Workers used a front-end loader to lift the boom off of him. The man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with an injury to his right leg.

St. Paul police had fallen out of the habit of donating confiscated liquor to the Little Sisters of the Poor. But then Sister Theresa's letter explained that Sunday happy hour "has always been such a pleasant treat" for the senior citizens at Holy Family Residence. Happy days are here again.

The town of Hallock is waiving fees for home lots in hopes that workers coming to staff a new canola plant will put down roots there. The town has seen a steady decline in population and now has fewer than a thousand residents for the first time since 1950.

The State Patrol reports that there were 88 crashes and 16 traffic-related injuries around Minnesota overnight, but no fatalities. This is the third consecutive year that there have not been any fatalities on New Year's Eve in Minnesota.