News Briefs: Boxer in critical condition after bout

Editor's note: The following is a collection of news briefs from Forum Communication Company newspapers in North Dakota and Minnesota.

NORTH DAKOTA

Boxer in critical condition after bout

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A Grand Forks boxer is in critical condition at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks after collapsing during an amateur boxing card Saturday.

J.J. Moen suffered a severe brain injury, according to his uncle, Mike Sweeney, and, as of Monday morning, hadn’t regained consciousness. The 29-year-old Moen is in the surgical critical care unit.

“The doctors told us that, on a scale of three to 15 with three being the worst, he’s at a three,’’ Sweeney said. “We’re just praying for the best. He’s a true, true good-hearted young man.’’

Moen is a member of the Forks Fighters boxing club. Club coach Eddie Obregon said Moen collapsed after the first round of a scheduled three-round super heavyweight bout at the American Legion Club, in East Grand Forks, Minn.

MINNESOTA

One killed in head-on crash

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. – Icy roads may be to blame for a two-vehicle head-on crash Monday morning south of Granite Falls that killed one individual and injured another.

The State Patrol said Terrie McCoss, 35, of Marshall died in the head-on crash on state Highway 23 south of Yellow Medicine County Road 17.

Roads were in icy condition at the time of the accident, which was reported around 7:30 a.m.

According to the State Patrol, McCoss was driving a 2003 Honda Civic north on Highway 23 when her vehicle was struck by a 2007 GMC Sierra pickup that was being driven by Jennifer Henslin, 50, of Granite Falls.

The report indicates Henslin was going south on Highway 23 when she lost control of the pickup, which slid sideways and crossed the center line and collided head-on with the Honda.

Henslin was taken to the Granite Falls hospital.

There were no passengers in the vehicles.

Two killed in four-vehicle crash

BARNESVILLE, Minn. – The Minnesota State Patrol is investigating a four-vehicle accident on Interstate 94 near here that has killed at least two people Monday.

Sgt. Jesse Grabow said the accident took place around 11:30 a.m. and involved a Minnesota Department of Transportation snowplow, a semi, a pickup hauling a trailer and a passenger vehicle.

It's unclear how many people were involved in the incident, but Grabow said two people died and another was seriously injured.

“It was definitely a mess,” Grabow said.

The accident closed down both westbound I-94 lanes, but they reopened at around 3:30 p.m. The trooper said poor visibility was likely a factor.

“That’s the biggest problem,” he said. “People are coming in way too fast with limited visibility.”

State praises pollution improvements

ST. PAUL -- Coal-fired power plants in Minnesota have cut the amount of mercury they send through smokestacks by more than half in the last 15 years as the state tried to reduce its residents’ exposure to the toxic metal.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held a media event at a Twin Cities power plant Monday to herald the reduction in mercury from 1,850 pounds a year in the 1990s to about 870 pounds today.

PCA Commissioner John Link Stine said the goal is to cut power plant emissions to less than 200 pounds by 2016, and he praised Duluth-based Minnesota Power and Twin Cities-based Xcel Energy for their efforts.

Despite Minnesota’s success at reducing mercury going into the air, however, it hasn’t been able to stop mercury from falling out of the sky. That’s because only about 10 percent of the mercury that falls in Minnesota comes from sources within the state. The rest comes from all over the Earth, including as far away as Asia, as mercury floats through the atmosphere before falling in rain and snow.

That’s also why, despite Minnesota’s efforts, fish in Minnesota lakes haven’t shown a major reduction in mercury.

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