1410 WIZM

A Wisconsin woman was critically injured when her minivan collided with a cow on a Minnesota interstate.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the van driven by 36-year-old Svetlana Schmitz, of La Crosse, hit the cow on Interstate 90 near Lewiston in Winona County about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. She was taken by helicopter to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester.

A 62-year-old passenger, also from La Crosse, suffered non-life threatening injuries and was treated at St. Mary's.

Both were wearing seat belts.

Admitted drug user Mitchell Perner faces 25 years in prison at his sentencing hearing today in Lacrosse....but first...Perner had to hear tearful testimony from Shleby Perkins family. Perner was found guilty earlier this year of giving a potent dose of heroin to Perkins last may...she died early May 21st of heroin toxicity after injecting the drug at the couple's South Side La Crosse apartment.

 

Kelly Perkins, Shelby's father, spoke to Judge Elliot Levine. Perkins begged with the judge to give Perner the maximum 25 years that he is facing. Perkins also had a message for Perner........that when he goes to prison......his only alternative of survival...is to commit suicide.

The judge's ruling is expected later today.

it may look harmless out there. Just a slightly swollen Mississippi River, overspilling its banks. But the spring-flooded river is fast, deep and cold. In short, says La Crosse police captain Jason Melby, deadly. Go sightsee, he says, just keep away from the water's edge. Especially in the high current areas in Riverside Park. Especially at night.  Even if you do know the park, says Melby, at night you may not be able to recognize where the park ends and the flooded waters begin.  Fortunately, Melby says, Operation Riverwatch and Police Reserve volunteers are keeping an even closer watch along the river at Riverside park at night just in case the random wandering drunk happens to stumble a little too close to water's edge.

Complete Streets appear poised to take over the county of La Crosse. The city council will likely approve the Complete Streets concept for street construction tonight. Three county committees have done likewise and the full county board takes it up next week. For good reasons, says Jack Zabrowski, in the county's health department. Not the least of which has something to do with the county's blossoming obesity epidemic. He says physical activity has been engineered out of our lives and Complete Streets puts more of that activity safely within reach. Complete Streets essentially mandates a consideration of human powered travel when making street construction planning decisions.