Marathon Runner Snows Down, Then Burros to Safety

--A marathon runner caught in a blizzard during Colorado’s grueling Imogene Pass Race from Ouray to Telluride owes his life to a strong, swift-footed burro named Clyde. The 187 entrants in Sunday’s race were caught in a blizzard near the top of the 13,000-foot pass, and Tom Stubbs of Grand Junction was suffering from severe hypothermia when Hal Walter of Wetmore--and Clyde--found him. Stubbs, 26, was stumbling and incoherent in the blinding snow, Walter said, and the wind-chill factor was minus-20. So he tied Stubbs to Clyde and the threesome worked its way up the incline for about three-fourths of a mile to a sheriff’s vehicle. “It was the worst case of hypothermia I’ve ever seen,” Deputy Sheriff Eric Berg said. Stubbs couldn’t finish, but his saviors did. Walter came in 92nd after the delay and Clyde was 93rd.

--Adlor Olsen gets no salary for being mayor of Eagle Lake, Minn., and that’s OK with him. But for mowing the lawn at City Hall, sweeping the streets and checking water and sewer plants, he’d like to be paid. “This is a thankless job,” said Olsen, adding that he probably won’t seek a sixth term next year as mayor of the town of 1,500 residents. Olsen, 66, did the maintenance work last spring on an emergency basis after a city employee quit and before another could be hired. But City Council members said they never authorized the work and have refused to pay. An angry Olsen has filed a claim in Blue Earth County Conciliation Court for $471 plus court costs--$6 an hour for his time.

--State tourism officials fear many travelers may think North Dakota is just a long haul on the way to somewhere else, so they’re setting up billboards to explain why they should stop to look around. “Stay in North Dakota; Custer Was Healthy When He Left,” one roadside announcement will say, state tourism director James Fuglie said. “Stay in North Dakota; Montana Is Closed This Week,” will face westbound motorists, Fuglie said. Travelers heading east or south out of the state will see similar messages about South Dakota and Minnesota, he said. The campaign was inspired by Lloyd Omdahl of the University of North Dakota, who suggested the state make traveling fun by putting up entertaining signs. Omdahl’s suggestions include: “Isn’t This the Flattest Place You’ve Ever Seen?” and, “You Are Now Entering Minnesota. Why?”