1,100 Minn. Utility Customers Still Without Power

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Xcel Energy says power has been restored to nearly all customers following Friday's fierce storms.

The utility updated its service numbers Monday afternoon. It says as many as 142,000 lost power at some point. As of noon Monday, only about 1,100 were still without service.

Those customers are in areas including St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Belview, Cosmos, Hector and Bird Island. An Xcel spokeswoman says power should be nearly fully restored by the end of Monday.

The utility says its efforts to restore power were hampered by dense vegetation, snapped power poles and wires knocked down by toppled trees.

The storm included a tornado near Solon Springs in northwestern Wisconsin, as well as heavy winds that uprooted hundreds of trees.

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