Fatal Hwy 22 Crash, Senator Tina Smith Visiting Mankato
By Robert Lawson
News Director, KTOE News
Hwy. 22 has reopened following a fatal crash near the Blue Earth-LeSueur County line that took place yesterday evening. Traffic was detoured on county roads near the crash scene, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). The Minnesota State Patrol said in a crash report that a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was driven by a 53-year-old Mankato man was traveling north on Hwy. 22 crashed with a Dodge Charger that was headed south on the same highway just before 5:30 p.m. The Charger was driven by a 20-year-old man from Jordan. Detours were setup around 9 p.m. while authorities responded at the crash scene. Neither driver has been identified yet but more information will likely be released later today, state patrol said.
US Senator Tina Smith will visit Mankato today to discuss the success of SBA funding for local food and ag businesses and the importance of Minnesota State University Mankato’s Center for Rural Behavioral Health. Smith is working to secure additional federal funding for both. Smith, a Democrat, will be in Mankato to meet with the coordinators of the Mainstreet Businesses Focused on Food and Agriculture (MBFFA) program leaders from the Center for Rural Behavioral Health about how their work is making a positive impact in Southern Minnesota. Smith is working on securing congressionally-directed spending. She will be joined by Minnesota State provost David Hood, Director of Workforce Professional Education Tammy Bohlke, Dean of the College of Allied Health and Nursing Dr. Patricia Marincic and other university leaders. She will be on campus around 10:40 a.m. Minnesota State University Mankato Strategic Partnerships received a grant of more than $900,000 from the Small Business Administration, SBA, in 2021. The Center for Rural Behavioral Health has five programs for professionals on campus. Both are finalists and could be awarded $775,000 and $1 million in federal funds respectively.
