19-year-old man dies in landslide at Minneopa State Park near Mankato

Authorities say a man became trapped under earth that collapsed near the Minneopa Falls.

December 3, 2023 at 3:37AM
Minneopa Falls, at Minneopa State Park in Mankato, where a 19-year-old man died in a landslide, officials said.
Minneopa Falls at Minneopa State Park near Mankato, where a 19-year-old man died in a landslide, officials said. (Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A 19-year-old man died in a landslide at Minneopa State Park outside of Mankato on Saturday, authorities say.

The victim became trapped under earth that collapsed near the Minneopa Falls area just before 5 p.m., according to the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office. Emergency responders found the trapped man and determined he had died at the scene.

The man's identity has not been released, and no other details about the landslide were available Saturday night. An investigation is ongoing.

Landslides are not uncommon in Minnesota, especially in the Minnesota River Valley where Saturday's slide took place.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the most common type of landslides in the state are "shallow slope failures" prompted by heavy rain.

"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."

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about the writer

Brooks Johnson

Food and Manufacturing Reporter

Brooks Johnson is a business reporter covering Minnesota’s food industry, 3M and manufacturing trends.

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