Twin Cities fisherman falls into western Wisconsin lake, dies

A fisherman from the Twin Cities fell out of his boat on a western Wisconsin lake and died, authorities said.

Michael Christianson, 51, of Cottage Grove, was fishing Saturday morning on Deer Lake, roughly 7 miles east of the Minnesota border, when witnesses spotted him in the water and his empty boat drifting nearby, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

The witnesses rowed out to Christianson and brought him to shore, where efforts to revive him were made, the Sheriff's Office reported.

Emergency responders arrived and took over resuscitation efforts before Christianson was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he was pronounced dead that afternoon.

His daughter, Marit Christianson, said a health problem had caused him to fall in the water.

Paul Walsh