A Dubuque County man was hurt on the Mississippi River by a boat operating on the ice. It was an airboat, powered by a huge fan. It was carrying passengers on the surface of the frozen river near Guttenberg.
The Department of Natural Resources reports the craft was being operated on the ice Monday when it flipped over, pinning one man beneath it. The boat’s owner tells police another passenger, Lee Hoerner of Epworth, tried to right the craft but as he struggled with it his arm and shoulder came into contact with the blades of the airboat’s propeller.
He was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to University Hospitals in Iowa City. The owner and the other passenger didn’t suffer any serious injuries in the mishap.