Rochester Man Cited for DWI After Bulldozer Mishap

WINONA, Minn. (AP) — Winona County authorities say a Rochester man accused of backing a bulldozer into the Mississippi River has been arrested on a tentative charge of driving while intoxicated.

A KAGE-AM report says the 54-year-old was arrested Tuesday.

Chief Deputy Ron Ganrude says the man has seven previous convictions for drunken driving.

Ganrude says the man was moving sand on Dakota Island, across from the city of Dakota, when the bulldozer became stuck in the river about 1:30 a.m. Ganrude says the man acknowledged operating the machine for a construction company working on a bridge-construction project.

Authorities say the man used a boat to get back to the mainland. A crane had to be brought in to recover the bulldozer.

The man was cited with first-degree DWI and refusal to take a sobriety test.