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• Car-semi wreck closes I-94 for 2 hours; Minnesota woman 'fair' after Monday crash
• Re-deck of I-94 bridge at Hudson and WIS 64 work promise busy year for WDOT
• Planned Parenthood cancels parent-child retreat at Hudson's YMCA Camp St. Croix

An Inver Grove Heights woman is recovering at Regions Hospital from injuries suffered after her car crossed I-94 and struck an eastbound semi-truck three miles east of Baldwin late Monday morning.

Jessica Schofield, 25, was listed in fair condition late Tuesday morning, March 2.

The crash closed eastbound I-94 for nearly 2 1/2 hours and had vehicles backed up several miles. Traffic was detoured onto Hwy. 63 at Baldwin, north to Hwy. 12, east to Hwy. 128 and back to I-94 at the Glenwood City exit.

Schofield was westbound in her 2002 Saturn SL near Mile 24 when she lost control, entered the median and quickly skidded out the other side into the path of a loaded semi-truck.

Trooper Kirk Danielson said marks at the scene indicate Schofield's car was partially airborne when it struck the eastbound C.R. England Co. semi near the driver's side tire.

United Fire EMT's and firefighters worked nearly an hour to extricate her from the crushed car. Schofield was transported to the Baldwin hospital for stabilization, then taken by LifeLink ground unit to Regions. Weather conditions prevented a helicopter from coming to the scene.

The semi-trailer was fully loaded with frozen fish. Driver Javier Arreola, 35, of Los Angeles, did an excellent job of keeping the rig upright as he veered into the south ditch, Danielson said.

Heavy wreckers from Jerry's and Day & Night towing managed to pull the rig without having to unload it, the trooper said. The tractor was not drivable.

C.R. England is based at Salt Lake City, UT.

At least five officers from St.Croix County, Baldwin and Woodville police departments assisted with the roadblocks.

A secondary crash also occurred on I-94 during the eastbound slowdown. River Falls Area Ambulance assisted in transporting at least one victim to Baldwin for treatment of minor injuries.

EAU CLAIRE -- The I-94 bridge re-decking project at Hudson and continuing work on the four-lane expansion of WIS 35/64 between Houlton and New Richmond highlight what will be a very busy year for construction on state highways in west-central Wisconsin.

"These two projects represent a $90-million investment into western Wisconsin," said Don Gutkowski, director of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Eau Claire District. "These two projects will provide safer, more efficient transportation, and be key to continued economic growth in the area."

Work on redecking the westbound I-94 bridge at Hudson will begin Monday, March 8 and continue until November 2004. All traffic will use the eastbound I-94 bridge for the majority of the project.

More information is available on the project's Web site at: www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d6/i94/index.htm.

Work on expanding WIS 35/64 to four lanes will continue this year with completion of the 38th Street and County V interchanges. The expanded highway will also be opened to traffic this fall from 150th Avenue to 38th Street.

Projects that will begin this year include construction of bridges over the Apple River, the WIS 35 interchange, the County I and Wisconsin Central Railroad overpasses, and preparation of the highway as four lanes from 38th Street to 100th Street.

Other projects in the area include expanding US 12 to four lanes from I-94 to St. Croix County U and completion of a new interchange near Baldwin at I-94 and US 63.

In Pierce County, US 10 from WIS 35 to US 63 will be reconditioned to eliminate ruts and areas of uneven pavement

In Dunn County, eastbound I-94 near Menomonie will be resurfaced and the bridge over the Red Cedar River will be rehabilitated.

Additional project information can be found on WisDOT's Web site at: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d6/index.htm.

A threatened anti-abortion protest at St. Croix Valley YMCA has led to the cancellation of a parent-child retreat at YMCA Camp St. Croix that was to be hosted by Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota.

It's unclear, however, whether Planned Parenthood's cancellation of its rental agreement will stop abortion opponent Darla Meyers from holding a "prayer protest" Saturday morning at the local YMCA.

Meyers said Tuesday that no one from the YMCA of Greater St. Paul had informed her of the cancellation. If the YMCA doesn't have a policy in place against allowing pro-choice organizations to use its facilities, Planned Parenthood or another group might be back with another request in the future, she said.

"I would say it is in their court," Meyers said about whether the protest would take place as scheduled. "I would think they (the YMCA) would be a little more proactive in getting the word out to the main players."

Bette Fenton, vice president of marketing and communications for the YMCA of Greater St. Paul, said the decision not to hold the retreat at Camp St. Croix didn't come from the Y.

"The YMCA was totally prepared to honor that rental agreement," Fenton said. "We routinely rent to other groups. We are open to all and we do not discriminate."

Fenton added that the Y's decision to rent facilities to an organization doesn't imply that it is in partnership with the organization or that it supports its agenda.

She said the Y rents out its facilities for the revenue when it isn't using them. "Which in turn makes it possible to do what we do best, and that is building strong kids and strong families and strong communities."

Meyers said she organized the protest because Planned Parenthood is anti-life and anti-family. She also accused the organization of promoting sexual promiscuity and opposing parental involvement in children's lives.

Dominick Washington, media relations manager in Planned Parenthood's Minneapolis office, said Monday that the charges are baseless.

"Not only are those accusations not true, mainstream Americans just don't buy that type of rhetoric," Washington said. "They know what Planned Parenthood is about. They know that Planned Parenthood's services are largely designed to prevent unintended pregnancy and abortion."

He said mothers and daughters and fathers and sons would have been encouraged to communicate openly about issues related to human sexuality at the one-day retreat scheduled for Saturday at Camp St. Croix. Open discussions between parents and children strengthen family values, he said, and make unintended pregnancies less likely.

"It's certainly disappointing to us that any individual or organization would be so vehemently opposed to a program that we offer that seeks to build and strengthen relationships between parents and children," Washington said.

Tina Smith, Planned Parenthood vice president of public affairs, told the Star-Observer on Tuesday afternoon that Planned Parenthood cancelled its rental agreement because a community partner in the event, the St. Paul Urban League, backed out. She said she hadn't had a chance to find out why the Urban League changed its plans.

Meyers said the fact that the retreat was labeled a parent-child event made it all the more objectionable.

"That's why it is so insidiously dangerous," she said. "They are known for promoting their anti-Christian, anti-family and anti-life agenda in pretty little retreats like that. It makes people less wary about what they plan on doing."

Meyers said she and other pro-life Christians are encouraging the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) to convert back to Christ. <y>"If they want to keep Christ in their title, they must do that and discriminate in a good way," she said. "Christ did discriminate between good and evil. And Planned Parenthood is definitely anti-life."