Authorities ID man killed in landslide near Mankato

Law enforcement officials here have identified the 19-year-old man who died in a landslide over the weekend at Minneopa State Park near Mankato.

Jack Loso of Robbinsdale was visiting the park with family when the landslide struck near the Minneopa Falls area around 5 p.m. Saturday, according to the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office.

Emergency responders found the trapped man and determined he had died at the scene.

Chief Deputy Jeremy Brennan said the Sheriff's Office is waiting for an autopsy report before releasing further information.

Landslides are common along the Minnesota River Valley, though this is the first time Brennan said he can remember someone dying as a result of one.

"We've had some things go on in the state park before with drownings and things over the years, but nothing like this," he said.

Minneopa State Park staff have closed trails leading to the base of the falls until further notice.

"Rockfalls are common around cliffs — cracks in solid bedrock allow large blocks of rock to fall, sometimes during freeze-thaw cycles," the agency wrote in a report last year. "Runoff associated with land-use change and drainage practices across extensive upland agricultural landscapes may also increase landslide activity."