Leader-Telegram from Eau Claire, Wisconsin • 3

Tuesday. March 31. 1998 Leader-Telegram Minnesota Tornados 3A 4J i If. -W tit M. 1 Residents pick through debris left by tornado ST.

PETER. Minn. (AF) A tornado splintered the root of his garage and heaved a tree through his neitih-bor's house. But Dan Breeding pointed to something delicate, some-think unscathed by nature fury. Amid the wreckage of his garage an)3 the home stood a birch sapling, untouched, with a small bird feeder hanging from a branch.

To Breeding, the sapling was a reminder that the funnel clouds that raged through nine southern Minnesota towns on Sunday upending hundreds of trees, cars and lives did not destroy everything, even the most vulnerable. The devastation was so surreal in St. Peter, a town of 10,000, that many residents wandered around with video cameras. But they also knew they had weathered a major catastrophe with only two deaths that of an elderly man and a 6-year-old boy. 1MJLL Selection Just last month, 42 people died in tornados in central Florida.

The tornado that hit St. Peter packed winds estimated at 200 mph, sprawling more than a mile across. 1052 831-2000 For an update-on storm damage in Minnesota call the LeaderLine. At least 38 people were injured. Dustin Schneider, the boy.

died when a twister blew the van in which he was a passenger into a muddy field near St. Peter. He was sucked out of the vehicle and hurled 150 yards away. Louis Mosenden, 85, of Hanska died Monday afternoon as a result of injuries he suffered when the tornado hit his home. The state and Red Cross said more than 800 homes were destroyed or severely damaged in the hardest-hit areas.

Gov. Arne Carlson said he hoped to have a request for disaster aid to the federal government and state Legislature within a week. A state Senate committee approved $10 million in aid Monday. Joann Smith stood in front of her driveway and surveyed what remained of her home. A tree had fallen through the living room, blasting out a side wall and wrenching the rest of the house off the foundation.

"I always said I wanted to remodel," Smith said, "'but not like this." About 30 miles away from St. Peter in Comfrey, Roger Anderson and his wife, LaVonne, joined a long line of vehicles on the outskirts of town filled with families trying to get to their houses or at least what remained of them. The town of 420 people had been evacuated Sunday night after a begins with a brief movie in whic. "Twister" stars Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton describe the most destruc- tive type of tornado, interspersed with clips from "Twister." side doors 0 and visilors wandcr through a house t0 anothcr set of TV monilorSi which give a behind-the-scenes look at the mak- ine of )he movju Fmm thcr thcv walk into the main attraction: A warehouse designed to look like a scene right out of the movie. Knight-Ridder News Service jr- 1 -c' It I 1 I 1 att- 'r 'X' f'" -V 1..: March Madness 4, irfr SALE Hamilton A.

Vlnyl pi a. ri nnelA c.r.mio "Km, V- basement of Masonic Center Sun. April 5th 1 Program 2:30 (NO IjltTS New Register 1 I I.V )h k' i rfs -i i ft i i ii i 1 11 1 1 '4 Twister' attraction readv to rol V. 4 CANADA Superior N.D. MINNESOTA 100 miles 100 km St.

Paul Minneapolis 0 i WISCONSIN Comfrey Le Center S.D. '-St. Peter IOWA Associated Press twister tore through, flattening some buildings, yanking others from their foundation and hurling them like Fnsbees. It's estimated that 75 percent of the town was destroyed; 1 00 people were left without homes. The Andersons knew that their house was gone.

Now, National Guardsmen were blocking the town's three entrances, restricting access, except for work crews. Scripps Howard News Service contributed to this report. Universal also closed a store in the park that was selling T-shirts and memorabilia from the popular "Twister" movie, on which the attraction is based, and set up a col- lection table for the Red Cross. That table was removed weeks ago, and the store reopened March 21 Universal is not advertising the iimnea opening, out wore or 11 is spreading through the park. About 100 visitors lined up outside the building Monday shortly after clerks in the "Twister" store said the attraction might open at 1 p.m., which it did.

From start to finish, the attraction appears complete and ready to open. Visitors walk and stand during the entire attraction, which 1 06 Joyce Hoover til. Associated Press photos Above: Downed trees lie strewn across the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter after a tornado ripped through the south-central Minnesota town Sunday. Left: St.

Peter, residents Mary Ann Lurth, center, and Susan Gray, right, hold each other as they talk to another resident Sunday. Powerful twisters cut a ragged swath of destruction across southern Minnesota. T-Shirts Sweatshirts Jackets Caps Overruns Closeouts April 2-4 SpringSummer Fashions arriving daily for door prizes on Hwy. out our tow prices I -ret- estimates i 1 SALE ENDS APRIL 10, 1998 1 after real thing delayed opening I MI Dinner Les "Geo" Freid 1 JWYEAr P4YL1ENT Dinner ONE YEAR NO INTEREST 4 AND NO DOWN PAYMENTS (on any flooring purchase over $250 00 to qualified buyers) A In the Fellowship Hall Lake Street Methodist Church Lake Street and 4th Ave. Thursday, April 2 Serving 4:30 to 6:30 pm $5.50 each, $.1 chile rcn 10 and under Proceeds for the finishing touches on the new addition By The Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla.

Universal Studios Florida has started letting a limited number of visitors try the new "Twister" attraction after delaying the grand opening because of Central Florida's killer tornados. In recent days the attraction has opened for a few hours each afternoon, allowing hundreds of visitors to experience a simulated tornado. Universal spokesman Jim Canfield said the sporadic showings allow employees to conduct technical rehearsals to make sure the ride is operating as it should. He would not say when the multimillion-dollar attraction will open officially, except that it will happen this spring. But in the theme park business, such "soft openings" usually indicate the opening is soon.

After Central Florida tornados killed 42 people last month, Universal said it would delay indefinitely the opening of the attraction, originally set for this week." ffl FOR I CITY COUNCIL A (2 T'O A Cin (S INCNTS i-" in ---o hm ata TAX HEADACHES EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL CONFIDENTIAL Personal Business Farm 213 N. Bar stow Eau Claire iimW JtmmiMi Andrea Selk 830-5 W4146 Second Street, Glen Flora, Wl 715-322-4565 Monday Friday 5 00 Saturday 9 00 3:00.