A man was arrested for making a bogus claim that several bombs had been placed along the Mankato Marathon route, authorities said.
Just the same, law enforcement ramped up its presence along the route, calling in bomb-sniffing dogs from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and adding security overnight in the hours leading to the race starting and during the competition Sunday morning, police said.
"The safety and confidence of the runners, spectators and the community is our number one priority," Mark Bongers, whose company was in charge of the race, said Saturday evening. "We will continue the marathon as scheduled and are working diligently with public safety officials to ensure our runners have a great race."
According to police:
A 911 was call made to the Nicollet County Sheriff's office about a threat that four bombs had been placed on the marathon route.
Investigators revealed that a 56-year-old man from North Mankato called to report he had received an anonymous call about the bombs.
Working with the man's phone provider, authorities determined that he had not received any such phone call.
The man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of making terroristic threats, a felony. He remains jailed pending charges.
