SPRING, Minn. – Somebody aimed a potentially blinding laser beam at a passenger airplane descending to the Minneapolis airport. The Federal Aviation Administration pinpointed the site in western Winona County – in flatlands near the intersection of County Road 24 and County Road 27, between Whitewater State Park and the Crystal Spring fish hatchery. The pilots were distracted but landed safely at MSP. The FAA asked the sheriff to check out the Crystal Spring site about 3:55 a.m. By then the deputies found nothing.

Flight simulator. Pilots are trained in flight simulators on laser light explosions. Training can ease cockpit panic in a real-life incident but doesn’t mitigate the danger. The blinding effect can be a few seconds to several minutes to permanent.

The Kenyon case

A pilot was blinded last July, albeit briefly, by a laser fired from the Kenyon area 6o miles from the new Crystal Spring incident. Both sites are on glide paths into MSP. The pilot in the Kenyon  case proceeded 60 miles to the airport and safely.  Whoever fired the Kenyon laser was never found.

Laser danger

The government regards lasers as a major threat to aviation safety. In 2008 a California man went to prison for two years for aiming a 3-milliwatt laser pointer at an aircraft. Even a 1 milliwatt beam can go 12 miles — beyond the maximum ceiling of any commercial aircraft. A $30,000 fine can be levied. Part of the danger is that a laser beam can scatter in an aircraft windscreen and magnify instantly into blinding brilliance.

Earlier: Airline pilot blinded by Kenyon laser beam