WINONA, Minn. – It was almost a head-on collision. Sheriff Ron Ganrude was cruising on Riverview Drive near Prairie Island Road about 9 p.m. and, he said, this other car came straight at him. Th sheriff swerved onto the shoulder to avoid being hit. The other driver, Michael Allen Rippentrop, 44, of Rochester, explained that he was attempting to answer his phone but dropped it and tried to pick it up and crossed over the center line. Ganrude was not amused. He cited Rippentrop for inattentive driving.
