A 39-year-old woman from east-central Minnesota has been charged with robbing a western Wisconsin bank while donning a bright yellow highway vest.

Tanya K. Anderson, of Stanchfield, was indicted Wednesday in federal court in Madison, Wis., accused of holding up the Eagle Valley Bank in St. Croix Falls last Friday. Anderson will appear in federal court Friday for her initial appearance.

Entering the bank in her eye-catching vest, a baseball cap and sunglasses, Anderson handed the teller a note saying that she was armed, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Peter Johnson said that after Anderson left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, employees called 911 with a description of Anderson and her car. A St. Croix Falls police officer soon stopped and arrested her. The money was recovered.

The same bank was robbed March 2, also by a woman in sunglasses but different clothing. There has been no arrest in that crime. Five weeks earlier in Princeton, Minn., a woman in a neon green vest and baseball cap robbed a Bremer Bank branch. There also has been no arrest in that case.

All three robberies occurred on Fridays. Authorities have declined to say whether they think the holdups are related.

Anderson has a long history of minor offenses in Minnesota, having been convicted most recently for a drug crime last year in the Twin Cities.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482