Staying safe on the roads
Keeping thousands of high school cross-country runners safe from distracted drivers when training on the roads starts with awareness and education. General coaching mandates for runners include running into traffic and staying single-file on the shoulders of roads, making eye contact with drivers at intersections and looking twice even when crossing with a green light.
Taking precautions: Some programs are going the extra mile. Monticello eliminated some training routes that brought runners through higher-traffic areas. Eastview provided more of runners with utility belts, capable of storing a cellphone, in case of emergency.
Distracted-related deaths up: Roads aren't getting any safer. Traffic fatalities reached 411 last year in Minnesota, compared with 361 in 2014, a 14 percent increase, according to Minnesota Department of Public Safety data. Of those, distracted driving was listed as a contributing factor in 74 deaths in 2015 — a 21 percent increase.
David La Vaque
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More from Star Tribune
More From Star Tribune
More From Sports
Sports
Seth Lugo throws 7 scoreless innings, leads Royals past Tigers 8-0
Seth Lugo pitched seven scoreless innings and the Kansas City Royals won their fourth straight game, beating the Detroit Tigers 8-0 on Friday.
Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out of third game in Bucks-Pacers playoff series
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of Game 3 of the NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.
Outdoors
Anderson: Building a new Waterville fish hatchery will help shorten the time between bites
With new funding, a long-dreamed-of facility will replace the 1954 Waterville, Minn., hatchery that began as a garage.
Sports
Star driver Josef Newgarden fights back tears, accepts blame for breaking rules in IndyCar scandal
Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden blinked back tears Friday as he accepted blame for manipulating the push-to-pass system in his season-opening IndyCar win that has since been stripped, calling it an embarrassment. The two-time series champion insisted he is ''not a liar'' and didn't intentionally break the rules.
Sports
Oregon State and Washington State face player exodus amid realignment
Perhaps the biggest blow for Oregon State in recent weeks was the departure of running back Damien Martinez, who had previously pledged his loyalty to the Beavers.