Nisswa native John Svendsen was among the crew that abandoned the ship HMS Bounty in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina as Hurricane Sandy churned its way up the East Coast. He and other shipmates talk about the difficult decision they had to make to leave the ship to sink in order to save their own lives. Two were lost. The rest were rescued by the Coast Guard.

Minneapolis-based Target and Richfield-based Best Buy closed roughly 200 stores on the east coast because of Hurricane Sandy on Monday. Eden Prairie-based Supervalu closed about 20 of its Acme Market stores.

Grand Marais sea-kayakers Dave and Amy Freeman are paddling along the East Coast on the final leg of a 11,700-mile North American trek that began in April 2010, the Duluth News Tribune reports. By chance, they were in New Jersey at the same time as Hurricane Sandy. The couple lashed their kayaks to a porch and scrambled to higher ground, rode out the storm and are now mulling the future of their expedition.

As of 4 a.m. Monday, about 40 flights had been canceled from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to East Coast destinations including Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., WCCO reports. Hurricane Sandy's widespread effects could create 12-foot waves on Lake Superior, the AP reports. The hurricane is on a path to make landfall in New Jersey late Monday or early Tuesday.

Relatives of Jerry and Barbara Heil met with rescue crews Saturday. The couple is still missing after last week's cruise ship accident off the coast of Italy. The Associated Press reports family members were taken near the ship and placed flowers in honor of their loved ones.

The massive storm on the East Coast that's claimed dozens of lives and wiped out entire communities is already expected to cause over $50 billion in damage. Handfuls of volunteers from various Minnesota agencies have been dispatched to help with emergency relief efforts. Waves up to 20 feet tall have stalled cargo shipping on the Great Lakes and dozens of flights out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were cancelled Tuesday.

Minnesota native checking in from her home on the East Coast says that she's among one of the 750,000 people still in the dark after the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy and a second storm to hit the area.